Brooklyn Sound Lab Named Exclusive Music Agency of Record for Oakland Venue Formerly The New Parish
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OAKLAND, Calif. - Californer -- OAKLAND, CA — Brooklyn Sound Lab (BSL) is named the exclusive music Agency of Record for the historic performance space at 1743 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, California, formerly home to The New Parish. BSL will lead music booking, producing and presenting as the venue prepares for a targeted spring 2027 return to live music. Music nights will keep the building alive on evenings when the theater is dark, bringing artists, audiences and foot traffic back to Uptown Oakland's San Pablo corridor.

Co-founders Ray and Melissa Archie bring decades of national broadcast, music and live-production experience to the room. Ray, BSL's Head of Creative & Technology, led the CBS Radio Corporate streaming teams that grew and monetized listenership from fewer than 250,000 to more than 5 million in two years, and ran the live radio distribution for Live on Letterman, delivering real-time concert audio to more than 20 stations nationwide. Melissa, BSL's Head of Partnerships & Marketing, built her career in entertainment marketing and audience development at New York's HOT 97 and WBLS where she was Senior Account Director.

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A ROOM WITH A DEEPER STORY

The stage has nearly four decades of Oakland musical history. In 1987, Jimmie Ward opened Sweet Jimmie's, the influential Black-owned club that became a home for blues and, later, hip-hop. The room subsequently became The New Parish, where generations of local and touring performers helped make the address an important cultural gathering place. BSL's approach to its next chapter begins with acknowledging those roots and the communities that built the room's reputation.

"Oakland and the East Bay are home to us, and this room carries a musical history we have a responsibility to honor," said Ray Archie, Co-Founder and Head of Creative & Technology at Brooklyn Sound Lab. "We want artists and their teams to know they'll find serious production, a room that listens, and clear, professional dealings. Our goal is to respect what came before while creating the conditions for the next generation of great performances."

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The arrangement extends a four-year collaboration with Oakland Theater Project (OTP), which recently announced 1743 San Pablo Avenue as its permanent home. OTP will steward the venue and its theatrical programming, while BSL serves as its music Agency of Record.

ABOUT BROOKLYN SOUND LAB

Brooklyn Sound Lab brings decades of experience across music, broadcast media, theatrical sound design, and live entertainment, drawing on careers spanning CBS Radio, live television, studio production, and creative work involving The Juilliard School, National Black Theatre, The Apollo, and Bay Area theaters. Through music production, theatrical sound design, immersive audio, and recorded storytelling, Brooklyn Sound Lab connects national industry expertise with a longstanding commitment to the Bay Area's creative communities.

http://www.brooklynsoundlab.com