Merry Whatever-You-Celebrate! That is, if you celebrate anything at all this time of year.

In my house, we still have some of our Halloween decorations lingering. We don’t decorate much in December aside from the Nightmare Before Christmas wreath we hang on our door. My household uses this time of year to reflect on where we’ve been over the given year, and where we’re going in the next.

In 2022, my dear husband and I both quit our moderately lucrative jobs to pursue better mental health and well-being, to pursue passion over profit. Every once in a while, I take a moment to curse at myself for doing such a thing, before remembering that I’ve become the starving artist I always dreamed of. And, for the first time in my professional life, I’m happy.

If the pandemic taught us anything, it was that we’ve all been stuck in the machine for too long, running like hamsters in pursuit of someone else’s glory. We are all capable of so much more than we’ve been programmed to believe.

I dove headfirst into creating art again in 2022. First, it was with photography – my true passion, my baby. Photography led to shooting concerts around Sioux Falls, which led to the idea for SoDak Music Magazine. With the many talented musicians here, it was a shame not to have a way for them to be seen outside of the stage, or to be seen at all.

Now, this is where you come in. We’re working to become a nonprofit so we can be a member-supported publication. We thought about doing sponsorships and advertising, but then you become a slave to those sponsors and advertisers. We want to remain truly independent so we can tell the stories we want to tell.

We know everyone is asking for money this time of year, but if you have a few bucks, please consider sending them our way. We will use the cash to pay for our nonprofit registration and anything left will be used to keep the lights on, hire writers and photographers and, honestly, just keep going.

We appreciate the outpouring of support we’ve received thus far and know that, with your help, we can make this thing the biggest thing since sliced bread.

To donate, check out our PayPal fundraiser.

Much love,

Sonja O.

Editor-in-Chief, SoDak Music Magazine