Local music venue, The Heart, hosts ribbon-cutting ceremony
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IDAHO FALLS — The Heart Events, a venue geared towards supporting local musicians, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 5 with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce.
The Heart owner, Mosy Moran, said the ceremony represented a key moment in what has been a challenging journey since they first opened in 2020 at a different location.
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“After a year of fighting for this particular building, we are here, and we’re trying to push through to make sure the community still has this,” Moran said. “The community came together one time and raised over $12,000 so we could keep this building. We are now pushing to keep it here. But whether it’s here or somewhere else, we’re always going to be connected to the music.”
The biggest challenge that got much attention, Moran said, was obtaining permitting from the City of Idaho Falls for a change of use at the location.
“Through that process, we found out that the city really didn’t have a plan for that, it wasn’t a very clear step,” Moran said.
“Now that we went through the process, we brought attention to it, the city made some changes,” Moran said.
City Council President and Mayor-elect Lisa Burtenshaw attended the ribbon-cutting event. She said there were miscommunications within the city, and as they work through the issues, they will make sure landlords and tenants are on the same page before starting on the permitting process.
“We’re just going to make sure the city has a better understanding of the project before advice starts to be given,” Burtenshaw said. “Or we identify better paths forward for landlords and tenants. We are working on it. We’re working on that right now.”
“Mosy has the passion,” Burtenshaw said. “That’s where entrepreneurs can have very successful businesses, because their passion shows, regardless of their specific industry. When someone has passion for something, then it inspires people. And if that’s what Mosy is doing, I think he’s creating a space to inspire local artists.”
Moran said The Heart has shows of all genres and even comedy and poetry. Some of his favorite artists that have already shown at the venue include Bryan Bielanski, Altered Edge, Sam Cooley, God Bone and Addy Faith. Moran said The Heart does not make artists pay to play; it instead works to give them an opportunity to perform and grow.
“The whole idea of it was to have a space that I needed when I was 15, 16 and on — even before that — where we can make music, express ourselves and have it appreciated the way that I believe art and music should be appreciated,” Moran said.
Coinciding with the ribbon-cutting, Moran said he’s also launched a nonprofit in partnership with the Eastern Idaho Jazz Society called Serve The Heart. Money donated to the nonprofit will go towards paying for artists to have studio time, equipment, lessons and mentorship. Donations can currently be made through the Eastern Idaho Jazz Society by including a note with your donation, specifying “Serve The Heart.”
“Our whole mindset behind The Heart was just to lift people up, all walks of life, all backgrounds, all dreams, just make sure they have the opportunity to do something great,” Moran said.
Moran said he’s been in Idaho Falls since he was 14 years old, and one thing he’s repeatedly heard since is that there’s nothing to do in town.
“You’re lying because The Heart is here,” Moran said.
