{"id":9074,"date":"2026-07-31T11:19:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/move-forward-musics-al-damashek-on-artist-discovery-and-the-new-sounds-that-move-festival\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:19:41","slug":"move-forward-musics-al-damashek-on-artist-discovery-and-the-new-sounds-that-move-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/move-forward-musics-al-damashek-on-artist-discovery-and-the-new-sounds-that-move-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Move Forward Music\u2019s Al Damashek on Artist Discovery and the New Sounds That Move Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Al Damashek, founder of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moveforwardmusic.com\">Move Forward Music<\/a><\/strong> and a former booker at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sobs.com\">SOB\u2019s<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.websterhall.com\">Webster Hall<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong>Baby\u2019s All Right<\/strong>, has spent nearly two decades placing early bets on artists who later defined their eras. His latest venture, the independent culture festival <strong>Sounds That Move<\/strong>, launched in 2026, transforms a single block of Brooklyn\u2019s Scott Avenue into a multi-venue experience built around music discovery and community.<\/p>\n<h2>Early Career at SOB\u2019s<\/h2>\n<p>Damashek began his career in 2007 as Director of Marketing at SOB\u2019s, the storied downtown Manhattan venue. He founded Move Forward Music out of that office in 2008 with a mission to spotlight progressive artists and create spaces where diverse audiences could connect through music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much culture runs through that space that it\u2019s hard not to get inspired working in that environment,\u201d Damashek said. He credited owner Larry Gold for giving young professionals opportunities. Within months of starting, Damashek found himself on the phone with Gil Scott-Heron and booking pop-up shows by Kanye West, while also learning about Fela Kuti and presenting his son Seun Kuti in concert. \u201cI caught the <a href=\"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/impalas-helen-smith-on-us-antitrust-moves-in-live-music-film\/\">live music<\/a> bug and there was no turning back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2>Building House Party NYC at Webster Hall<\/h2>\n<p>In 2014, Webster Hall tapped Damashek to revamp its Thursday club night. The resulting weekly event, House Party NYC, became the city\u2019s largest hip-hop party and a proving ground for emerging stars. Over a two-year run, the night hosted early NYC performances by <strong>Travis Scott<\/strong>, <strong>Playboi Carti<\/strong>, <strong>Lil Uzi Vert<\/strong>, <strong>Rae Sremmurd<\/strong>, <strong>Bobby Shmurda<\/strong>, and <strong>Tinashe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Damashek earned a reputation as the first to book many hip-hop acts in New York. Move Forward Music subsequently developed scenes at Baby\u2019s All Right, <strong>Market Hotel<\/strong>, <strong>SILO<\/strong>, and other rooms, continuing to identify talent early. Artists including <strong>Kendrick Lamar<\/strong>, <strong>Doja Cat<\/strong>, <strong>Ravyn Lenae<\/strong>, <strong>Tems<\/strong>, and <strong>Shaboozey<\/strong> performed on stages the company represented. \u201cWe never gave up the mission,\u201d Damashek said.<\/p>\n<h2>A Formula for Spotting Talent<\/h2>\n<p>When evaluating young artists, Damashek looks for signs that audiences are coalescing around a sound, energy, or identity. He combines data analytics such as streams, likes, and follows with insights from a curated network of trusted managers, agents, and tastemakers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always had a rule of three: when I hear about an artist from three distinct sources, I know there is something happening, and then I let my ears do the rest of the work,\u201d he explained. He does not see his role as coaxing an artist through a growth moment. Instead, he focuses on creating the best possible live environment, especially for a debut New York City show. That means selecting the right room, ensuring fans know about the show and can access tickets, booking appropriate local openers, assembling a production crew for pristine sound, and making the concert experience seamless from arrival to exit. \u201cI\u2019m always going to make it feel like New York, put you in the right neighborhood, with the right people in the room, and the right food backstage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2>Pandemic Pivot and Festival Launch<\/h2>\n<p>In 2020, Move Forward Music partnered with <strong>Twitch<\/strong> to launch a live music streaming channel and continued paying artists for virtual performances throughout the pandemic. Six years later, the company introduced Sounds That Move, an independent culture festival that takes over five venues on a single block in Brooklyn, turning Scott Avenue into an immersive experience centered on discovery and community.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on the power of live performance, Damashek said, \u201cThe way it brings people together. You can be in a packed concert and there would never\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran New York City booker and promoter Al Damashek discusses his career championing emerging artists and the launch of the multi-venue Sounds That Move festival in Brooklyn.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[515],"tags":[3175,1081,1375,359,3174,2145],"class_list":["post-9074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tech-innovation","tag-al-damashek","tag-artist-discovery","tag-festival","tag-live-music","tag-move-forward-music","tag-new-york-city","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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