2026 Women Of Live: Audrey Fix Schaefer

Audrey Fix Schaefer
I.M.P./9:30 Club | Director of Communications
National Independent Venue Association | President of the Board

BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT |  “My grandparents took me to see the Ink Spots when I was 4 or 5. My mom taking me to see Ella Fitzgerald was a moment of a lifetime.”

Audrey Fix Schaefer was the vice-president of communications for a Fortune 40 company, the kind of job anyone in PR would envy. But live music stirred something in her.

“I was a corporate suit with the musical tastes of a petulant 17-year-old. I was in the boardroom of a FORTUNE 40 by day, but at night I’d make my way to the 9:30 Club going to shows with my kids, since we liked the same stuff,” she says. “When I didn’t want to be VP of Comms at a telecom giant anymore, all I could think about was working for the 9:30 Club. There was no place for me there. After all, they were the No. 1 most attended club of its size, and they had never done PR, so of course they didn’t need me. Thankfully, shortly after I left my telecom job, I got a chance to work with I.M.P. on the Virgin Festival, which was the opportunity of a lifetime.”

She now helms comms for the I.M.P. family, which in addition to 9:30, includes venerable D.C.-area spots like Merriweather Post Pavilion, The Anthem, The Atlantis and Lincoln Theatre.

“We’re a Mom and Pop — with ‘Pop’ being Seth Hurwitz, who started this company 45 years ago, and ‘Mom’ being Donna Westmoreland, our COO who started as a bar manager of the 9:30 Club 30-plus years ago and runs the company,  I.M.P. is a rarity and getting to be part of this family feels like the greatest gift. Our team hosted 1.26 million fans at 770 events last year. It’s non-stop and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says. “I work for and with people I believe in; people who work with honesty, urgency, and who want treat everyone as we want to be treated. I.M.P. was successful for decades before I came around, and that’s because everyone wants people on both sides of the stage to have a memorable night, and maybe a cupcake.”

In addition to her role at I.M.P., she’s the board president for NIVA.

“I’m most excited about working on legislation in D.C. and Maryland to get caps passed on resale. I’ve had it with scalpers taking advantage of our customers, harming them, artists and indie venues.  I’m honored to work with the people at NIVA who are doing the same at the federal level. They’re phenomenal and fighting for fans and our small businesses,” she says.