Today we’d like to introduce you to Chandler Clayton.
Hi Chandler, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The State Room Presents was born out of the dream of Darin Piccoli and Chris Mautz. After booking shows throughout the valley, the two decided to start their own music venue. In 2009, The State Room came to be. Located at 638 State St, right in the heart of Downtown SLC, the two transformed a former children’s theater into what is today one of the most iconic venues in town. Over the years, the team has transformed and now operates The Commonwealth Room, as well as books acts through a number of major venues around the valley ranging from Red Butte Garden’s Summer Concert Series to Deer Valley’s Snow Park Amphitheater. The goal of The State Room Presents has always been to create a community of music lovers and give them a space to shine. This is as true today as it was in 2009.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all! A smooth road doesn’t exist in the music industry…we deal with bumps in the road daily, but seeing the final outcome makes it all worth it. When hundreds to thousands of music fans come together for a night they won’t ever forget, that’s truly special.
Our struggles vary greatly from acquiring the venue spaces from previous owners to dealing with the unpredictable events of touring musicians. Not to mention this little thing called COVID that put a big ole hamper on the fun.
But, perhaps the greatest struggle that we’ve had to deal with has been the impacts of LiveNation / Ticketmaster on the industry. Because of the manipulative practices of this monopoly, independent music venues like ours have been forced to adjust our practices to survive. We are now constantly dealing with fake tickets, a fraudulent resale market, restricted artist contracts, and not to mention a general decline in live event attendance that’s been hitting markets around the country.
With all that being said, we try to be leaders in reform so that our venues and other independent venues around the country cannot only survive but thrive in their communities. We’re proud members of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and were able to contribute towards the landmark ruling this year that deemed LiveNation a monopoly and demanded mitigation.
While there will always be bumps in the road, we love what we do, so we’ll keep buckling up and staying the course.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I’m the Marketing Director for The State Room Presents. We’re a live music promoter who owns and manages a number of independent music venues around Salt Lake City. We own The State Room and The Commonwealth Room and contribute towards booking and event marketing, ticketing, etc. for venues such as Eccles Theater, Capitol Theater, Deer Valley’s Snow Park Amphitheater and more. We also run our own music festival ‘Fort Desolation Fest’ down in Torrey, UT and help run the ‘Utah Blues Festival’ here in downtown SLC.
Whereas many venues nowadays are so focused on just selling tickets, we’re more interested in creating community. If we get the vibe right, then people will naturally want to come back and hang around to see more shows! That’s what sets us apart. When you come to a show at The State Room or The Commonwealth Room, you know you’re going to run into friends. You’re gonna have a unique experience because we treat our artists right (and it shows in their performances). And you’re going to leave happy.
One of the things that we’re the most proud of is being independent. We aren’t owned by some giant corporation, which not many venues can say the same. We have deep roots in this community. When we first started waaaaay back in the day we struggled for a while to get a liquor license, so we had community partners help by pulling event permits for our shows. It was a community-wide investment in live music here in SLC and today we continue to partner with the community. $1 of every ticket we sell goes to local nonprofits to help make our city better.
If you’ve never been to The State Room or The Commonwealth Room I’m not gonna sugar coat it…you’re missing out. Our venues are 21+ so keep that in mind, but if you want to meet some amazing humans and have some incredible musical experiences, then come on down for a show. We’ve got artists coming in essentially every genre you can imagine so you’ll be able to find a show no matter your tastes. Can’t wait to see you there!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If you’re a local business owner we’d love to partner with you! We have so many artists coming through town with so many different interests and we want to make their experience special by partnering with organizations that are into the same things they are. We also just want to promote everything cool happening in our city!
If you’re a fan of live music, come see a show! Can’t make it to a show, grab some swag from our website and show your love of the local music scene. Have friends who love live music, get them a gift card that’s good for any show at our venues.
We’ve got a ton of ways to get involved, so if you’re interested just reach out!
Pricing:
- Shows – ~$20-$60 (depending)
- Gift Cards – $25
- Swag – $5-60 (shirts, hats, lighters, etc.)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thestateroompresents.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateroompresents/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStateRoomPresents/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thestateroom
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_State_Room_Presents
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/stateroom
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stateroompresents
