We recently connected with Sandra Holman-Watts and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sandra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

The idea of a “Chicago style” smokey jazz room in the backstreets of Denver was the vision of a prominent Doctor in the Denver area Joel Karlin. His vision came alive in 1998 on 1553 Platte Street Denver , on the 2nd floor of an office building. The venue was originally a black box theatre, creaky, stale and very under ground. The room was quickly renovated into a 50 seat, intimate live music listening room. The doctor reached out to the top jazz group in Denver, Dotsero, to be the “house band” on the weekends, believing in them, their loyal following & his new digs were enough to grow the business.
I met with Dr Karlin three months after the grand opening of Jazz@Jack’s , he quickly admitted to me his ideas were ambitious and he was out of his element. I on the other hand had years of hospitality training and a understanding of the bar business. I agreed to step in as manager and assist with creating awareness, marketing, staffing, booking, inventory control etc.
I WAS SO EXCITED!! I BELIEVED IN THE LIVE MUSIC SCENE.
I left the security of my “job” of 20 years with a major airline and dove in head first.
My heart and soul believed in Jazz@Jack’s. I was where I belonged.
My ideas were working, the club was moving in the right direction.
Fast forward 11 months, sadly Joel Karlin became gravely ill and passed away shortly after.
He was the founder, the money man… the backer. What now?
I became the managing partner , owner of Jazz@Jack’s with a percentage holding to the musical partners Dotsero.
Fast forward 7 years.. MOVING ON UP… and opportunity knocked.. The new Denver Pavilions loved the vibe and the reputation that was created and asked us to move uptown downtown within 2 blocks of the new Colorado Convention Center.
JACKPOT, now we are national/International, people from all over the world were going to experience Jazz@Jack’s.
Then hits the recession, the wall of silence in a live music room. Hard times, rebranding, rebuilding, sleepless nights,spiraling into Bankruptcy.
Post bankruptcy fresh paint, new marketing, private events, diverse shows and GRINDING…
The name change..LIVE@Jacks… the new world of google, facebook, algorithms made it a necessity.
It worked..I was so proud.
Fast forward… COVID… I took a call from a major international client, 12 hours prior their expected arrival that they were cancelling their weeklong rental of the venue because of COVID?? What is Covid???
Quick answer, the end of Live@Jacks.. Jack’s died of Covid..
The venue died.. but I did not.. I took the name, the love, the loyal following, the loyal customers and offered them the
Live@Jacks experience at various locations. Rooftops, parking lots, beach front concerts, drive in concerts, parks, private events and more. The brick and mortar are no longer but the experience is alive and well across the state.
Welcome Live At Jack’s Entertainment. 100% owned and operated by your truly.
I also consult for live music venues, assist with talent booking for many national festivals and recently accepted a position as Artist Liaison for a major international festival group.

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?

What sets me apart from others in my industry , other than gender, is my ability to understand front & back of the house. . Venus, artists, clients buyers etc. all have specific needs and expectations. I’m an artist advocate with a business mind. I care and am extremely fair.
I’m very proud of the people I surround myself with, the loyal following of my brand and mostly that I didn’t let the hardships stop me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

As a single mother of a beautiful daughter, Sara, I worked constantly. By day for a major airline, at night bartending for the quick cash. I would gravitate towards the live music venues. I loved the energy of the artists and felt a connection with them. It was important for me to provide a wonderful environment for them to perform and for the audience to enjoy. The hustle of bartending & serving was fun and came easy to me, with the exception of the very long hours.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I met the original owner cocktailing & bartending. He knew I could operate his business,

Contact Info:

• Website: www.liveatjacks.com
• Instagram: liveatjacks
• Facebook: Sandra HolmanWatts
• Linkedin: sandra holman watts
• Twitter: lveatjacks
• Youtube: live at jacks

Image Credits
photo cred: Tanja Butler Melone