Roll up! Roll up! To the concert and sell your stuff. Neon Hitch just finished her Yard Sale Tour to celebrate her freshly reclaimed freedom and the release of her much anticipated debut album, Eleutheromanic. Not only is “Yard Sale” her latest single, each tour stop had actual yard sales.
“I like the concept of a yard sale at shows because it creates an interactive element whereas most shows you see the artist on stage and that’s it,” Neon said in an email. “A yard sale with my fans is a great way to get together and for everyone to exchange something they no longer want in return for something new they want to bring into their life.”
On one hand, coordinating yard sales across America sounds like a logistical nightmare, but Neon said it was simple.
“It’s just like a merch table,” she said. “Instead of having someone else totally take care of the table, I come out and do my thing.” She likes coming out after a show and meeting people.
The events also raise awareness for the LGBT community and youth homeless initiatives. The LGBT community especially has been very supportive of Neon and her work.
“I think it’s because we all strive for the same thing—equality and freedom!” she says.
If Neon Hitch sounds familiar, it’s because she’s been around for a while. She was quickly signed to Warner Brothers after being discovered on Myspace. She was the featured vocalist on Gym Class Heroes’ song “Ass Back Home” and had two number one singles, “Love You Betta” and “Gold”, co-written by Bruno Mars. Neon had the dream and the dream turned into a nightmare: her debut album kept getting pushed back and not released.
She released a free download of her EP, Happy Neon, a collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer Happy Perez. Fans and press devoured it and wanted more. In January 2014, when her album still wasn’t released, she released an audio movie collaboration with Grammy-nominated production duo, Kinetics & One Love, called 301 to Paradise. She split from Warner Brothers, leaving the songs she wrote for the album.
She’s now independently releasing her work on the first ever fan based label, #WeRNeon. Fans are her A&R, art department, and marketing force. You sign up on her website and get involved at many different levels.
“I believe in a different kind of currency, the currency of exchange for passion,” she explains. “I call the currency ‘Neons’. They’re earned by doing street team work, artwork, ideas. Anything you have to bring to the table really, we are in this together.”
And they are. Many entrepreneurs throw around the term “tribe” for their audience. Neon’s fans can be described as a tribe, a connected community united by values and drives.
“The experience is empowering the fans as they empower me,” she said. “Getting them involved has been extremely productive and a fun process.”
With all that’s going on, this is a great movement for the new year.
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