The Genesis

The concept for the Underground Music Academy is one that had been bubbling in the minds of the team of community leaders in the North End of Detroit for years.

Borne from their shared experiences informally mentoring up-and-coming Detroit artists, as well as touring the world as professional musicians and multidisciplinary visionaries, the team saw the potential of creating something local in Detroit that could connect to their global community. The idea became reality in 2015, when the organization acquired a historic building that once served as the headquarters for the NAACP in Detroit’s North End. 

The Present

Like nearly everyone else, our 2020 didn’t quite go as planned. With staff safety our top priority, and global supply chain breakdowns resulting in unpredictable materials shortages, our construction schedule faced delays and work stoppages. We’ve shifted to an agile approach to minimize further delays as the world slowly returns to some version of normal, with plans to open the doors to our physical space in 2023.

As our construction team works to finish building, we’re also making progress elsewhere: everything from research and refinement of curriculum via focus groups to setting up the infrastructure to hit the ground running when we open our digital and physical doors.
 

The Future

The Underground Music Academy mission to build the future leaders of electronic music through education and mentorship remains, but we’re thinking bigger. Our dream is to create a more inclusive global dance music community that’s more aware of its roots. We will start online, reaching students from around the world, until it's safe to offer a best-in-class educational experience in-person in Detroit.