After opening in August, the Diverse Emerging Music Organization (DEMO) Center for Music will hold its first open house on Sept. 12. Founded in 2005 by Steve McClellan, DEMO aims to help emerging independent musicians of all genres and to provide communities with "rich, multicultural experiences."

According to a DEMO blog post, the new center will host music lessons, workshops, discussions and live performances, along with other programming and collaborations with local arts and community organizations.

McClellan started DEMO after leaving his position as general manager at First Avenue in 2004. In an interview with Andrea Swensson, he said, "What I learned doing other clubs, was that even for the nonprofits, it was kind of all about bottom line. And it was just the realization that, you know what? This is not doing anything for developing music."

First, McClellan started the Diverse Arts and Music Foundation as a non-profit branch of First Avenue, but reorganized and renamed the organization DEMO.  After about two years of preparation, the organization now has its first physical space.

The open house will run from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. There, visitors can tour the space, see live performances, meet instructors and sign up for classes. For more information, visit DEMO's website.

Jackie Renzetti is a student at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities and is a projects reporter at the Minnesota Daily.