Rob Lares and Friends performing at Moth Presents as part of the “Live Jazz Listening Room” series. Photo by Steven Burgess, Houston Newsroom.
Moth HTX, a venue for local artists to host events in Houston’s Northside Village, recently partnered with VSE Presents, a local event organizing company, for a rebranding.
Mason Hunt, owner of Moth HTX, said he has been operating the venue for three years after using the space as a car shop for old vehicles.
“One time [an artist] asked to have an art show in the space,” Hunt said. “That was really what set it all off it.”
Since continuing operations, Hunt said he has found success in building community through these Arts spaces. Hosting live jazz events and album listening parties, Moth HTX has experienced multiple sold-out shows.
Stuart Adams, operator of VSE Presents, said he took interest in partnering with Moth HTX after being a part of Houston’s jazz community.
During his time as a student at Houston’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), Adams began booking local jazz artists for gigs around town.
Talks of a partnership between VSE Presents and Moth HTX happened over the course of six months, officially solidifying in March 2026.
In a press release, Moth Presents hopes to expand access to venues by booking in a “number of amazing spaces in Houston and beyond.”
At the core of “Moth Presents” is the residents of Northside Village, Hunt said.
“The only people that I care about any affirmation or approval from is my neighbors here,” he said. “That’s all I care about. I could care less about what anybody else thinks about.
Reflecting on his experience as a creative operating within Northside Village, Hunt said he views Jazz as the “cornerstone of any healthy, creative community and if that doesn’t exist in any given creative community, it feels like it’s way out of balance.”
With this expansion, Hunt said he hopes to expand the Moth Presents brand into more educational opportunities for the community.
He said Moth Presents wants to keep “giving people the opportunity to continue to learn and also just raise the collective consciousness and the collective knowledge of the music community here.”
Houston Newsroom 