65 - Launching a Local Music Venue with Tobi Parks from xBk

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Tobi Parks, an entertainment and intellectual property attorney, majority owner and CEO of xBk, a Des Moines-based music venue, and Board Vice President for the National Independent Venue Association Foundation.

Listen in as Tobi & Emily chat through Tobi’s experiences in the music world, both as an artist and on the business side. Tobi shares how her journey led her from rural Missouri to New York City and details her decade in the city working for Sony Music, touring with bands, marrying her wife and having children. Ultimately, a desire for a better city to raise kids and be closer to family led Tobi and her family to Des Moines, Iowa, where she immediately immersed herself in the music scene.

Tobi walks listeners through her experience opening up xBk in the Drake neighborhood, her vision, the obstacles she had to overcome and what’s next for her (hint: it may just be right next door and involve cocktails). 

Tune in for topics like:

• Tobi’s background and music experience
• Moving to NYC and spending a decade in the music industry there
• The trip that made Tobi change her mind about Des Moines
• The vision for xBk
• Why the Drake neighborhood was chosen for a music venue
• What’s next for Tobi & xBk

Links from the episode:

• xBk website
• xBk Instagram
• xBk Facebook

Follow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!