We had the good fortune of connecting with Cathi Rodgers and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Cathi, why did you pursue a creative career?
My love of live music ignited my decision to pursue a creative career. And to be perfectly honest, it just kind of evolved. Throughout my time in college, I always listened to live music but pretty much stopped while I raised my two boys. After they flew the nest, I had more time to devote to my love of music. I moved to Tallahassee and almost immediately became involved in the local music scene. Within two years, I helped in the management of a huge blues and jazz festival. I believe my work with the festival set the stage for my presence in the Tallahassee music scene.
About five years ago, I started a live music list for Tallahassee and posted it on Facebook. My relationships with music venues and musicians help to make my list the most accurate list available. Last year, I was approached by a musician and software engineer who wanted to create an App and a website based on my list. I am happy to say that we have both up and running. We have a lot more ideas in the making and will realize them very soon!
More recently, I have started doing photography in order to tell better stories musically. I have a lot to learn in this area!
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I began my involvement in the local music scene, I was lucky to have met some very influential musicians in town. And, because of those connections, I was able to be on the management team of The Florida Jazz and Blues Festival which was held for two years here in Tallahassee. This experience opened me up to several local musicians, touring musicians, the local arts community, and the local governing boards.
I learned a lot about advertising and supporting musicians from my experience with the festival. Musicians are really great at being musicians, but they need help with promotion, booking shows and the business side of being a musician.
Of course, helping local musicians was more accessible and easier to do than helping touring musicians. The first thing I realized was that there was no comprehensive list of events in town for shows, so I created one. I publish my list weekly on Facebook, on our website and our App. The community has really shown their appreciation in having a “go-to” list of local music.
As I have continued success in my local area, I will eventually broaden my reach into other cities. I have recently been on a local radio show, and I am regularly asked to attend functions as an influencer in our local music community. While I still have lots of work to do locally, I hope to branch out to touring musicians. Hopefully, I will be able to create similar successes with them.
I hope to make music accessible to everyone in Tallahassee and beyond. I want to help musicians become more successful and streamline their careers because without them there is no live music!
“Orchestrating Moments, One Note at a Time!”
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a friend visiting, I would take them out to see live music! We have music almost every night of the week here in Tallahassee. There is a great little bar in town called Blue Tavern. They serve great sandwiches and soups along with beer and wine. They have a happy hour live show and then an evening show every day. It kind of reminds me of the bar in the old TV show Cheers. I would also take them to House of Music Tallahassee for a wonderful dinner and a weekend show. And, it seems like there is always some music event going on at any one of our three college campuses.
Tallahassee has some great restaurants. My favorites are Kool Beanzs, Bella Bella’s, Backwoods Crossing and a little dive place called Bird’s Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack. And we must head to the coast for a meal at a restaurant named Trident.
While at the coast, we would spend the night at St George Island for two nights. There is music on the island but in the next town, over the bridge in Apalachicola, there are several places to hear live music. Before heading back to Tallahassee, we would go to the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge to see some amazing wildlife and walk the trails.
Tallahassee is known for having many canopy roads so driving around the area is simply beautiful. We are also known for our many parks and walking trails.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow! There are just too many people that have helped me on my musical journey to pick anyone specifically. The music venues, the musicians and the fans of live music are what gets me though!
Website: https://musiclocal.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecathirodgers/
Facebook: Tallahassee Live & Local Music
Other: Maven Music Entertainment mavenmusicent@gmail.com
Image Credits
These are my photos.