The Music Man: Crowne Steers Path of Both The Walmart AMP, Georges

For about 25 years, Brian Crowne has been a fixture on the Northwest Arkansas music scene, first as an artist and then as the guy booking gigs for two of the area’s biggest live music hotspots.

These days, on a rare occasion, he might sit in with a band for a few songs, but typically, the work he does is behind the scenes — and he likes it that way. He found his niche in the business end of live music and has never looked back.

Throughout his affiliation with both the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion and George’s Majestic Lounge, Crowne has set the stage for the appearance of many national acts, drawing some of the biggest names the region has ever hosted.

After a prolific first concert season in the Walmart AMP’s permanent location in Rogers, Crowne, the venue’s general manager, feels confident the AMP is poised for even greater success.

“The opening season exceeded expectations on every level,” he said. Positioned off Interstate 49, across from the Pinnacle Hills Promenade shopping center, the new AMP offers a slew of amenities not available before, raising the bar significantly since its humble roots in the parking lot at the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville.

In terms of providing a space that can house large productions and bring in impressive national acts, the new location “has put us on the map,” Crowne said.

During the 2014 season, headliners included Tim McGraw, Foreigner, Foster the People, Boston, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Santana. 

Crowne said he and his team have also made it a priority to accommodate the region’s diverse community with performances including Latin music star Pepe Aguilar.

 

All Business

First and foremost, Crowne is a businessman. Despite his own appreciation as a musician for brass bands and classic R&B, he instead books shows that will appeal to the broader public. 

It’s important to Crowne for the AMP to be profitable, and he keeps in mind the fact that the money will go to fund Walton Arts Center programs, he said.

At George’s, which he has owned since 2004, Crowne has a little more room to book some of his favorites, like the time he brought in the R&B horn band, Tower of Power.

The 87-year-old bar, located on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, has live music about 320 days a year, and although national acts come through as well, George’s packs in plenty of local talent. 

The club is a longtime favorite of music fans and artists alike, and its charms won over Crowne long before he thought about venue ownership.

 “I fell in love with the bar as a musician,” he said.

Crowne played saxophone and guitar in various local bands in the late 1980s-early 1990s, before starting Oreo Blue in 1991.

Aimed at providing a modern take on the blues, the band is still around, although Crowne retired from it in 2006. 

 

Blues Intro

Crowne, 48, first took interest in the saxophone while watching “The Blues Brothers” as a teenager. He remembers thinking it was a cool instrument.

When he was a sophomore in high school, Crowne inherited an alto sax from a family member and taught himself to play.

The Fort Smith native never took lessons, but managed to earn a music scholarship to Westark Community College (now the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith).

“I guess I had an aptitude,” he said.

And, when given the choice, he preferred playing music to studying.

In fact, when he discovered he could make money playing gigs, he left the academic route behind.

Crowne said his music career didn’t make him rich, but he was able to make a living, buy a house and travel the country, and he loved every minute of it. 

“I always say my worst day on stage is better than the best at any of my day jobs,” he said. 

After a year working as a musician in Florida, he was invited to sit in with a couple of bands near home, in Fayetteville. 

“It was a change of pace,” Crowne said. “So I loaded up my guitar and my saxophones in my 1977 Datsun 28OZ and the rest is kind of history.”

 

A Majestic Opportunity

Crowne never dreamed he’d be on the venue side of things, until an opportunity to buy George’s presented itself.

“I figured I’d give it a shot,” he said.

Crowne learned the business on the fly, crediting some friends and associates whom he considers mentors for helping him learn some of the finer points. 

George’s is rumored to have had hosted musical performances as far back as the 1930s. Crowne’s mission was to seize on that legacy and make it bigger than ever before. “I wanted to make it the premier music showcase venue for the state.”

Crowne considers George’s a barometer for the local music scene.

To book music for the club, he might enlist some of his younger employees to determine what’s cool and might ask them, for example, to tell him who played a great show at the popular Ozark music festival, Wakarusa.

George’s hosts bands that play quality music but might not intend to go beyond  the club scene, Crown said.

While an up-and-coming local band might play one night, a popular, nationally known band might play the next. Phantogram, for example, sold out two weeks before the show earlier this fall.

 

AMPed Up

Crowne’s experience booking national acts for George’s created a natural transition for him to get involved with the AMP. 

He bought the venue in 2008, but he also remembers booking its first show for Father’s Day 2005. It was the Doobie Brothers, and Oreo Blue opened.

In 2011, Crowne sold the AMP to the Walton Arts Center, under the condition he would continue to manage it, which he has done for the past three years. 

“I treat it as if I still own it,” he said. “I actually work harder when I’m working for someone else, because they are trusting me to run it.”

And, so far, it seems to be going well. Crowne received a big vote of confidence this past year with the construction of the new, $11 million AMP facility. Also, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in February was named as title sponsor for the venue after donating $2.5 million.

 

The Gambler

Crowne calls himself a professional gambler. Booking an act is like placing a bet, and Crowne must then watch to see if there’s a payoff in the form of ticket sales.

He and his staff start by making a wish list, both with artist names and also genres that represent the demand of the market.

The main factor in booking the season’s lineup is availability — what performers will be touring and where they will be traveling.

“I don’t chase artists,” he said, because that would not be sound economically. 

Although his music venues are often the setting for people to cut loose and have fun, Crowne stresses the importance of taking it seriously as a business.

He’s not one to get stars in his eyes about the acts coming in and does not make it a point to introduce himself to the artists.

“I’m thankful for what I do, but for me, it’s a job,” Crowne said. “Sometimes it can be a fun job, but it’s a job.”

He usually starts the day early in his office at George’s and also works daily at the AMP, unless a big show is coming up, in which case he spends most of his time at one or the other.

 

Soaking It In 

He likes to work hard and keep his head down, but at times he’s been struck by the gravity of what he and others have been able to accomplish.

“When you’re immersed in something, sometimes the magnitude of what’s happening can get lost on you,” Crowne said.

But he thought about it earlier this year, when he was standing in the middle of the newly constructed AMP, which Walton Arts Center officials say is now the largest outdoor music venue in the state.

Crowne said it was then that he took a moment to reflect on all the hard work and planning that led up to that moment and he thought to himself, “I need to be proud of this.”

Another banner moment of the season happened during McGraw’s performance on Aug. 7.

Crowne was impressed not only by the fact that it was a world-class production, but also that someone like McGraw, who has had tens of No.1 hits during a career that spans more than 20 years, performed with so much passion, almost as if it was his first performance.

Crowne was proud to see a show like that in Northwest Arkansas. “I thought, ‘That is so cool,’” he said.

 

Apples and Oranges

Ultimately, he wants to keep the focus on live entertainment in Northwest Arkansas.

As far as what’s playing next year at the Walmart AMP, Crowne didn’t have any announcements, but he said they should start trickling in during December and January.

“It will be equal to and I think even eclipse last year. I hope to get some Top 40, but there will also be indie stuff.”

As to whom Crowne wishes to book in the future? “It’s a long list,” he said. “I’d love to bring James Taylor to Northwest Arkansas, and maybe in the next few years that will be possible.”

Crowne says the Walmart AMP is just getting started. “It’s going to be cool to see who lands