SPIN Acquires Media Platform Live For Live Music
SPIN today (March 2) announced its acquisition of Live For Live Music, the leading community-driven media and event platform serving the jam band and live music scene.
As part of the acquisition, Live For Live Music founder Kunj Shah will join SPIN as Vice President of Events, alongside the entire Live For Live Music team. The move expands SPIN’s footprint across live events, audience development, editorial coverage and experiential programming, while providing Live For Live Music with the scale, infrastructure, and platform reach to accelerate its next phase of growth.
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In addition to its editorial authority, SPIN has built a broader entertainment portfolio that includes a record label with Virgin and a TV and film partnership with the makers of Yellowstone — experience the company will bring to Live For Live Music as it scales content, audience, and programming across platforms.
Founded in 2011, Live For Live Music has built a deeply engaged audience around the culture of live music, with particular roots in the communities surrounding artists such as the Grateful Dead, Phish and the broader improvisational and festival-driven ecosystem. In addition to its editorial platform, the company has become a trusted producer of live events and festival side shows, including its long-running Fest By Nite series co-produced with GMP Live and Dayglo during New Orleans Jazz Fest.
“Live For Live Music has built something incredibly authentic and powerful,” said Jimmy Hutcheson, CEO of SPIN. “They understand community in a way that very few media brands do. By bringing Kunj and his team into SPIN, we’re not just acquiring a media property — we’re welcoming a culture and a loyal audience into our ecosystem. Together, we can expand their events, grow their reach and build new opportunities across editorial, marketing, and live experiences.”
Under SPIN’s ownership, Live For Live Music will continue operating with its distinct voice and identity while leveraging SPIN’s expertise across media scale, audience development, brand partnerships, sales, and event production. “For more than a decade, Live For Live Music has been built from the ground up by people who live and breathe this culture,” said Kunj Shah, founder of Live For Live Music. “What started as a passion project grew into a community that shows up for artists, the fans and for each other. Partnering with SPIN gives us the resources to dream bigger while staying rooted in the scene that made us.”
The acquisition follows the recent unveiling of Phase One of the 2026 Fest By Nite late-night concert series in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. Fest By Nite has become a staple of Jazz Fest season, presenting late-night performances that bring together established acts, rising artists and special collaborations across the jam, jazz, funk and improvisational music spectrum.
2026 Fest By Nite – Phase One Lineup
Thursday, April 23
Givers — Toulouse Theatre (8PM)
STS9 — The Joy Theater (9PM)
Friday, April 24
The Meters (with Dumpstaphunk) — The Fillmore (8PM) (Sold Out)
STS9 — The Joy Theater (9PM)
Sunday, April 26
Adam Deitch’s 50th Birthday Celebration
ft. Oteil Burbridge, Ivan Neville, Marcus Machado, DJ Harrison, Alex Wasily & Ashlin Parker — The Broadside (8PM)
Tuesday, April 28
Grahame Lesh & Friends
ft. Daniel Donato, Oteil Burbridge, Aron Magner, John Molo, Kanika Moore, Preservation Hall Horns & Bill Payne — The Joy Theater (6:30PM)
Dogs In A Pile — Toulouse Theatre (11PM)
Wednesday, April 29
Grahame Lesh & Friends
ft. Daniel Donato, Jake Brownstein, John Molo, Cory Henry, Kanika Moore, Preservation Hall Horns & Ivan Neville — The Joy Theater (6:30PM)
The Daze Between Band
ft. Eric Krasno, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Oteil Burbridge, Cory Henry, Ryan Zoidis, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Alex Wasily, Kanika Moore, Tony Hall & more (with Family Company) — Tipitina’s (9PM) (Sold Out)
Thursday, April 30
Lettuce Rage!Fest — The Joy Theater (9PM)
Stanton Moore & Friends
ft. Robert Walter, Will Bernard, Big Sam & Skerik — Toulouse Theatre (8PM)
Cory Henry + MonoNeon & Friends — Toulouse Theatre (1AM)
Help On The Way
ft. Eric Krasno, Ross James, Oteil Burbridge, Grahame Lesh, Nikki Glaspie, Steve Watkins & Ivan Neville — The Howlin’ Wolf (8PM)
The Motet Plays Jamiroquai — The Howlin’ Wolf (1AM)
Friday, May 1
The Heavyweights
ft. Eric Krasno & Robert Sput Searight with special guest Oteil Burbridge — The Joy Theater (8PM)
Saturday, May 2
The Meters — Saenger Theatre (7PM) (Sold Out)
Karina Rykman — Toulouse Theatre (1AM)
Check out the full lineup of Fest By Nite shows and find tickets here.
The 2026 edition of Fest By Nite marks the first major live event activation under SPIN’s ownership of Live For Live Music and signals a broader expansion of SPIN’s event strategy across key cultural moments nationwide.
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