Intrepid Artists Marks 30 Years As Agency

“Three Kings,” Little Feat tributes

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Intrepid Artists International celebrates 30 years as a talent agency this week, doing what it does best, booking multiple acts on its roster for a three-day bash across three clubs in the Queen City.

Billed as a “Rock n Roll, Soul and Blues Revival … The Trilogy,” a big chunk of Intrepid clients will perform Nov. 7-9, starting at Middle C Jazz Club on Thursday, followed by Amos’ Southend on Friday and concluding Saturday at the Neighborhood Theatre.

The anniversary shows follow similar events Intrepid held to mark 20 and 25 years of booking a lineup that now amounts to about 40 bands and artists playing clubs, theaters and festivals worldwide.

Rick Booth, owner and founder of Intrepid Artists, is thankful that his agency has remained intact over three decades, weathering challenges extending to the recession 17 years ago, as well as the pandemic.

“Thirty years is a long time; it seems like yesterday I was sitting in my new office stapling together press kits to send by mail,” Booth said. “It was a pain in the butt, stuffing manila envelopes. We blew through about three copy machines back in the day, a lot of that kind of stuff. Now, all I do is email a link.”

The 20th anniversary show took place at the Neighborhood Theatre in 2014 and expanded to Amos’ Southend and the Neighborhood for the 25th in 2019, three months before the COVID-19 shutdown.

The 30th bash expands to a third venue, Middle C Jazz Club, which seats about 200 people. Chicago blues stalwarts Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials will headline that show, with Chris Caine and special guests Carolyn Wonderland and Jimmy Carpenter.

“We had people last time come to town on Thursday, looking for stuff to do that night,” Booth said. “I knew I would have a hard time filling venues like the Neighborhood and Amos three nights in a row, so I decided to add a smaller club.”

On Friday, Amos’ plays host to Selwyn Birchwood; Popa Chubby; Sam Morrow; “The Three Kings,” a tribute to B.B. King, Freddie King and Albert King; and “Fat Man on a Friday Night,” a tribute to Lowell George and Little Feat, which will most likely swell to a 10-piece band on stage, Booth said.

The Three Kings consists of Albert Castiglia, Chris Kane and DK Harrell, one of the newer artists at Intrepid. Booth describes Harrell as a modern day B.B.King, with many of the same mannerisms and sounds of the blues legend.

The Fat Man ensemble will include Matt Jennings, who played keyboards for the Marcus King Band for about five years before he got married, decided to come off the road and went to work for Intrepid as a booking agent.

Saturday’s climactic event will showcase Blood Brothers, the duo of Albert Castiglia and Mike Zito, whose debut record won the 2024 Blues Rock Album of the Year at the 45th annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis last May.

The remaining lineup features The Cold Stares, a heavier blues rock outfit from Evansville, Indiana; DK Harrell; and Bywater Call, a Canadian group that Booth compares favorably to the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Thursday’s show is sold out. Ticket prices for Friday and Saturday’s events run from $50 to $90 for a two-night pass.

Booth said he’s getting older at age 59, but he’ll keep on trucking for the foreseeable future to help his acts grow their careers.

“My job is to get the best offer I can for the artist,” he said. “The whole world is gouging each other. Everything is overpriced and the UK lost a ton of festivals this past year. A lot of the big ones have gone away. Byron Bay Bluesfest (in Australia) is doing one more year in 2025 and then calling it quits.”

Things could be worse. Intrepid’s four agents all work from home after Booth closed the agency’s office for good during the pandemic.

“It changed the dynamic, but in all honesty, we all like working from home and the freedom of it,” he said. “Nobody’s taken advantage of me; everybody’s done their job and it’s been a good deal for all of us.”