For decades student communities at American universities have been a hotbed of creativity. The

student community right now at the University of Dayton has not strayed away from that trend. Proof of

this is the recent project that started as the brainchild of Luis Saafir, Welcome Records. Comprising of

both musical and visual artists, Welcome Records is an exciting new project that is working to do great

things in Dayton’s local music scene.

Choosing the name Welcome Records because of the desire to welcome all forms of art into the project,

Welcome Records’ roster currently consists of 4 musicians, 2 music producers, and 3 visual artists. As of

right now, hip-hop/rap artists consist of the bulk of the musicians with Sunny Lou, Kudo and Arius taking

the lead on that genre. But that is not the only genre that is covered by Welcome Records. Welcome

Records also includes the musician Tommy Violet who focuses his talent on R&B and Soul. Rounding

out the musical side of Welcome Records’ talents are the music producers Au79 and nCircle. On the

visual side of things, Welcome Records features visual director Ashton Najarian, videographer Cole

Chase, and photographer Connor Chase. To some, the size of their roster may seem small, but what is

not small is the talent that these individuals bring to the table.

Already making a splash in the Dayton music scene, Welcome Records hosted a popup gallery, called

the Welcome Gallery, in downtown Dayton on August 3rd. Featuring 18 different visual artists and live

performances by 8 different musicians, the event was considered a big success by Welcome Records.

Aiming to improve the event and make it even better, Welcome records have already planned a second

Welcome Gallery for September 7th. With plans to host more shows downtown, Welcome Records is also

hoping to in the future be able to help more musicians host their own events downtown.

As a constantly evolving project, there is a real possibility of big things to come from Welcome Records.

With the talent that is already a part of Welcome Records, paired with the drive to do big things,

Welcome Records is just the kind of project that could one day be a big player in Dayton’s local music

scene. If you are interested to see what Welcome Records is about, be sure to check out their next

Welcome Gallery, which will be September 7th. Details can be found on their Facebook page. For now,

Welcome Records is just a group of students with a vision, but don’t expect that to be true for long. If the

members of Welcome Records keep up their passion and drive, expect great things to come of them one

day.

Welcome Records Facebook Page