The (young) peoples’ choice
Music promoter finds success by catering to tastes of students
Did you see Cardi B at the Times Union Center last October? Or, going way back, Lil Wayne when he played the Washington Ave. Armory over a decade ago? If you were at either of those shows you’ve attended an event promoted and marketed by Greg Kornegay, the 45-yearold Latham resident who spent the better part of this decade booking and promoting concerts in Queens and western Massachusetts, before using A Little Booking Agency to bring shows to the Capital Region.
Kornegay started out as a local promoter, working with booking agencies to help turn out audiences for shows, such as that aforementioned Lil Wayne gig. Roughly five years ago, Kornegay decided to expand from promotions to booking and out of that, A Little Booking Agency arose.
“I got more serious in this market about two years ago,” Kornegay said. “I wanted to be home a little more.”
Changing his primary focus from a major media market like New York City to Albany required a change in approach. In the city, just the sheer volume of people and venues make it easier to book an artist and get an eager audience. When booking shows in the 518, Kornegay focuses on a specific audience.
“My main audience is high school and college students,” he said. “The Capital District has so many colleges with not a lot to do. If I give them a show at the right ticket price, they’ll turn out. If you take the colleges out it’s a totally different market.
“We do really well with the younger market,” Kornegay continued. “I try to make everything affordable. We don’t make a lot, but we can do a lot of shows and make a little bit each time.”
To plan out potential shows, Kornegay and the team of local photographers, videographers, promo experts and street team at A Little Booking Agency run polls on social media to see what up-and-coming artists are resonating with that demographic.
“We try, we all try to sit down and talk and do polls,” he explained. “We see who everybody is talking about, see who’s trending and find realistic artists (costwise) and work with them.”
That’s how Kornegay booked ascendant talents like Rich the Kid and Saweetie for a concert last May. It also led him to book Juice Wrld, the 19-year-old rap phenom whose single “Lucid Dreams” hit No. 3 on the Billboard charts this summer, for a Sept. 29 appearance at the Palace.
The Juice Wrld show was a particularly troublesome booking experience for A Little Booking Agenct. In his words, “it just became a mistake.” Originally, he had wanted to book a concert with Juice Wrld, Lil Baby and Gunna for the Times Union Center. Due to scheduling conflicts, all three artists are due for separate shows.
After that headache came another: an abrupt change in venue. Juice Wrld was scheduled to take place at the Empire Plaza Convention Center. But after issues arose, A Little Booking Agency had to scramble for a new location three weeks before the scheduled date. The concert was finally relocated to the Palace Theatre.
Kornegay has found easy partners in the Palace, Albany Convention Center and Times Union Center. But generally speaking, it’s easier for him to book an artist than it is to secure a venue. He attributes that logistical hurdle to an antiquated notion of hip-hop and its audience.
“When it comes to the older generation, their view of hip-hop is dated, like it’s 1990. It’s not a bunch of ‘hood kids,’” Kornegay said. “My daughter goes to Shaker High. It’s a bunch of suburban kids listening to hip-hop.
“The top 10 songs on Billboard are hip-hop,” he continued. “Other markets, they’re dying to bring hip-hop artists there. Look at what’s the trend, why not bring them in? Secure the venue and make sure 10 people don’t interfere with the 10,000 that will come and enjoy it.”
“When it comes to the older generation, their view of hip-hop is dated, like it’s 1990. It’s not a bunch of ‘hood kids.” Greg Kornegay