Independent music venues generate $153 billion in annual economic output in the United States. Sixty-four percent of them don't turn a profit.
Raise the Stage is a national program created by Jai Alai IPA (Cigar City Brewing) in partnership with NIVA to support independent music venues — through a $20,000 marketing grant per venue and a professionally produced film celebrating each venue's history and community role.
I served as creative director (video) and post-production lead for the series, working through Shadrach. Remote crews shot near each venue; I shaped the material into finished films: editorial, motion graphics, color (DaVinci Resolve), sound design, narration scripts, VO production, and original theme music.
Archival sourcing included John Storyk's private collection at Bearsville (never-before-published blueprints and photographs), WXPN's Dan Reed in Philadelphia, and Lightning 100's Dan Buckley in Nashville.
Each venue received a long-form film plus 30-second and 15-second cut-downs in horizontal and vertical formats. The complete series lives on Cigar City's Jai Fidelity hub.