OUR MISSION

The legend begins with our Executive Director, Nathan Royal, a budding young guitarist working out “Stairway to Heaven” in his Alaskan childhood home. For years, he explored the instrument alone until the day he discovered the local bluegrass scene. Suddenly he found himself in a circle of friends in the woods, picking tunes and sharing laughs. Thus began Nathan’s lifelong love of acoustic music and its connective power.

 

Hot House West was first formed as a student ensemble at the University of Utah, a humble collection of young musicians with a shared passion for the music of Django Reinhardt. This passion was permanently instilled in them from a singular moment—seeing Frank Vignola, a virtuoso of Reinhardt’s acoustic guitar style, perform in Salt Lake City as part of the former JazzSLC series. The series’ founder, Gordon Hanks, saw two young guitar students excited to see a master of their instrument perform before them. Hanks ushered these two students to the front row so they could absorb the music as fully as possible. In one instant, jazz offered the same love for acoustic guitar and friendship as the string bands of Alaska. This moment is what led those two guitarists, our very own Nathan Royal and James Martak, to form Hot House West the very next day.

 

In its start, the ensemble was just a band trying to navigate the ins and outs of the music industry: two newly graduated musicians on a path of discovery. Nathan and James traveled the world in pursuit of more knowledge. They studied in France and Belgium, the birthplace of Django’s signature style, and attended acoustic music festivals all across the United States and Europe. As they cut their teeth, the pair inevitably found themselves time and again circled in the woods, acoustic guitars in their hands, learning together.

 

Ever ambitious, they brought this knowledge home and grew the band. Personnel changed, arrangements evolved, gigs ramped up, contracts were written and revised, tours were scheduled, records were pressed, and after a decade of dedicated work, Hot House West was a successful local band.

 

Then the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country, and Hot House West was in limbo. As gigs were put on pause, the band was left to reflect on their journey. A singular gesture of kindness spawned a decades-long career. The impact of one decision was immeasurable. The question now was how could the band give back? How could Hot House West have more impact?

 

As the band thought about the ways in which they could have an impact of their own, a new voice joined the discussion. David Baker moved to Utah to start teaching at Utah Valley University and quickly joined the ranks of Hot House West as their new bassist. One summer day, Nathan and David went for a hike in the Wasatch and dreamed big:

What if we made the band bigger? Imagine how many more people we could interact with! We could build in mentorship opportunities and really establish a healthy culture around growth. Oh, and what if we really put attention on engaging the audience and helping them have fun? I think we could really start to build a scene that’s not only supporting acoustic music, but excited about it. That community love and support is what led us here in the first place! How do we capture the stoke of being here, on a mountaintop together, dreaming about how we can accomplish massive goals, and share it with our community? How do we revitalize the scene in the spirit of swing music and string bands? How do we make Salt Lake City the best place on planet Earth to experience acoustic music? 

 

The questions flowed and the answer was obvious: Hot House West needed to become a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. 

 

In order to really impact the community, it needed to be owned by the community. We started the Swing Orchestra the very same day. As we threw open the doors of collaboration there was an almost instantaneous spark — a newfound energy in the scene. People were hungry to connect, to play, to laugh, to dance, to groove, to practice, to perform, to give and to share. We rapidly discovered an increasing number of perspectives and opportunities. 

 

While the connective power of the Swing Orchestra was clear, it wasn’t enough. We needed to bring the energy we were finding there to every corner of the valley. We needed to embrace the acoustic string band experience of being circled in the woods and connecting through song. 

With the help of our friend Melissa Chilinski (one of our new found collaborators) we kicked off the Trash Moon Collective and the Swing Collective programs. Both of these programs are focused directly on community development and engagement. 

 

We are in the business of creating impactful experiences because we had a few and it spawned this whole journey. Where people take those? It’s up to them, but we believe in the power of moments. That’s why we create experiences of connectedness, learning and joy. May the stoke never die.