Denver’s Youth on Record has helped thousands of teens in the metro area since 2008. Founded by musicians and community organizers Flobots, the organization equips young people from underserved communities with life skills, taking a music-based approach.
On June 8, the group hosted its 10th annual block party at its headquarters in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Food trucks and vendors—including Denver Botanic Gardens and Meow Wolf—lined 10th Avenue and Navajo Street. The main event was the performance of more than 20 artists on the main stage outside of Youth on Record’s building. The performances ranged in genre from rap and R&B to rock and pop.
Despite the rain, crowds still enthusiastically watched performances, and a mosh pit formed. Children drew with chalk on the sidewalk as parents played with hula hoops. Inside the building, attendees could decorate their own vinyl records.
This was the second block party for rapper Xavier Gauthier, who goes by the stage name Qi. He performed with the Youth on Record house band in their first performance this year.
“This year, the energy was a little bit different. It felt like the audience and the environment and everybody that was there in community was a lot more engaged with the content, and with the art,” Gauthier said. “It just seemed like the sets, in general, went really well. Everybody had really good music that they showcased here.”
Gauthier got involved with Youth on Record through a podcasting internship.
“I ended up enjoying the internship so much, and getting involved with the rest of the programming and meeting the rest of the team. I ended up liking the environment so much that I continue to stay around, continuing to try and get as many opportunities as I can.”
Youth on Record offers a variety of programs to develop the skills necessary to work in the music industry. In addition to performing at the block party, program participants take part in professional development, live music engineering, emceeing, content creation and logistics. Young creatives learn from local musicians and show off the skills they’ve learned in music production, song recording and artist development. It also partners with Denver and Aurora schools and offers internships, fellowships and volunteer opportunities for those who’ve completed their formal education. There are various community partners, including the Underground Music Showcase which occurs the last weekend in July.
After finishing his internship, Gauthier continued to work with Youth on Record as an associate podcast producer for Youth on Record’s Underground at the Showcase and Generation Collaboration. This led him to join the fellowship program. Through Youth on Record, Gauthier is able to develop his artistry and create a community with other artists.
“I think it’s really easy to get caught in the individualism of oh, I need to focus on me as an artist. But I think it’s also great to be able to share your art with an entire group and community and like environmental people, and know that it’s not going to be received with any hate.”
Mona Magno, the organization’s youth success manager, believes an “extra layer of power” exists when teaching students how to play an instrument.
“We do try to go above and beyond just giving someone a guitar, and really helping them figure out what they want to say with that guitar,” Magno said.
According to Visibility Manager Haley Witt, Youth on Record aims to empower the next generation of creatives.
“[The community is] signaling young people’s voices and ideas and emotions are valuable to us,” says Witt. “Artmaking is an expression that allows for, like a deeper sensibility of self-knowledge and connection.”
Witt added that when the organization creates its programs, it asks, “Who’s not here? Who’s not at the table? Or how do we make space? Where can we have an invitation that’s really comfortable for a diverse representation of, like, young people?”
One of the reasons Magno got involved with Youth on Record was due to a former program the organization offered called FEMPowered, which created a space for women and non-binary people.
“I saw that as like, ‘Oh, they’re opening up a space that says, you belong here.’”
Magno called the experience “beautiful” and said it gave them “permission” to be in the space and offer more young women, transgender people and nonbinary people the same opportunities.
“We also have this really beautiful bridge of helping foster their sense of community with the greater music industry,” she says.”
Moses Graytower also performed at the block party and became involved through a couple of monthly open mics. It then led him to an internship and performance opportunities at Youth on Record events like the block party.
“I felt really encouraged and positive about my experience.”
Graytower reflected on his experiences performing at Youth on Record events, “I can go talk about my experiences being a reformed little street boy, doing things I shouldn’t have been doing, and someone can go up there and play Riptide on the ukulele and get the same amount of love.”
He has some encouraging words for those who might be interested in Youth on Record’s programs.
“Just show up. It’s about as cool as a place you can get. I’ve seen people of all varieties and all kinds of music, all kinds of creativity.”
