Meet Katt Kassidy | Event coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katt Kassidy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katt, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I created a small Tucson party called CRYFEST EMO NIGHT where locals could listen to music and I even decided to incorporate art and dancing into the parties. These hybrid shows gained a lot of notoriety around town and we were even talked about on local radio stations! In the beginning this idea came to my partner and I as just a simple birthday party idea…and so many people showed up that we thought- what if we did it again. Each show grew in numbers and we caught the attention of a lot of club owners- including our main sponsor Forsythe Imaging of Phoenix AZ! After partnering up with Forsythe we launched a website and named ourselves DesertGoth Club: a collective bringing live music events, art shows, and pop up markets all over downtown Tucson! We merge music and art together to create an unforgettable experience for the community!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out a music fan attending as many music shows as possible as a teenager, I volunteered at local music venues every chance I could and started my first band at 19. From there I became a well known musician in Tucson fronting the bands: Hellfire Holiday, Comastasis, A lot Like Murder, and Broken Arcade to name a few. Since then, I studied music business in college and today I dabble in painting, collaging, screenprinting, photography, clothing design, any art I can get my hands on! My journey has not been easy by any means- when I knew I wanted to start event planning- I messages many of the local artists I looked up to and none of them wanted to help me. I was also left on read by every music and art venue in town. I emailed venues for a solid year repeatedly until someone gave me a chance. Corbett Brewery gave me my first booking as an unknown and the rest is history. I had a slew of bad shows and gigs that taught me very expensive lessions. These lessons actually helped mold me into the coordinator I am today! Now I have venues and bands asking ME to book with them…it’s been amazing and I’m so grateful. What everyone should takeaway from my story is that all it really takes to start a successful story is to have one idea. Everything starts with one idea. And success can literally happen for anyone.

My business partner Justin Sykes grew up drawing and creating comic strips, cartoons anything sci- Fi and horror, and even studied art in school. Justin’s biggest challenge up until recently was finding his specific niche since he loves doing so many different types of art. He has since found his calling a scifi, fantasy, horror illustrator. Justin helped develop CryFest Emo Night by designing flyers, merch, logos, art installations, photobooth designs, etc. He currently curates interactive art shows at various Tucson venues while helping DesertGoth Club off and on!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Eat: Mojo Cuban Kitchen and rum bar, Blue Willow restaurant & gift shop, Cup Cafe in Hotel Congress, Bison Witches on 4th Ave, No Anchovies, Obon, Guiling Chinese restaurant, La Cocina restaurant and cantina

Drinks: Portal inside Ermanos (on 4th Ave), Owls. club, Ches Lounge, The Shelter, Mr. Heads gallery, Elliot’s on Congress, Thunder Canyon Brewery.

Visit: &Gallery, Subspace, Hotel McCoy, Hotel Congress, Club Congress, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson Botanical Botanical Garden, The Mini Time Machine museum of miniatures, Degrazia gallery in the sun, La Cocina artisan market

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
James “Jim” Owens at Thunder Canyon Brewery- he gave us a lot of opportunities when we were gaining traction in town! He’s been a tremendous mentor and we still collaborate with him today!

Burk Forsythe of Forsythe Imaging- he’s been out main photographer and sponsor of DesertGoth Club since October and encouraged us to push the limit of what the company could become! We truly wouldn’t be where we are now if it weren’t for his encouragement and ideas!!

Website: desertgothclub.com

Instagram: instagram.com/cryfest.emo.night

Facebook: Facebook.com/Cryfestemonight

Other: Katt@desertgothclub.com

Image Credits
Dane Velasquez Burk Forsythe Justin Sykes