Meet AdéWé Stovall | BTCFest Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with AdéWé Stovall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi AdéWé, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I did not intend to start a business. I love music; I grew up in the performing arts, so naturally I have a lot of friends who are creatives. I wanted to go to coachella, which did not end up happening my first year due to the pandemic. I was frustrated with the increasing things I could not do, and I was searching for something I could. I studied event management in school, and before I could even get into those concentrated courses, I thought, “how hard could it be?” I started making calls to my creative friends, one of whom owns a Cleveland-based PR company and started her own small music events brand, and I started researching prices for venues and transportation. I did not know much about marketing, and the event was far from perfect, but I am proud to have hosted AGT’s Cristina Rae and one of my personal favorite musicians Peter Collins. I am very excited to have TikTok sensation at our newest upcoming event MLK weekend in D.C.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Before I could remember, I was singing, dancing and playing the piano. I sang in the choir at church, took free classes in ballet and tap dance at a local recreation center, and I became eager to learn piano watching my older sister. When I moved to Atlanta, I finally started playing the guitar and drums and wrote my first song. I got into more urban styles of dance with the Black culture in which I was suddenly immersed. I got exposed to hip hop, stepping, majorette style dancing and organized theatre. After that, I got into modeling, and in middle school, I began to play trumpet, violin and upright bass. When I moved back to Cleveland, everything was kicked into high gear for me. I studied piano jazz and gospel weekly, I took gospel and opera vocal lessons concurrently. I enrolled at a high level dance academy in addition to my classes elsewhere. I joined a band, I was in two magazines, and I joined a modeling agency. I enrolled in community college for dual enrollment the summer after my freshman year of high school as well. I was heavily involved in the Thespian Society at my high school as well as in my broader community. I was being recognized across avenues (highest GPA, opera scholarships, etc.), and eventually, I got the lead in my high school’s musical. This is where my story began to change. I had an amazing time, but I realized that performing was not something I could do for the rest of my life, and I largely gave up on a performance career. I finished out school, got my Associates at 16, and continued onto The University of Denver for their hospitality program after finding out my family had a resort that has been sitting dormant since pre-integration. The rest is history.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Big Mamas Burritos in Westminster would certainly be on my list for must haves in Denver (don’t forget extra chile)! Red Rocks of course is world renowned, but even if you can’t catch a concert, it is worth the trek. Drag shows are so fun here; Denverites really love their drag bingo. Dutch Bros and GoodTimes are pretty great to try between festivites. There are infinite parks to enjoy, but Wash Park has been a staple for me. The Rapids are highly underrated (don’t tell Kronky). DU sporting events are also an unexpected amount of fun! Denver’s underground music scene is some of the best I’ve seen. Denver really knows how to support small businesses also. I would definitely try to go to atleast one show — perhaps DNA Picasso, The UMS, Aaliyah Shambe or anywhere @pure-artist-music can be found! All in all, there is so much to explore. There is no way to give a list of the coffee, tea and boba joints or parks, libraries, gardens and other amazing things Denver has to offer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mom of course, deserves the most credit for my successes out of anyone. Apart from legitimately giving me life, she instilled a strong sense of confidence which allows me to pursue things which would normally scare away others. Not to mention, she gave me a great head start with credit and creative economics allowing me to finance such a project by myself at a time when I did not have a whole lot of support. She has helped to sell everything from tickets to hotdogs and has walked with me as I put up posters trying to advertise the show on a limited budget. While there are others who have certainly contributed, my mom is the most consistent force in my life, and I am better for having her.

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