Paul Thornton Leaves Bravo

Bravo Entertainment is still in operation, but has just lost its last founder, Paul Thornton.

Thornton has decided to form a company that will focus on sports and music festivals, according to a statement.

Knitting Factory Entertainment owns a majority stake in Bravo and will reorganize the company’s senior management team, putting Greg Marchant in charge of day-to-day operations, the company said. Based in Boise, Idaho, Bravo also owns the Big Easy nightclubs, which Knitting Factory plans to expand.

Thornton handled booking, marketing and production for several winter sports and music festivals recently, including the Honda Ski Tour, and has a hankering to pursue these events full time, the statement said. He can be reached at 208-447-8435 and [email protected] until his new company is established.

Paul and his brother Creston built Bravo into a promotion company that eventually operated in 19 states. Creston left the company a few years ago to pursue a career in real estate, but Paul was on board when Knitting Factory, which has a presence on both coasts, bought a majority stake in Bravo in January 2006 in an effort to promote in the flyover states.

In May, Knitting Factory formalized acquiring the remaining Bravo shares to complete the transaction and wholly own the Bravo and Big Easy divisions.