On Tuesday, it was announced that the Broadberry music venue is merging its booking agency with local booker Jessica Gordon’s Trigger System to create one of the most diverse booking partnerships in town, the Broadberry Entertainment Group.
Broadberry owner Lucas Fritz and Gordon had been booking shows at the Broadberry, the Camel and the versatile Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall while partnering some over the last four years. Matt McDonald is also a co-founder of the Broadberry Entertainment Group.
“We figured if we put our efforts together, compound all that effort, we will be able to get even better shows,” says Fritz.
Additionally, they will be booking the new Ashland Theatre, capacity 300, when that renovation is complete, possibly in December. The pair say they’ll be booking a mixture of genres there including folk, country and indie rock.
Fritz says that the Broadberry website is being updated and will be a central location to see concerts booked by the new agency at all the various venues.
“It was getting confusing seeing Broadberry Presents at the Downtown Music Hall,” says Gordon. “So that was another impetus [to join forces].”
Gordon, who is also an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Focused Inquiry, notes that when she first started booking shows 16 years ago, there were far fewer venues in Richmond.
“It’s been a major shift in the music scene,” she says. Fritz adds that the addition of new clubs of varying sizes “allows us to put the right show in the right room” which helps the music scene overall when shows are successful.
“The success of bands from Richmond: No BS, Lucy Dacus, Sleepwalkers, having them out touring, sharing their thoughts, makes Richmond even more attractive for touring acts,” Fritz adds.
Gordon believes that the city could use one more venue that is sized between Broadberry (about 500 people) to National (1,500) but she’s not complaining thanks to the improved landscape for music.
The Broadberry Entertainment Group will not be limited to live entertainment but will offer “consultation services in a number of areas including corporate events, weddings, production (sound/lights/staging) and festivals.”
Fritz says he’s been doing some day festivals at Broadberry over the last few years and is looking to expand that and partner with other cities including D.C., Virginia Beach and Harrisonburg.
“We’re both good at booking mid-sized venues, but in the future we’d like to keep growing and do larger stuff as well,” Gordon says.
