Capshaw’s A Starr Promoter

Exactly how much concert promotion does Coran Capshaw do? Apparently a lot.

Pollstar didn’t read between the lines when, in January, Capshaw’s Red Light Management released a statement that Anheuser-Busch had entered into an agreement to distribute Starr Hill beer. Capshaw is the primary owner of the Starr Hill brand.

In listing Capshaw’s accomplishments – managing Dave Matthews Band, co-founding ATO Records Group and founding Musictoday – the statement included the following: "Capshaw’s Starr Hill Presents promotes live music on a regional and national level."

It is known, if not shouted from the rooftops, that Capshaw is co-owner and financial backer of Bonnaroo and co-owner of its sister festival, Vegoose. But the full impact of the sentence came clear when we visited Starrhillpresents.com.

Starr Hill is involved in the Charlottesville Pavilion and Satellite Ballroom. No shocker there: Capshaw built the Charlottesville, Va., shed in 2005 and bought the Satellite after selling the physical location of Starr Hill Brewery. A third Charlottesville property, The Jefferson Theatre, is also being restored by Starr Hill Presents.

Not so well known is that Starr Hill is partnering with Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly Productions in Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, set to take place at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park August 22-24.

The promotion company is also working on the Mile High Music Festival with AEG Live Rocky Mountains, run by Chuck Morris. The inaugural Mile High is scheduled at the Outer Fields of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver July 19-20.

Capshaw was in Hawaii for a DMB concert at press time and was not available for comment. But at this pace, if the company continues to invest in inaugural festivals, the profile of Starr Hill Presents will be raised in no time.

Meanwhile, Capshaw’s Red Light Management has been tapped to design and manage a new amphitheatre in Roanoke, Va., after a committee deemed the company’s proposal to be the most responsive to the city’s needs.

The city will undertake construction in phases, allowing the city council to review the siting, design, and cost of the facility before authorizing its construction, according to a statement.

Charlottesville-based Red Light will conduct a feasibility study for a 7,000-seat amphitheatre at the former Victory Stadium site. The 9-acre site has apparently been floated by city officials as a riverfront entertainment development. Last year a consultant reportedly estimated the price of an amphitheatre by the Roanoke River at $12.6 million.

"Red Light’s philosophy is to make Roanoke’s amphitheatre an economic driver for the city, a focal point for community activity, and a place that embodies the spirit of Roanoke," the statement said.

"I think the team’s experience both in terms of designing facilities and managing the facilities, and intimate knowledge of Virginia’s entertainment market was very important," assistant city manager Brian Townsend told the Roanoke Times. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming week, he said.

Red Light has also provided venue management services for The Boathouse in Norfolk, the Abyss in Virginia Beach and the Classic Amphitheatre in Richmond, among others.