Rock the Ruins 2021

Endings are hard for me. Always have been. Especially when I feel like there is so much left in the tank.

This summer was hands down the best summer of my life. Music people are a little odd but they are my tribe and I am one of them and spending every weekend with my crew was priceless. I’m so proud of what the team at @thevogue built at @rocktheruins. It started with the spark of an idea, as all these things do, and we dared to dream big. Our only mantra was to try to be world class. I had never booked a show before but I figured it out and we sold out 8 of our 9 shows with amazing artists who were just as happy to be playing as we were to be seeing them. We had no idea how how much work it would be to put on these events. Good thing or we wouldn’t have done it. But the funny thing about hard things is it’s where the good stuff lies. The pain of 30,000 steps and 15mi of walking every Saturday all vanished when seeing the fans smile when their favorite band took the stage each Sat night.

And through all of this…there was a giant cherry on top of the delicious sundae: Anna. It’s hard to express what a privilege it was to work alongside my oldest daughter and to watch her blossom professionally — to gain the admiration and respect of people who have been doing this their whole career. I’ve always known Anna Tobias is really special but to watch her sparkle this summer was one of the greatest gifts of my life. It’s been amazing to have her at our side all summer and she will be deeply missed. She’s going to fly high in the professional world and I’m glad I was witness to the first inning of the game.

I will miss walking through the crowd, observing the smiling and happy faces. I will miss the arrival of the bus and the interaction with the artists. I will miss putting up porta potties, taking down bars, emergency ice runs, and the excitement of opening the doors. I will miss working so closely with Scott and Andrew. They are exceptional friends and I’m so thankful for them both. Damn we had some laughs. And our team at the Vogue….wow are they good. None of it would be possible without them.

I realized this summer that these are my people. And I’m forever grateful for the experience. See you at The Vogue, Indy!