We are increasing access to underground music
in the greater Salem, MA area.

Founded by North Shore friends and musicians, Ali Lipman, Tyler Bernard and Mat Petrone in 2024. MOON started booking pop up shows at local bars and VFW halls as well as a yearly festival, Moon Over Salem. The goal? To give the north shore musicians places and opportunities to share their art with their fans and public at large. With the opening of Moon Base One in February 2025, MOON has expanded that mission to include people of all ages by giving musicians from all over, a safe and sober place to express themselves and create a long lasting community.

Moon Base One

is a nonprofit, volunteer-run community arts space located in the heart of Salem at 42 New Derby St Unit 1. We're here to spotlight rising musical talent and foster connection through performance, particularly for young and emerging artists. We are proud to be the only all-ages dedicated performing arts space on the North Shore and are 100% volunteer run

What we do

Weekly Performances:

Each month, MOON hosts 12-14 live shows featuring a diverse lineup of local and regional talent. Our programming highlights youth artists and emerging musicians across a wide range of genres. All shows are all-ages, sober, and low-cost, creating a welcoming space for everyone. We believe artists deserve to be compensated. After covering room costs, 100% of show profits go directly to performers.

Production Training

Through our training program, MOON offers hands-on experience in live show production to community members of all ages. Participants learn key skills like live sound, stage management, and booking, gaining the tools to grow as artists, collaborators, or future event organizers. Each year, dozens of trainees gain real-world experience by working on shows and events at MOON.

Benefit Festival

Held once a year, MOON Over Salem is our city-wide music festival and a major community celebration. Featuring 40+ performers and drawing over 500 visitors to downtown Salem, the festival partners with local businesses to transform storefronts and venues into performance spaces. Proceeds from the event support MOON’s Rising Artist Scholarship, which helps young or emerging musicians access funding for creative projects.

Our Impact

2,500

Performers Served

7,000

Tickets Sold

Dozens

of previously unavailable opportunities for emerging promoters, sound engineers, and musicians.

The Opportunity

Expand outreach and access, particularly to under-served communities, through targeted partnerships, multilingual promotion, and programs that keep costs low.

Increase artist compensation, ensuring fair and consistent pay for all performers, regardless of audience size or ticket revenue.

Grow our production training program, expanding capacity to serve more participants, offer more structured learning, and provide stipends or certifications for trainees.

Funding

    • Target:100% of live sound engineer stipends

    • Increase attendance at performances by 20%

    • Expand the MOON Over Salem festival to include 10% more performers and a 15% increase in event attendance.

    • MOON's performance revenue or external funding sources fully cover sound engineering stipends.

    • Monitor engagement metrics (e.g., social media reach, email open rates, ticket sales) to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

    • Increase the number of community partners and sponsors for the festival, ensuring better promotion and support to reach new audiences.

Funding Impact

Measuring outcomes:

External funding will have an immediate and transformative impact on the work we do at MOON. By expanding our capacity to serve more musicians, audiences, and community members. We track and measure our success through key indicators across all our programs. These indicators will help us assess the direct impact of our work on artists, audiences, and the community, and ensure that the funding is being used effectively to scale our operations.

Meet the MOON Board

  • Ali Lipman

    Ali Lipman is the Treasurer of MOON with over a decade of experience in non-profit administration, sales, and back office support. She is passionate about staking a place for live music as part of a vibrant arts community. In her free time, she enjoys adventuring with her two sons and their dog and playing in Cape Crush.

  • Tyler Zucco-Bernard

    Tyler Zucco-Bernard is the has been booking and playing shows for almost the past 20 years of hys life. Hy is dedicated to making community spaces more available and easily accessible. During his free time, he enjoys writing music, playing his bands this body is all i have in this world and Pintail, and watching TV with his cat squeeze.

  • Al Zaniboni

    Al Zaniboni has been writing and performing music in Greater Boston for over 20 years, while helping run several venues along the way. He is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive space for folks to express themselves through performance and find community. He enjoys spending time with his daughter and spouse, and playing in Tatooine Punk Scene.

  • Thomas Southerton

    Thomas Southerton grew up in Beverly and currently live in Salem. I graduated from UMass Lowell with a B.A. in Music Business where I was also a student director at WUML. In Lowell, I played in bands and organized shows on campus, in my basement at The Ant Cellar, and at downtown bars. I have worked in non-profit human service jobs since 2010 and continue to organize shows in Lowell and Salem. For fun, I play drums in The Only Things and hangout with my cat Chubbs and dog Harry.

  • Mat Petrone

    Mat Petrone has been booking local music in Salem and the North Shore since 2018. While they grew up playing music, he was only exposed to the scene in his early 20s and it was a life changing experience. Ever since then, they have dedicated time and energy to increasing the accessibility and exposure to this world that was previously unknown to him.