The many faces of Deep South Entertainment
The Growth of a Music Business in a Burgeoning State Capital
By Carter Allison, with reporting contributions from Sean Martin and Emily Ellis, edited by Emily Ellis
Deep South Entertainment is no stranger to how local music is operated, and has carved itself into Raleigh’s music scene over the past 20 years.
It all starts with Dave Rose’s connection and networking within the Raleigh community. His connections span from the political big wigs of the area to the other prominent figures in Raleigh and give Deep South a lot of leverage when it comes to organizing events.
Having a person you trust available to run events can go a long way, and their company experiences the benefits of this frequently. These sorts of connections have provided Deep South with many different opportunities, such as hosting the governors ball several times.
Just this month, Deep South organized all of the musical logistics for the North Carolina Wine Festival, and they owe that opportunity to their relationship with the sponsoring radio station. The main stage performance was by Season & Snare, 2014 winners of Deep South the Bar’s Open Mic competition.
Deep South is quoted on the event page: “Season & Snare are comprised of multi-instrumentalists Casey Austin Allen and Autumn Rose Brand. Their soulful, feel-good music is infectious and they’re just getting started, which makes the adventure more exciting!”
These kinds of relationships are common at the company, and Deep South stands as a reliable, profitable medium for events in the eyes of much of Raleigh.
This key to success is no secret to the company, either.
“Usually when we land a big deal, we keep it. And usually when the company lands something like that, it ends up being a really good and long-term relationship. A lot of that has to do with not just the quality of the work that the company does, but also the personalities involved too”, said Steve Baker on the value of community relationships.
This rapport certainly didn’t happen overnight, but was built over several decades of successful events. The type of events that the people of Raleigh notice.
One thing that makes their events popular and successful is that many of them are free. And while it’s no walk in the park to try to make profits off of free events, DSE has found ways to make this work for them. The key is to make money off of corporate sponsorships and alcohol sales, so that everyone gets paid, and the consumers are satisfied.
This is the type of organization Deep South has had for many Downtown Raleigh events over the years, such as Oak City 7 and Picket in the Plaza. They believe that this mutually beneficial situation is what made Deep South so appealing to the city of Raleigh, although the city itself isn’t the only group that benefitted from their work.
“Thousands and thousands of people would come to those events, and they were totally free. And people couldn’t believe it”, Reminisces Steve Baker of the past events Deep South organized.
”Corporate sponsors brought millions of dollars of worth of revenue into the local businesses over the years.”
Baker went on — “consequently, doing those things for free and not costing the city anything and instead actually generating money for the city really endeared the company to the city, and it’s why we have such a good relationship with Raleigh now.”
While the headliners of these events are usually artists with a big enough reputation to help draw crowds, Deep South tries to put as many local artists to the stage as possible as openers.
This is a wonderful way to showcase the depth of talent the area holds, and brings a taste of local culture to the events. Even the local clubs and bars downtown benefit from the spillover of the events, helping the local music scene as whole to improve.
Over the past ten years, the music scene in Raleigh has certainly grown and been revitalized completely, and Deep South believes they played a big part in that.
Deep South also hosts an open mic night every Tuesday at their bar, and it has become quite the popular event. In 2012, it was even ranked as the best open mic night in the Triangle by Indy Week.
What makes the open mic so special is their focus on local singer-songwriters. While most open mic nights don’t necessarily have a focus, Deep South likes have artists that they could potentially bring on to their label right from the streets of Raleigh.
A city’s music scene needs the right kind of nourishment in order to grow into its potential — the type of nourishment that includes personal relationships between the community’s event planners and a focus on the local art, readily available.
Ten years ago, people would have laughed if the words “Raleigh” and “best music scene” were used in the same sentence, but today our city’s music scene is compared to likes of Austin. Over the years, Raleigh has secured itself a place in the conversation when it comes to the great music scenes of the United States, and for that we owe companies such as Deep South who put their focus in the right place.
Interning for Deep South Entertainment
By Kelly McNeil, edited by Emily Ellis
When I walked into the first day of my internship with Deep South Entertainment, I knew I had chosen the right place.
The walls of the office were covered with various album art and posters, and the employees were all laughing amongst themselves.
The first thing I was given when I got there was a book, but it wasn’t just any book. It was a book written by the president and co-founder of DSE Music Group and Deep South Entertainment, Dave Rose. The book was called Everything I Know about the Music Business I Learned from my Cousin Rick and I was immediately intrigued.
In the author’s note of the book, Rose explained that it was based on his personal experiences and observations in the music business.
“Care about the music, and the joy it can bring you, and you’ll be surprised how many new doors will open because of it,” Rose advises.
Advice like this is abundant throughout the book, and anyone looking to be successful in the music business would do well to read it.
DSE Music Group was founded in 1995 by Rose and his college friends, Andy Martin and Amy Cox. What started as a business operating out of a Raleigh apartment turned into something great.
The company is now an artist and business management firm, a concert production company, a talent agency and a live music venue — Deep South the Bar.
Reading the book helped me learn all this information and more, and it made me that much more excited to be a part of such a surreal company.
For my internship, I had the pleasure of working with Steve Baker, special events agent for Deep South Entertainment. Baker is the vocalist and trumpet player in cover bands Bull City Syndicate, BCS Express and Captain & The Keels. The bands were involved with DSE Music Group, and one day, Baker got a permanent job offer with the company and has been working there for about six years.
As an intern, it was my responsibility to check all of Baker’s band websites, keep the schedules up to date and respond to gig requests.
While it may not seem like much, I learned a lot from working with Baker every Tuesday afternoon. I realized the amount of work that went into managing bands and working with clients, and I have a better understanding of the music business just by being there and getting to listen to how he conversed with clients and reached out to others in the music business.
When I first started at Deep South, I was worried that my lack of experience with the music business would hinder my ability to work at the company. But the employees were very welcoming, and when I didn’t know how to do something, Baker would patiently walk me through the process. On days when there wasn’t much for me to do, I would still go in, and Baker would tell me stories about his bands or his family.
As part of the internship, I was required to attend at least three concerts, two of which had to be at Deep South the Bar.
The other concert I attended was at Southland Ballroom, and some of Deep South’s acts were playing. This is where I got to see Baker’s bands play live for my first time. I don’t exactly know what I was expecting, but I was blown away by Bull City Syndicate and Captain & The Keels.
Bull City Syndicate played everything from Pink Floyd to Taylor Swift, and Captain & The Keels played one of my personal favorites, “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart.”
I knew that Baker was obviously talented, but that night opened my eyes to level of talent I had the opportunity to work with, and I felt honored and grateful that I had the opportunity to observe and learn from Baker every week.
DSE Music Group continues to strive in the local Raleigh music scene. Whether it’s booking a band for the Governor’s Inaugural Ball, providing live music and drinks at its downtown bar or organizing all the performances for the N.C. State Fair, Deep South does it all.
As Rose said in his book, “If you live for music, truly live for music, you know it’s in your soul. Not fame. Not fortune. The pure joy of music. If that’s in your soul, then don’t give up. Enjoy the process and make music for the rest of your life.”
The unsurprising success of the company stems from the hard work and dedication of its employees. In the next 5–10 years, Baker only sees bigger and better things for Deep South. The future of the company is expected to grow in all aspects, such as artist management, and Baker said it’s safe to say he thinks they will be in charge of the music for the State Fair for many years to come.
