[Photo courtesy of Grant Kelly]

By Grant Kelly, Contributor

Local DIY music venue Mouse on the Mound (MOTM) announced in March that it would be shutting down after a set of farewell shows on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5. A staple of the Athens music scene since its founding in 2022, Mouse on the Mound has hosted a multitude of bands in its performance spaces from local acts to bands from across Ohio and its surrounding states. 

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Located at the top of Mound Street in Athens, the first iteration of MOTM was a house performance space started in 2022 by Ohio University alumnus Owen Loughman, known for playing with Pittsburgh acts Cid Berry and Scrumforce. 

Owen stated that his experience attending house shows was what originally inspired the creation of MOTM. When he transferred to OU, he stated, “It was right at the middle/tail-end of COVID, so there were really no house shows going on. I was stuck in a dorm my first year, because I didn’t know anybody, and I was like ‘the second I get out of this dorm, I’m throwing house shows’ – because of how beautiful they were when I first started coming here.” It was that spirit of community that helped MOTM grow and become established in Athens’ indie music scene. 

As a live music venue, that first house didn’t last, however. Excessively rowdy patrons were one factor – Owen recalled one instance where attendees had torn a sizable hole in the wall during a show. Noise complaints were also issued. The resulting pressure from increasingly concerned landlords forced MOTM to shut down in January 2023. 

This proved to only be a temporary setback, as in 2024, MOTM moved to a house across the street, now under the direction of local musician Elliott Hogue, member of the indie rock band Rug. 

“I was lucky enough to pass it on to other people and have it stay alive, because I think DIY music is the most important part of the music scene,” Owen added. The two met at a show Owen was playing, which served as Elliott’s gateway into the DIY music scene. Elliott said, “I realized that there’s this whole underground circuit of people decentralizing fun and art. It was inspiring.” Despite a lack of prior knowledge of running a venue, Elliott said that Owen helped him figure it out along the way. 

Elliott’s management of MOTM brought in significantly more performing artists than before, according to Owen. Additionally, Elliott had begun recording several of the venue’s live shows over the course of 2025, two of which have already been uploaded to the Mouse on the Mound Live Sessions YouTube channel. 

Though the venue itself has ceased operations, Elliott has decided not to abandon Mouse on the Mound just yet. He floated the possibility of Owen and himself turning MOTM into a booking company, which would use their existing connections with artists and organizations to help up-and-coming performers get off the ground. Elliott also has plans to release his remaining live recordings to Mouse on the Mound’s YouTube channel in the near future.