Husband and wife duo Sara and Marc McMillan, aka DJ Saranade and Heady Hooligan, have recently launched a music management and booking company, McMission Presents LLC. This company looks to create community-oriented events and shows while giving a platform to local artists, primarily in the realm of electronic music and sound mixing. 

“Marc and I have been booking shows in the Valley with just friends for over a year now. We’ve just been trying to put on shows for the community and bring local artists out of their basements,” Sara jokingly told The Sopris Sun. 

The business officially launched on Aug. 24, and since its inception, several shows and events have taken place with its current lineup of artists. Additionally, McMission interviews high-profile musical acts. Their most recent interview was with Sound Tribe Sector 9, known more commonly as STS9 — artists who have been blending funk, jazz and bass music for over two decades.   

For his part, Marc said he looks forward to highlighting electronic music acts in the Roaring Fork Valley, bringing new experiences to the community and beyond. “We’re taking a pretty big chance,” he shared. “We’re hoping to get people out of their comfort zone, listening to some different music than what typically comes out in the Valley. It’s always a challenge to bring new things to the scene, but it’s a good challenge.”

He continued, “There are so many people who are passionate about art around here and encouraging to us. We want to try to do that for other people, too, with whatever we have to offer in terms of putting on shows or using any kind of resources we have to make music and art more prominent, getting people more excited and getting people out and creating instead of doing it solitary.” 

His sentiments were shared by Brett Haynes, a local tattoo and visual artist and electronic music creator who is currently performing under McMission Presents as Dank Cilantro. Haynes, who also owns the Bonedale and Twin Creek tattoo shops, will host a launch party during November’s First Friday for his debut album, “The Caper Club.” This will be released across most streaming platforms that same day, Nov. 7. 

“The McMission sound with everybody so far, is definitely a type of vibe and a sound that you don’t really get in the Roaring Fork Valley,” Haynes stated. “It’s cool that they have made it official, because it had been kind of an unofficial scene for the last eight years that I’ve been here. I started out doing shows with DJ Basic VVitch; aside from us, no one else was really doing this.”

He continued, “It’s cool that we’re coming together and got a little squad or community that’s going to showcase this type of music that is not a regular occurrence outside of what we’re doing in the Valley.” 

Haynes described his new album as “a film score without a film,” saying he pulled out every tool at his disposal, like sound mixing and live instrumentation. He was inspired by heist films and considers this project a concept album with a plot that plays out, track by track. 

“A traditional heist film is often referred to as a ‘caper,’ and the entire layout of this album follows the structure of a classic heist film, from the beginning credits to the end credits,” Haynes explained. “There’s lots of Latin and reggae influence, along with a big liquid drum and bass section.”

Another act currently working under the fledgling company is AZYEP’s Brendan Girardot, aka Jeeradoe S. Alongside Dank Cilantro, Girardot recently played original tunes at “The Social” at Bonedale Tattoo, an event where community members and music lovers alike gathered for the vibes. 

With more events coming up, including Heady Hooligan and DJ Da Walrus performing at El Dorado on Oct. 24 for the annual Zombie Crawl and a Halloween costume competition with DJ Benny and Kid Knowledge, also at El Dorado, McMissions Presents is determined to keep the party rolling as the year closes out.

To stay up to date or get involved, follow @mcmissionpresents on Instagram.