Meet Justin Benedict | Artist Manager, Talent Buyer, Graphic Designer, Director of Operations

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Benedict and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
What makes me happy is feeling fulfilled. What makes me fulfilled is having an impact on my community in a positive way. For my this may include helping individual develop personally and/or professionally, supporting/empowering individuals/brands that contribute to the community in a positive way, or pushing good culture.

I am fortunate enough to get to do this in multiple facets of my professional life.
In the management space, bringing on new developing client and helping them reach a higher level, or in the promoter space, getting to put on events that are community-driven, and ahead of the curve, in terms of music.
In the staffing space this is often derived by helping talented individuals pursue careers in the music industry, and empowering them to take initiative, recognize problems, and implement solutions. Giving people ownership of their professional lives is so important I think.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the owner/lead artist manager at Veridian Management. We are a 3 year old central Texas based comprehensive artist management company that currently represents 12 multi-genre artists spanning from Mexico to Salt Lake City to Mississippi to Austin. We also have a 12 person staff with some incredibly talented individuals that live all over, including Phoenix, New Jersey, San Antonio, and Austin.

We have been able to cover a lot of ground this past year, launching an in-house booking agency, record label, merch, and more. Incredibly proud of our artist and staff rosters and want them to take ownership of their careers in the industry, and pursue the paths that give them each purpose/meaning in their lives.

Our current roster includes:
AALIOURA
CROMATIK
KAUSE
MILE32
XYAN
PURE STATIC
SEVNN
UGLY LUNGS
CXSTLE CVSTLE
EMSKI
VERMIN THE VILLAIN
DOCTOR NEIMAN

Since we are a young grassroots company we do rely heavily on community support, so make sure you tell your local promoters you want to see our artists in your city! And grab some merch from our online store at veridianmgmt.com.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Depends on the season, but weather permitting here are some great options in the greater Austin area:

Paddle Boarding on Town Lake
Hammocking at Auditorium Shores
A night of wine tasting and hot tubbing in Fredericksburg
Dinner at la Piscina or Lin
Oysters [a few spots to hit]
Parlor & Yard for a Bills game
Kingdom Nightclub for one of my shows
Afters // something lowkey at my house with homies DJ’ing and my new bonfire put being utilized outside in the back yard!

As this is a DFW based publication I can lay out a proper weekend in Dallas/Ft. Worth as well!

Fly in on a Thursday:

Hit some art galleries/pop-ups in Deep Ellum before heading to Komodo for dinner followed by some House music (also at Komodo)

Friday grab some coffee downtown and hike some of the Trinity River Audubon center.

Hit a PRIME show at Deep Ellum Art Co. that night.

Saturday head to Fort Worth and check out TCU campus (my alma mater). Go throw a frisbee at The Carter (very accessible) and grab lunch at Buffalo Bros (Go Bills).

After that head to the StockYards to do a little dancing at Billy Bobs.

Head back and Grab Dinner at The Woodshed, followed by drinks at Reservoir, and stop by Whiskey Garden to turtle racing (do they still do that there?).

Head back to Dallas for late night festivities (hopefully spinning tunes somewhere on a rooftop/someone’s condo).

Sunday should be reserved for Uptown bar hopping for football or whatever sports are in rotation at the time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would attribute much of my success in the music industry to: Robert Brooks, Eddie Garcia, Alex Reid, Parker Bronson, Annette Lucero, and Jason Millsap

Robert Is my mentor in the promoter space, and took me under his wing coming out of college. He’s given me alot of opportunities and I have worked for him in a variety of capacities including being his Street Team lead, marketing assistant, Director of Operations, Talent Buyer, Graphic Designer, and more!

Alex Reid has pushed me to become a more well rounded creative, designer, and more proficient in the areas of talent buying, venue investing, and general business prowess.

Parker Bronson is my mentor in the artist management space, and has helped my progress as a manager to a place where I feel confident representing any artist at any level at a high level.

Annette and Jason gave me alot of opportunities in the Festival realm, learning the ropes of Ops and Artist Relations, and empowering me to get involved in multiple areas of festivals.

Eddie Garcia is my assistant/right hand man at Veridian, and is the reason I am consistently inspired and motivated to keep going. He is the future of the scene down here, and I hope to give him the keys to the castle when I retire.

Website: veridianmgmt.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veridianmgmt/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/veridian-management/about/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeridianMGMT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeridianMGMT

Image Credits
Paxton Connners