Pompano Beach Arts gets the party started with the release of “Pompano Beach Soundtrack Vol. 1” on Wednesday, July 17. To celebrate the soundtrack’s drop, a listening party will be held at the Ali Cultural Arts Center from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The compilation, which was pitched to the city by Sarahca Peterson, was developed by the Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department in partnership with Peterson’s The Round Table Project. The idea was to capture the essence of Pompano Beach with the album.
Her group’s mission is to introduce the community to the arts, cultivate that relationship, and then spread it, according to Peterson.Also a spoken word poet,she says the pop soundtrack reflects a city that is “growing, diverse, inclusive, and fresh.”
The night will roll out with a red carpet, an introduction from Pompano Beach Mayor Rex Hardin, then the debut of the tracks followed by a question and answer session with the artists.
“We’re (adding) a little bit of paparazzi and fun,” says Ty Tabing, cultural affairs director of Pompano Beach. “They are going to be introduced on a red carpet and we’ll make them rock stars for the night.”
Those in the audience have a chance to be the first to hear the songs and then from engage with the artists about the inspiration behind each track.
Tabing says that the album represents a commitment to finding and celebrating local young creatives, who can help enhance the quality of life in Pompano.
“We’re all about incubating local talent,” he says. “This is a way to create, kind of, an army of creatives to help me do my job of making Pompano as culturally vibrant as we can.”
The album, which took about 18 months to complete, features seven original songs, including the group collaboration “City Streets,” by five South Florida musicians. Yasmeen Matri, Darnielle Thomas, Jonas Arthur, Azrael Haze, and Matt Kelly wrote their own songs and recorded the album at Power Station Recording Studios in Pompano Beach. The production team also included South Floridians Aaron Verrett, music producer, composer and certified audio engineer, David Kennedy, audio engineer, and Lyriq Tye, singer-songwriter.
Peterson, who calls the featured musicians trailblazers, says that since Pompano Beach produced the project, the artists did “not have to put up a dime” to participate.
“They got the studio time. They got the photo shoot,” she says. “They get the marketing team, the press, the production, and the mixing and mastering. They get everything it takes to produce the project.”
The project started in the spring of 2023, when artists answered a call to audition for the album during Lyrics Lab, an all-arts open mic night started by Pompano Beach in 2014. Lyrics Lab, held on the third Wednesday of each month, also features a house band. Judges from The Round Table Project and the City of Pompano Beach, including Tabing and Peterson, selected the musicians for the EP from the Lyrics Lab pool.
Peterson says Lyrics Lab has grown from local poets in the northwest district of Pompano Beach to attracting other artists from cities across South Florida.
“I think when we first started Lyrics Lab the goal was to create a platform for artists to be recognized in the city of Pompano,” she says. “But my ultimate goal was to give local artists a bridge to engage with their community and their city.”
For Peterson, the album represents steps toward those goals.
As part of the project, the city also produced a music video for “City Streets” that will premiere at the listening party.
Shot over two days, the video will be used in different ways to attract audiences to Pompano Beach, “whether it’s trying to reach a tourism audience, young creatives, or, again, just kind of putting a new face on the city,” says Tabing.
Locations for the shoot were the beach and different sites around the city. All five performers and Peterson, who raps on “City Streets,” are featured.
“As one of the initial founders of Lyrics Lab, it’s kind of full circle for Sarahca to be involved and watch what it has evolved into today,” says Tabing.
Peterson hopes to see Lyrics Lab continue to grow—becoming “a premier stage.”
“A stage that if you get on, you never know who’s going to be in the audience. Never know who’s looking and says, ‘I want to invest in you, I want to be a part of this,’” she says. “Artists need that investment and the city is doing that with these types of projects.”
Peterson says that they will take what they learned from the process of creating the album and move forward. There are already plans for a Vol. 2 in 2025 or 2026. The second volume would feature new artists and more original songs.
However, the party doesn’t stop on July 17 for the musicians featured on Vol. 1. Tabing says that the city not only wants to attract and incubate talent but solidify their attachment to Pompano along the way by giving them work.
“We’re not only partnering with these artists for this soundtrack, we intend to continue to introduce them to different audiences so we’re going to book them at other events. It’s our intention to continue working with these young artists to provide an opportunity for them to be seen and for people to hear their music,” he says.
Tabing promises that the release party will have good energy and encourages attendees to stay for the monthly Lyrics Lab event that follows, featuring other rising talent.
Peterson says, “It’s where you see what else is out there.”
Tickets for the listening party are free. The album will be released on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify, on Wednesday, July 17 for $5. Individual tracks will be available for download for $1.29. QR codes for free downloads and a limited number of CDs will be given away at the listening party.
“Come open, come ready to mingle, come have a good time,” says Peterson. “It’s the summer—lighten up. We got a little something for everybody.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Pompano Beach Soundtrack Vol. 1 Listening Party
WHERE: Ali Cultural Arts Center, 353 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., Pompano Beach
WHEN: 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, July 17
TICKETS: Free at www.eventbrite.com
INFORMATION: www.pompanobeachfl.gov
