Garrett Zimmerman
Director of Operations, TempleLive
Admitting that the music industry was “the only thing that could keep me excited about coming to work every day,” Garrett Zimmerman feels at home as an integral part of scrappy, DIY-minded independent venue owner and operator TempleLive, which has restored and revamped ornate theaters in multiple cities.
He’s most proud of the work reopening and redeveloping the TempleLive Cleveland Masonic, which was built in 1921 and acquired by TempleLive in 2017.
“Restarting from ground zero at the end of 2021, we had a light calendar and needed an overhaul on staffing,” said Zimmerman. “While in Cleveland, I opened two new rooms in the space (500-cap. and 250-cap.), we were able to build a calendar that not only supported national touring acts but also engaged our local entertainment scene.” Zimmerman is now based at TempleLive’s base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, also supporting the company’s Wichita venue.
“My favorite part in all this has been developing our management team in the venue; people can achieve so much when you present an opportunity and then choose to believe in them,” he said, noting his own experience. As a college undergrad, he stumbled upon a Facebook ad to intern at a venue near his hometown of Cincinnati. After making him wait all day for an interview, now-TempleLive President Rob Thomas took a chance after seeing how dedicated Zimmerman was to the opportunity.
“Some of my strongest team members are under 25 and haven’t worked in the industry for even five years yet,” Zimmerman said. “Learning to be a leader who can help build people into a role they’re suited for, and then watching them succeed in that role, has been the most rewarding part of this job.”
For Zimmerman, the hustle is real — and continues. He encourages anyone who wants to be part of the industry to find a way in and, no matter how mundane the role, do their best.
“No position should be overlooked,” he said. “So when you’re starting out, learning all the positions is going to grow a person’s perspective so that one day if you’re running your own venue, you know what the staff is going to experience,” he said.
While technology offers exciting potential in the form of AI and VR, which Zimmerman hopes translates to better understanding fan behavior and spending habits, he says sometimes more lo-fi methods are still the most effective.
“Nothing beats a killer street team and shit ton of handbills if you’ve got the stones to go pass them out when your local Live Nation room lets out for the night,” he said. “I’ve done everything from wear sandwich board signs while I skateboard around town to hanging out the sunroof of a car with a bullhorn shouting out the night’s shows for a last-minute push.”
