Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Foster.
Max, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Like most businesses, mine started with humble beginnings. I moved to Nashville in 2019 from Austin Texas. I started playing guitar around 5 years old, and I had been in love with music ever since. That love for music brought me to Belmont University in 2019. In August of 2021, a few friends of mine and I moved into a new house, and we hosted a few parties for our friends. I had always loved hosting events for my friends, and those parties had pretty high attendance numbers, so I wanted to take it further and host a concert. My first show ever was January 21st, 2022 at The End. At that time, a lot of my friends were joining and creating bands, and all of them were itching to play since we had been feeling the effects of the Covid pandemic for the past two years. I organized three bands and a DJ, and that night, we sold out The End. It was a great experience, but it was my first show ever, so I just thought it was all beginners luck. I wanted to see if I could make it happen again, so I organized another show at The End a few months later, and luckily, that show also sold out. I spent the next two years experimenting with concerts. I wanted experience hosting shows with different venues, genres, and entertainment structures. All these individual shows led me to my first monthly show series – Who’s Next at Love & Exile in East Nashville. Thanks to my partners at Four Count Ent. I was able to keep the show booked and managed while attending grad school at Belmont. A friend of mine in my graduate program saw all the work I was doing at L&E, so she offered me the chance to create and add a new series to my programming at the L27 rooftop of The Westin Nashville. The vision for Foster Entertainment became clear through my work with The Westin and Love & Exile. Businesses all over Nashville want to host live music, and artists are always looking for new places to play and share their work, so it’s my job to connect the two and foster a culture of consistent and quality entertainment experiences for the artists, businesses, and their audiences.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Everyone goes through ups and downs throughout their career. Some days you feel on top of the world, and other days you wish you could just quit, but ever since that first show, I’ve felt called to do this work. I’ve had my struggles and I’ve gone through really tough times, but I’ve been blessed with a strong community full of people who’ve supported me along the way, and that’s what matters most to me. I’d like to take this chance to remind anyone going through a rough patch in their journey to look to the people in your life for guidance. The right people will always keep you on the right track, and when times are tough, know that those people are here to help you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At Foster Entertainment LLC. we create custom showcases for businesses all around Nashville, and we keep those shows booked, promoted, and hosted. We also work with sponsors to promote their businesses through our showcases by providing them content creation, event access, and digital marketing. Some of those companies include Google Fiber, Guidance Whiskey & YoCo Vodka. We currently host monthly showcases at Love & Exile, The Westin Nashville, Diskin Cider Brewery, The 1865 Club, and The Corner Wedgewood. We also host quarterly at The Gibson Garage, and we are set to announce a new showcase series at Brooklyn Bowl later this month. Because every venue is different, you have to tailor the entertainment structure to the space itself. For instance, a full band works great at Brooklyn Bowl because it’s a massive space with a full stage and backline, but in a more intimate setting such as the 1865 club, a single drum set would fill up the room and nobody would be able to talk to each other, which is why in that space we host a monthly writers round.
This work as existed as long as music, and there are many people and organizations who do this work, but at Foster Entertainment we have one main difference. We don’t host OUR show, we host YOUR show. Many organizations create their brand or series, and host that brand at venues all across the city. We tailor our shows to highlight the space itself, as well as the artists performing in it. For example, we don’t host “Foster Entertainment at Diskin Cider” we host “Diskin Sessions at Diskin Cider” with a graphic that features Diskin Drinks and the artists names labeled on the drinks. This goes for all of our showcases across our different venues. These showcases are about the artists and the businesses who support them, and we want to keep it that way. If you have a space and are looking for consistent live entertainment, we’d love to chat!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received came from my friend Ryan Pope, current manager of the band Ace Monroe, who actually headlined my first show ever. Ryan told me, that whenever I’m networking in the music industry, at the end of the meeting, ask the person you are meeting with to introduce/connect you to three people who they think you should meet. It sounds simple, but by doing that over and over again you’ll eventually find yourself with a robust network of amazing individuals. Some might be able to help you exactly where you are in your journey, and others may help you later on, but by taking every meeting and growing your network, you’ll find that all you’ve done is build a community, and I think there’s nothing more important than that. If anyone reading this is struggling to find a mentor, needs guidance on a situation, or is looking to plant that first seed in their networking tree, please feel free to find and reach out to me, I’d love to help!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fosterentertainmentllc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fosterentertainmentllc/
