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The Secret Garden will be 'Not So Secret' at AMP's upcoming music and art show

AMP is bringing local music and art for a day of fun at the Secret Garden on April 14

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Jean Pierre Narvaez performs with Inter Wave during Secretfest at the ASU Secret Garden in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018.


The ASU Art, Music, and Poetry club is bringing the underground Tempe music and art scene to ASU once again in the upcoming Not So Secret Fest on April 14. 

The Not So Secret Fest will be a smaller sequel to the Secret Fest that AMP held in January. Local bands such as Poison Ivy Peach Trees, James Band and BIG PROBLEM will perform.

The festival will also feature the work of 19 local visual artists, most of which are ASU students. Ricky Arnold, a business entrepreneurship senior and treasurer for AMP said that while music will be what draws the crowd in, this event will put a premium on the pieces from those 19 artists.

“We’re supposed to have more artists this time, with a smaller focus on music,” Arnold said. 

AMP, new to ASU this semester, focuses on utilizing the resources ASU provides for clubs, specifically funding from Undergraduate Student Government, to support the Tempe art and music scene. AMP is a revitalized version of The Underground Foundation, a now-defunct club that Arnold said was not taking advantage of ASU resources well enough. 

“A lot of what they were doing was just stuff that any group of people could be doing in Phoenix,” Arnold said “They weren’t doing anything with ASU's resources.” 

Now that the club is obtaining more funding from USG, and starting to set more goals, the shows and events it puts on are larger and better organized.

“(USG) is starting to pay our performers, they will rent out our audio equipment,” Arnold said. “It’s really nice to have that option.” 

Nick Rennemann, a graphic design junior and club vice-president, said the support from USG helps not only members of AMP, but also the broader music scene in Tempe as it provides an accessible platform for artists to experiment with their work.

“It’s a good training ground,” Rennemann said. “You can perform for the first time in a very low-stakes environment.” 

Michael Madrid, vocalist in James Band, said the local music scene in Tempe needs more avenues for up-and-coming bands to get their foot in the door. Clubs like AMP are what gives those smaller bands a chance, he said.

“There needs to be more opportunities for these bands to get out there and have their stuff be heard,” Madrid said. “When I look at what AMP is doing, I think they're absolutely taking steps in the right direction.” 

AMP is pushing to create more events like the Not So Secret Fest in the future, and Arnold said he wants to make the upcoming shows more creative and distinctive. The club is planning on holding more events in the Secret Garden in the fall. 

The club is looking to expand its membership and intends to advertise itself more in the future. Arnold said he wants the club to move away from the typical leadership structure and instead have everyone in the club actively participating as one. 

“What I’d like is for more students to get involved, and me not have to run it,” Arnold said. “I don’t like the idea of club officers being in charge of things, I think everyone involved should be contributing.” 

Rennemann said AMP will continue to welcome onlookers into the Tempe music scene and give aspiring artists a chance to showcase their work. 

“We are providing an outlet for people to express their art in whatever way they make it,” Rennemann said. 


Reach the reporter at mmbarbe3@asu.edu and follow @meganbarbera_ on Twitter. 

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