In The Trenches with Lamont Harper of The UC Theatre

Lamont Harper has been the marketing director of the 1350 seat UC Theatre in Berkley, CA since 2021. An experienced music marketer, he constantly refines his ticket selling strategy “with a focus on efficiency, user experience, impact, and affordability.”

“Venue marketing teams act as megaphones within their markets,” says Harper, “introducing artists to new audiences and connecting them with local press, radio, media outlets, and fans.”

This interview is part of Hypebot’s In The Trenches series sponsored by venue, festival and promoter marketing solution Bandsintown PRO. The series features the unsung heroes who make live music happen.

Lamont Harper

In The Trenches with Lamont Harper of Berkley’s UC Theatre

Share a little about yourself and what you do.

Hi everyone, I’m Lamont Harper, Director of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships at The UC Theatre in Berkeley, CA. My career has been shaped by working across nearly every facet of the creative and business sides of live music, giving me a hands-on understanding of impact and results.

I started as a musician with my friends under Tajai of Souls of Mischief, learning the independent, do-it-yourself approach through the Hieroglyphics collective, handling everything from production and marketing to design and promotion. That foundation took me to New York, where I interned at Audible Treats PR and earned a BA in Business Management & Finance from Brooklyn College. I later joined Fool’s Gold Records during the rise of EDM and festival culture, helping roll out albums, festivals, and brand initiatives.

In 2015, I returned to the Bay Area as Marketing Director for Noise Pop Industries, then moved into a corporate role at Live Nation Bay Area in 2018. After live music paused in 2019, I joined The UC Theatre in 2021. Operated by Berkeley Music Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, The UC Theatre is a community-centered independent venue presenting diverse local, national, and international artists while creating workforce development pathways for young adults from marginalized communities.

Tell us about your venue.

Celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2026, The UC Theatre in Berkeley, California is a 1,350-capacity independent live music venue dedicated to empowering young people, artists, and communities through the unifying power of live music. Our mission is to build a sustainable cultural institution that amplifies diverse voices, cultivates the next generation of music industry leaders through our Concert Career Pathways program, and ensures equitable access to the performing arts for all. Guided by our values of youth empowerment, cultural diversity, community impact, and collaboration, we present a wide range of local, national, and international touring artists spanning genres from jazz and world music to indie rock, hip-hop, metal, and punk.

Past performers include Green Day, Run The Jewels, Tinariwen, Natalia Lafourcade, Gojira, Yaeji, Kehlani, Mulatu Astatke, DMX, Juanes, Ani DiFranco, Chappell Roan, Ezra Collective, Lord Huron, Sabrina Carpenter, Yussef Dayes, Social Distortion, and many more, reflecting our commitment to artistic excellence and a thriving, inclusive creative ecosystem.

What does your typical workday look like?

A typical workday starts with coffee and a scan of my inbox. I aim to end each day at zero emails, so mornings are always a “guess how many” game. I review ticket counts, recap the previous night’s show if we had one, and map out the day ahead. I schedule meetings about an hour into the workday to allow time for emails and priorities, with mornings focused on check-ins with my marketing team, department heads, and promo partners. I keep parts of the afternoon open for quick calls that help move projects forward.

My to-do list is largely set the day before, with new tasks added as I review each show’s progress. Midday is reserved for focused, deep work, building marketing plans, researching artists, tools, and partners, and developing cross-department strategies through a marketing lens. On select days, I also host shadow shifts, giving Concert Career Pathways participants a real-time look into my workflow. I wrap up the day by clearing emails, creating the next task list, and addressing any last-minute issues. If it’s a show day, layer on working while the artist sound checks, then enjoy the show!

What ‘go to’ tools, strategies and outlets do you use to market shows?

My tools and strategies are constantly evaluated and refined with a focus on efficiency, user experience, impact, and affordability. I structure each marketing plan around three core pillars: organic content, paid media, and third-party promotion.

For organic efforts, we start with standard artist assets and photography, then expand into motion graphics, sizzle videos, “did you know?” content, music video clips, and venue-branded posts designed to drive discovery. On the paid side, we place ads wherever the audience is most active, beginning with Meta and Instagram, and expanding to platforms like Reddit, Spotify, YouTube, Google, and Nextdoor as needed. We further amplify campaigns through third-party partners, leveraging targeted audiences via paid email blasts with Bandsintown, media outlets, and local retailers, along with radio promotions, paid and trade placements, culturally aligned giveaways, and of course poster distribution.

What newer marketing tools, strategies and outlets show the most promise?

Great question. We’ve seen audiences become far more segmented, both digitally and culturally, especially in the post-pandemic landscape, and we’ve adjusted our approach accordingly to maintain and grow ticket sales. For us, shows now tend to fall into two categories: must-see and might-see. Rising arena ticket prices have significantly raised the cost of a night out, often $500 or more once you factor in dinner, parking, and childcare, reducing how many shows people attend each year.

To address this shift, we’ve invested more deeply in our local community. That means booking and developing emerging talent, strengthening relationships with our neighbors to help revitalize Berkeley’s nightlife, and partnering with the creative economy to rebuild curated platforms for discovery. This approach has helped us establish a culturally rich reputation, not only for presenting a diverse range of local, national, and international artists and reaching audiences across cultures and languages, but also for serving as a community pillar that provides both economic and cultural value.

Name a show or campaign that you were involved in where you felt you had the most impact and why?

Our venue has built strong partnerships with independent promoters to bring compelling and culturally significant shows to our stage. Smitty, our talent buyer, has developed an outstanding relationship with Jazz Is Dead, resulting in bookings such as Ebo Taylor, Cortex, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Mulatu Astatke, the Alice Coltrane Tribute, Marcos Valle, Arthur Verocai, and more. Marketing these shows to new audiences, building trust in the calendar, and collaborating with fellow nonprofit institutions like KALW Radio has been especially impactful in advancing our mission. We bring audiences together across generations and musical tastes, creating a shared experience where, whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering an artist for the first time, you know you’re in for something special.

What do you wish more artists and teams would do differently that would make your job easier and help sell more tickets?

This is always a fun question. I wish more artist teams approached the materials they share with marketers more creatively. Press photos, bios, and admats are essential, but they’re really just the baseline, and they tend to get overused quickly. Venue marketing teams act as megaphones within their markets, introducing artists to new audiences and connecting them with local press, radio, media outlets, and fans.

“I wish more artist teams approached the materials they share with marketers more creatively.”

That marketing lifecycle creates a powerful opportunity to help propel an artist to the next level. The question becomes: what additional content, storytelling, or experiences can be shared to bring the show to life? How can the artist meaningfully connect to that city and its community?  Ticket sales always get a boost when the artist/group partners with the venue to produce creative content that stands out.

More In The Trenches interviews

• Shannon Wiles of Le Poisson Rouge
• Pete Lally of Spectacle Live
• John Harris of XL Live
• Rachel Hunt of Grog Shop
• Bahar Tas of Drom NYC
• Independent Venue Marketing Lessons From Across the U.S.

Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.

“In The Trenches with Lamont Harper of Berkley, CA’s UC Theatre” first appeared on Hypebot.com