Dream Job: Mary Brabec, Booking Director, The Cedar Cultural Center

Article by Becky Fillinger

Dream jobs don’t just happen overnight. Check out the route that Mary Brabec took to arrive at her enviable position at The Cedar Cultural Center. We are so impressed with her perseverance, vision and enthusiasm for bringing world class musical talent to our neighborhood.

Mary BrabecQ:  Many people move to Minneapolis every month and they probably are unaware of The Cedar Cultural Center. Can you tell us the history of this entertainment venue?

A:  Located in the heart of Cedar Riverside, once one of the most prolific neighborhoods for live music in Minneapolis, and the home to the largest Somali diaspora in the U.S., The Cedar plays a key role in maintaining the vibrancy and diversity of the Twin Cities’ arts scene.

Our history can be found in found in this fascinating timeline here.

Q:  You’re the Booking Director for TCCC – what a fun job! But this is not your first talent booking position. Please tell us about your career journey that lands you here.

I grew up in a large, diverse music loving family in St. Paul — music was always in my ears! In high school (at Highland Park), my friends endured many "you have to hear this!" (whatever new wave track I was currently obsessed with). Put in charge of booking the HPHS homecoming concert, I did my first ever deal at our beloved all ages venue, The Cedar Theater, in 1987! After college I moved out West working in various contract hospitality situations. It was in a summer gig, cooking and running the kitchen for a festival organizer, Planet Bluegrass, at their ranch in Lyons, CO, that I discovered how fun it was to work in the live music community; behind the scenes; supporting artists and the people who run the events. I moved to Montana and began my lifelong career of producing concerts, festivals and love of radio with Vootie Productions and KGLT FM out of Bozeman.

DOMi and JD Beck at The Cedar, October 2022  Photo: Christopher Ludtke

Wanting to go further into festival programming, I took a job with One Reel Productions out of Seattle and helped book the Bumbershoot festival with a main focus on the (now defunct) WOMAD USA. When the organization lost their lease on this festival, my position was also dissolved. This was my turn towards representing artists directly. I opened up my own booking agency (Mighty Bison) with a roster of some fine up and coming string bands (bluegrass, old-time and other Americana acts). It was an amazing time! "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" had just been released with a new awareness of the genre — my clients were so busy touring and working the dense summer festival circuit. I merged my mighty but tiny agency with a larger boutique, the Billions Corporation, and had a solid seven year run with this group until the sharks (it's an extremely competitive business) chomped me and some of my hard-won clients to pieces.

I started Mighty Bison up again and eventually shuttered it with a move back to Minnesota. An old friend in the bluegrass world, Jerry Douglas, invited me to see his show at The Dakota in downtown Minneapolis in August, 2017 where I met the owner who was needing some assistance. Until the pandemic closed all of our doors, I worked for the jazz club helping to program the many amazing national and international artists that still grace that stage. In the fall of 2021, still not hearing back from The Dakota on whether my position was still in place, I couldn't afford to wait and took the booking seat at Icehouse. I was impressed by the owner's ability to develop an outdoor stage in the summers of 2020 and 2021, and it was an opportunity to learn more about the incredible local jazz scene. We live in such an amazing market of many VERY talented people! The Booking Director position at The Cedar opened in early 2022 and I jumped on the chance to apply. Such a privilege to be in this seat at this crucial time for the venue and humanity at large.

It's really a full circle dream for me to be applying my experience and commitment to high quality music to this sacred stage. To quote our Executive Director, Michelle Woster, "There are many hearts attached to The Cedar." It's truly an honor to serve this beloved organization and be back in the national and international touring arena.

Q:  How do you go about finding the right blend of local, national and international talent that comes to TCCC? Is there an internal vetting process for a monthly or quarterly calendar?

A:  As mentioned, I've been booking artists on many incredible stages for almost 30 years and have developed some good, big ears. The network of agents and producers across North America is my community and the communication amongst us is supportive. Obviously, COVID has changed us, but many remain committed to presenting quality live musical experiences. It's been so great to reconnect with many of these industry folks. I listen to them. I listen to our big eared staff and board. I live in our calendar. The Cedar has a solid legacy of being one of the unicorns in the United States, presenting marginalized and traditional international musicians. I get pitched many incredible ideas and with our ongoing commitment to developing local and regional talent of all genres there is a steady open door for many young artists to be acknowledged and placed in multi-band bills or opening for national touring acts. 

Q:  What are your sources for staying on top of trends in music? How do you stay aware of new talent?

A:  I listen to a lot of radio: KEXP & KBCS out of Seattle, KCRW out of LA, KBEM, KCMU and, of course, KFAI locally. I follow some tastemaker publicists and listen to agents who I admire; attending art presenters' conferences and participating in several world music consortium discussions are also very helpful for shared information and block booking ideas. Robert Lehmann, our Community & Grant-Funded Programs Manager, and I are attending a world music conference in Montreal (Mundial Montreal) this week, as a matter of fact!

Q:  If you could book your dream act, who would it be?

A: Shasa Sartin, our Marketing & Communications Manager, and I share a mutual dream of presenting D'Angelo on the Cedar stage! I got to work with him during my One Reel Seattle days (on his VooDoo tour) and it remains one of my favorite concerts. Also (because it's never just one act!) I would love to produce a tribute to Ali Farka Touré (featuring his son, Vieux, and Khruangbin). I have a dream of producing a second line parade through Central Minneapolis — a proper jazz funeral to all we've lost and been through in the past two years. My dream is to work with and support artists committed to healing and entertaining our weary hearts. I believe in the power of live music to connect us. I am committed to helping build joy filled moments. 

Q:  Please tell us about TCCC’s Racial Equity Commitment.

A:  Racial equity is central to the work we do at The Cedar in a myriad of ways. It’s a driving force for us when our mission is to “promote intercultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance,” and to remain committed to providing “support for emerging artists and community outreach.”

Programs such as The Cedar Commissions are an example of our organization's continuous commitment to racial equity in the arts. The Cedar Commissions is an annual program supported by the Jerome Foundation wherein six emerging Minnesota-based artists are granted $5,500 to create 30 minutes of new music to be debuted on The Cedar stage. Choosing a cohort of artists who represent a variety of racial identities is important to the selection committee. Artistic opportunities with financial support such as this one exemplify the Cedar’s support of artists holding racial identities that have been historically denied adequate resources and platforms to bring creative expression to life.

As of Quarter 3, 2022 our staff is 35% BIPOC-identifying members and our Board of Directors is 40% BIPOC-identifying members. The organization is pleased to have reached these goals set in 2021; simultaneously, we acknowledge that there are improvements yet to be made that aren’t measured quantitatively. The Cedar recognizes that working to be a racially-equitable organization is a continuous, ever-evolving process.

Executive Director Michelle Woster coordinated a visioning session by Aurora Consulting in early October during which staff and board members came together at The Cedar to collaboratively explore the question of “where do we see The Cedar in five years?” It was a really meaningful exercise and the desire to maintain a racially diverse staff and board were collectively recognized as central for the forthcoming, future Cedar. Continuing – and developing – programming that highlights racial equity is an exciting part of The Cedar’s evolution.

Q:  How may we follow the news at TCCC? 

A:  To keep up with The Cedar, follow us everywhere at @thecedar and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates about upcoming shows and community happenings!