At 2 years old, Troy Aubrey held onto the handle of his parents’ stereo and rocked out to any tune that came on the airways. By the time he was in high school, he was booking shows at local facilities in East Cobb. Aubrey believed his love for music was ingrained in him, and he was determined to do something with his passion.
Today, as the creator and owner of Aubrey Entertainment, Aubrey works daily with a wide array of artists and venues to bring music to the Athens community.
From booking hip-hop artists to country music singers, Aubrey refuses to limit himself or Athens to one type of music genre.
“I really want to be open arms to different genres of music — new, traditional venues — and also create things at alternative venues that might not be known as a music venue,” Aubrey said.
The beginnings of Aubrey Entertainment
Aubrey Entertainment was formed in September 2019, but Aubrey’s been involved in the booking, management and promoting aspect of Athens entertainment since 1988 when he arrived at the University of Georgia.
One of these jobs included eight years working as president of the entertainment division at Foundry Entertainment. However, Aubrey said he no longer wanted to limit himself to booking for only one venue.
“I needed to branch out, open my eyes to other scenes,” Aubrey said. “I came to the conclusion that I was going to try to help promote things of all different genres — working with eclectic, small venues all the way up to Classic Center sized venues.”
From then on, with the goal of matching artists to complementary venues, Aubrey Entertainment was set for smooth sailing until the COVID-19 pandemic shut the business down for several months. This put the company at a stand-still, but did nothing to deter Aubrey’s future plans.
“[The pandemic] was very difficult, but it also reset my mind and my vision for things to help give me some clarity on what to do going forward. I had lots of time to think about it,” Aubrey said. “I feel like it set myself up for success and to really bring the town some great entertainment to keep things going.”
Working with Aubrey
Aubrey Entertainment has recently been able to start booking again at the outdoor venue Southern Brewing Company. Most recently on July 17, Aubrey booked Todd Cowart, Clay Leverett and Holman Autry Band at the brewery.
“I’m always excited now that we’ve got Troy booking constantly, to the point that I get frustrated — because if there’s three great shows a week and I can’t go to three shows, I have to pick and choose,” said co-owner of Southern Brewing Company Brian Roth.
Long before the beginnings of Aubrey Entertainment, Roth worked on the AthFest Music & Arts Festival with Aubrey for over 20 years, Roth said. Aubrey was the first person Roth spoke to after AthFest was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, and soon enough they put together a show to benefit the charities associated with the festival.
Jill Helme, executive director of AthFest Educates, a non-profit organization associated with AthFest, has also worked with Aubrey, who serves as the booking chair for AthFest.
“Troy has a very good understanding of what an event is looking to produce, as well as the musical talent that exists in this region,” Helme said. “He’s got a great ear for recognizing talent that’s coming up through the area.”
Roth emphasized Aubrey’s ability to see potential in smaller bands and how that talent allows him to give platforms to these bands.
“It gives smaller, local bands who are just starting off a chance to perform in front of really great crowds and build a bigger base,” Roth said.
Aubrey may no longer be rocking out while holding onto his parents’ stereo, but he is now standing at the back of his shows, reveling in the excitement of what he was able to organize.
“When there’s a great crowd and they’re chanting, ‘One more song, one more song,’ it just feels good for me to see that,” Aubrey said. “The crowd and the band together feels that energy and that to me just makes it so worthwhile.”
