In 2008, Youmans was voted the best booking agent in town in the Dallas Observer Music Awards for his efforts at the Granada Theater, where he worked before moving to Gilley's in early 2010. At Gilley's, Youmans helped launch the South Side Music Hall, as well as Jack Daniel's Saloon, while revitalizing a slumping Loft space.
"I'm still going to be doing shows there," Youmans tells DC9. "It'll be reduced, but there are still gonna be shows over there. I'm just gonna be spreading it out to other venues now. And I think that's better for the shows."
Youmans is joined in Tactics by marketing director Nate Binford, social media coordinator Brad Ehney and blogger Laura Carroll. After booking this past weekend's The Nighty Nite and True Widow show to the Double Wide, which Youmans calls Tactics' first "unofficial" show, the company's first "official" show will take place on Sunday, July 10, when the Prophet Bar hosts a show from The Blow.
"This is something I've always wanted to do," he says. "I've done a lot of shows, and realized that they'd be better at other venues. Now I can hopefully put them there."
Certainly, it'll be interesting to see how this shifts the dynamics of the regional booking seen. Read the full press release announcing the new company after the jump.
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Kris Youmans Launches Dallas' Newest Independent Production Company, Tactics Productions
The name Youmans is practically synonymous with live music in Dallas, TX. For more than 15 years Kris Youmans has booked, toured, managed and promoted music in and around Dallas, beginning with booking house parties and underground shows and eventually building the brands of several notable local venues through his uniquely insightful booking philosophy.When Rubber Gloves opened in Denton in 1997, Kris booked and managed the venue, building a reputation amongst national booking agents of success and trustworthiness, which has developed over the years into friendships and concrete working relationships. Granada Theater hired Kris in 2006 to attract a younger audience to the venue. His vision transformed the booking calendar and brought much deserved attention Granada Theater, which is arguably Dallas' best live music venue. In 2010, Gilley's Dallas offered Kris the position of Director of Entertainment, with the mission of rebranding the facility as a multi-venue entertainment destination and booking all genres of music. Over the course of a single year, Youmans and his team completely changed the image of the facility from traditional Texas honky-tonk to diverse entertainment complex. The complex's 1,500 capacity room was renamed to South Side Music Hall last fall and has since hosted about a dozen national touring acts, including rare appearances by acts like Guided By Voices and Beirut.
If you enjoy live music and you live in Dallas, there is a very strong possibility you've been to one of Youmans' shows. Agents prefer to work with Kris Youmans because they know that he (and his team) will put the extra effort into promoting shows that is required to make them successful. Which is why this Spring Kris began working on the beginnings of his own independent production company named Tactics Productions. Kris' vision is to attract more touring acts to North Dallas by creating more successful shows and placing them in the most appropriate local venues. Over the years Kris Youmans has established friendships with the owners of many of Dallas' live music venues and small clubs, as well as the handful of booking agents that bring shows to North Texas. Tactics Productions will bring together a lifetime worth of friends and partners to bear on the mission of growing the music scene in Dallas, TX.
Music fans in Dallas have attended and loved Youmans' shows for years, at Rubber Gloves, Granada or The Loft and South Side Music Hall, whether they know of the man behind the music or not. Tactics Productions is merely the new brand on a concept Kris Youmans has been working on for most of his life; promoting North Dallas' developing music scene and encouraging people to experience live music. Over the next year Dallas will see an infusion of more touring concerts at more local venues, with Tactics Productions hard at work behind the scenes.
Youmans' latest shows are already on sale at The Loft, South Side Music Hall and The Prophet Bar, including AWOL Nation and Cold War Kids. Stay up-to-date with concerts and other information about Tactics Productions at the company's website & blog (www.TacticsProductions.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/tacticsproductions) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/tacticsprod).
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