If you see Mark Rashotte wandering through the crowd this weekend at Empire Square Live, give him a big pat on the back.
After all, Rashotte has done more to bring big name talent to the Friendly City than anyone else and he deserves to be commended for it.
Rashotte, who operates the successful Royal LePage Pro Alliance Realty group, purchased and restored the old McCarthy Theatre on Front St. which hadn’t been used as a theatre since 1962. Since opening the doors to the Empire Theatre in 2003, area residents have been treated to hundreds of big city-calibre shows.
He added the Empire Square Live outdoor venue in 2006 and has lured several big name acts, including George Thorogood, Steve Winwood, Kenny Rogers and Burton Cummings. Rashotte also hosted a trio of terrific shows in July that included legendary acts Alice Cooper and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Blue Rodeo opens the three-night anniversary weekend celebrations on Thursday and on Saturday Slash – one of the most celebrated rock and roll guitar players of all time – brings his world tour to Belleville. Yes, our Belleville.
Rashotte has spent most of his life playing live music in venues of all sizes around North America and parts of Europe. That experience and the music industry connections that he has developed since opening the Empire is his secret to getting big name acts to include Belleville on their tour schedules.
He knows what musicians want before during and after a show because of his own experience and uses that knowledge to set up a first class experience for the artists’ visit to Belleville.
“It has a lot to do with having a great reputation here at the Empire,” Rashotte said. “It has built over the years and we’ve made a lot of friends in the industry. All the booking agents and the management teams make the phone calls and everybody knows it’s a class act.”
And the musicians that have played here remember how well they were treated by Rashotte and company.
“He’s been amazing,” said Blue Rodeo singer and songwriter Jim Cuddy. “I think that in smaller cities, if you want to create a (music) scene there has to be the energy of an individual or a small group of people. Their creativity and his energy is where it all starts.”
When Rashotte called to see if Slash would be available for the anniversary weekend, it was his previous connections that recommended the Empire Theatre and that’s how he ultimately got the date confirmed.
“It’s such word of mouth – it is a close-knit community,” Rashotte said. “If you do things right, people will keep coming and doing business with you. Some of the great acts that have passed through here in little old downtown Belleville – it’s pretty spectacular that they are making a stop here. It’s a lot of work and a lot of great people working away and making it all happen.”
Blue Rodeo’s summer list of shows included the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto as well as dates in Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles while Slash is making three Canadian stops on this leg of the tour – Windsor, Toronto and here. Later in the month they are in Western Canada including a pair of shows in Vancouver. Every other show on the schedule is in larger centres.
“I always say that you’ve got to do it up right or they won’t show up,” Rashotte said. “When they come to Belleville it’s because they’re getting paid well and everything is done up right for them. They could be anywhere and they show up here.”
Rashotte will also take the stage on Friday with his band All You Need is Love, a celebrated 1960′s and 1970′s tribute that is fronted by Andy Forgie, who is also the promotional manager for the Empire Theatre.
They will provide the soundtrack to an entertaining throw-back style party, part of the three-day event that will draw in the neighbourhood of 10,000 music fans to downtown Belleville.
“The community supports it which is great,” Rashotte said. “They buy the tickets and support it and that’s what makes the next one happen.”
Rashotte’s vision for the Empire Theatre and Empire Square Live has given Belleville and area music fans a lot to cheer about and has also set the stage – so to speak – for other events in the community like the three-year-old Big Music Fest in June.
“Obviously he’s interested in lots of music and he’s put his money where his interests are,” Cuddy said. “I think he’s fulfilled a need – there weren’t good places to play in Belleville and he’s created a place to play. You can’t say enough about those kinds of guys because they risk everything.
“He’s a great guy for doing it.”
