06/14/2026
COFFEE WITH KATIE
Chip, Patricia and I were able to attend NIVA(National Independent Venue Association) ‘26 conference in Minneapolis last week (*evidenced in post photos). The conference brings together over 1,000 people from across the music industry to learn, engage and support independent venues. It was insightful, fun and we got to meet and see tons of people we generally only get to know via email.
T makes you realize the vast network of relationships we have to create to make Hey Nonny what it is and foundationally, it’s what we are built on like many small venues and businesses.
Truly, not one of these relationships is more important than the other. They have to work symbiotically and each holds equal weight.
The relationship with our patrons- we strive to make that special by ownership chatting at your table to management knowing you by name.
And those relationships you don’t see as a guest- the artists, agents, vendors, other venues, the community, etc.
From building relationships with music agents so they’ll send us artists to play the stage, to the relationships with the artists that come to Hey Nonny. This one is full circle- need to be nice to the agents so they’ll send us music and need to be nice to the artists so they’ll tell the agent we are cool.
Independent venues for support and advice. We can call to bounce ideas or see how a musician fared at their venue.
Our vendors for food, ticketing, livestreaming, etc. We need them, they need us.
I guess, at the end of the day, it’s about those relationships building into a community you feel proud to be a part of. I may be biased but I think Hey Nonny generally does a damn good job at this. From our staff to our partnerships and engaging with the community.
I think the foundation of Hey Nonny was laid well and we will continue to build on it because, well, we’re just really cool that way.
*Photos taken at NIVA. Photo 1- First Avenue in Minneapolis. Look closely- Chip and I are blurry blobs leaving the venue. Photo2-us with our partner, Volume, our livestream partner. Photo 3-us with OpenDate and a friend from a venue in STL. OpenDate is our management lifeblood- booking, CRM, ticketing. Photo 4- with our friend and Executive Director of Chicago Independent Venue League(CIVL), Billy Helmkamp.
