(EDITOR’S NOTES — A new platform is under development aiming to make booking gigs easier for both artists and venues in Buffalo. Named ‘SESH Live,’ the system is the brainchild of founders Clarke Hogenkamp and Alex Trolli. The couple’s aim is to reduce the stress and complications for both artists and venues when it comes to organizing shows. Alex, an entrepreneur, and Clarke, drummer for the Buffalo band The Midnight Feature and a lifelong musician who knows firsthand the challenges that come with booking shows, are inviting artists to share their insights and needs in this survey HERE. Venues, meanwhile, are invited to provide their input HERE. Alex and Clarke were kind enough recently to discuss SESH Live with 1120 Press. We thank them for their time. Read our interview below. — Photos provided.)
1120 PRESS: Thanks so much for speaking with us! Let’s dive right into it: Tell us about this service you are starting. It sounds very intriguing.
ALEX & CLARKE: We’re so excited about SESH Live. It’s a platform designed to make booking gigs easier for both artists and venues because, let’s be real, the process right now can feel like a total nightmare.
For artists, it’s about finding the right venues without chasing down responses. For venues, it’s about connecting with reliable talent without endless back-and-forths. We are even taking SESH Live a step further by allowing artists to connect with each other.
Whether you’re looking to join a project, fill in for a show, or just jam with other musicians, SESH Live is being built to make these things easy. We want people to spend more time doing what they love — playing music and hosting amazing shows — and less time dealing with frustrating details. This is something the industry desperately needs, and we’re thrilled to be launching it here in Buffalo!
1120: Can you talk about the genesis of this idea? What was it that pushed you to decide this was needed?
A&C: SESH Live actually started with Clarke wanting to turn our basement into a recording studio. While he was researching existing studios in Buffalo, he realized that so many of them were nearly impossible to find online. The original idea was to create a platform where artists could easily find and book studio time.
Clarke’s band, The Midnight Feature, would often struggle with the logistics of gigging.
Many of their shows would often change dates or locations. Other times, bands would drop out entirely [at the last minute], and it was nearly impossible to find bands to replace them. While observing this, Alex kept thinking: “There must be a better way to do this.” That was really the push we needed to pivot from studio to live.
But this isn't just Clarke’s band dealing with this—it’s a common issue for artists and venues. The whole process is outdated, time-consuming, and stressful. So, we decided to take on a huge challenge: connecting artists and venues in a way that’s simple, reliable, and organized.
1120: So, in the surveys — (the links for which are provided above in the Editor’s Note) — what kind of feedback are you looking to receive?
A&C: We’re looking for real, honest feedback from both artists and venues about what’s not working in the booking process. For artists, we want to know what makes finding gigs frustrating — whether it’s struggling to get responses, dealing with last-minute cancellations, keeping everything organized, or something else. For venues, we want to know what makes finding and booking reliable talent a challenge.
We also want to hear everyone’s unique struggles. These stories will help us design features that solve their specific problems. Our goal is to learn what tools and solutions will make live music more engaging for everyone: artists, businesses, and everyone in between! We have our own vision, but your feedback is essential to making this awesome.
1120: What are your next steps from here?
A&C: Right now, we are in the early stages of the process, but we’ve already started working with developers to bring SESH Live to the public. We are using the feedback we receive from artists and venues to build the foundation of the platform.
This is an important time for input. Once we really dive into building this, we want to prioritize the most common issues. We’ll always be open to criticism, but receiving it now is critical to making SESH Live as effective and useful as possible.
From here, we’ll keep refining the platform and work toward launching a beta version. Once it’s ready, we’ll test it with real users — starting in Buffalo, then branching out. If we have success locally, we will be looking to bring SESH Live to other cities so that musicians anywhere can reap the benefits it has to offer.
1120: Anything else you want to add that we haven’t touched on?
A&C: The biggest thing we want people to know is that SESH Live is being built for artists and venues, but more importantly, it’s being built WITH them. This idea was shaped from real experiences.
This is a community-driven project, and public opinions are shaping everything. Whether you’re an artist who loves performing live, or a venue trying to fill your calendar, we want to hear from you — what’s working, what’s not, and what you wish existed to make things easier.
If SESH Live can enhance the live music scene here in Buffalo, we know it has the potential to work anywhere. We’re excited about this, but we can’t do it without the input and support of the people we are creating it for. We want to thank everyone for being on this journey with us — we can’t wait to show you what’s next!