On the evening of Nov. 21, Ace Lounge felt less like a venue and more like a gathering place, the kind of room where the walls listened just as closely as the people pressed against them. Conversations softened, phones lowered, and an attentive hush settled in. The crowd hadn’t come simply for entertainment. They came for a moment, something rare, fragile, and shared.  

This was AMPLIFY LIVE Fall 2025 — a student-led music series that’s quickly becoming one of the District’s most essential spaces for young Black artists. Even calling it a concert undersells it. AMPLIFY LIVE, presented by Thee Amplify Project, is a reclamation, a stage built by those too often told to wait their turn, and a reminder that music isn’t a privilege. It’s a birthright. 

Thee Amplify Project was founded and directed by Howard student Chase Vaughn, a junior international business major with double minors in jazz studies and Spanish, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The initiative didn’t emerge from abundant resources or institutional backing. It was born out of necessity, a recognition that young Black creatives too often encounter doors that are closed, locked, or hidden. 

The event’s recurring imagery of bees and cherries underscored that truth — symbols of labor, sweetness, and fleeting beauty. Bees build systems. Cherries bloom briefly. AMPLIFY LIVE protects both, the work and the wonder. 

More Than a Show 

Guests were welcomed by members of the Amplify staff and invited to scan a special QR code that led to a mysterious landing page. A single headphone icon brought them into ARCHETYPE EXE, Amplify’s own personality test that matched each person with one of three artistic archetypes represented that night: The Lover, The Innocent, and The Hero.  

The evening opened with Howard student Zindzi Young (The Innocent), whose originals became the emotional spine of the night. Her song “WHY” hushed the room into a shared breath. Later, “It’s More Than You and Me” transformed that breath into something communal — a meditation on purpose, legacy, and the courage it takes to sing before anyone decides you are worth hearing. 

Pulling from her EP Smart, Jaila Nicole (The Lover) followed with a set that unfolded like chapters written in real time. Her vocal clarity, textured lyricism, and grounded presence offered the audience something honest: a portrait of an artist unwilling to rush past her own truth.  

Closing the night, Howard student Me’Kayla Chenai (The Hero) delivered “Bang,” a performance that was explosive and intentional. She didn’t overpower the room. She elevated it, building on the emotional groundwork laid before her. 

Cultural spaces like AMPLIFY LIVE aren’t luxuries — they are lifelines. They give student artists permission to be unpolished, to experiment, to fail, and to stretch without being prematurely judged against commercial standards. They also challenge universities to rethink what true support for the arts looks like. Creativity can’t thrive on approval alone. It needs room, risk, and repetition. And in a world where young Black artists still navigate gatekeeping disguised as “process,” AMPLIFY LIVE offers a counter-message: community can be its own institution. 

After the final note faded and the lights settled into a warm glow, Vaughn gathered his team of students who spent hours running cables, adjusting monitors, carrying gear, and making the evening look effortless. He reminded them that what happened in Ace Lounge wasn’t luck. It was built. Designed. Fought for. 

Vaughn then shared the words that have become Thee Amplify Project’s unofficial doctrine: “When the door closes for us, we make our own door and walk right through it.” 

For more information about Thee Amplify Project and its initiatives, visit its website. Media inquiries, interview requests, and partnership opportunities are welcome at theeamplifyproject@gmail.com or through the project’s social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram. The Project remains committed to uplifting the community and ensuring that the voices of young artists continue to resonate and inspire.