Photos: Rising Sun Presents
Writer: James Daniels

What does it really take to put on a show? Almost everyone has been to a show, concert or festival. Is it really as simple as “If you build it, they will come?” Graham Noel, Director of Programming at Rising Sun Presents knows all about what it takes to host incredible events. For more than 10 years Graham and his ever-expanding team have become one of the premier event production companies in the Philadelphia, PA area. They are now expanding into other markets in the North-East. I (James Daniels) was lucky enough to sit down with Graham to talk about how Rising Sun Presents came to be and what it’s like to go from a small-time promoter to partnering with Live Nation for an Avett Brothers show at The Mann.

James Daniels: What is Rising Sun Presents?

Graham Noel: Rising Sun Presents is a full-service concert production company. We have many departments, some venues we run from top to bottom, certain clients we do booking and marketing, some clients we do food & beverages. The company is expanding quickly and that has all come out of our flagship venue Ardmore Music Hall where I have been working for 8 years.

James: How did Rising Sun Presents come to be? Was that always the plan or did it all just happen slowly and organically?

Graham Noel: There was some consolidation needed in the independent sphere in Philly coming out of the pandemic. Rising Sun had been operating on many different accounts but we didn’t really have a public facing brand until about 2 years ago and we joined forces with the folks at bonfire who we had already been working with at Underground Arts and Milkboy and point entertainment which is run by Jesse Lundy and Rich Kardon. We had been working in a co-pro relationship with those guys so it was a really natural fit. We just sort of combined forces. It made things much easier rather than having agents say [why do you have an Ardmore Music Hall email if you’re asking me about Milkboy or an outdoor series?]

James: It seems like Rising Sun Presents is involved with a lot of different events and venues in the Philly area. How many total and what are all the events and venues you are involved in?

Graham Noel: I am going to pull up my cheat sheet. There are four clubs and one theater in the Philadelphia area. Ardmore Music Hall, Underground Arts, Milkboy, 118 North all in the Philly area. The Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. We are now doing the booking for Daryl Halls Venue in Pawling, NY called Daryl’s House.

Photo: Alyssa Kriner

James: That’s awesome, how did you end up getting that one?

Graham Noel: So, the folks who had previously been booking the room, we had a good relationship with and they were able to recommend us for the job when they were sort of reorganizing and focusing on a different account. We are also working with two clubs in Maine, one is the Waldo Theater in Waldoboro, Maine and the other is One Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine. Those two came from my co-worker, Jesse Lundy who grew up in those areas and has been passionate about building there.

Graham Noel: We have good partnerships with many other Philly Venues and venues in other markets, so we’re passionate about the music first and foremost and are really taking a long-term view of an artist’s career, which is awesome. So, we’re doing a lot of co-pros in Philly. There’s a couple shows coming up at Union Transfer. There’s a big Avett Brothers show that we’re partnering with Live Nation at the Mann this summer. So, it’s been awesome to be a part of.

James: How has the business and scene changed over the years?

Graham Noel: I started at the Trocadero which is no longer here in Philly. Since then, the scene has changed a lot. The venue scene is very much shifting as a fan and as a musician yourself, you know there’s just less places to play and that’s really hit the Philly scene hard during the pandemic. We do have a lot of new venues opening. I have seen many scenes just not have a place to gather. Specifically, the metal scene. I am very entrenched in the metal scene; Voltage was a big place for those folks to gather and that’s gone now too. Philly has a unique challenge as there are not a lot of all-ages spaces so the basement scene is big still.

James: Do you think Covid has permanently affected the Entertainment Business? Or do you feel like everything is relatively back to normal?

Graham Noel: I think that there is still a consolidation of the number of bands that out there touring, because those bands, a lot of them just didn’t have the revenue. While touring was challenging there are a lot of older bands that couldn’t take the risk getting out on the road, and they’re still making up for lost time. I think that a lot of the industry side has changed similar to how we created a new company and have been staunchly independent. I think a lot of artists are doubling down on being independent, whether it’s partnering with record labels or partnering with smaller booking agencies. That’s been great. I think we’re very like-minded with those agencies who have a full-service mentality and in a really independent spirit. I’m sure there’s ebbs and flows, but I think it made touring much more intentional. People are planning a lot further out, which is encouraging for us because we’re in the volume game. We booked about 1000 shows last year, which was the most we were involved in and it’s still an upward trajectory. I have seen ticket prices rise because fans see the value in live performance more now that they are able to get back out to shows again and couldn’t during the pandemic

Photo: Bryan Lasky

James: Do you get to attend any of the shows that you book or are you always way to busy?

Graham Noel: I definitely make time for the show’s I want to see. I’m extremely grateful that I am not sort of required to be on site so when you see out at a show, it’s because I give a lot of shit to be there. Yeah, and I really enjoy it, I’m verry blessed to have so many options and I’m especially because we’re working on so many different genres. I am into so many different types of music. So, I am grateful to be able out there hanging when I get the chance.

James: What events this year are you looking forward to most and is there anything new on the horizon for Rising Sun Presents?

Graham Noel: Yeah. So, my favorite series is Concert Under the Stars. It’s an outdoor series in King of Prussia, PA. I don’t know when this interview will come out, but that has been trending really well. This will be the third year that I’m involved. I am really excited for that line-up. It’s just like, the most pleasant environment just to see a show. I am doing some shows partnering with kayo dot in California. Which is very different for me acting as an agent. Also learning the ropes with the new venues out of the Philly Market. Getting go to go up to Daryl’s House and see what it’s all about. Last year was awesome and it’s just all around an exciting time for Rising Sun Presents.

Graham Noel: The last thing I will plug is the Sing us Home Fest. Which is an artist curated festival. Partnering with Dave Hawes. It’s in Manayunk. It was super epic and I am really proud of it so I am really looking forward to that again this year.

So, next time everyone is cheering at the end of the show, make sure to be a little louder for all the people behind the scenes like Graham and his partners at Rising Sun Presents. From Ardmore Music Hall to Daryl’s House, RSP is becoming more than just Philly’s premier full-service event production company. They are becoming an east-coast giant while still being true to their roots and growing bands from the ground up. Go check out all their upcoming events by clicking here. Live music makes the world go round and Graham at Rising Suns Presents is a huge part of that.