Bellingham’s tight-knit and unique music scene boasts and hosts a wide variety of musicians and talent from all around the world. Behind all of the great bands that visit the city are tour managers, booking agents, lighting and sound technicians, and the various staff required to make it all happen. Kristin Nelson does a bit of it all. She runs an independent booking agency, known as Spacechurch, where she also functions as a promoter and live visuals curator. The agency recently brought Houston’s Black Taffy to the Ballroom, focusing heavily on out-of-state (and recently, country!) bands, such as Mexico’s Mint Field and Italy’s New Candys.
After a two-year stint working for the Firefly Lounge as a booking agent, Nelson left with many music industry contacts and friends, and a deep passion and understanding of the behind-the-scenes of the industry. With COVID and its unpredictability over the past two years, many venues closed down or came to the brink of extinction. Shows and concerts were canceled, rescheduled, and many bands dissolved. However, Nelson is passionate about keeping all of her bands happy, paid, and welcomed to the city. Going above and beyond for her bands, she even sometimes acts as an Airbnb host, inviting the traveling bands to crash on her couch. We met on a sunny spring afternoon, my reflection bouncing off of Kristin’s big sunglasses.
A BREAKOUT Q&A WITH KRISTIN NELSON
How would you describe what you do for Spacechurch?
I do it all. I’m all of Spacechurch since it lives in my head. I do a lot of booking, some artist management, and helping artists with their tours. I do all of the marketing, set up the staffing, and I also do the lighting for all my own shows. I work closely with artist agencies, who will usually send me touring artists and then I fill out the show with local bands and find a venue. Then, I set them up with staffing, lighting, and sound to create a whole show. I also do freelance lighting and lasers. I have too many hobbies, so sometimes I forget everything that I do. I have a branded standard so that there is cohesivity between my shows. If you go to one of my shows, there’s good lighting, really great sound managers. I’m really big on the little things, like the opening house music.
What kind of music do you usually book?
I just like good music. I love electronic, EDM, I love it all. I usually end up booking psychedelic, indie, and electronic, such as beats or experimental. It’s actually really difficult to get people out to those electronic shows. They’re usually projects with just one or two people in them. When you’re booking shows with bands, there’s hopefully around 3-4 people in each band who are each bringing friends. That’s partially why I started with lighting, to get people out to see the full immersive experience.
How did you get started in your role(s)?
I was actually volunteering at the Dr. Leslie E. Spanel Planetarium at Western Washington University, and they let me bring PAs in and lights. I was playing a lot of live music (with Future Habitat) at the time and was heavily involved in the electronic music scene. I wanted to just get people out to the shows, and finally, for the first time, I had people just come in and sit down just to have an intimate experience and listen to these artists. I love to represent electronic bands and get them noticed. Bands started reaching out to me and it moved on from there. I figured out how to do everything on my own, by listening to podcasts and going to Google University. It’s not rocket science, but I work really hard to be mindful of respecting everybody’s time and monetary needs. I’m huge on monetary advocacy.
What is tough about the job?
When I take on a show, it’s a calculated, financial risk. Sometimes I have to turn away music that’s also really good, but I have to be realistic. We always talk about money with the bands before a show is booked. I work really hard to make sure all of the bands are happy and paid fairly. Especially for international bands, I really want to respect their time and finances. I probably stress about it more than I need to, I’m just really passionate about putting on a good show. Bellingham has a bizarre market; it’s often really hard to predict how a show is going to sell.
What does an average “show day” look like for you?
I make sure the band has their advance a few days early, I’ll text the band that day and make sure their travels are set up, see if they need anything. Then, I’ll head to the venue and ensure the lighting is set up. I’ll help sound load in their gear, try and get everything running smoothly. I love to be really hospitable, especially for touring bands who maybe have never been to Bellingham before. I make sure the band is fed, happy, connected. I stick around for sound checks, and of course, the show. It’s important, because I am everyone’s first impression, whether it be at the venue or the band.
Kristin can be found on Instagram at @spacechurchpresents and @_kriztin.