A Look Back at Tezos and Music at NFT.NYC

NFT.NYC was a whirlwind five days for the DNS team, and it was inspiring to meet with artists, partners, and potential collaborators in the Tezos family and broader Web3 community. From Tuesday to Saturday, we showcased Tezos musicians throughout the week, premiered our upcoming launch of DNS - Season Zero (more on this later), and then held the closing panel at the Tezos NFT Summit. The energy from those we connected with kept us going day after day.

Also, real quick, what's a conference without some swag? Of course we did swag! We were pretty happy to be asked by the silk screeners what kind of music our band plays. 😆

While NFT.NYC can have the rep of chill and shill at expensive parties, our experience was a lot more defined by the people we met who made every moment count. It reaffirmed our belief and excitement that this community is powered by ingenuity, resourcefulness, and authenticity. It really underscores that the power of Tezos and Web3 comes from the people.

Day 1: Tez Art Connect

A Community Showcase

Our first event of the week was organized by Victoria West at @TheNFTGallery4 on Clinton Street (with funding support from @TezosCommons). It was an exhibition of art and music from the whole Tezos community selected by over a dozen curators. We curated the music and it was a joy to share it in person.

Tez Art Connect was a smashing success by Victoria and everyone who pitched in to make this come together so quickly. We look forward to seeing future events she organizes.

Day 2: Tezos NFT Summit & Speakers Reception

Our second day and first day of the Tezos NFT Summit was one of our busiest and most productive. We were in charge of curating music played throughout the Tezos NFT Summit organized by the Tezos Foundation. Events would be running all afternoon, and the Speakers Reception later that evening.

That morning we found a way to upgrade our teaser video premiere to a full wall projection (the video will drop online very soon). After running all over the New York City to get a short throw projector and then set it up, we were able to meet with the other Tezos NFT Summit speakers and VIPs. We had a few interesting conversations. 🤫 Having a giant wall showcasing the upcoming updates, DNS - Season Zero, certainly helps!

Day 3: Tezos NFT Summit Day 2

DNS.xyz Hosts the Closing Panel

Day 3 was the most important one for us. Co-founders, Shoku and Chris closed the Tezos NFT Summit with a grand finale panel discussion, "Beyond Spotify: How Music NFTs are Changing the Industry." The spontaneous discussion itself went great. We explored many of the concepts and views behind DNS.xyz, how NFTs empower artists (and soon, curators) to connect deeply with their audiences and experiment in ways current platforms hinder. It was gratifying to be able to speak immediately afterwards with the other attendees. It turns out many of them had only planned to stay for the previous panel, but decided to stick around for our panel after listening to our perspectives.

If you want to hear the discussion for yourself, our friends at Tezos Commons recorded both days of the Tezos summit. You can view right here. ⤵️

You can also use the direct link to the recorded broadcast here.

DNS.xyz at Underground NFT Raves

Later that evening we found ourselves at an underground rave featuring @JadynViolet and @thegxuniverse. It was an intimate, high energy space, filled with people vibing to music and the accompanying art. This scene stood out to us from many of the other late night events we did during the week because it was all DIY and purely focused on the people - the artists, the musicians, and the partiers.

We'd like to thank Jadyn and Gx for being great hosts and welcoming us with open arms. Taking it all in inspired us to reflect on ways to build DNS.xyz to support the ways everyone their wanted to experience these moments and how they share them with each other.

Day 4:  Some Leisure, Some Low

Our last full day in New York City was a bit more downtempo than the rest of the week. Most of us were running on few hours of sleep and vibes. We did a little sightseeing, a team sushi dinner, and met up with LowSleazy in Brooklyn, for his concert.

Low had a great performance, serving as the grand finale for the team's trip to NYC. The atmosphere was a 10/10, which had a great seating area just outside on the sidewalk where everyone was hanging out. It was a good day.

Wrapping Up

We felt it was a successful outing and the overwhelmingly positive feedback has given us a boost right as we're prepping the upcoming launch. It's like Red Bull wings but better.

A few shout-outs (in chronological order)

Alex, Victoria West, Aaron Vick, Andressa Furletti, Laurence Fuller, Jenni Pasanen, Yoeshi, Papa Bearded, Boxio3, Dolce Paganne, Arthur B, Daniel Hines, Rob, Michael Wilson, Ozzie, Waiting to Be Signed Podcast, Brian, Low Sleazy, Natalie Crue, Pilar Cote, Gx, Jadyn Violet