Loyola University New Orleans
11/05/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2025 22:03
Where Classroom Meets Concert: Loyola University Debuts Gasa U, Offering Students Real-World Experience Running a Live Music Venue
Where Classroom Meets Concert: Loyola University Debuts Gasa U, Offering Students Real-World Experience Running a Live Music Venue
By Loyola University on Wed, 11/05/2025 - 21:52 Press ReleasesCollege of Music and Media
When Mike Twillmann and Micah Burns opened the first iteration of Gasa Gasa on Freret Street in 2013, the partners had no idea that one day the club would serve as a space to hone the next generation of live music venue operators.
Yet, on a Thursday evening some 12 years later, that's exactly what happened.
Twillmann and Burns were among a robust crowd at Gasa Gasa last week to celebrate a brand-new partnership - called Gasa U - between the music club and Loyola University New Orleans. The crowd gathered at the club - just down Freret from the school and open to anyone 18 and older - to celebrate the launch of the immersive learning collaboration, which Loyola officials say is unlike any other higher ed offering in the nation.
"The realization of this project has long-been a dream of mine, as it has the capacity to embody what our curriculum does best: Learning by Doing," said Kate Duncan, director of the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the Conrad N. Hilton Chair in Music Industry Studies at Loyola. "This partnership serves as the music-industry version of a 'teaching hospital.' Students now can aim for these industry-specific goalposts as they advance through the curriculum, and toward the opportunity to work and learn at Gasa U, which puts them in the real-world drivers' seat of live music productions from start to finish."
Each week, Gasa Gasa becomes the students' classroom - a working venue where students get direct, real-world experience by participating in every part of the process, Duncan said.
From booking artists and managing promotions, to handling technical production, hospitality and front-of-house logistics, students are running shows at Gasa Gasa, she said. The class puts students at the heart of live music venue operations, as they learn to navigate the fast-paced world of concert production from the ground up, Duncan said.
But that's not all. Gasa U is part of a larger effort to engage students at Loyola in real-world, hands-on experiences.
The College of Music and Media created the nonprofit Wolf Moon Entertainment Inc. as an umbrella organization to oversee seven unique, student-run businesses, including a record label, talent booking agency and a graphic design firm. These businesses operate via Loyola coursework, so Wolf Moon students not only get course credit, some courses actually pay students to be there.
Duncan said Gasa U itself is a place for the performers to perform, the designers to design, and for business majors to work alongside music majors. In other words, the universality of the concept transcends beyond the College of Music and Media, she said.
Twillmann sold his share in Gasa Gasa in 2016. Burns sold his share in 2020 amid the COVID-19 shutdown - only to re-purchase the club in 2024 with new partners. Burns said he jumped at the chance to partner with Loyola in a way that benefits the future of the music industry in New Orleans.
"We are thrilled to make the space available to create a super-unique, immersive music industry experience that should be envied by every program in the country," he said.
Twillmann, a Loyola alum, returned to the venue as well - this time as an instructor. He now teaches courses in venue management and talent buying at Loyola.
"It's that level of access, and that control and autonomy as a student, that you're not offered very often," Twillmann said at the Gasa U launch party, motioning toward his students in attendance. "It's very exclusive and special to have this kind of partnership and relationship where that's available to you. We have set up something that's just incredible, and is going to get better in terms of experiences and the community we're building between education and the industry. We are bridging that gap in a way that just hasn't been done before."
About the College of Music and Media
The College of Music and Media is comprised of two schools - the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the School of Communication and Design. Students who choose to study in the college prepare for careers in music, theatre, music industry, design, fine art, filmmaking, strategy, mass media and more.
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