Music booker Tony Brown, who owns the concert promotion company Live!, has an unusual take on the concept of musical styles and the impact they have on the shows he presents.

Brown says engagement — and not genre — is the determining factor in the artists he books. “(Like) if there is a band that I think is cool, and they get a lot of listeners every month on whatever platform,” he said, “there are a lot of factors that go into it.”

Artists Brown has hosted locally include the ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, New York City jazz ensemble The Bad Plus and cinematic guitarist-composer Kaki King.

Live! will present two intriguing jazz shows this month: Eastman alumnus and double bassist Ron Carter and his Golden Striker Trio at Hochstein Performance Hall on Friday, Aug. 9 and guitarist Marc Ribot at The Little Theatre performing an original score to accompany Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 film “The Kid” on Thursday, Aug. 22.

Hilary Respass, president and executive director of The Hochstein School, sees Brown as an important cultural contributor. “(He) and Live! are a true gift to us and also a gift to downtown Rochester,” she said. “The artists that he’s bringing into Hochstein Performance Hall are world-class.”

Respass has also been impressed with Brown and his partnership with The Hochstein School. “His style is extremely professional, but also cool, very collaborative,” she said. “It’s like we’re doing this together. He’s not simply renting our hall. We’re all part of this.”



Brown, 56, also works as a bartender at Hotel Canandaigua and has followed a somewhat circuitous route to the music business. Having grown up in a mixed-race foster family in Westchester County, Brown moved to Rochester at age six when he was adopted by a single mother who was also a classical pianist. As an adult, he worked in advertising production at Gannett for 12 years before deciding to attend Berklee College of Music at age 32.

When Brown arrived in Boston, he studied voice and majored in film scoring and music business and management. He was also a student DJ at Berklee’s radio station, BIRN. After graduation, he became the assistant to the music technology dean at the school before eventually assuming the roles of staff advisor and operations manager at the station. It was at BIRN where Brown began cultivating some of the business relationships he draws on today.

Eventually, he wants to host shows regularly at his own venue. But for now, Live! — currently in its second full year of operation — has consistent partnerships with both Hochstein Performance Hall and The Little Theatre, both of which provide an intimate setting for listening to top-tier musicians.

In the fall, Brown and Live! have more high-profile shows on deck: bassists Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer at Hochstein on Friday, Sept. 6 and singer-songwriter Jolie Holland at The Little on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Live! shows cater to avid listeners who lean toward a nuanced blend of sophisticated and melodically accessible music. But ultimately, it’s personal for Brown. “It’s how it makes me feel immediately,” he said. “What is the vibe I’m getting from this song?”

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].