With the rise of Cal Poly’s radio station, KCPR, people are noticing an influx of general interest in music and live entertainment in the local community. Brewpub and concert venue SLO Brew is taking advantage of the increasing desire with their Brew Crew program, as well as their plans for expansion.
With students making up a large portion of the San Luis Obispo community, it’s important to bring acts that will stage engage with the audience. With this idea in mind, SLO Brew’s music department — which includes Johnny Kenny, the Talent Buyer and Music Director, and Reilly Roberts, the Live Music and Marketing assistant — decided to create a platform for the music-consumers of SLO to assist them in the talent-booking process. With that, their Brew Crew was formed.
Every month, the Brew Crew, which consists of college students, meets at SLO Brew’s downtown location. They share what artists they think would do well on the venue’s intimate stage, keeping SLO Brew’s music-booking mantra in mind. Both Kenny and Roberts seek out artists who are on the brink of stardom. “It’s finding those acts who are in their infancy and trying to put them in the room before they get red hot,” Kenny said.
However, SLO Brew has plans to keep up with the growing interest in live music entertainment. In the next two months, their new concert venue, which is located at their SLO Brew Rock location, should appear on their website and be open for booking. Even with the arrival of their new venue, their original stage on Higuera Street will continue to host artists.