We recently connected with Andria K. Brown and have shared our conversation below.
Andria K., appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
One of the biggest things setting this concert series apart is that 100% of the ticket price goes directly to artists. I began presenting shows in my home, and passing along 100% of the door is standard protocol for house shows. I didn’t want to lose that benefit to our performers when I started hosting shows in public spaces, but I had to figure out a way to support our increased costs. To my knowledge, Folk All Y’all is the only patron-supported concert series on the Patreon platform, which allows supporters to pledge whatever amount they can toward each show. That pledge money is what allows us to have a beautiful venue space and professional sound and cover most of the other expenses that are part of running the series.
Of course, that’s just the difference in our business model. From a mission perspective, the series is very different from the industry standard when it comes to our programming. I began the series without thinking much about the backgrounds of our performers, but over time I realized that the artists I was hosting did not reflect a wide range of perspectives. I put a greater focus on amplifying underrepresented voices in the Americana genre and curating a lineup that looked less like the music industry and more like my vibrant city. That means having gender parity and centering BIPOC artists, as well as providing a welcoming space on the road for LGBTQ+ musicians. And the thing is, it’s not hard. There’s no lack of talent out there, just typically a lack of opportunity.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Folk All Y’all is a community-supported, nonprofit listening room series dedicated to presenting world-class singer-songwriters in an atmosphere that celebrates their work and uplifts their audiences. And it totally started by accident, after inviting a friend to play a show in my backyard when he couldn’t find another spot in town where his literary folk pop would be appreciated. Six months later, when a favorite artist of mine cancelled a show because of venue issues, I offered to host it myself. In two weeks. The name of the series was actually a potential radio show idea I’d been kicking around, but I needed a website to look official while promoting the show, so Folk All Y’all was born.
Although I didn’t see this labor of love coming, I did have some background that made it make sense. I spent my college years working at the box office that handled shows for one of the country’s most revered music schools. And when I moved to Memphis with my then-husband so he could teach music production and business, I became part of the historic local scene by proxy. I started helping local artists with web design and marketing and eventually ran a small booking agency, so I saw how hard it is to get shows planned and actually make a living from them. So while I didn’t have a ton of specific knowledge about running shows myself, I did know quite a bit about the challenges that touring artists face, and I’m always trying to make this the best stop on any route.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I was always a fan of music that fell under the folk/roots/Americana umbrella without really knowing much about its history. As I’ve grown in this effort, though, I’ve learned so much more about where many musical traditions originate and have gotten more passionate about celebrating creators who are reconnecting the present with the past. Although I’m more of a conduit for their creativity, I do consider it an artistic effort to curate a series that expresses the richness of so many stories.
It’s also really important to me to reflect Memphis in my decisions. Most of the artists I host are from other places and many are visiting Memphis for the first time, but I don’t forget that this is a majority female, majority Black city, and if I’m representing folk – literally the music of the people – the people of Memphis should at least hear echoes of themselves from my stage.
Have you ever had to pivot?
As I mentioned, I began presenting Folk All Y’all as a house show series, and that’s a very particular kind of event. There are truly wonderful things about it, not the least of which is getting to hear your favorite musicians sing to themselves as they run a load of laundry, but it also presents some logistical challenges. I did it by the book, so that meant on-site donations instead of pre-sales, RSVPs that may never turn into attendees, not being able to publicize the actual location, and getting people over the hurdle of seeing a show in a stranger’s actual home.
After three years and a steady 50% no-show rate, I knew I needed a better system. But I also knew expenses would go way up if I started hosting shows outside my own home, and I didn’t want to take a cut of ticket sales. That’s when the patron-based public shows began. I spent a year or so moving the shows around to locations that worked but weren’t full-time venues, so I was setting up an entire venue space each time. Eventually I was lucky to partner with Studio688, a flexible work and warehouse space that was wired for sound and had most of what we needed on-site, including a professional sound engineer. And then in the fall of 2019, a fully loaded listening room space opened less than a mile from my house. I was incredibly fortunate to have some past ties with the nonprofit running that room, Crosstown Arts, and they’ve graciously partnered with me over the past few years – with a big gap in the middle there, obviously. So it’s been a massive and constant series of changes from where we started, but somehow I’m still very close to home.
Contact Info:
- Website: folkallyall.com
- Instagram: @folkallyall
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/folkallyall/
- Twitter: @folkallyall
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FolkAllYall
Image Credits
Louis “Ziggy” Tucker, Jamie Harmon