Pote Day 2022: Why You Should Attend this Free Three-Day Entrepreneurial & Creative Event in September
Unapologetically from Savannah.
These are the words on rapper Pote Baby’s Instagram bio. Though he lives in Atlanta and spent the past year traveling the U.S. on tour with the famous hip hop duo EarthGang, Pote Baby has a deep love and appreciation for his hometown. In fact, his affinity for Savannah runs so deep that for the past two years, he and his manager Donny Slater have orchestrated Pote Day, a three-day event that is completely FREE to attendees.
Pote Baby’s Instagram account, @potebabys.
Slater, also a tried and true Savannahian, has long been an advocate of our city. Locals may remember him as one of the founding partners of BCKYRD, a Savannah-based content creation company. Today his career has evolved with an added focus on the music industry. Along with Pote Baby and their co-founder Bryan Noel, Slater runs Club Hous Media, a corporation that houses Club Hous Music Company and Club Hous Creative Company. Through Club Hous Music Company, he manages Pote Baby in partnership with the world-renowned audio and music platform Soundcloud.
With the successes they’ve seen in their business ventures, Pote Baby and Slater want to inspire and share the same opportunities they’ve experienced in their careers with the community that raised them. They’re using Pote Day as the vehicle to drive this by acknowledging Savannah’s history and rich culture while looking forward to a cutting-edge entertainment and creative economy.
So what exactly is Pote Day? Let’s start with the name.
If you’ve lived in Savannah for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of it referred to as “the Sea Port” or “the C-port” given Savannah is a major port town. Pote is a derivative of the word port and a nod to the southern dialect and culture that brought the nickname to life. “We chose pote instead of port or Savannah to speak to the authenticity, the dialect and the culture of the black community and just the country community…we don’t pronounce our Rs hard enough sometimes,” Slater explains.
Pote Day always takes place on the weekend closest to 9/12, which references Savannah’s area code and is a celebration of another Savannah nickname, “the 912.”
Donny Slater is the Co-founder of Club Hous Media and co-organizer of Pote Day.
Slater and Pote Baby first executed their idea for Pote Day in 2020 as a part of their 10-year plan to reignite entertainment and innovation in Savannah. Due to the pandemic, they were limited as to what they could offer so they focused on bringing community and fun to Savannah through a block party featuring music from Pote Baby, food at 520 Tavern, and big brand giveaways.
They partnered with Reebok to give away 100 pairs of sneakers to lower-income families and disenfranchised members of the Savannah community. The giveaways continued into 2021 with a major event sponsorship from LRG Clothing (Lifted Research Group), which gave away t-shirts, wristbands, and photo opportunities.
However, Slater wants the community to know that the“giving back” extends beyond the free items Pote Day attendees receive.
“People who went to the first Pote Day kind of thought it was just about Pote Baby giving away something and the block party element…but, a lot of people [who didn’t attend] called me afterward and said, ‘Hey I wish I would have known. I would have come.’” says Slater. According to him, the people reaching out were those that had career-changing wisdom to share with the community and those conversations inspired him and Pote Baby to bring out successful executives and serial entrepreneurs to speak about their ventures at Pote Day 2021.
Last year Pote Day added in a fireside chat featuring music manager Rico Brooks who has worked with well-known names in the hip hop industry such as Drake, 2 Chainz, Future, and more. Kei Henderson, who worked with grammy-winning artist 21Savage, also participated. The 45-minute segment focused on helping budding artists, producers, and music managers navigate the industry for the first time.
Pote Baby handing out giveaways at Pote Day.
Pote Day 2022 will expand on the educational segment by offering a full-day conference with new workshops, something that Pote Baby and Slater always wanted for the event. “From the time I started managing Pote [Baby] to today this has been the plan,” says Slater.
With Club Hous Media as the driving force and sponsorships from Soundcloud and LRG Clothing, this year’s event is shaping up to be even bigger and better. Here’s what to expect at Pote Day 2022…
Friday, September 9th | 7:00pm – 9:00pm @ Victory North
Soundcloud Presents: Pote Baby Homecoming Show
Pote Day 2022 kicks off with entertainment from none other than Pote Baby, who accompanied by a live band, will perform his first show in Savannah ever, including new and not-yet-released music.
Saturday, September 10, 2022 | Vist pote.day for times and location
“Gettin’ On” Conference Powered by Soundcloud
Pote Baby and Slater are bringing industry guests from around the country to host various workshops on artist management, producing, community development and fashion for Savannah locals.
Music Workshop
Zeke Nicholson, Co-owner + Head of A&R at Since the 80’s/Interscope, will teach artists and managers how to roll out a project to get to the first base.
Fashion Workshop
Tenisha Clark, Head of Retail at The Whitaker Group, will host this workshop to help up-and-coming boutiques and clothing brands scale their businesses and grow their marketing efforts.
Urban Tourism Workshop
Sheokyi Jones, Chief Impact Officer at Xurrency, will host a workshop that brings small business owners in the city with members of the Savannah Economic Development Authority to create a roadmap that will help grow revenue for small businesses in Savannah.
Indie Label Panel
Yaz Britt, Director of A&R at Soundcloud moderate a panel conversation between Pote Baby and Donny Slater on how they’re building their indie multimedia company Club Hous Music. Britt will also host a workshop listening to local indie artists.
Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 2pm-8pm @ Starland Yard
Powered by Soundcloud + LRG
An all-day block party with product giveaways from LRG and Vans to local community members, along with food truck and live dj sets by Thrice Groove and Devinci The Great.
To grab your tickets to Pote Day 2022 events, visit https://www.pote.day/.
