December 19, 2023 • 41 mins
Step behind the curtain with Arden Barnett of Ardenland as he orchestrates the rich symphony of theater management and the vibrant Mississippi music scene. From the historic Ellis Theater to the legendary Duling Hall, Arden unveils the multifaceted role of a music impresario, with a deep dive into the nuances of booking acts, embracing the community's cultural heartbeat, and tailoring experiences that resonate with the soul of Jackson.
The soul of a city can be heard in its music, and in Jackson, it's an anthem that rings out in every chord. Our conversation with Arden explores the city's soulful reputation, where R&B and comfort food meld with the spirit of its people. Trust and quality resonate as keynotes in the art of booking talent, reflecting the community's appetite for authenticity.
With Marty Stuart's influence in the mix, the commitment to preserving musical heritage becomes a tangible part of Philadelphia's Ellis Theater's event strategy, striking a chord with both locals and visitors.
Rounding out this melodic journey, Arden shares the behind-the-scenes tempo of raising the roof for the Congress of Country Music with star-studded fundraising concerts. As cultural celebrations with a cause, these events harmonize the need for financial support with the community's love for live entertainment. Meanwhile, navigating the complexities of Mississippi's music festivals showcases the local talent and logistical finesse that keeps the state's festival scene on beat. Tune in for a masterclass in the art of music management, where every note is played with passion for the community and an ear for excellence.
Ardenland
Website: https://www.ardenland.net/
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Marty Stuart's Congress of Country Music
Website: https://www.congressofcountrymusic.org/
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(0:06) Introduction to Ardenland
(15:57) Jackson's Music and Soul Reputation
(21:43) Fundraising Concerts for Country Music Congress
(26:10) Fundraising and Planning for Ellis Theater
(30:56) Managing Music Festivals in Mississippi
The Ryan Samuels ShowModern-day politics discussion and analysis. Conservative Political Commentator Ryan...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Alright, let's make another run out of Mr Arden
Barnett here with Arden Land andwe just had a couple of
technical difficulties trying toget it kicked off the first
time.
But we're back.
We got the cameras rolling, wegot the audio interface going.
So, Mr Arden, you werementioning the management
responsibilities that y'all havetaken on at the LSDator here in
(00:27):
Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
If you wouldn't mind just shedding a little more
light on what that consists of,Well, it's day-to-day operations
of the theater and then themarketing of the concerts that
we do there, the ticketing ofthe concerts, the staffing, it's
(00:49):
everything.
So it's a turnkey operation,Turnkey operation, right.
So we were not brought in tojust book talent.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
we were brought in to manage the building yes, what
unique opportunities and orchallenges have been presented
with the Ellis and the bookingand management of that facility?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, we came in to a full season of shows so we have
yet to book a show.
I mean, we are working on 24from May forward right now, but
so we're facilitating the showsthat were already booked in
there and just redoing themarketing a little bit.
(01:32):
We've made some adjustments onticket prices and just there are
some things that we felt likeneeded to be done to be a little
more consumer friendly andespecially for the town of
Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, I've noticed the social media presence has
increased and there's adifferent brand, different
strategy there.
It appears them what was therein the beginning and other
parties were managing thefacility.
But I've seen nothing but goodthings from a marketing
standpoint.
(02:06):
Now let's back up a little bit.
Arden Land is the managementcompany.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, so Arden Land is my company and we basically
produce concerts, we do festivalmanagement and we manage
Dueling Hall.
Dueling Hall in Jackson is myvenue, so we've managed that per
se, but we're not really amanagement company.
(02:35):
But when it comes to a theaterlike the Ellis, which is
basically a bigger version ofDueling Hall, we have the
experience and the capability todo that.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
At what point did you take over the Dueling Hall in
Jackson.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So I started Arden Land in 2011, shortly after I
started booking shows on just ashow to show basis at Dueling
Hall, and about a year I think2012, I signed a lease and so
we've had Dueling Hall since2012 and be going for another
(03:17):
long time yeah, it's reallyturned into a staple of the
music scene in.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Mississippi as far as I'm concerned.
I mean I was looking at y'all'swebsite last night, at Dueling
Hall's website and looking atall the acts that y'all have got
coming in just between now andthe end of the year and I mean
y'all have got something thatlooks like every week.
It's crazy.
It's become a meeting place forcreatives and a staple for a
lot of Mississippi entertainers.
So how did Arden Land itself,the company, how did that come
(03:46):
about?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I mean, I've been doing this business for
almost 40 years now.
So, in and out, I had got out ofthe business for a little while
and had done several things Iwas working for SkyGolf and the
(04:09):
mapping of golf courses and soon and so forth and they
discovered that GPS was a muchmore efficient way to do this,
unless expensive, than sendingpeople out.
So, anyway, they shut ourdepartment down.
Therefore, I lost my job, andthat was the end of the year of
(04:29):
2011 or 2010.
And I just, you know, you don'tget this business out of your
blood.
You know it's.
You know, once you're in it,it's hard to get rid of it.
And so I woke up one themorning of, I think, just
January 3rd or so, and talked tomy wife, heidi, and said, hey,
(04:52):
you're cool if I give it a go.
And she said, yeah, you know,basically you got.
You know you got six months.
And you know if it works great,but then you got to find a real
job.
So, anyway, I went upstairs,opened up the computer, called a
couple of agents that I'm closewith, and no one had really
(05:13):
filled the void in Jackson forthe time I'd you know had left.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And so there, that was the beginning of it, and
what was the extent of yourexperience in the business prior
to starting Arden Land and youryour tenure at Skygolf?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, and in Jackson I booked.
When I moved back to Jackson in1986 from Birmingham I worked
for with Malcolm White and so ina book Callum House for eight
years in St Patty or today weran that.
I booked and did all theproduction for Jubilee Jam for
(05:50):
eight years so a lot.
And before that I was inBirmingham.
I worked on the concertcommittee for UAB and that's
that's where it really getsstarted.
And I was in Boise before thatand I was in the music business
there and that was actuallyworked.
My first concert in 1970, 78 or79 with Hoyd Aksum was the
(06:14):
first show I ever worked.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I saw on your website that they the descriptions,
along with your staff, camesuggestions of albums and music
from, from the individuals onyour staff.
What were, what were some ofthose albums that they put or
that you go go to for you when,when?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
you need to list us for good music.
But I'm a.
If I had, you know, one type ofmusic on a desert, you know I
would.
I would have to go withclassical.
I mean there's no ifs, ands orbuts on that, but you know some
of my go-tos.
I mean I love old Genesis, theback when Gabriel was Peter
(06:52):
Gabriel's with the band, and,and you know all types of jazz.
You know miles, full train, allthat or just so.
But I'm all over the map onmusic.
I mean it's yeah, there's notreally.
I'd be hard pressed to say.
You know, if I had one record,this is what I would do, but
(07:12):
yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I have found that most music buffs are all over
the map, yeah, you know, andthey often end up being very
well rounded people withinteresting perspectives.
Because when you take in somany different types of art,
inevitably, especially in music,if you take in different types
of music, you're getting a,you're getting introduced to a
(07:34):
lot of different types ofcultures.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Through that and immersing yourselves in that,
yourself in that, and so that'swhat I've found about people who
really, really, really, really,really astute in music.
You know the musical landscapehistorically and currently they
tend to be very, verywell-rounded people.
So tonight we've got a legend,a national treasure playing at
(07:58):
the LSDater, bobby Rushcelebrating his 90th birthday.
That's incredible.
That's an incredible sequenceof events.
His birthday is November the10th, so it's the day of his
90th birthday, and I've not seenBobby Rush perform in a while,
(08:19):
but everything I'm hearing isthat he's still alive wire he's
still kicking and screaming.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I was with Bobby just a few months ago and it's scary
.
I mean my dad's 90.
And yeah, it's just when Iwatch Bobby I'm thinking about
my dad.
My dad's still pretty active,but Bobby's got it going on.
So a year ago Bobby called meand said I want to do my
(08:56):
birthday show at Dueling Hall.
So I said, heck, yeah, come on.
So we did it and he did a soloshow, which I've got.
I bet I've done 50 Bobby Rushdates, but I've never done a
solo date with Bobby and it wasan amazing experience.
But we got the full bandversion tonight with the dancing
(09:17):
group.
I mean, yeah, it'll be a goodtime.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Have you known Bobby since early in his career.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I've known Bobby since, I guess, when I moved
back to Jackson.
I've known Bobby since, I guesssince 86, 87 when I moved back
here, and we're good friends andhe is the, he is.
It was a perfect word.
He's a treasure.
And he is such a fine gentlemanand I don't know of a more
(09:51):
caring person in the world.
I mean Bobby will go out of hisway to do anything for anybody
he is.
He's a genuine gentleman.
I mean, he's just, he's topnotch.
It doesn't get any better.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Well, from his music he has to be, he has to be a
good time.
He has to be, he has to be atrip.
I like one of his earlier songs.
I guess it came out in the 80s,right about 85, 86.
One monkey can't stop no show.
And then here recently a morecurrent Southern soul artist
(10:27):
that goes by the name of KingGeorge used that line in his
song and I'm not sure if you'refamiliar with Southern soul or
not, but they will have theseparodies.
Oftentimes it'll be a male anda female going back and forth
and basically having their ownsongs but communicating with one
another.
Bobby recently came out in thisyear with a what I think is a
(10:50):
response to King George's.
I think he's keep on rollingand he's saying that one monkey
can stop a show.
So I like that.
I like seeing the dialoguebetween the elder artists in the
genre and the younger artists,because the younger artists,
that is one genre that they do areally good job of paying
homage to those that have comebefore them.
(11:10):
So seeing him tonight,especially in Philadelphia,
mississippi, as a nativePhiladelphia and Bobby Rush fan,
it couldn't get much betterthan that.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It'll be a good time, and it's you know so much.
We're losing so many of ourelder musicians these days and
it's you know it's a littlefrightening to me.
Just, you know there is somecrazy great music out there, but
(11:40):
you know you think of the waythat the music business is now,
that everything's one hit wonder.
You know there's no realcareers built anymore, and you
know this.
You know you play a stadiumdate.
You know, and you come backyou're not playing a stadium
again you know it's you know,our idea of a superstar these
(12:06):
days is very short lived.
I mean, they're, you know, sure,taylor Swift and a few others,
but you know it's a littledaunting.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Why do you think that dynamic has come on?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, I think a lot of it is simply the One.
The internet, you know,everything is.
You know, you've the acts thatcome on board.
Now come out with a single.
They build that career on thesame.
They release another single,you know, and it's so
(12:42):
homogenized in my, it's just.
You know it's the same oldthing commercial, commercialized
.
You know, get it on, put it onTikTok, get it streaming.
You know the day of you know,building from the ground up.
Building that career, you know,has a lot to.
You know everything has changed.
(13:03):
I mean, radio is not right whatradio used to be.
You know you've got theinternet now, which has been an
amazing thing for the musicbusiness because you know we can
hear music from hundreds ofthousands of new acts that can
come out.
It's just that, you know youlook at an Elton John, you look
(13:24):
at a Billy Joel, you look at an,even a U2, you know those acts
are.
You know they're.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
And I don't, you know , you don't you think of Elton
John in his career.
You can't name another artistthat can follow in Elton John's
footsteps, for you know, notthat there you could, but you
know, in that sense, of thatsuperstar, and anyway, I think
(13:55):
it's fascinating.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's interesting to watch how things
evolve over time.
Like you mentioned, theinternet has just given us
access not only to consumer, butthe actual producer, the
independent artist can get theirmusic out without having to go
to, you know, get hooked up witha professional studio.
I mean, if you can afford alittle bit of equipment, you can
(14:18):
afford to at least be heard.
And then TikTok is just a.
I don't have it.
I haven't spent a lot of timeon it.
I mean, I don't have anythingagainst it, it's just not
something that's been in myworld, but apparently it is.
Things go viral and catch likethat in a moment's notice and
whereas, like you said, that canchange somebody's life
(14:40):
overnight.
As you said, they used to haveto beat the pavement and go, uh,
walking up and down stages anduh go into different venues
across the region, such as likethe Chitlin circuit, for example
.
Um, and you know they had tomake it in the real world, so to
speak.
But it's become so much moreefficient because of the
(15:02):
availability of the technologyand the accessibility that the
average person has to thetechnology that's required to
make the music.
Is Jackson, uh, in your mind?
Is it the soul city?
Is it the king city of soulmusic in the United States of
America?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I don't know if I'd go that far, um, I think I think
it holds a special place, yes,but I do think that you know you
, you know Memphis, you know, oreven just the state of
Mississippi, you know there, Imean, there's, there's so many
other cities between, uh, youknow, cleveland and Greenwood,
(15:48):
those you know, oxford, there's,there's a lot of other places.
Even down on the coast is doingquite a bit too.
So I think there's a um, a goodhome.
I, you know again, you knowBobby's there.
You know we, we've got a fewpeople, but you know, again,
we're, we're losing our, youknow, son Thomas, all the.
(16:09):
You know we just lost RL, butyou know all of you know we're
just losing, we're losing our,our soul.
Yeah, you know, there there are, there are musicians and there
is a very great um music scene.
But when it comes to the, youknow, soul, I mean we're, we're
(16:30):
a city with soul, yes, but uh,you know, I don't.
I don't really know how toanswer that question, but it.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Oh, I say, when we look at uh on a national scale,
we look at places like uhDetroit and uh Cleveland Ohio.
I think Bobby Womack is fromCleveland Ohio.
There are other cities thathave uh carry a moniker that
they're a soul city, and when Iget off the airport, I get off
the airplane and Jackson,they've got the mural that says
(16:57):
welcome to the city with soul,and so it's obviously a badge of
honor that the city wears.
I was just curious as towhether or not it stood up
across the country in the eyesof uh music venues and uh
musicians as holding that uhbeing highly revered in regards
to being a soul city.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, I think that the um a lot of what was done on
the city.
So the visit Jackson, you know,is basically, uh, referring to
not only the music scene but thefood scene, the people.
It's this, you know heartfeltsoul, rather than R and B and
soul music.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
I see, I see that is, uh, that's even greater, yeah,
I mean and and truer in a sense.
You know, because if you, ifyou take into account all of
those different things, we aredefinitely very, very soulful.
Heck, yeah, very, very soulful.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
What is the?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
music scene in your opinion?
What's the help of it like inJackson live music scene?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
It's good.
Yeah, actually it's very good.
We've got a thriving localscene.
That's that, I think, isprobably better than it has been
in a long, long time.
The attendance in shows hasbeen good.
(18:20):
You know we tend to book a lotof music that is not well known,
and that's usually.
I mean, I've just done that forall my life because I think
part of what being a promoter isis sharing new bands, sharing
new music, and it is, you know,the whole premise in the last 11
(18:45):
years, for the most part, hasbeen trying to build a trust
level with, with the community,that you know, if you come to
see a show, that we do it's.
You know we use our tagline aswe don't book shit bands and but
that you can trust that you cancome see this show and it's
(19:05):
going to be a great show.
It may, you know, you may getthere and it's not your genre or
whatever, but but for what itis, you know we, we ask that you
trust, come in, give it a try.
I mean, obviously, if you don'tlike it you leave, happy to
give your money back.
But but it's more of you knowknowing that if you come to a
show at Dueling Hall you'regoing to get a great, you're
(19:27):
going to get a good night, andso, and it's it takes a while to
build that trust and and andpart of our I feel like our
mission at the Ellis is the samething, you know, yes, steve
Miller's coming in there went,marcel's, there's some great
bands, but but I think part ofmy, my goal, or my company and
(19:48):
the people I work with, that youknow our purpose is, and and I
know it's Marty's mission to isto to bring in new musicians
that are that hold true to the,to the level of commitment to to
the arts, and so we, you knowwe we want people to trust us
(20:08):
and come see shows, whether ornot they know the name or not,
and I think you'll be verypleasantly surprised at what you
find.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, have you all booked and released the bookings
of any shows yet that y'allhave that y'all are prior to
coming on, it was already booked, like if you already booked it
shows and released tubes comingwe have not.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
So the everything that's owned the books now was
previously previously booked.
We are actively so we'rebasically booked through May of
next year already of 24 of 24.
So we are pursuing acts nowthat would start in June for the
fall for all through the restof the rest of 2024.
(20:51):
And so we will.
You know, there'll be a releaseon on the acts, on how we do
that.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, you mentioned Marty Stewart.
Of course his mission has that.
I'm sure that's beencommunicated to you.
In regards to what he's lookingfor, what the Congress is
looking for in terms of genresor types of artists, is there a
prototype?
Is there a general mission toconsider when booking acts at
(21:20):
the LSD?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Yeah, and in, marty and I have been friends for
quite some time now and you knowhe I mean, yes, there is a
mission, I mean he is hismission is to preserve the
legends and preserve, you know,the mute, the country music and
hence his collection andeverything behind it.
(21:41):
But, that said, it's not justcountry music.
I think he hits his and weshare that.
You know it's music of alltypes and that it is to bring in
and make accessible music to tothe city of Philadelphia and
the surrounding area and in thestate, the country, you know,
(22:04):
the world, to make Philadelphiaand the Congress and the LSD or
somewhere that people want tocome see and want to be a part
of it.
It absolutely starts with thecommunity and you know that's we
take that very seriously.
But we, I think we've, we're,we have been given a very, very
(22:30):
omission, if it's almost like amission from God, like the blues
brother.
You know right that that youknow that we take very seriously
and, yeah, I've said thismultiple times on many, many
episodes.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
So forgive me for those of y'all that have heard
me say this over and over again,but I'll continue to say it.
What Marty Stewart decided todo by bringing that collection
back here is phenomenal and saysa lot about who he is as a
person.
Because he did not have to dothat.
He did not have to come andinevitably deal with a lot of
(23:07):
the obstacles I'm sure that thathe's encountered with coming to
a place that, just beingfactual, didn't necessarily have
the infrastructure in place tomake it as easy as possible to
get this, you know, get thecollection out and encased for
the public to view.
It seems to me like now thatthey've got the Ellis open and
(23:28):
have for I guess a year now, youknow a little over a year.
It's obvious there's beencontributions and fundraising
efforts for the Congress and Iknow that that will continue
moving forward and I wish forpeople listening in Philadelphia
and surrounding areas.
Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but it appears to me, for
(23:51):
example, like the Dolly show,some of your more high profile
shows that if it weren't theCongress of Country Music,
philadelphia, mississippi wouldnever get those acts.
Those shows, those prices forthose tickets are for
fundraising purposes.
That's the reason why they areso expensive and that is a good
(24:12):
thing that we can.
You know Marty has arelationship with these people
and they agree to come in and dothis.
And you know, because there'sbeen a lot, there have been a
lot of complaints about highticket prices on these more
valuable shows and I believethat's on purpose to, you know,
bankroll the Congress of CountryMusic.
(24:33):
Am I way off base there?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
No, you're spot on.
So there are.
Steve Miller band that's comingup in December is another
example of that.
That Steve was one of the firstis a friend of Marty's, is was
one of the first people toactually make a contribution to
the fund for the Congress.
So Dolly played two shows inthis year and they're both in
(24:57):
Philadelphia, mississippi.
But those were donespecifically to raise money for
the Congress.
So there will I.
That will continue.
I mean, there's only one DollyParton in this world.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
And there will only ever be one Dolly Parton.
But there are many otherartists out there that are on a
very high caliber, that thatwe're visiting with that.
But those shows, as SteveMiller, which the tickets are
are.
They're high, but they arefundraisers, they are not.
(25:34):
This is not a concert, it's a506 seat venue.
Steve Miller band playsamphitheaters and arenas, so
it's a.
It's a it's.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Steve is.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Steve is coming on as a favor to Marty to raise money
for the Congress.
So when you see a $200 or $300ticket for Steve Miller, you're
you're about to witness SteveMiller in a 500 seat venue,
which is just will be an outerbody experience.
(26:10):
So I, you know, we part of whatwe have worked very hard with
lately, especially in socialmedia and our email blasts, and
so is to make sure that peopleunderstand Steve Miller is not,
it's not just a concert, this isa fundraiser to raise money for
the Congress.
Um, actually, McBride, you know, the other great shows that
(26:33):
we've got coming in, um, youknow, are again friends of
friends of Marty, a wine owner,same thing, but at the same time
, you know, the ticket pricesare not $500.
That's not, you know, that'swhat we're trying to steer away
from.
We want the shows to be, uh,profitable as as much as
(26:57):
possible, but I don't thinkpeople understand that.
You know profitable profitableat the LS Theater is is not
making $100,000.
You know it's making a fewthousand dollars in this
business.
It's hard to do anyway.
So, um, but we want it to beaccessible.
But, yes, you can expect biggershows to come to the LS and
(27:22):
tickets to be high, Um, and, butit's for that reason.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, and the matter is, I mean, you've got these,
these musical moguls that, likeyou said, are playing in arenas
and stadiums, and then you putthem in this 506 seat venue.
Well, the fewer seats you havejust by supply and demand, the
higher your prices are going tobe.
But the fact of the matter isthat there are people who have
(27:47):
that amount of money, who arewilling to pay for those tickets
and that experience, and that'sa win-win for everybody.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Yes, Especially for Philadelphia in the long run,
correct.
So so I know that the you knowbeing able to do the outdoor
aspect of Dolly to have a more,you know a more lower ticket
price and have it open to thepublic, you know is, you know, I
think we'll continue um on someof the people that we're
(28:16):
talking to.
Yeah, that went over very well.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah, that went over very well and I've talked to
many people outside ofPhiladelphia who came in for
that and they're like man, thatwas, I mean, it was hot Seven
hails.
But you know they said the waythat it was set up the stage,
the Jumbotron, the vendors, Imean I had a lot of, a lot of
people giving compliments andyearning for more, uh, more
(28:41):
shows that bring on that type ofatmosphere in the outside
setting.
You'll see that in the comingyear and that was, um, you know
that's a.
That is a very key component indriving that economic progress
that we want to see here, theEllis and the Congress in
general, obviously.
But when we can have thingslike that that are that are
(29:06):
outside, people live around town, can walk, uh, because we do
have a, we have limited parking,but we do have a very walkable
downtown area and people like toget out and enjoy that when
there are things to do.
So, uh, I'll be looking forwardto that now.
Festivals, annual festivals,things of that nature have any
(29:27):
of those ideas been tossedaround uh, or talked about that
you can disclose?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Um, tossed around.
Yes, I think, I think for usright now, it's to it's to
massage what we've got to workwith for the next five months,
six months, yeah and really getin place as sustainable and, uh,
a place where everybody feelscomfortable and and doing
(29:55):
business.
Um, those, I mean we're alwaysthinking about things to do and
and new ideas.
Uh, a lot of it is just getting.
We're still I mean, we're whatfive weeks into to this project.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Oh, I didn't realize it was that recent.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, it's been like five, maybe six weeks so, and we
came in, you know, to a lot andso rebuilding and, and you know
, looking at everything that'son the map, what needs to be
changed, what needs to be done,that's, that's been first and
foremost on our on our plate.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Have you had?
Have you had much troublefinding staffing for the shows?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
No, no, it's great Um .
So Natalie and Loretta, thatare that uh, that are at the
Ellis and have been for a whileor there, we love them.
Yeah, they're great Um, andwe've we've got a super staff,
um, and you know we're we'relooking at doing some things
differently.
But you know my thing is not tocome in and just gut everything
(31:02):
.
You know we want to be a partof the community.
You know we're, we live inMississippi, we're we're I mean,
we're an hour and a half away.
But you know it's not likecoming in and changing
everything up.
Our goal is to to use localpeople whenever and as much as
humanly possible is not to to todo what we do and bring in
(31:26):
people outsiders.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
I guess would be the word.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
We want to do business within the community
first.
That's first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
So that's well, we understand that.
Um, it can sometimes bedifficult in small rural places
to find just enough people, butjust because of the lack of
population, yeah, and no otherreason.
Dr Bynan Jackson, I mean, yeah,I mean it's, yeah, yeah, we're,
we're, um, I think it's gettingbetter, I think.
But I think the the jobsituation.
(31:55):
I think you know I'm not seeingall the now hiring signs at KFC
and Popeyes, you know all yourfast food restaurants like right
after COVID, but, um, whatother venues do you manage?
Is it just the Ellis andDooling Hall?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
From a management standpoint, yes, um, we, we do
the buying, I do the talentbuying for the Riley center in
Meridian and so on thatstandpoint we were just, we're
basically the talent buyer, um,and work with the work with them
, you know, wherever they needus.
(32:31):
But but primarily on talentbuying, uh, we also do the
Sanger theater and andHattiesburg, we do the um, the
convention center down there,the lawn, uh, the impact center
on the Gulf Coast we buy talentfor, uh, we do a lot of work in
(32:52):
Natchez.
Um, so yeah, we're all, we havea really full plate.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
So when, when y'all are booking these acts for these
venues, are you calling theseagents directly?
Uh, do you go to a marketplace?
You just rely on contacts thatyou've made throughout the years
.
Um, how, how does that looklike on a more, uh, granular
level, it.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
it's going to depend some on the building.
I mean, for the most part Imean we deal directly, you know
with with the agents of thebands, for for sure, and and a
lot of this.
I'm still working with people.
I'm still working with agentsthat I worked with in 1982 when
I was in Birmingham.
(33:37):
Uh so, but I would say 80% ofthe acts that we book the age
are brought to us.
We don't go out and seek themno-transcript, have a list of
(33:58):
people that we're interested inand we'll share it with the
agent of that band and then atthe same time, say, hey, you
know, I've got so, and so comingthrough town, you know, do you
want to book a show with them?
So it's so much of it is.
It's a who you know thing forsure, and a trust.
You know we've 40 years ofworking in this business and you
(34:22):
know, have a lot of friends.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
So Alabama has got a major concert, country concert
in Coleman, alabama.
The name of it escapes me, butit happens annually.
Tennessee has Bonnaroo right.
Louisiana obviously has JazzFest.
What do we have?
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Nothing like that Can we?
Well, we used to have JubileeJam.
Obviously was was a bigfestival from the standpoint of
the you know, our population.
Cathead Jam is a festival thatwe produce in Jackson.
Yes, that's been growing and ithas been growing.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
That's a good production.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Yeah.
So you know whether I thinkCathead is probably the, the,
the festival that I would seegrowing to a bigger level.
I don't know if you know we'vehad some meetings, you know
about having a new city festival, but this they are so expensive
(35:32):
to do.
I mean, it's just, yeah, it's,it's brutal and you know there
are so many ifs when you'redoing that with weather you know
with you know just everythingthat goes along with that A ton
of risk.
Yeah, a ton of risk, a ton ofrisk.
And back in the day, jubileeJam and all this you know you're
that festival was was very muchlived on sponsorship and and
(35:58):
arts funds and those that moneyhas really dried up.
I mean there's there's stillsome there, but when you're
talking about you know, three,four million dollar festival
it's, it gets rough real fast.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
No doubt.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
So anyway, I think I think we do good shows, and you
know we've it's cathead a multiday fest.
It's a two day festival.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yes, it was yes Over the past, and is that held at
the distillery?
It is.
I've never been.
I'm just seeing pictures andvideos.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Yeah, it takes place on the grounds of the distillery
and we also close off streetsaround the distillery and pull
fence panels out and you know,so it's.
You know it's a cool setup,yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Yeah, the music scene in Jackson is interesting.
Of course, f Jones is alwaysmentioned.
Yeah, for those of you thatknow, you know, and then some
other spots that have been.
What are some other spots inJackson that have been live
music staples for a while now?
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Well, Halemals, of course, of course, yeah,
martin's, martin's.
You know we used to have thesubway back in the day.
You know F Jones, of course,man, I can't stay up late enough
, too old, and or when I do go,it's a week of recovery.
Yeah, so yeah, and there's.
You know they've come and gone,but you know the Halemals, the,
(37:25):
and and Martin's are stillthriving.
I mean they're still, andMartin's is doing.
You know Chris books some greatshows in there.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
So when you look at managing a show right.
So just take a tonight show,for example.
I'm sure you break down thenight into different budgetary
items or line items, if you will.
What has the most profit margin?
Which one of those buckets has?
Was it concessions, is itticket sales merchandise, or is
(37:59):
it all kind of lumped intogether and about the same?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
No, it's.
I mean it's.
It's certainly broken out.
You know whether it's anexpense or or income.
The music business these daysis not what it used to be.
I mean the as a promoter, youdon't make money on ticket sales
.
I mean it's the ancillaries youknow the ban is making 90% of
(38:27):
the money.
Yeah, and you know so.
Bar sales is very important.
Yeah, you know concession some,but you know not so much it's
really bar and you know.
And then you, you get into thedifferent levels.
You know where there may beparking, whether it's, you know,
bar sponsorship, etc.
(38:49):
Etc.
So those are the other areasthat you really have to, you
know, concentrate and build goodrelationships on and do a good
job doing to try and maximizeyour income.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, you mentioned a couple of different theaters
the Ellis, the Sanger, the RileyCenter.
I think it would be really cooland somebody may have already
done this, but I think it'd bereally cool if someone did a
traverse the state ofMississippi and did a theater
documentary.
That'd be cool.
And, you know, run down thehistory of some of these older
(39:23):
theaters that we have throughoutthe state that have been either
taken care of throughout theirlifetime or, like the Ellis,
been refurbished, and have alook at all of those, because
obviously these towns, a lot ofthem are dying but they still
have those theaters, and I meanLaurel's probably got got one,
I'm not sure, but I think thatwould be a really cool, really
(39:45):
cool project.
Well, Lee, you got cameras andyeah, I got to get in the car
and go.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yeah, that'd be great .
I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I think it is too.
We might just do that.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah, show starts at what time tonight Doors are at
seven.
Show starts at eight Yep Doorsare at seven.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Show starts at eight.
This will be out probably aweek or two after the show.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
But for those of y'all listening.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I'll give y'all an update on a solo episode Arden.
I appreciate you coming through.
Thank you and we appreciate asPhiladelphians, we appreciate
what it is that y'all are doingat the Ellis and the service
that y'all are providing, andI've seen nothing but good
things so far and have very,very high expectations that I do
believe y'all will have noproblem meeting.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Well, thank you very much and we look forward to
being a part of the town.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
County Line congregation.
Thank Mr Arden Barnett andArden land until next time,
peace.
Alright, let's make another run out of Mr Arden
Barnett here with Arden Land andwe just had a couple of
technical difficulties trying toget it kicked off the first
time.
But we're back.
We got the cameras rolling, wegot the audio interface going.
So, Mr Arden, you werementioning the management
responsibilities that y'all havetaken on at the LSDator here in
(00:27):
Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
If you wouldn't mind just shedding a little more
light on what that consists of,Well, it's day-to-day operations
of the theater and then themarketing of the concerts that
we do there, the ticketing ofthe concerts, the staffing, it's
(00:49):
everything.
So it's a turnkey operation,Turnkey operation, right.
So we were not brought in tojust book talent.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
we were brought in to manage the building yes, what
unique opportunities and orchallenges have been presented
with the Ellis and the bookingand management of that facility?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, we came in to a full season of shows so we have
yet to book a show.
I mean, we are working on 24from May forward right now, but
so we're facilitating the showsthat were already booked in
there and just redoing themarketing a little bit.
(01:32):
We've made some adjustments onticket prices and just there are
some things that we felt likeneeded to be done to be a little
more consumer friendly andespecially for the town of
Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, I've noticed the social media presence has
increased and there's adifferent brand, different
strategy there.
It appears them what was therein the beginning and other
parties were managing thefacility.
But I've seen nothing but goodthings from a marketing
standpoint.
(02:06):
Now let's back up a little bit.
Arden Land is the managementcompany.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, so Arden Land is my company and we basically
produce concerts, we do festivalmanagement and we manage
Dueling Hall.
Dueling Hall in Jackson is myvenue, so we've managed that per
se, but we're not really amanagement company.
(02:35):
But when it comes to a theaterlike the Ellis, which is
basically a bigger version ofDueling Hall, we have the
experience and the capability todo that.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
At what point did you take over the Dueling Hall in
Jackson.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So I started Arden Land in 2011, shortly after I
started booking shows on just ashow to show basis at Dueling
Hall, and about a year I think2012, I signed a lease and so
we've had Dueling Hall since2012 and be going for another
(03:17):
long time yeah, it's reallyturned into a staple of the
music scene in.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Mississippi as far as I'm concerned.
I mean I was looking at y'all'swebsite last night, at Dueling
Hall's website and looking atall the acts that y'all have got
coming in just between now andthe end of the year and I mean
y'all have got something thatlooks like every week.
It's crazy.
It's become a meeting place forcreatives and a staple for a
lot of Mississippi entertainers.
So how did Arden Land itself,the company, how did that come
(03:46):
about?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I mean, I've been doing this business for
almost 40 years now.
So, in and out, I had got out ofthe business for a little while
and had done several things Iwas working for SkyGolf and the
(04:09):
mapping of golf courses and soon and so forth and they
discovered that GPS was a muchmore efficient way to do this,
unless expensive, than sendingpeople out.
So, anyway, they shut ourdepartment down.
Therefore, I lost my job, andthat was the end of the year of
(04:29):
2011 or 2010.
And I just, you know, you don'tget this business out of your
blood.
You know it's.
You know, once you're in it,it's hard to get rid of it.
And so I woke up one themorning of, I think, just
January 3rd or so, and talked tomy wife, heidi, and said, hey,
(04:52):
you're cool if I give it a go.
And she said, yeah, you know,basically you got.
You know you got six months.
And you know if it works great,but then you got to find a real
job.
So, anyway, I went upstairs,opened up the computer, called a
couple of agents that I'm closewith, and no one had really
(05:13):
filled the void in Jackson forthe time I'd you know had left.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And so there, that was the beginning of it, and
what was the extent of yourexperience in the business prior
to starting Arden Land and youryour tenure at Skygolf?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, and in Jackson I booked.
When I moved back to Jackson in1986 from Birmingham I worked
for with Malcolm White and so ina book Callum House for eight
years in St Patty or today weran that.
I booked and did all theproduction for Jubilee Jam for
(05:50):
eight years so a lot.
And before that I was inBirmingham.
I worked on the concertcommittee for UAB and that's
that's where it really getsstarted.
And I was in Boise before thatand I was in the music business
there and that was actuallyworked.
My first concert in 1970, 78 or79 with Hoyd Aksum was the
(06:14):
first show I ever worked.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I saw on your website that they the descriptions,
along with your staff, camesuggestions of albums and music
from, from the individuals onyour staff.
What were, what were some ofthose albums that they put or
that you go go to for you when,when?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
you need to list us for good music.
But I'm a.
If I had, you know, one type ofmusic on a desert, you know I
would.
I would have to go withclassical.
I mean there's no ifs, ands orbuts on that, but you know some
of my go-tos.
I mean I love old Genesis, theback when Gabriel was Peter
(06:52):
Gabriel's with the band, and,and you know all types of jazz.
You know miles, full train, allthat or just so.
But I'm all over the map onmusic.
I mean it's yeah, there's notreally.
I'd be hard pressed to say.
You know, if I had one record,this is what I would do, but
(07:12):
yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
I have found that most music buffs are all over
the map, yeah, you know, andthey often end up being very
well rounded people withinteresting perspectives.
Because when you take in somany different types of art,
inevitably, especially in music,if you take in different types
of music, you're getting a,you're getting introduced to a
(07:34):
lot of different types ofcultures.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Through that and immersing yourselves in that,
yourself in that, and so that'swhat I've found about people who
really, really, really, really,really astute in music.
You know the musical landscapehistorically and currently they
tend to be very, verywell-rounded people.
So tonight we've got a legend,a national treasure playing at
(07:58):
the LSDater, bobby Rushcelebrating his 90th birthday.
That's incredible.
That's an incredible sequenceof events.
His birthday is November the10th, so it's the day of his
90th birthday, and I've not seenBobby Rush perform in a while,
(08:19):
but everything I'm hearing isthat he's still alive wire he's
still kicking and screaming.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
I was with Bobby just a few months ago and it's scary
.
I mean my dad's 90.
And yeah, it's just when Iwatch Bobby I'm thinking about
my dad.
My dad's still pretty active,but Bobby's got it going on.
So a year ago Bobby called meand said I want to do my
(08:56):
birthday show at Dueling Hall.
So I said, heck, yeah, come on.
So we did it and he did a soloshow, which I've got.
I bet I've done 50 Bobby Rushdates, but I've never done a
solo date with Bobby and it wasan amazing experience.
But we got the full bandversion tonight with the dancing
(09:17):
group.
I mean, yeah, it'll be a goodtime.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Have you known Bobby since early in his career.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I've known Bobby since, I guess, when I moved
back to Jackson.
I've known Bobby since, I guesssince 86, 87 when I moved back
here, and we're good friends andhe is the, he is.
It was a perfect word.
He's a treasure.
And he is such a fine gentlemanand I don't know of a more
(09:51):
caring person in the world.
I mean Bobby will go out of hisway to do anything for anybody
he is.
He's a genuine gentleman.
I mean, he's just, he's topnotch.
It doesn't get any better.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Well, from his music he has to be, he has to be a
good time.
He has to be, he has to be atrip.
I like one of his earlier songs.
I guess it came out in the 80s,right about 85, 86.
One monkey can't stop no show.
And then here recently a morecurrent Southern soul artist
(10:27):
that goes by the name of KingGeorge used that line in his
song and I'm not sure if you'refamiliar with Southern soul or
not, but they will have theseparodies.
Oftentimes it'll be a male anda female going back and forth
and basically having their ownsongs but communicating with one
another.
Bobby recently came out in thisyear with a what I think is a
(10:50):
response to King George's.
I think he's keep on rollingand he's saying that one monkey
can stop a show.
So I like that.
I like seeing the dialoguebetween the elder artists in the
genre and the younger artists,because the younger artists,
that is one genre that they do areally good job of paying
homage to those that have comebefore them.
(11:10):
So seeing him tonight,especially in Philadelphia,
mississippi, as a nativePhiladelphia and Bobby Rush fan,
it couldn't get much betterthan that.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It'll be a good time, and it's you know so much.
We're losing so many of ourelder musicians these days and
it's you know it's a littlefrightening to me.
Just, you know there is somecrazy great music out there, but
(11:40):
you know you think of the waythat the music business is now,
that everything's one hit wonder.
You know there's no realcareers built anymore, and you
know this.
You know you play a stadiumdate.
You know, and you come backyou're not playing a stadium
again you know it's you know,our idea of a superstar these
(12:06):
days is very short lived.
I mean, they're, you know, sure,taylor Swift and a few others,
but you know it's a littledaunting.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Why do you think that dynamic has come on?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, I think a lot of it is simply the One.
The internet, you know,everything is.
You know, you've the acts thatcome on board.
Now come out with a single.
They build that career on thesame.
They release another single,you know, and it's so
(12:42):
homogenized in my, it's just.
You know it's the same oldthing commercial, commercialized
.
You know, get it on, put it onTikTok, get it streaming.
You know the day of you know,building from the ground up.
Building that career, you know,has a lot to.
You know everything has changed.
(13:03):
I mean, radio is not right whatradio used to be.
You know you've got theinternet now, which has been an
amazing thing for the musicbusiness because you know we can
hear music from hundreds ofthousands of new acts that can
come out.
It's just that, you know youlook at an Elton John, you look
(13:24):
at a Billy Joel, you look at an,even a U2, you know those acts
are.
You know they're.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
And I don't, you know , you don't you think of Elton
John in his career.
You can't name another artistthat can follow in Elton John's
footsteps, for you know, notthat there you could, but you
know, in that sense, of thatsuperstar, and anyway, I think
(13:55):
it's fascinating.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's interesting to watch how things
evolve over time.
Like you mentioned, theinternet has just given us
access not only to consumer, butthe actual producer, the
independent artist can get theirmusic out without having to go
to, you know, get hooked up witha professional studio.
I mean, if you can afford alittle bit of equipment, you can
(14:18):
afford to at least be heard.
And then TikTok is just a.
I don't have it.
I haven't spent a lot of timeon it.
I mean, I don't have anythingagainst it, it's just not
something that's been in myworld, but apparently it is.
Things go viral and catch likethat in a moment's notice and
whereas, like you said, that canchange somebody's life
(14:40):
overnight.
As you said, they used to haveto beat the pavement and go, uh,
walking up and down stages anduh go into different venues
across the region, such as likethe Chitlin circuit, for example
.
Um, and you know they had tomake it in the real world, so to
speak.
But it's become so much moreefficient because of the
(15:02):
availability of the technologyand the accessibility that the
average person has to thetechnology that's required to
make the music.
Is Jackson, uh, in your mind?
Is it the soul city?
Is it the king city of soulmusic in the United States of
America?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I don't know if I'd go that far, um, I think I think
it holds a special place, yes,but I do think that you know you
, you know Memphis, you know, oreven just the state of
Mississippi, you know there, Imean, there's, there's so many
other cities between, uh, youknow, cleveland and Greenwood,
(15:48):
those you know, oxford, there's,there's a lot of other places.
Even down on the coast is doingquite a bit too.
So I think there's a um, a goodhome.
I, you know again, you knowBobby's there.
You know we, we've got a fewpeople, but you know, again,
we're, we're losing our, youknow, son Thomas, all the.
(16:09):
You know we just lost RL, butyou know all of you know we're
just losing, we're losing our,our soul.
Yeah, you know, there there are, there are musicians and there
is a very great um music scene.
But when it comes to the, youknow, soul, I mean we're, we're
(16:30):
a city with soul, yes, but uh,you know, I don't.
I don't really know how toanswer that question, but it.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Oh, I say, when we look at uh on a national scale,
we look at places like uhDetroit and uh Cleveland Ohio.
I think Bobby Womack is fromCleveland Ohio.
There are other cities thathave uh carry a moniker that
they're a soul city, and when Iget off the airport, I get off
the airplane and Jackson,they've got the mural that says
(16:57):
welcome to the city with soul,and so it's obviously a badge of
honor that the city wears.
I was just curious as towhether or not it stood up
across the country in the eyesof uh music venues and uh
musicians as holding that uhbeing highly revered in regards
to being a soul city.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, I think that the um a lot of what was done on
the city.
So the visit Jackson, you know,is basically, uh, referring to
not only the music scene but thefood scene, the people.
It's this, you know heartfeltsoul, rather than R and B and
soul music.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
I see, I see that is, uh, that's even greater, yeah,
I mean and and truer in a sense.
You know, because if you, ifyou take into account all of
those different things, we aredefinitely very, very soulful.
Heck, yeah, very, very soulful.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
What is the?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
music scene in your opinion?
What's the help of it like inJackson live music scene?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
It's good.
Yeah, actually it's very good.
We've got a thriving localscene.
That's that, I think, isprobably better than it has been
in a long, long time.
The attendance in shows hasbeen good.
(18:20):
You know we tend to book a lotof music that is not well known,
and that's usually.
I mean, I've just done that forall my life because I think
part of what being a promoter isis sharing new bands, sharing
new music, and it is, you know,the whole premise in the last 11
(18:45):
years, for the most part, hasbeen trying to build a trust
level with, with the community,that you know, if you come to
see a show, that we do it's.
You know we use our tagline aswe don't book shit bands and but
that you can trust that you cancome see this show and it's
(19:05):
going to be a great show.
It may, you know, you may getthere and it's not your genre or
whatever, but but for what itis, you know we, we ask that you
trust, come in, give it a try.
I mean, obviously, if you don'tlike it you leave, happy to
give your money back.
But but it's more of you knowknowing that if you come to a
show at Dueling Hall you'regoing to get a great, you're
(19:27):
going to get a good night, andso, and it's it takes a while to
build that trust and and andpart of our I feel like our
mission at the Ellis is the samething, you know, yes, steve
Miller's coming in there went,marcel's, there's some great
bands, but but I think part ofmy, my goal, or my company and
(19:48):
the people I work with, that youknow our purpose is, and and I
know it's Marty's mission to isto to bring in new musicians
that are that hold true to the,to the level of commitment to to
the arts, and so we, you knowwe we want people to trust us
(20:08):
and come see shows, whether ornot they know the name or not,
and I think you'll be verypleasantly surprised at what you
find.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, have you all booked and released the bookings
of any shows yet that y'allhave that y'all are prior to
coming on, it was already booked, like if you already booked it
shows and released tubes comingwe have not.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
So the everything that's owned the books now was
previously previously booked.
We are actively so we'rebasically booked through May of
next year already of 24 of 24.
So we are pursuing acts nowthat would start in June for the
fall for all through the restof the rest of 2024.
(20:51):
And so we will.
You know, there'll be a releaseon on the acts, on how we do
that.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, you mentioned Marty Stewart.
Of course his mission has that.
I'm sure that's beencommunicated to you.
In regards to what he's lookingfor, what the Congress is
looking for in terms of genresor types of artists, is there a
prototype?
Is there a general mission toconsider when booking acts at
(21:20):
the LSD?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Yeah, and in, marty and I have been friends for
quite some time now and you knowhe I mean, yes, there is a
mission, I mean he is hismission is to preserve the
legends and preserve, you know,the mute, the country music and
hence his collection andeverything behind it.
(21:41):
But, that said, it's not justcountry music.
I think he hits his and weshare that.
You know it's music of alltypes and that it is to bring in
and make accessible music to tothe city of Philadelphia and
the surrounding area and in thestate, the country, you know,
(22:04):
the world, to make Philadelphiaand the Congress and the LSD or
somewhere that people want tocome see and want to be a part
of it.
It absolutely starts with thecommunity and you know that's we
take that very seriously.
But we, I think we've, we're,we have been given a very, very
(22:30):
omission, if it's almost like amission from God, like the blues
brother.
You know right that that youknow that we take very seriously
and, yeah, I've said thismultiple times on many, many
episodes.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
So forgive me for those of y'all that have heard
me say this over and over again,but I'll continue to say it.
What Marty Stewart decided todo by bringing that collection
back here is phenomenal and saysa lot about who he is as a
person.
Because he did not have to dothat.
He did not have to come andinevitably deal with a lot of
(23:07):
the obstacles I'm sure that thathe's encountered with coming to
a place that, just beingfactual, didn't necessarily have
the infrastructure in place tomake it as easy as possible to
get this, you know, get thecollection out and encased for
the public to view.
It seems to me like now thatthey've got the Ellis open and
(23:28):
have for I guess a year now, youknow a little over a year.
It's obvious there's beencontributions and fundraising
efforts for the Congress and Iknow that that will continue
moving forward and I wish forpeople listening in Philadelphia
and surrounding areas.
Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but it appears to me, for
(23:51):
example, like the Dolly show,some of your more high profile
shows that if it weren't theCongress of Country Music,
philadelphia, mississippi wouldnever get those acts.
Those shows, those prices forthose tickets are for
fundraising purposes.
That's the reason why they areso expensive and that is a good
(24:12):
thing that we can.
You know Marty has arelationship with these people
and they agree to come in and dothis.
And you know, because there'sbeen a lot, there have been a
lot of complaints about highticket prices on these more
valuable shows and I believethat's on purpose to, you know,
bankroll the Congress of CountryMusic.
(24:33):
Am I way off base there?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
No, you're spot on.
So there are.
Steve Miller band that's comingup in December is another
example of that.
That Steve was one of the firstis a friend of Marty's, is was
one of the first people toactually make a contribution to
the fund for the Congress.
So Dolly played two shows inthis year and they're both in
(24:57):
Philadelphia, mississippi.
But those were donespecifically to raise money for
the Congress.
So there will I.
That will continue.
I mean, there's only one DollyParton in this world.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
And there will only ever be one Dolly Parton.
But there are many otherartists out there that are on a
very high caliber, that thatwe're visiting with that.
But those shows, as SteveMiller, which the tickets are
are.
They're high, but they arefundraisers, they are not.
(25:34):
This is not a concert, it's a506 seat venue.
Steve Miller band playsamphitheaters and arenas, so
it's a.
It's a it's.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Steve is.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Steve is coming on as a favor to Marty to raise money
for the Congress.
So when you see a $200 or $300ticket for Steve Miller, you're
you're about to witness SteveMiller in a 500 seat venue,
which is just will be an outerbody experience.
(26:10):
So I, you know, we part of whatwe have worked very hard with
lately, especially in socialmedia and our email blasts, and
so is to make sure that peopleunderstand Steve Miller is not,
it's not just a concert, this isa fundraiser to raise money for
the Congress.
Um, actually, McBride, you know, the other great shows that
(26:33):
we've got coming in, um, youknow, are again friends of
friends of Marty, a wine owner,same thing, but at the same time
, you know, the ticket pricesare not $500.
That's not, you know, that'swhat we're trying to steer away
from.
We want the shows to be, uh,profitable as as much as
(26:57):
possible, but I don't thinkpeople understand that.
You know profitable profitableat the LS Theater is is not
making $100,000.
You know it's making a fewthousand dollars in this
business.
It's hard to do anyway.
So, um, but we want it to beaccessible.
But, yes, you can expect biggershows to come to the LS and
(27:22):
tickets to be high, Um, and, butit's for that reason.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah, and the matter is, I mean, you've got these,
these musical moguls that, likeyou said, are playing in arenas
and stadiums, and then you putthem in this 506 seat venue.
Well, the fewer seats you havejust by supply and demand, the
higher your prices are going tobe.
But the fact of the matter isthat there are people who have
(27:47):
that amount of money, who arewilling to pay for those tickets
and that experience, and that'sa win-win for everybody.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Yes, Especially for Philadelphia in the long run,
correct.
So so I know that the you knowbeing able to do the outdoor
aspect of Dolly to have a more,you know a more lower ticket
price and have it open to thepublic, you know is, you know, I
think we'll continue um on someof the people that we're
(28:16):
talking to.
Yeah, that went over very well.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah, that went over very well and I've talked to
many people outside ofPhiladelphia who came in for
that and they're like man, thatwas, I mean, it was hot Seven
hails.
But you know they said the waythat it was set up the stage,
the Jumbotron, the vendors, Imean I had a lot of, a lot of
people giving compliments andyearning for more, uh, more
(28:41):
shows that bring on that type ofatmosphere in the outside
setting.
You'll see that in the comingyear and that was, um, you know
that's a.
That is a very key component indriving that economic progress
that we want to see here, theEllis and the Congress in
general, obviously.
But when we can have thingslike that that are that are
(29:06):
outside, people live around town, can walk, uh, because we do
have a, we have limited parking,but we do have a very walkable
downtown area and people like toget out and enjoy that when
there are things to do.
So, uh, I'll be looking forwardto that now.
Festivals, annual festivals,things of that nature have any
(29:27):
of those ideas been tossedaround uh, or talked about that
you can disclose?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Um, tossed around.
Yes, I think, I think for usright now, it's to it's to
massage what we've got to workwith for the next five months,
six months, yeah and really getin place as sustainable and, uh,
a place where everybody feelscomfortable and and doing
(29:55):
business.
Um, those, I mean we're alwaysthinking about things to do and
and new ideas.
Uh, a lot of it is just getting.
We're still I mean, we're whatfive weeks into to this project.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Oh, I didn't realize it was that recent.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, it's been like five, maybe six weeks so, and we
came in, you know, to a lot andso rebuilding and, and you know
, looking at everything that'son the map, what needs to be
changed, what needs to be done,that's, that's been first and
foremost on our on our plate.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Have you had?
Have you had much troublefinding staffing for the shows?
Speaker 2 (30:36):
No, no, it's great Um .
So Natalie and Loretta, thatare that uh, that are at the
Ellis and have been for a whileor there, we love them.
Yeah, they're great Um, andwe've we've got a super staff,
um, and you know we're we'relooking at doing some things
differently.
But you know my thing is not tocome in and just gut everything
(31:02):
.
You know we want to be a partof the community.
You know we're, we live inMississippi, we're we're I mean,
we're an hour and a half away.
But you know it's not likecoming in and changing
everything up.
Our goal is to to use localpeople whenever and as much as
humanly possible is not to to todo what we do and bring in
(31:26):
people outsiders.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
I guess would be the word.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
We want to do business within the community
first.
That's first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
So that's well, we understand that.
Um, it can sometimes bedifficult in small rural places
to find just enough people, butjust because of the lack of
population, yeah, and no otherreason.
Dr Bynan Jackson, I mean, yeah,I mean it's, yeah, yeah, we're,
we're, um, I think it's gettingbetter, I think.
But I think the the jobsituation.
(31:55):
I think you know I'm not seeingall the now hiring signs at KFC
and Popeyes, you know all yourfast food restaurants like right
after COVID, but, um, whatother venues do you manage?
Is it just the Ellis andDooling Hall?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
From a management standpoint, yes, um, we, we do
the buying, I do the talentbuying for the Riley center in
Meridian and so on thatstandpoint we were just, we're
basically the talent buyer, um,and work with the work with them
, you know, wherever they needus.
(32:31):
But but primarily on talentbuying, uh, we also do the
Sanger theater and andHattiesburg, we do the um, the
convention center down there,the lawn, uh, the impact center
on the Gulf Coast we buy talentfor, uh, we do a lot of work in
(32:52):
Natchez.
Um, so yeah, we're all, we havea really full plate.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
So when, when y'all are booking these acts for these
venues, are you calling theseagents directly?
Uh, do you go to a marketplace?
You just rely on contacts thatyou've made throughout the years
.
Um, how, how does that looklike on a more, uh, granular
level, it.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
it's going to depend some on the building.
I mean, for the most part Imean we deal directly, you know
with with the agents of thebands, for for sure, and and a
lot of this.
I'm still working with people.
I'm still working with agentsthat I worked with in 1982 when
I was in Birmingham.
(33:37):
Uh so, but I would say 80% ofthe acts that we book the age
are brought to us.
We don't go out and seek themno-transcript, have a list of
(33:58):
people that we're interested inand we'll share it with the
agent of that band and then atthe same time, say, hey, you
know, I've got so, and so comingthrough town, you know, do you
want to book a show with them?
So it's so much of it is.
It's a who you know thing forsure, and a trust.
You know we've 40 years ofworking in this business and you
(34:22):
know, have a lot of friends.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
So Alabama has got a major concert, country concert
in Coleman, alabama.
The name of it escapes me, butit happens annually.
Tennessee has Bonnaroo right.
Louisiana obviously has JazzFest.
What do we have?
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Nothing like that Can we?
Well, we used to have JubileeJam.
Obviously was was a bigfestival from the standpoint of
the you know, our population.
Cathead Jam is a festival thatwe produce in Jackson.
Yes, that's been growing and ithas been growing.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
That's a good production.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Yeah.
So you know whether I thinkCathead is probably the, the,
the festival that I would seegrowing to a bigger level.
I don't know if you know we'vehad some meetings, you know
about having a new city festival, but this they are so expensive
(35:32):
to do.
I mean, it's just, yeah, it's,it's brutal and you know there
are so many ifs when you'redoing that with weather you know
with you know just everythingthat goes along with that A ton
of risk.
Yeah, a ton of risk, a ton ofrisk.
And back in the day, jubileeJam and all this you know you're
that festival was was very muchlived on sponsorship and and
(35:58):
arts funds and those that moneyhas really dried up.
I mean there's there's stillsome there, but when you're
talking about you know, three,four million dollar festival
it's, it gets rough real fast.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
No doubt.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
So anyway, I think I think we do good shows, and you
know we've it's cathead a multiday fest.
It's a two day festival.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yes, it was yes Over the past, and is that held at
the distillery?
It is.
I've never been.
I'm just seeing pictures andvideos.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Yeah, it takes place on the grounds of the distillery
and we also close off streetsaround the distillery and pull
fence panels out and you know,so it's.
You know it's a cool setup,yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Yeah, the music scene in Jackson is interesting.
Of course, f Jones is alwaysmentioned.
Yeah, for those of you thatknow, you know, and then some
other spots that have been.
What are some other spots inJackson that have been live
music staples for a while now?
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Well, Halemals, of course, of course, yeah,
martin's, martin's.
You know we used to have thesubway back in the day.
You know F Jones, of course,man, I can't stay up late enough
, too old, and or when I do go,it's a week of recovery.
Yeah, so yeah, and there's.
You know they've come and gone,but you know the Halemals, the,
(37:25):
and and Martin's are stillthriving.
I mean they're still, andMartin's is doing.
You know Chris books some greatshows in there.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
So when you look at managing a show right.
So just take a tonight show,for example.
I'm sure you break down thenight into different budgetary
items or line items, if you will.
What has the most profit margin?
Which one of those buckets has?
Was it concessions, is itticket sales merchandise, or is
(37:59):
it all kind of lumped intogether and about the same?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
No, it's.
I mean it's.
It's certainly broken out.
You know whether it's anexpense or or income.
The music business these daysis not what it used to be.
I mean the as a promoter, youdon't make money on ticket sales
.
I mean it's the ancillaries youknow the ban is making 90% of
(38:27):
the money.
Yeah, and you know so.
Bar sales is very important.
Yeah, you know concession some,but you know not so much it's
really bar and you know.
And then you, you get into thedifferent levels.
You know where there may beparking, whether it's, you know,
bar sponsorship, etc.
(38:49):
Etc.
So those are the other areasthat you really have to, you
know, concentrate and build goodrelationships on and do a good
job doing to try and maximizeyour income.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, you mentioned a couple of different theaters
the Ellis, the Sanger, the RileyCenter.
I think it would be really cooland somebody may have already
done this, but I think it'd bereally cool if someone did a
traverse the state ofMississippi and did a theater
documentary.
That'd be cool.
And, you know, run down thehistory of some of these older
(39:23):
theaters that we have throughoutthe state that have been either
taken care of throughout theirlifetime or, like the Ellis,
been refurbished, and have alook at all of those, because
obviously these towns, a lot ofthem are dying but they still
have those theaters, and I meanLaurel's probably got got one,
I'm not sure, but I think thatwould be a really cool, really
(39:45):
cool project.
Well, Lee, you got cameras andyeah, I got to get in the car
and go.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yeah, that'd be great .
I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I think it is too.
We might just do that.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah, show starts at what time tonight Doors are at
seven.
Show starts at eight Yep Doorsare at seven.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Show starts at eight.
This will be out probably aweek or two after the show.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
But for those of y'all listening.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I'll give y'all an update on a solo episode Arden.
I appreciate you coming through.
Thank you and we appreciate asPhiladelphians, we appreciate
what it is that y'all are doingat the Ellis and the service
that y'all are providing, andI've seen nothing but good
things so far and have very,very high expectations that I do
believe y'all will have noproblem meeting.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Well, thank you very much and we look forward to
being a part of the town.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
County Line congregation.
Thank Mr Arden Barnett andArden land until next time,
peace.
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