MANSFIELD — When Ryan Carver isn’t in classes at Pioneer Career and Technology Center, or at work, mowing lawns or band practice, the 18-year-old is working to build a new concert and band promotion business.
Carver, a vocalist/ guitarist for local band Cruze Campo and bass guitarist/ vocalist for Star 77, launched Next Level Promotions in March.
A Shelby native, Carver said he wants to work with venues and local bands to bolster their audiences.
“I’ve always liked the music business and wanted to get more involved,” he said. “Being on the band side, I picked up on what promoters did well and what I would have done differently.
“You have the musicians, the venues and the audiences you want to reach, so I wanted to take that to the next level and give the bands a chance at new fans, and hopefully sold-out shows.”
Carver plans to start his promotions business with local bands and venues around the Mansfield area, but hopes to expand into Columbus or Cleveland eventually.
“There’s a lot of venues in the campus area that I think I can get involved with,” he said. “The pipe dream is to work with major label bands and artists. It’s just one of those things of using those building blocks.
‘It comes down to helping bands out and giving new bands a chance with a bigger artist on different shows.”
For concert promotion, Carver said his first step is finding a venue and determining with the manager what type of show they want to host.
“Then you can look at the style of music you want and start booking the artists,” he said. “From there, just promote it and spread the word.”
The first show Next Level Promotions is working on is scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Electric Company at 1400 W. 4th Street.
Carver has designed fliers with the bands scheduled and said he hopes to film video for future shows.
“From an artist’s standpoint, I think it would be super cool to get rewarded for selling out a venue,” Carver said.
“Regardless of the venue size, if you work your tail off to spread the word and sell tickets, maybe we could pull the headliners up in a limo or something like that. It’s all about taking things to the next level.”
The Lonely Ones — a band from Columbus — will headline the Oct. 11 show with support from Star 77, Birds Cage and Wanted Alien. Doors open at 6 p.m. with music starting around 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 online or at the door.
Customers can contact Next Level Promotions at 567-303-5748 or on Instagram @next_levelpromotion.
