(Far right) Host Lady Emcee looks on at her 10-foot-high poster which adorned the stage at the New England Black Tie Winter Gala.

Martha’s Vineyard SoulFest Production Crew: (from left) Trent Headley and Tony Lynch SoulFest Security team, Noel Gourdin vocal artist, Arric B vocal artist, SoulFest cofounder Steve Anglin, SoulFest logistics coordinator Sharna Small Borsellino, recording artist Jon B, SoulFest cofounder David Van Allen and SoulFest Talent Coordinator Rashaan Gomes.

A large group participates in Martha’s Vineyard SoulFest health forum featuring yoga and line dancing addressing topics such as diabetes, cardiovascular health and mental wellness.

(From left) David Van Allen, Sharna Small Borsellino, Steve Anglin and Bentley Love Jones peering over the top.

Lady Emcee and vocalist performer Dreon.

From downtown nightclubs to Martha’s Vineyard festivals, a small group of veteran promoters has shaped where New England gathers — navigating licensing fights, shifting music trends and changing audiences for more than three decades.

Among them are Steve Anglin, Terryl Calloway, and David Van Allen, whose careers span early hip-hop concerts, monthly networking nights, multi-day festivals and formal galas.

Calloway, who runs Calloway 360 Events and Marketing, said he began promoting events more than 40 years ago after organizing a fundraiser for then–state Rep. Bill Owens. A Brandeis University pre-med student at the time, he later worked as a nightclub bouncer before finding opportunities behind the stage.

Calloway said he was among the first promoters to bring hip-hop artists to Boston at a time when the genre faced resistance from club owners and city officials. He cited early performances by Doug E. Fresh and Jay-Z, when hip-hop was often stigmatized and denied access to venues downtown and along the waterfront.

“We fought for every inch,” Calloway said, describing licensing hearings and conversations with elected officials. “It wasn’t just about music. It was about culture.”

Anglin, a Boston-based promoter with more than 30 years of experience and founder of Urban Elevations, a Boston based life style/events network for urban professionals, said his work also grew from identifying gaps in the city’s social landscape. He cofounded the monthly event series called First Fridays in the mid-1990s, which ran for six to eight years and grew from about 100 attendees at its first gathering to more than 3,000 people at peak events.

“We felt like there was a void,” Anglin said. “There weren’t enough quality events that appealed to us.”

Anglin said early adoption of email and internet tools allowed him to build a large contact list long before social media became central to promotion. Over time, his focus shifted from weekly nightclub events to fewer, larger-scale productions.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Anglin said, audiences, particularly those over 30, have become more selective. “People aren’t going out every week anymore,” he said. “What we’re seeing now are fewer events, but higher-quality events.”

Anglin later partnered with Van Allen for Martha’s Vineyard Soulfest, a promotion company that produces a week of events on Martha’s Vineyard each summer, along with select events in the Boston and Providence areas.

Van Allen said Soulfest programming extends beyond concerts and parties. Under its umbrella are live music performances, comedy shows, arts showcases and wellness programming, including yoga, line dancing and health forums addressing topics such as diabetes, cardiovascular health and mental wellness.

Van Allen estimated that Soulfest events draw about 2,500 to 3,000 participants across the week, with individual events ranging from roughly 150 to several hundred attendees. Groups often attend together, including tour groups, fraternities and sororities.

While DJ-driven events have become more common, Van Allen said there remains demand for live music. “There’s still an audience that wants to hear the drummer, the saxophone, the band,” he said, describing it as a “natural sound” that offers a different experience from curated, prerecorded tracks.

Behind many of these productions is Amanda “Lady Emcee” Merricks, a logistics-focused event producer who works as program director for the Franklin Park Coalition.

“I’m the logistics person,” Merricks said. “When it all comes together, it’s a great feeling.”

Merricks works at Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park, which hosts weekly productions in Franklin Park during the summer, as well as the Franklin Park Jazz Festival and comedy productions with Corey Manning. She has also helped organize conferences, including Mothers for Justice and Equality’s three-day Mothers Against Violence conference.

She said she has worked on the Ebony Winter Gala for years through Blacks in Government and assisted this year with the New England Black Tie Winter Gala, held Dec. 27 at the luxurious Royale Boston. Merricks described the event as meaningful and said it was larger than last year’s version.

Like Anglin and Van Allen, Merricks said attendance has become harder to secure since the pandemic, citing cost, weather and lingering hesitations about going out. “People go where they want to go,” she said. “But it feels harder to pull people out now.”

Despite those challenges, the promoters said community-driven events continue to resonate when thoughtfully planned.

Calloway said he expects music and events to become less divided by genre. “It’s going to be world music,” he said. “Just good music.”

For promoters who have spent decades building audiences and negotiating space in the region, the work remains rooted in connection. “The music never stops playing,” Calloway said. “And neither does the community.”

When it comes to Black night life and entertainment the prominence of DJs as storytellers who curate music in ways that connect audiences across generations has been happening for decades.

Van Allen said success increasingly depends on delivering the right product to the right audience. Anglin said, “People have become less social in person so Urban Elevation is meant to bring people together off line.” Through his company and collaborations with additional vinues Aglin has consistently presented high-quality night life to greater new England black community. Looking ahead, Anglin said, “I see a greatest opportunity in the growth for activity-based social experiences, including wellness and travel-centered gatherings.” And he looks forward to continuing to be a leader in providing the best in nightlife and entertainment experiences.