Barn Radio is one of the only Black-owned electronic music venues in the United States dedicated to the underground.
Since 2023, we've hosted 130+ events with 300+ artists from over 30 countries, and tens of thousands of people have come through our doors.
I'm Cole (aka e.n.e.r.g.y.a.n.g.e.l). I run Barn with tremendous support from our co-director Jasmine.
Music venues, clubs, bars, cafes, restaurants and small businesses continue to close left and right, globally. We started doing this at a wild time, but our story couldn’t happen in any other way.
Behind the scenes, we are 2 people. Cole and Jasmine. Cole runs the business, curates the events, designs the fliers, controls the sound & lighting, works with artists, DJs early and late, stocks the bar/supplies, and cleans.
Jasmine runs the door, manages the bar, organizes everything, applies years of club research and experience to real-world scenarios, streamlines space operations, and also cleans. We both work jobs. Jasmine is a student.
Our bar runs off a cooler and ice. Our storefront glass is cracked. Half of our speakers and lights are blown. DIY project attempts sit unfinished during events. Zero acoustic treatment. Ikea DJ booth. And more.
Despite that, the world’s best electronic artists still visit us to play via places like UK, South Africa, NYC, France, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Chicago, Colombia, Spain, & Jordan.
Running a DIY space is charming at times—but we want to be better. We have to survive. We started from scratch running a venue with no outside funding. And we’re ready to do it for 10 more years.
Our problem is we have no emergency fund. We don’t have access to financial capital to build our core infrastructure. This is necessary to our survival, our sustainability, and our capacity to design & innovate.
Here's what $50K does:
$5K — Short-Term Survival
Emergency fund (partial), security system and locks, point-of-sale system, printer
$10K — Basic Operations
Bar refrigeration, seating and tables, drink ledges, painting, lighting
$15K — Sound + Bar
Soundsystem upgrades (partial), DJ booth, bar equipment, ice machine
$20K — Facilities
Accessibility upgrades, acoustic treatment, electrical and cabling, floor upgrades, bathroom upgrades, storage
$25K — Artist Experience
Fair artist pay (guarantee fund launch), green room, projector/visuals, photographer/videographer
$30K — Stability + Legal
Emergency fund (full), insurance, legal (contracts, LLC), financial advisor
$35K — Programs Launch
Promoter incubator, sober programming, all-ages programming, daytime programming, artist residency, lounge and chill zone
$40K — Broadcast
Launch the radio, performance rights licenses (ASCAP, BMI, SoundExchange), soundsystem upgrades (full)
$45K — Expand Our Offerings
Music studio buildout, studio rental for artists, artist residency (full funding)
$50K — Full Buildout
Contingency fund / safety net, community programming fund, disco ball
Every single dollar goes back into the space, the artists, the experience, and our global community.
Help us become sustainable, build real infrastructure, and be a positive model to music venues and artists everywhere.
Share with someone who cares. Please invest in us if you can. If you've ever visited our room or supported in any way at all, thank you!