Tag Archive for: Tess Mangum Ocana

The story behind the name Sonic Pie Productions

With a name like Sonic Pie Productions, you might hope to find a bakery, rather than a sound production company, but there is a pie connection. Choosing a name when incorporating a business is harder than it seems. It’s got to somehow represent a worldview, mission and purpose. It should be easy to remember, timeless–and you must research beforehand that it’s not already in use. The last thing you want, three years into your branding and brand awareness is a cease and desist letter. So, here’s our story behind the name Sonic Pie Productions.

Sonic alludes to the importance of one of our five sense: sound.

Productions: we curate and produce concerts and events.

But why Pie? The way we figure, anything inside flaky dough is good. Peach pie, Jamaican beef patties, samosas, empanadas…they’re all good. When you go with Sonic Pie Productions, your pie might have some jazz in it–some soul–or rock and roll. Maybe you need help producing a street fair, vintage motorcycle rally or literary event. Your pie is going to be great!

Pictured above is a pie Sonic Pie Productions CEO Tess Mangum made today, in her beloved grandmother Kate’s 50(?) year old pie and biscuit pan. If the house was burning down, she’d grab the kids, the dog and this pan.

The Curator: Tess Mangum Ocaña in Durham Magazine’s Women’s Issue

Sonic Pie Productions’ CEO Tess Mangum Ocaña is featured in the new issue of Durham Magazine!

Sonic Pie Productions past, present and future in Indyweek.com

Sonic Pie Productions Marks Five Years of Business in Durham This Weekend

Posted by  on Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 3:50 PM

sonicpie.jpg

The music industry is notoriously dominated by dudes, but this weekend, one woman is celebrating her success as an independent promoter—and looking toward expanding her business.

Tess Mangum Ocaña runs Sonic Pie Productions, staging and promoting shows in the Triangle and all over North Carolina. She’s served stints booking for The ArtsCenter (for which the INDY gave her an Arts Award in 2012) and with Casbah (which is now Social Games and Brews), but more recently, she’s worked with the Art of Cool Festival, the Festival for the Eno, and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual World of Bluegrass festival downtown. One of her biggest current projects is booking the annual free summer music series in Durham Central Park, which begins on June 8 and runs through late August.

Ocaña is marking the anniversary with a party at The Rickhouse in Durham on Sunday afternoon. It’s free and open to the public, and features a performance from Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba that begins at 3:15 p.m. But even as the celebration approaches, Ocaña is still looking toward growing Sonic Pie into something bigger and better—she’s stepping into regional production with Hippie Fest, a series with stops in North and South Carolina, as well as in Michigan and Ohio.

Tags: