MINC
MINC, a dynamic seven-piece soul/pop group made up of Vermont high school students, brings an energetic, genre-blending performance to venues all around Vermont. MINC delivers a vibrant fusion of soul, funk, and pop, drawing inspiration from an eclectic mix of artists like Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, Couch, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, and Snarky Puppy. Fronted by vocalist Satori Rossi and backed by a rotating cast of skilled youth instrumentalists, MINC is quickly becoming one of Vermont’s standout youth acts. They’re headed out on tour this summer and planning to record their first EP by the end of 2026.
Our ask
Last year, MINC embarked on an eleven show tour, spanning most of the state. We managed this with little to no money, though not without much difficulty. We struggled to make a profit due to our lack of diversity in income, we weren’t able to pay our members enough due to said lack of income, and we struggled to put on a good show due to our lack of good equipment. We often couldn’t hear ourselves, the audience couldn’t hear clearly, and we occasionally needed to turn down good shows due to lack of equipment. This year, we’re asking for money to support our tour — to buy new equipment, to pay our members better, and, mainly, prepare ourselves to be fully self sufficient next year.
Our Steps for Tour
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Planning
9.25 - 4.26
Planning a tour takes a lot of time and work. During this time, we’re finding funding, planning rehearsals, organizing auditions, and booking for tour. We’re also wrapping up from last year’s tour by editing and compiling all of our media from shows, revising our epk with new info and more recent videos, and paying our members. Overall the most important step and the one we’re on now.
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~95 Hours of Rehearsals
1.4.26 - 5.31.26
Over these months, we learn, develop, arrange, and refine songs to prepare for tour. Our rehearsals are taken very seriously, as we have such little time to prepare so much. We do, however, set aside time to get to know each other and become close friends, as personal closeness directly helps on-stage chemistry and productivity.
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Tour!
6.26 - 8.26
All of our work pays off. Between 8 and 16 shows, in every corner of the state, totaling between 25 and 45 hours of concert time. We’ll headline, open for other bands, play festivals, every size venues, and spend a total of 150 hours together from the start of Rehearsals through the end of tour. This year, we’re recording a full EP at the tail end of tour. This is the most fun, this is what we’ve spent months preparing for.
Videos
As musicians and artists, we hold a lot of power. We, as young people in a world that has frankly not treated us or our predecessors well, feel that we have a responsibility to stand up for the rights of all people. This was our first foray into using our music to do this as a group, and while it could be improved greatly, was a great first step. We will continue to work in the future to develop this.
Faded, one of two original songs we played on tour, is almost three years old. It was written in late summer of 2023, and the lyrics haven’t changed at all. Our signature song and song #2 that we played every show of tour.
Waves, by Melt, performed at Randolph’s Make Music Day 2025 festival. This is one of our favorite songs to play, and one of the first we learned. This is one of three songs we played at every single show of tour.
5 out of 8 of our members have attended a Governor’s Institute, and they’ve changed our lives. That’s not an exaggeration — it has sent us on a path to create, to make change in the world, and to treat people well. This was performed at GIA, where most of us have gone.
Our list of upcoming costs, in order of priority
Many of these are goals, not needs. We’ll need all of these things eventually, but most are not a priority at all. Every single dollar helps so much — we aren’t going to be upset if you donate $20 towards a huge goal; that’s $20 we aren’t struggling to find later.
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Total: $2500
$250/member, paid in $50 increments May - September on the 15th of each month.
$500 allocated for financial support — to support members not otherwise able to participate. Food, transportation, instrument care, etc.
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Total: $850
$150 - Sound Tech
$150 - Lighting Tech
$150 - Photographer
$150 - Publicity Specialist
$250 - Management Assistant
$50/member, paid in $50 increments July - September on the 15th of each month.
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Total: $1,350
Our main goals at this point are to grow and be able to support ourself— to grow our capacity to support our crew and members, grow our reach, and grow our base of resources. Our website is obvious in it’s need, as you’re currently on it. Our Google workspace subscription is how we store files on the cloud, how we’re able to have a custom email address. It also allows us to have more streamlined communication between our manager and assistant, and allows for better use of Google products. Merch allows us another form of income, which will hopefully allow us to support ourselves with much less outside support. It also helps with engagement and exposure.
$650 Website and Associated Costs- $280 Website, $20 Domain, $340 Google Workspace
$250 Publicity - $100 Ads, $100 Graphic Design/Logo Design, $50 Misc.
$450 Merch - $250 Hoodies, $200 T-Shirts
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Total: $2255
When you’re on stage, it gets hard to hear yourself fast. There’s drums in one ear, guitar in the other, and nothing else. With in ear monitoring, you can isolate specifically what you want to hear and protect your ears
3x PTM-10-2B | UHF Stereo Wireless In-Ear Monitor Systems - $945
2x FZone P4 - $80
PAS-227X | UHF 4-Way Wireless Antenna Combiner Bundle for IEM System - $355
Gator G-TOUR 14U CAST ATA Wood Rack Case with Casters - $750
On-Stage RDL3000 3U Locking Rack Drawer - $125
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Total: $3740
We’re a large group. Most venues are equipped for a 4 or 5 piece band — we’re almost double that. Several shows this year required us to bring our own mics, or didn’t have enough or didn’t have the right kinds. Several shows required us to have our own sound setup from top to bottom, which was a large challenge. We ended up borrowing a lot of equipment, which worked well but made us reliant. This also meant we were exposing other people’s equipment to the wear and tear of touring — something we’d prefer not to be doing. Overall, these microphones would open up more opportunities for the group and allow for much more consistency in our sound, and help us be self-sustaining and know that the equipment we’re using is taken care of.
These do not need to be purchased together — one is helpful. In order of priority, highest to lowest.
Horns: 3 NUX B-6PROs - Total $1050, $350 Each
Cables: Link - $300
Stands: Link - $610
Toms: 3 e604s - Total $450, $150 Each - Purchased!
Snare: Audix i5 - $100 - Purchased!
Kick: D6 - $200 - Purchased!
Guitar: e609 - $100
BGVs: 3 sE V7s - Total $300, $100 Each - 1/3 Purchased!
Bottom Snare: Shure 57a - $150 - Purchased!
HiHat: Shure 57a - $150
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Total: $760
Stage presence is, in our opinion, one of the most important parts of a show. You attend to see us play, not just listen. Wireless systems allow our singer to traverse the stage, prevents the chance of injury, and allows for an incredible amount of audience engagement compared to a wired mic. It allows our singer to interact with the other members and to cut down setup and load out time considerably.
Sennheiser EW-D 835-S Wireless Handheld Microphone System - R4-R9 Bands
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Total: $965
We run all of our sound from a cq-20b, which is 100% iPad/Laptop/Phone controlled. We’ve been running sound from a phone, but an iPad would allow for much easier front of house mixing. Listed is the iPad we want, a case (like one for a phone that goes on the iPad itself and can be used without removal), and a bag for travel and storage.
$800 - iPad
$100 - Case
$50 - Carrying Bag
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Total: $4000
We currently share our sound system (cq-20b) with a school, and when our manager graduates, it won’t be ours anymore. We will need to replace it with a better system. Low priority, but would prevent a large cost later down the line.
Midas M32C 40-channel Digital Rackmount Mixer Gig Bundle
Our Promises
The next step
Whether you’re interested in donating or just want more info, reach out here