The Sound of Connection: Our Friends and the Power of Community-Driven Live Shows
Written by Madeleine Brady
Photography by Madeleine Brady
Special thank you to Our Friends!
In a small, one-story house on Grand Street in Springfield, a group of musicians and artists came together to create a space for jazz and R&B. Samuel Wise and Apollo Harris, both juniors at Missouri State, formed Our Friends Media in an effort to bring together their community of music lovers and jazz enthusiasts.
“Our Friends” began their journey by hosting what they call “Soul Sessions,” one to two hour-long live performances consisting of Wise and Harris on vocals and a revolving door of band members on piano, saxophone, bass, drums, and guitar. The first Soul Session was held in August in a small college house and had over 60 attendees. Their biggest show to date was held on Halloween at J.O.B. Public House, and was at max capacity the entire night with over 200 people coming and going throughout the evening. Our Friends aims to foster connection through their shows and emphasizes this by encouraging their audience to talk to three people they don’t know during intermissions. This gives the audience members permission to meet other people, something that seems to grow harder and harder to do as a young adult.
Alongside themed shows and sets, Our Friends has a lookbook for each show that they host. These themes range from earthy, sustainable outfits that accompany a more grounded setlist, to old school, retro inspired outfits to go with a 1970s R&B-themed setlist.
“Our mission is community, and our movement is freedom, and we accomplish that by mixing a lot of different genres of music into our sets,” said Harris. “I was honestly really inspired by Chappell Roan’s lookbooks for her concerts, like ‘Midwest Princess’ and ‘My Kink is Karma’ and how it wasn’t just for her but for her community as well.” Harris continued, “Music and fashion are the ways that I can be myself unapologetically.”
Wise agreed, saying “fashion is a really great group hobby, like going thrifting with friends (and) buying clothing for people.”
It is reminiscent of that oddly touching moment when your friend holds up an awesome find at the store and goes, “Oh, this is perfect for you!” It forces us to think about our friends on a deeper level of style because at the end of the day, fashion is such a large part of how we express ourselves to the world. Similarly, we have seen a massive rise in the trend of DIYing outfits for concerts to be on theme for Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift, for example.
“That’s everything, to have people not only create things for the experience but for themselves and for the collective community,” said Harris.
Wise and Harris are both a part of the BFA Musical Theatre program at Missouri State, and have very firm roots in music theory and live performance. They both spoke about feeling a sense of longing for the jazz, blues, and R&B scenes that many bigger cities in the U.S. have.
One of the largest epidemics among young artists in small towns is the idea of “making it out” and having to wait until they leave to make the art that they really want to make. Our Friends challenges that idea and begs the questions, “Why not here? Why not now?” By creating a space for a live music scene that many Soul Session attendees didn’t realize they needed, Our Friends has shown all Springfield artists that you don’t have to wait for a bigger space to make art and build community, and that it can truly be curated anywhere and by anyone, including on tour.
Wise and Harris are currently writing original works under their collective group. In the long term, they are focused on growing their community and creating a space for all creatives, from musicians to photographers to fashion designers and stylists.
“If I could tour with these people, that would be everything to me; it would be a dream come true,” Harris said. “We are going to continue to create an environment where you are forced to nourish yourself and love what you do because that’s what we do.”
Our Friends has their next Soul Session coming up in early December, which will be Y2K Christmas-themed and feature many holiday classics alongside their normal jazz set. You can find their lookbooks and live show updates on their Instagram, @ourfriendsinsta.