Live Music Society Details Activations at NIVA ’25 Conference In Milwaukee, WI

June 17, 2025 - Live Music Society , the nonprofit organization that has distributed $4.8 million in funding to small venues and listening rooms across the United States since 2020, has detailed their activations at the NIVA '25 Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the third consecutive year, Live Music Society will have a presence at the conference, including a panel on June 24 that explores their first-of-its-kind One Night Live touring initiative. On June 25 Live Music Society will host a Happy Hour followed by live music at Cactus Club (a Live Music Society grant recipient), as well as a VIP brunch for invited small venue owners and operators in the growing LMS network.

PANEL - Tues, June 24 - 2:00-2:45pm at Turner Hall

One Night Live: A New Model to Support Developing Talent

Playing smaller venues is a crucial stepping-stone for emerging artists and still a key element of a working musician's career. However, tour marketing and financial support has diminished with radical changes to the commercial music industry. Small venues, crucial for artists early in their careers, struggle financially, as they rely on bar sales due to the absence of external funding. Discover how a reimagined collaboration - venue owners, artist incubators, and industry advocates - creates new opportunities for launching early-career artists.

• Moderator - Tom DeGeorge: Owner, The Crowbar (Tampa, FL); COO, D-Tour; NIVA Safety Task Force Chair

• Panelists: Cat Henry, Executive Director at Live Music Society; Liza Levy, President at Salt Lick Incubator; Wes Chalfant (they/them), One Night Live Artist& Tour Manager, Salt Lick Incubator; Alisha Edmonson, Owner, Songbyrd Music House.

Happy Hour - Weds, June 25 - 6:00-7:00pm at Cactus Club

Hosted by Live Music Society, D-Tour, and VenuePilot

Open to all NIVA Conference attendees

Option to stay for 7:30pm performance by rising rising band Porch Light

On the morning of June 25, Live Music Society will celebrate a new round of 26 grantees with a VIP brunch for small venues in their network, hosted by Calvin Arsenia, artist and owner of Kansas City's Greenwood Social Hall, a 2025 LMS Music In Action grant recipient. Following brunch, Kelsey Kaufman, owner/operator of Cactus Club, will give a brief presentation entitled 'Taking Strides in Accessibility and Why It Matters,' based on Cactus Club's recent LMS Toolbox grant project to improve accessibility for patrons and artists with disabilities. Kelsey will be joined by representatives from other local music spaces, including Cudahy's X-Ray Arcade, and Anodyne Coffee in Walker's Point.

Live Music Society's upcoming NIVA Conference panel was inspired by, and will explore, the One Night Live tour that just concluded in Nashville earlier this month. A partnership with fellow nonprofit Salt Lick Incubator and venue collective D-TOUR, the tour was described by Billboard as a "mission-driven effort to offer a viable alternative for independent artists and venues most affected by the rising costs of live events." The 14-date run across parts of the country featured emerging artists Ellie Williams, Sofia Lafuente, and Farayi Malek. Each artist performed their own set nightly while also serving as the backing band for the others, a creative model aimed at fostering community and efficiency on the road. The tour spotlighted locally owned, independent venues, recognizing them as the heartbeat of their communities and essential launchpads for emerging talent. Live Music Society plans to continue this new initiative later this year.

Live Music Society also just announced the 26 small performance venue recipients of their 2025 Music in Action grant last week. This year's grantees received $765,500 in total funding to support innovative programs that strengthen community connections, expand access to live music, and improve the concert experience for audiences, artists, and staff at each venue.With this new round of funding, Live Music Society has now granted a total of $4.8 million to support 201 small venues across the country through 236 grants, since the non-profit was founded in 2020. Read more about Music In Action and this year's recipients here: https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/live-music-society-awards-765500-to-26-small-performance-venues-with-third-year-of-music-in-action-grant-program

About Live Music Society:

Live Music Society (LMS) empowers small venues and listening rooms across the United States. Since 2020, the nonprofit has distributed $4.8 million in grants to 201 unique venues, supporting live music stages, emerging talents, established artists, staff, and patrons. With a focus on engaging communities, expanding audiences, increasing representation, and enhancing the live music experience, these grants underscore the foundation's commitment to strengthening the small, independent venue ecosystem nationwide. In 2025, LMS launched 'One Night Live' a touring collaboration with D-TOUR and Salt Lick Incubator that connects indie venues with emerging artists. livemusicsociety.org