Greater WilminGton Business Journal www.wilmingtonbiz.com July 20 - August 2, 2012 | Page 21

BY BRIE DEFLAVIO

Employees of Pipeline EventManagement do more workbefore noon on show days

than many people accomplish in anentire day, spending hours unloadingspeakers, amps, drum kits, guitars,soundboards and other expensive,heavy equipment.

The members of the audience who slowly trickle in once doors open see an empty stage, glowingsunset and a small army of brightneon green shirts weaving pointedlythrough the crowd. From security towill call tickets and admission, sup-port work from the Wilmington-based company Pipeline is playing alarge role in the influx of live produc-tions to the Cape Fear area.

Formed in May 2010, Pipelineoversees the staffing, security, man-agement, marketing and sometimespromotion of live events and con-certs. Since the company’s start,Pipeline has been a key factor in theinflux of many musical acts that havemade stops in the Port City.

For Chris Lee and Blair Walton, co-founders of Pipeline, their business is their passion.

“We’re really not in it for themoney,” Lee said.

“Our passion is with this localmarket and keeping the people herefed musically.”

Walton and Lee, both musiciansthemselves, thought of the idea for an event management company several years ago during a brain-storming session. Despite working atother jobs to support their families,the pair saw a need for an event management company and createdPipeline to offer promoters and eventhosts local, affordable full-serviceevent management. Pipeline is notprimarily a promotional company,however, and that is only a small part of what they do.

“What rang true to us was thelocal dollars leaving the local economy to go to Raleigh or otherstates. People would leave to go toconcerts and events and spend a couple hundred dollars for just onenight,” Lee said.

“If you don’t have the resources,you miss out and that’s not fair. We have the resources here to put on great events and keep the money local.”

From sun up to sun down, Pipelineemployees help bands unload andload, staff the venues, provide securi-ty, cater to the artist’s hospitalityneeds and assist guests.

“They call it a production becausethat’s what it is. On a typical night for a Greenfield Lake show, we’ll bethere from 8 a.m. to midnight orlater, setting up and unloading, loading and cleaning,” Walton said.

“We’re not standing around withour hands in our pockets, waiting forit to be over.”

Wilmington is home to a boomingmusic scene, which Lee and Waltonwant to see grow even more. Since thecompany’s start, Pipeline has helpedput on 153 productions.

“If you look at the calendars fromtwo or thee years ago, [Pipeline] hasdoubled, if not tripled, the amount of shows from year to year,” Walton said.

Coordinating live, individual showsis at the core of what Pipeline does,but Pipeline also helps put on largerevents such as the Downtown

Sundown concert series andWilmington Sharks baseball games.

Pipeline will also work with Duplin County’s recreation center onevents such as rodeos, wine tastingand monster truck derbies.

“We don’t want to get pigeonholedinto just concerts when we have a lotof other opportunities to branchout,” Lee said.

The future of Pipeline is lookingbright in a time when many smallbusinesses are struggling with thedown economy.

Within the next month, Waltonand Lee hope to launch their nextproject, Social Pipeline.

An online database of sorts, Social Pipeline will host a list ofsoutheastern North Carolina enter-tainment events, from music to fash-ion events to the arts. It will also fea-ture behind-the-scenes photos andinterviews with some of the acts thatcome to town.

“We found a niche in a market insomething we’re passionate about,”Walton said.

“And we get to share [our pas-sion]. Watching Johnny, one of ouremployees and a drummer, set updrum kits for some of his favoritedrummers – that’s pretty cool. Welove to see people reaping some ofthat joy.”

Pipeline isn’t just concerned about event guest satisfaction; it also works diligently to exceed artist’s expectations with professionalservices such as hospitality. Buildingtheir rapport with visiting artists is akey to Pipeline’s success because, asLee and Walton explained, when anartist enjoys the whole production,they’ll want to come back.

For Walton and Lee, their missionis to make sure both the audience andperformers enjoy themselves, withoutnoticing all the detailed work behindthe production.

“If you can come to one of ourevents, have a good time and forgetabout everything else that’s going onfor three hours – that’s what we do itfor, that’s a good time,” Lee said.

| BUSINESS |OF L IFE

PHOTO BY JEFF JANOWSKIBehind the scenes: Pipeline Event Management owners Chris Lee (left) and Blair Walton talk about their roles in bringingentertainment and music to Wilmington.

Entertainment in the pipeline