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Previous HomeMade Symposiums
The HomeMade Music Symposium is organized by The Artists and Writers Group in partnership with Hillsborough Community College-Ybor City Campus. Bay Area Artists and Musicians Organization (BAAMO) and Ybor City Development Corporation are also partners. Other sponsors include Creative Loafing, REAX Music and New World Brewery.
The partners and sponsors are dedicated to supporting the Tampa Bay area cultural community with events such as Homemade Music Symposium, Deep Carnivale: Celebration of Words and the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image.
2008
The headliner and highlight of the 2008 first annual Symposium was veteran Rosa Rio who delighted the audience with her stories about the stars of the 1930s radio era. Rosa's career began in the silent film era in spectacular movie palaces in New York and New Orleans. In the 1930s and 40s she was dubbed "Queen of the Soaps" having provided organ accompaniment for several classic radio shows including "The Shadow" and "The Bob and Ray Show" and worked with Hollywood ledgends including Lucille Ball, Orson Welles, and Art Carney. Rosa is 107 years young.
See the full list of presenters for the 2008 Symposium.
2009
A highlight of the 2009 HandMade Music Symposium was Tony Michaelides' presentation of stories and some never-before-seen pictures and videos from his experiences as a record promoter in the Manchester, UK, rock and roll scene. Tony has been in the music business for more than 30 years and has worked with artists ranging from David Bowie to U2, from The Pixies to The Stone Roses. He lived through the "24-Hour Party People" scene and his personal reflections on relationships with icons like Tony Wilson from Factory Records, Martin Hannett, Joy Division, and The Happy Mondays provided a unique perspective into the birth of Punk and Rave Culture.
See the full list of presenters for the 2008 Symposium.