Last April, more than 4,000 people persevered through pouring rain and muddy fairgrounds to attend MojoFest, the largest and most successful concert that The Club in Hadley has ever seen. The seven-hour event, which took more than half a year to plan, represented the culmination of student-led Local Mojo’s main goal: bringing live music back to Amherst.
Throughout the day, five bands, including notable names such as Morrissey Boulevard, South Pleasant Revival and Nikki & the Barn Boys, in addition to eight DJs spinning a variety of Afrobeats and house music, brought an action-packed energy to the Amherst area that some feared had been lost post-COVID. Aside from the music, the event hosted 42 different vendors, spanning from student-run businesses to live art and vintage shops. Billed as a modern-day Woodstock, the group’s main goal was to create an experience for everyone.
“We wanted to see a music scene, and we wanted that music scene to have a platform to exist and thrive,” said former Local Mojo UMass president Danny Richard. “That’s why we wanted to create an affordable event that people can be excited about, go with their friends and have it be a good time.”
This success, however, was not by accident. Led by the marketing efforts of Salvi LoGrasso, Shanti Furtado and Jamison Wrinn, Local Mojo garnered hundreds of thousands of impressions across its social media pages leading up to the event, with daily posts ranging from music videos and skits to brand collaborations and event photography. The buzz from these posts helped Local Mojo sell out the venue before MojoFest even began and continued for the musicians after the event concluded.
“MojoFest really skyrocketed a lot of bands like Morrissey Boulevard and Autumn Drive,” said current Local Mojo president Claire Stevenson, who joined the club last September. “Being able to connect bands and DJs to organizations has been a really rewarding experience.”
The organization plans to reinvest the majority of the revenue from last year’s MojoFest into the 2026 festival next spring, according to Stevenson.
Created in 2021 by Charlie Blacker at UMass Amherst, the founders of Local Mojo sought to create a grassroots platform that championed the “local scene” above anything else. Starting in backyards and basements, it took the founders more than two years to move Local Mojo beyond UMass Amherst.
The organization was able to expand after a widely successful merchandise campaign, sponsorships from brands such as Suncruiser, ticket sales from local band performances and the original founders putting their own money into the company, according to Stevenson.
Today, with its headquarters based out of Blacker’s Boston apartment, the group has expanded beyond UMass to other universities across the United States such as Penn State, the University of Tampa, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of New Hampshire, the University of South Carolina and Northwestern University. However, according to Blacker, Local Mojo has no plans of slowing down.
“The hope is that we take over the world,” said Blacker, jokingly. “We want to become a huge network of local communities across the country.”
Looking long term, Local Mojo’s goal is to have a presence in all 50 states. After facing initial difficulties in Amherst breaking into the local music scene, Blacker hopes to use his experience to help new branches gain traction and smooth out early onboarding hardships.
The organization is viewed internally as a collective network, with different subdivisions helping each other book artists and plan events. Due to Local Mojo’s large online following, the company’s base and brand, according to Blacker, have been able to give various branches connections and opportunities with different venues throughout the United States. One day, Blacker hopes to turn the company into a full-time job for himself and all the people that have made Local Mojo possible.
“We’re all still working 9-to-5 jobs,” said Blacker when commenting on the founders still active in the organization. “Our apartment walls are filled with whiteboards of our goals, plans and agendas. It’s a never-ending grind to make all of this possible.”
This upcoming spring, in addition to festivals at UMass Amherst and Penn State, Local Mojo plans to host its biggest ever event in the heart of Boston. In accordance with Local Mojo’s founding vision, Blacker plans on centralizing this event around the local Boston scene.
“We are going to bring folks from the local music scene but on a larger scale,” said Blacker. “It’s going to be much bigger than anything we’ve done previously. We’re really excited about it.”
Presently undergoing talks with artists and venues, Blacker could not comment on any further specifics but plans to make an announcement with further details when it is possible.
Here in Amherst, Local Mojo UMass currently puts on three events per week, but is mindful not to overlap with other local band performances. Each Thursday, the group hosts “Presha” at Monkey Bar, where DJs affiliated with the organization can play sets and increase their exposure.
On Friday and Saturday, Local Mojo holds events at a variety of venues such as The Spoke, The Iron Horse in Northampton and The Drake, depending on the week. But Stevenson clarified that Local Mojo doesn’t require members to have musical experience.
“A lot of people see [Local Mojo] and think, I don’t sing, I don’t play an instrument, I don’t DJ,” said Stevenson. “I don’t do any of that either. It’s all about bringing ideas and having the passion to make things happen.”
The group meets on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in Herter Hall, with people of all backgrounds and experience levels welcome. More information about the meeting time and location can be found on their Instagram page, @localmojoumass.