We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Romanelli a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caroline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I hope I will be remembered as the girl who booked cool shows in New Brunswick and beyond. Bringing people together, being consistent with shows, and caring a lot about my work.

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I desperately wanted to get into the music industry but it was very difficult unless you knew someone or did an internship in college. So I started from the ground up; I joined the CEG street team to hand out flyers before or after shows in NYC to working the door for their Seafood & Reggae fest. That’s where I asked what else I can do to open more doors in the industry. I was advised to manage a band from my hometown and make connections with venues, so that’s what I did. I booked them at a couple places, one was Scarlet Pub in New Brunswick. My friend was going to Rutgers at the time, and she told me the owner is looking for someone to book weekly shows and open mics. She linked me with him and the rest is history.

I started my own music production business in 2015 called Embrace DIY Productions where I booked bands and hosted open mics at Scarlet Pub in New Brunswick, NJ. Every week I set up and did the sound for all of my events, made flyers, and handled all of the marketing. I eventually branched out to multiple places around NB, offering people a chance to find bands that you wouldn’t be able to see unless you were “in the know”. I would book bands that I saw and fell in love with at basement shows and book them at bars and restaurants.

When Covid hit in March 2020, I cancelled everything I had planned and stopped hosting live music events for a while. I worked at a dog day care, managed a restaurant, and worked the box office at The House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ from September 2021 until the place flooded in October 2023.

I started booking bands again at the end of 2021 at The Asbury Hotel. Then in February 2022 I got a part-time job coordinating events and hosting open mics at The Madison Community Arts Center in Madison, NJ, my hometown. I branded my shows as the Come Original Showcase. In February 2025, I finally got a full-time position here, but now I’m the Director of The Madison Community Arts Center. I organize this space where we house all sorts of events; I am still currently hosting a monthly open mic and the Come Original.

I’m proud of the fact that I was able to work my way up from nothing, to becoming the director of a community arts space through The Borough of Madison. I always wanted to own my own music venue, but Covid really opened my eyes to the risks of that prospect. Being able to still have the creative freedom of booking my own events and welcoming other’s events that benefit the community without having that financial risk and burden, is truly incredible.

I care about the music community and have always taken care of all the artists that I’ve worked with. I care about making people feel welcome, safe, and included. Having a good reputation and being consistent can go a long way.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I loved that I was able to set my own schedule and make time for things that matter to me – booking shows and creating an experience for people of all ages and walks of life. I love bringing community together, planning fundraisers, and putting a killer lineup together. I love being able to impact people’s lives just from putting together live music events, and connecting people to new bands. Giving a platform to young, up and coming bands is pretty rewarding too.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

It was September 2019, a few years into booking weekly shows in New Brunswick and I just picked up a new venue to book at. I was booking shows every Sunday and open mics every Wednesday at Scarlet Pub, along with shows every Thursday at Barca City Cafe, and now I’m booking Saturdays at Hub City Brew House.
Mind you, I book local bands, mostly original bands too. This place gave me a budget to pay myself and the bands I booked. I think it was after three shows, the manager calls me to say its not working out, that I’m not bringing enough money in for them. They dropped me just like that, and all the shows I had lined up there, I needed to find new venues, which I did, and those shows were awesome. I don’t know what their bar/food sales were, but I do know that I brought a lot of people in there. I think their expectations were a little high or they were just greedy, either way my time was cut short there and I had to pivot.
That hiccup motivated me to find better places and business owners to work with, and that’s when I started working with Redd’s Biergarten, Tavern on George, and The Olive Branch. Unfortunately not too long after, Covid hit so I had to cancel all my upcoming shows for the foreseeable future. I was really liking the momentum my business was getting, and these new spots were bigger and had a really cool vibe to them, so it was definitely a bummer when it all came to a halt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://embracediynj.com
• Instagram: @embracediynj.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Embracediynj/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolineromanelli
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@embracediynj
• Other: Madison Community Arts Center links: rosenet.org/mcac
  @madisonartsnj on FB & IG.