Ground Control Touring Expands With New Festivals Department, Agents Keith Richards and Joy Hubbard

Independent talent agency Ground Control Touring has announced the opening a festival department, which will be led by head of festivals Keith Richards and festivals coordinator Joy Hubbard.

“GCT already has a strong presence in the festival space, and I’m excited to join the team and help drive growth in this lane—expanding our footprint while deepening relationships across the festival ecosystem,” Richards says in the announcement. “This is an agency built by true music lovers who care deeply about creating opportunities for artists to share their work, and I feel fortunate to come alongside them to help carry that passion forward.”

Along with the announcement of the festival department and its leadership, Ground Control Touring, which represents artists including Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon, Bright Eyes, Kurt Vile, Belle & Sebastian, and New Found Glory, Men I Trust, Japanese Breakfast, Waxahatchee, Deafheaven and many others, has also unveiled new branding and website.

Based in Nashville, Richards has nearly a decade of experience working across agencies, festivals and talent buying teams, with experience across a wide range of festival brands and live event formats, always with an eye toward long-term growth and meaningful partnerships, according to the announcement.

Hubbard previously spent several years working in the booking department at The Bowery Presents New York office involved in promoting concerts at various venues ranging from Webster Hall to Forest Hills Stadium. Prior to moving to New York, Hubbard was an assistant to the Head of Concerts at the Agency for Performing Arts in Los Angeles from 2018 to 2020.

Ground Control Touring, led by agency president Eric Dimenstein, is celebrating 25 years of business, with more than 600 artist clients under its purview. Dimenstein was recently profiled by Pollstar, sharing highlights including upcoming touring for clients including Bright Eyes, Waxahatchee, Japanese Breakfast, Gregory Alan Isakov and others.

“I think we’re in a good place,” says Dimenstein, noting the growth of the agency following the pandemic, with more than 40 full-time employees, 12 being full-time agents and seven agent associates, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. “The fact that there are more boutiques out there validates the model, that there’s enough artists out there looking for that more specialized boutique approach and there’s more options for them.”