Founder, Rolling Live Studios
Contact: Crystal Henderson, [email protected]
Award-winning artist manager and producer Kerry Brown founded Rolling Live Studios––a company that produces live virtual events––in 2020. The inspiration, like so many artistic projects in the pandemic era, was necessity. “I had just opened the doors to a new studio in Laurel Canyon, then the Governor says, ‘Everyone, go home.’ I had just hired employees. So I told everyone to go home with their computers and we’ll just figure out how to take everything online,” Brown says.
Since it began, Rolling Live Studios has produced over 50 live virtual events and helped raise more than $15 million for charitable organizations like Chrysalis. But possibly the most ambitious and celebrated project Rolling Live has produced so far was a three-hour David Bowie tribute concert early this year, featuring a heavyweight cast that included Trent Reznor, Macy Gray, Billy Corgan and Peter Frampton.
“We just called everyone we knew, and everyone said yes. We had so many artists who had some kind of connection to David,” Brown says. Because a live, in-person performance wasn’t an option for artists, Rolling Live turned each cover into its own visual, cinematic piece. “As a result, we got a whole new insight into David’s life from all these artists he had touched in some way.”
Brown says Rolling Live is planning a dozen similar, large-scale events to take place over the next year, with the intent of providing a platform for artists, incorporating unique visual elements into the productions, and collaborating with charitable nonprofits to give back to the music and arts community.
“If you’re just looking for a job, there’s always the money gig. But if you follow your passion and trust your intuition, in any field, that’s what ultimately gets you where you want to go,” Brown says. “I had a moment a few days before the Bowie event where I thought, ‘I hope people like it.’ But I knew I’d made something I wanted to see, which means there would be other people who also want to see it. So just go with your gut and make content you’d like to see.” •
