Who We Are
The California Capitol Venue Coalition is the unification of Sacramento’s independent entertainment venues to advocate for the city’s brick-and-mortar establishments that are the foundation of its local creative economy. We serve to ensure, strengthen, and cultivate Sacramento’s current momentum in its arts and culture growth that represents the city’s identity as California’s Capital. We have come together to save the live music industry in Sacramento in this time of crisis and to fight for its place in the community from here on out.
The CCVC is comprised of the following venues: Harlow’s & The Starlet Room, The Torch Club, Café Colonial, The Colony, Crest Theater, STAB! Comedy Theater, The Boardwalk, and Laughs Unlimited all in the name of strengthening the live entertainment industry in Sacramento.
We have taken note of and influence from similar, successful organizations around the country like the Chicago Independent Venue League, the Colorado Music Collective, and the Red River Cultural District in Austin that have brought focus to the live music industry and their positive effect on their respective local communities.
Arts and Entertainment has long been a staple of the Sacramento community and economy, but the venues and promoters who facilitate and host said entertainment tend to get left behind when local lawmakers want to boost the city’s small businesses and creative economy. We feel that we have been an afterthought in favor of outdoor festivals that are put on by outside interests and organizations who do not have Sacramento’s entertainment community at heart.
Outdoor festivals over a summer weekend have their place, but are not sustainable in the long term. A number of music and comedy venues within the city’s limits have been in
business for decades, serving the community at large with the opportunity to experience some of the best artistic talent this country has ever seen. When it came time for arts funding to be allocated to garner a truly Sacramento scene of music, theater, comedy and the like, the venues were left out of the equation.
Those outdoor festivals with the big names may look good on a website to potential residents, but leaving out brick-and-mortar venues is leaving out the heart of the live arts community.
Numerous studies have shown that these brick-and-mortar venues have an extraordinary impact on local economies. The 2017 Arts and Culture Production Satellite Account reported that arts and culture contributed $877.8 billion to the national economy in that year. One recent impact report out of Chicago found that for every $1 spent on a concert ticket equated to $12 spent in the local economy. New York City music venues are reported to annually contribute an average of $500 million to the NYC economy.
Fostering a growth of live entertainment in Sacramento by way of support of locally-owned brick-and-mortar venues can be a vital part of our city’s economic growth as well as nurturing our city’s culture.
Sacramento may not be the biggest market for live entertainment, but it is certainly growing. Our city’s population is growing faster than all but one major city in the state. We will soon have many more neighbors and having Sacramento’s identity through arts, culture, and community at the forefront will keep what makes our city great important for the people who call this place home. Supporting the city’s existing entertainment purveyors now will only help Sacramento’s culture strengthen as we move forward, which will only benefit the local economy for years to come.
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Game Plan
We can’t do this alone. Even with all the venues in town banded together, we will need even more support. Which is why we plan on speaking with Explore Midtown, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, and the local Small Business Association once we are organized. Once we have
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their vocal support, we will approach the local governments to make them understand why our industry is so integral to the city’s economy and identity.
We believe that these first steps will become the basis for the live entertainment industry in Sacramento. This industry is vital to the city’s soul and the actions taken now can ensure that these establishments remain open and the people behind them have their livelihoods protected.
These steps we intend to take will not be the end all, be all solution we all working toward. They’re just the beginning. We believe that as long as we start here, then we all have the tools to stay afloat through this. We love working in this industry and we love being able to bring so many artists and musicians to Sacramento. It’s our job to fight for the industry’s life in the city we love so much.