Knitting Factory Entertainment (KFE) and Tacoma arts complex Alma Mater have announced a deal for KFE’s live music unit to assume exclusive talent buying duties at the venue group’s live music venue Fawcett Hall, located between the Central Tacoma and Hilltop neighborhoods in downtown Tacoma, Wash.
Fawcett Hall includes a full-service restaurant and cafe, recording studio, visual art gallery, outdoor green space and more. The venue holds 300 patrons seated and 500 standing with a combined stage and backstage comprising 900 square feet.
KFE CEO Morgan Margolis closed the multi-year deal with long time Alma Mater staff member and newly appointed executive director Lisa Fruichantie, who will collaborate with KFE on booking and marketing duties.
Margolis said in a release that he is “encouraged by this new addition to our roster, especially during this unheralded difficult time for all entertainment and hospitality venues and personnel worldwide. To add Fawcett Hall to our team’s already long list of national and regional venues and festivals is just amazing. Tacoma is an incredible, underserved town and Fawcett Hall is a tremendous asset yet to be fully tapped.”
Since opening in 2015, Alma Mater’s Fawcett Hall has hosted a large and varied roster of talented bands and solo artists across all genres, including: EarthGang, Black Belt Eagle Scout and Built to Spill. When the pandemic hit, the venue hosted livestream events including local musicians and the Tacoma City Ballet.
KFE plans to utilize its network of venues including Knitting Factory concert houses in Spokane and Boise and booking arrangements with venues across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West to bring more artists to Fawcett Hall once concerts return.
“Despite such an uncertain year, I think KFE has found some cool opportunities in this crisis. The Fawcett Hall team has built an incredible space that aligns with a lot of the KFE vision going forward. We are excited to welcome them into the KFE family,” said Northwest talent buyer for KFE Danny Glazer. Glazer will lead the buying team working with Nathan Chambers, who formerly worked at Seattle’s Chop Suey venue.
KFE’s director of marketing Mandi Zillner will supervise marketing efforts alongside Fruichantie, who said in a release, “We welcome the expertise and experience of Knitting Factory Entertainment. They know our market, our venue and our community, and we’re delighted to be working with a talent buying group that shares our unique goals and sensibilities.”
KFE also has an exclusive booking agreement with Omaha’s Maha Festival and the company has also broken ground on a three-venue entertainment complex in Denver’s LoDo District.
