Over the years, Richmond, Virginia’s The Camel has gone through many phases. Anyone will tell you it doesn’t matter how many attempts it takes; as long as one idea works, goals can be accomplished. In this latest incarnation, The Camel puts community first. They invite a colorful array of local and regional musicians to grace their quaint venue. They put the artists and show first, hosting acts that range from fusion jazz to Virginia’s vibrant hip-hop scene. This approach grants access to a world of freedoms that create the unique environment of The Camel, Virginia’s artist-driven, community-friendly venue looking to introduce us to the state’s next big star.
Glide had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Hansen of The Camel about the venue’s growth over the years, the Richmond arts scene, and the future of independent venues. You can read our full interview below.
You guys have an extensive beer selection. What is your favorite beer to pair with a live show? What food options would you recommend for a first-timer?
It’s hard to pick a specific beer (or cider) because my taste changes from day to day, but I’d typically go for something local that’s lighter, like Ardent’s Pilsner or a Bold Rock seasonal Cider. We try to keep the majority of the draft options local to Richmond and the surrounding areas. As far as food, our Sausage Stars are a fan favorite and have been around forever. If you’re looking for more of a meal and like spicy food, I’d go with our Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich.
The Camel keeps its ticket prices low compared to other venues. Is this a conscious effort on your part? Why do you think it is important to keep live music accessible to everyone?
We deal with mostly local and regional acts, a lot of which are newer or younger bands. This typically means they command a lower ticket price, but even with some of the more veteran bands we book, we try to keep our tickets at or below $15. We definitely want music to be accessible to everyone because that’s what helps grow the bands and, in turn, our local scene. Everyone has to start somewhere, and The Camel is that place for a lot of local bands. Eventually, these bands get bigger and better and move on, or they dissolve and sometimes form new bands that go through the same process. Ease of access for fans helps keep this cycle rolling.
When did The Camel first open? What was your initial vision for the venue, and how has that vision changed over the years?
We first opened in the late 90s under a different name and owner, but it was a much different place back then. We’re currently under the 4th rendition of The Camel, and it only gets better and better with each change. It started out as a gathering space to discuss arts and culture and, over the course of its first decade, turned into a live music space that would evolve into what we are today. I’ve been a part of the three most recent versions of it and can tell you that it’s a well-oiled machine at this point. We have been branching out slightly beyond strictly booking locals lately, but again, I think that will help grow the scene here even more.
Is there a genre/style you would consider the sound of The Camel? Are there any local bands that got their start performing at your venue that you saw blossom into big names?
We book live music every day of the week, so the “sound” of the Camel is what you’d come and find on any particular day. We book everything from metal and bluegrass to EDM and hip hop. I don’t want to say The Camel can take credit for anyone’s start, but there are definitely some bigger names that have graced our stage, like No BS! Brass Band, Lucy Dacus (Boygenius), Illiterate Light, and some more recent up-and-comers like Celler Dwellers, Destructo Disk, and Drook.
How do you balance community-driven events with national touring acts? What is your overall booking process like?
As I mentioned previously, local and regional acts are our bread and butter, but we definitely sprinkle in touring acts from all over. Touring acts typically work months and months in advance, whereas most of our locals tend to cap out at about three months of advance planning. This gives us some wiggle room to squeeze in those bands routing tours through RVA (Richmond, VA) in peak seasons. A lot of the time, we’ll pair up locals with these touring acts if they can’t find bands to add to the bill on their own.
Is there any connective tissue between all of the acts you host? What do you look for when booking artists?
Again, by booking live music every night, we pull from all genres in the surrounding area. I’d say what they all have in common is the drive to get on the stage and show the world (or at least The Camel, haha) what they have to offer. When booking bands, we typically look for any previous history of ticket sales, a press kit or similar, social media accounts, music on Spotify, Bandcamp, or SoundCloud, and a few other criteria to determine the best placement for a band.
I saw somewhere that you guys are an employee-owned venue. What sort of freedoms does this give you and what is it like running a venue like this?
This was sort of misleading as all owners were employees, but not all employees were owners. I came into the Camel as a bartender with a degree in business who also happened to be in a band that played shows there. After a few years, my coworkers at the time and I saw an opportunity and took a chance that ended up with us owning and running the business. It definitely gave me perspective being in the trenches day to day, showing me the difference between owning the place and running the place. All that has since changed as of last year when I took over 100% ownership in October, and as you can imagine, having one person in charge instead of many leads to all the freedoms lol.
What is the Richmond music scene overall, and what type of local bands have helped lay a musical foundation there?
The scene here is so diverse that, at times, it’s hard to keep up with, but in my opinion, at least in the last couple of decades, jazz and music students coming out of VCU, as well as jam bands from around a decade ago, laid the foundation for the current scene. We’re definitely noticing the focus shift to a more eclectic mix of indie, surf, and psych rock—even synth-pop and disco-punk! It’s all over the place now!
As music fans yourselves, what venues have you always admired and taken some hints from?
CBGBs inspired me growing up, and I dreamt of playing there as a kid, but I only ever got to read about it. Nowadays, I feel like I’m always analyzing any place I go to that has live music. Be it a 1500-person venue or a small coffee shop, I’m always taking notes, haha.
Small venues have taken a hit over the past few years. How has The Camel adapted to the changing landscape, and how do you see the future of independent venues?
We definitely took a hit, both internally and the local scene as a whole. A lot of bands that frequented The Camel broke up, moved, or left the industry, leaving a huge gap in our booking cycle rotation. On top of that, labor and the cost of goods have skyrocketed. We’ve just been rolling with the punches and adapting any way we can. We have noticed more bands booking gigs and more people coming out to shows, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ve finally reached the tipping point from the post-Covid era of the music scene. I’m optimistic and think that any venues that survived this long after COVID will be sticking around for a while.
What does The Camel have planned for the rest of 2024? Can you give us some hints at anything exciting happening with you guys?
We just finished up a menu overhaul, which was our first big project of the year. We’re currently working on revamping our social media and marketing and have a few things in the works for the latter part of the year, but I don’t want to ruin any surprises, haha.
