DIY Kingston is a music promo resource based in the Hudson Valley, NY. I help spread the word about upcoming shows and music releases in the area, as well as make connections between bands and venues.
Origins
I started DIY Kingston back in 2021 when shows started popping up again after the pandemic. Even before COVID, I noticed disorganization in the music scene in Kingston ever since I moved here in 2019 after grad school. I never knew when shows were happening, so I wanted to create a place where people could go in order to see what’s going on in and around Kingston. Much of my inspiration to create the account came from @diynewpaltz, an Instagram account that posted about shows happening in New Paltz. While that account specifically highlighted events in the college town for the audience of mostly students, I wanted to create something that spreads awareness across the greater region of the Hudson Valley for a wider audience of all ages and walks of life.
My name is James Kwapisz. I currently play rhythm guitar and sing back-up vocals in the indie-psych rock band A Whole Nother, was formerly the frontman of Grampfather from 2013 to 2024, and I make solo music here and there. I had gotten into a habit of making spreadsheets of contact info for bands and venues for my own booking purposes, so I figured, “Why not make this public for everyone to utilize?” While the music industry can seem competitive, I think that helping out likeminded people who are in a similar pursuit as you can strengthen community significantly. That’s what the DIY ethos is all about—the reciprocal backscratching and continual snowballing of networking.
Where We’re At Now
The most useful resources that I’ve put together are the Venues Directory and the Bands Directory. Bands/artists can reach out to venues using the former in order to get a hold on a date, and then use the latter to find local support in that town/city to help increase draw, or vice versa. Also, a few months ago I created an Open Mics Directory to help musicians find mics per day of the week.
A lot of people message me thinking that I’m a booking agent, but really I just help bands help themselves by pointing them in the right direction and providing useful information. To be honest, I’m spread too thin between booking for my own band and working full time to take on more booking work. To address this frequently asked question, I’ve recently partnered with my friend Ant Nicolosi, who runs Red Eye Booking and Promotion (@redeyebookingny). Any booking inquiries that I receive I send over to him. He’s been doing a great job so far, so be sure to hit him up if you’re looking for assistance with booking.
Speaking of recent developments, I’ve created an Upcoming HV Show Submission Form, where bands can input their show info and flyers, as well as monthly show calendars. Once a show has been submitted, I’ll add the date, venue, town/city, band(s), genre(s), and ticket link (if applicable) to the respective month’s calendar. In addition, I’ll post the show flyer on the Instagram account to further increase awareness about the event.
Looking Forward
I’m always thinking about new ways to help my band grow and move forward, and I’ll continue to share whatever I think could be useful to other bands/artists. For instance, I’ve been thinking of creating directories for music review sites/magazines and radio stations that accept music submissions. I also plan on putting my writing degrees to work and doing music reviews and interviews on local bands’ album releases. If that’s something that interests you, please reach out!
While it feels rewarding to provide this charitable service for the Hudson Valley music community, it can be very time consuming. One of the reasons why I’ve decided to create this website is to get more financial support and incentive to continue doing the work in more creative and in-depth ways. I’d much rather be doing this type of work as my main occupation than my day job. So, if you’re down with what I’m doing and the general mission of DIY Kingston, please consider donating. Your support is much appreciated and will help this project continue to grow.
Thanks!
-James
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