A clip from Dessa’s 416 Club Commission performance last January.

Did you know that it’s in The Cedar’s mission to support emerging artists? As a music venue that doubles as a nonprofit organization, we are in an unique position to do so. Some may be familiar with 416 Club, a program that started in 2007 as a curated, monthly event showcasing emerging local musicians and groups. In 2010, thanks to the Jerome Foundation, the 416 Club expanded to include collaborative commissions by local artists who haven’t before worked together. The artists were: Dessa, Holly Muñoz, Marc Anderson, Adam Levy, Jacquline Ultan, Aby Wolf, and Zack Kline. Commissioned pieces were showcased in the winter of 2011. The video is a clip from Dessa’s performance, which TPT covered all of on their show MN Original. Below, you can read an excerpt of Dessa’s reflection about the project:

The art comes first—period. But there are unavoidable financial considerations that can amount to significant distractions. Commissioned work, however, provides an artist a bit of a reprieve from the minding of her ledgerbook. The 416 Club Commission encouraged me to connect with artists with whom I might never have worked. And while writing my new material, the question at the forefront of my mind was How will this sound? as opposed to Can I afford this? Even a modest stipend can go a long way for artists who are accustomed to investing their own money, and uncompensated time during the songwriting process.

The Cedar is now accepting applications for Round II of the 416 Club Commissions. Interested artists should send three audio samples, a brief resume, and a one page version of the project description, no later than March 15, 2012, to sdahlen@thecedar.org. More information is available here.