When Isaiah Wilson and Riley McShane attended a “regular Tuesday open mic” at Caffe Frascati in Downtown San Jose in 2017, the two friends had no idea their conversation at the event would spark the creation of San Jose Come Up, a Bay Area music collective.
During the open mic, Wilson and McShane discussed the possibility of creating a singular show for local artists based in San Jose. Leopoldo Macaya, a local photographer and current creative director of SJ Come Up or The Come Up, overheard their conversation and joined the initiative.
Wilson, McShane and Macaya co-founded The Come Up with the goal of creating events for local young artists to showcase their talent.
McShane said the group developed “randomly and organically” after pitching their idea at a 2017 event called “Pitch Please” hosted by Local Color, a public agency in Downtown San Jose.
The focal point of the contest was to pitch creative art ideas and included a $1,000 grant incentive. The Come Up won and the grant allowed for it to brainstorm its first show, which took place in February 2018.
McShane said the group initially had no intention of organizing more than one show, but the performers’ and attendees’ responses to it’s first event motivated them to pursue more.
“We simultaneously loved what we saw in terms of the community around the arts and how passionate and talented people were,” McShane said in a phone interview.
He said the group recognized a lack of resources for performers, specifically in the scarcity of spaces that enticed engagement for young up-and-coming artists.
Local musician Julia Bozzo said she had her first-ever live performance with The Come Up in October 2019.
“It was exciting for me and I’m really grateful to them because they included me in that,” Bozzo said in a phone interview.
Bozzo said she was 18 years old at the time and extremely nervous, but the performance helped her gain more exposure.
She was also able to perform more confidently in her second performance at the San Jose Museum of Art during a livestreamed event by The Come Up on Jan. 28. The event was livestreamed to adhere to coronavirus guidelines.
“I love The Come Up because they are so truly about San Jose and supporting the people that come from all walks of life,” Bozzo said.
The Come up has hosted over 60 live acts spanning over eight different venues, with over $4,000 of compensation distributed to their performers.
Esha K, a local rock ‘n’ roll singer and songwriter who prefers to be referred to by her stage name, echoed Bozzo’s sentiment about The Come Up’s encouraging ambiance.
Esha K said she was grateful the group gave her the opportunity to perform her passion and meet a multitude of other artists.
“If I were to sum up The Come Up, it would be a group that is keen on putting together creative experiences for the youth of San Jose and giving us all the safe space to go and enjoy ourselves,” Esha K said.
McShane said the community building aspect wasn’t part of the group’s basic pitch at the time of the 2017 contest, but it happened naturally.
“We wanted to have an aspect of it involving holding space for creative people in the Bay to meet each other and exchange ideas,” McShane said. “That part we didn't necessarily plan ultimately, that started to happen organically just by nature of who was coming to the events and the casual and fun nature of the shows.”
The Come Up is in the works of planning a virtual event this summer, McShane said it's Leopoldo Macaya to “pay forward the kind of support we [San Jose Come Up] got when we got our start.”
