bio
“When
noses were being handed out, Walther clearly got a good one, because he’s
followed it to success in the world of rock promotion, which these days is
as cutthroat as any business.”
So wrote the Washington Post in August 2000 on the eve of
the first Walther’s Grassroots Music & Arts Festival, now an annual
day long celebration of music, food, crafts and workshops that epitomizes
the foundation upon which WALTHER PRODUCTIONS continues to fortify its
reputation as a dominant presence on the East Coast festival scene and a
top promoter along the Baltimore-Washington corridor.
The event was originally produced to honor the fifth
anniversary of WALTHER PRODUCTIONS, which had been founded by Tim Walther
in 1995 on a $350 investment in a fax machine and business cards. The
festival drew a sold-out crowd of 5,000 and was an unequivocal turning
point in the incredible rise of WALTHER PRODUCTIONS, firmly establishing
it as one of the nation’s leading grassroots concert promoters. The
press has not stopped applauding WALTHER PRODUCTIONS ever since. “Fans
return year after year to Walther’s shows,” said the Baltimore Sun.
“Many follow the festivals up and down the East Coast and sometimes
around the country.” Added Music Monthly: “Walther Productions is
doing something quite revolutionary in the music industry.”
By the end of that year, Music Monthly readers had voted
WALTHER PRODUCTIONS the #1 Promoter in the Baltimore-Washington corridor,
as the company had grown to become one of the three largest concert
promoters in the region -- an elite group rounded out by international
conglomerate Clear Channel Communications and 20-year area mainstay, IMP
Concerts. WALTHER PRODUCTIONS has established working relationships with
more regional venues than any of its neighboring competitors -- including
the Recher Theatre and 8 x 10 in Baltimore, the State Theatre in Falls
Church, Va., Nation in Washington, D.C., and the Chameleon Club in
Lancaster -- by presenting 100 shows each year with an average attendance
of 400 patrons. Nationally, WALTHER PRODUCTIONS has become recognized for
producing efficient and secure festivals in five states with a strong
family atmosphere and a pioneering ear for music, before peaceful crowds
ranging between 4,000 and 10,000.
WALTHER PRODUCTIONS is also known for being one of the
most effective street promoters in the country, with a mailing list of
over 4,000 and a web site that receives more than 20,000 hits a month from
loyal followers.
WALTHER PRODUCTIONS brings music to the people, regularly
working with a diverse range of acts in rock, jazz, funk, bluegrass, folk
and techno -- including Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Medeski Martin
& Wood, Maceo Parker, John Scofield, moe., The Disco Biscuits, Marcus
Miller and the Residents. WALTHER PRODUCTIONS events have also supported
many others in need, from the homeless to various regional environmental
preservation groups.
Expansion has intensified so rapidly that WALTHER
PRODUCTIONS is currently moving into a new office space four times its
current size to accommodate the enormous growth. But no matter how big
WALTHER PRODUCTIONS becomes, the company’s fan-friendly motto will
always remain: “It’s all about the music.”
