World Cafe Live CEO assures success in a tense town hall full of skeptical attendees
Joe Callahan said “the passion and love we have for this city" will help him find "a path forward," in a meeting that ended in jeers.
The floor of the World Cafe Live was open for discussion on Thursday at a spirited, contentious town hall meeting between the University City venue’s new management team and WCL workers and members of the Philly music scene.
Former employees accused the new leadership of losing the trust of the community while CEO Joseph Callahan said he would “find a path,” in a drive to succeed, evoking the Founding Fathers and “the passion and love we have for this city.”
The town hall drew a not-quite-full house of seated attendees to the downstairs Music Hall of the venue that’s been in turmoil since employees complaining of a hostile work environment walked out during a Suzanne Vega concert last month.
Former employees fired from their jobs were joined by supporters wearing “Support WCL Workers!” stickers. They lined up to question Callahan, who touts virtual reality as a way to “bring the world to the World Cafe Live.”
The gathering was monitored by WCL president Gar Giles, who said the venue had agreed to collective bargaining with production and front-of-house workers who have unionized with IATSE Local 8 and Unite Here Local 2174, respectively.
He added that the legal action Callahan threatened against picketing workers last month would not be pursued, and that the WCL was in communication with all former employees.
Speakers from Callahan’s team included WCL vice president Grover Washington III, who announced the nonprofit WCL was launching a “Grover Washington Jr. Protest the Dream” music education initiative for Philadelphia children, named after his saxophonist father.
Washington praised Callahan as “not just a business leader, but … someone who has stepped up in the moment when others have stepped back.”
Chad Fain, the venue’s new programming director, said he has spoken to 600 booking agents and talent managers in the past two weeks “in an attempt to clean up the calendar and the mess” left by the “prior regime” under former CEO Hal Real, who founded the WCL in 2004.
The town hall was supposed to be available as a livestream and virtual reality event. But while Philadelphia philanthropist Martha Snyder was speaking, an attendee reported the livestream wasn’t working. It stayed broken throughout the 80-minute evening.
In-person attendees were required to sign a 3,800-word terms and conditions page that called for a respectful, nondisruptive environment. When this reporter arrived when it started at 6 p.m., no one checked for tickets or to see if terms had been agreed to.
After an opening prayer, WXPN-FM (88.5) general manager Roger LaMay spoke, clarifying “WXPN is a completely separate entity from World Cafe Live.” He called for common cause. “All of us in this room … want a strong, vibrant, well-run World Cafe Live to serve this community and music fans.”
Acknowledging a solution “requires significant investment” — Callahan says the WCL was $6 million in debt — LaMay said, “this place is an essential community cultural asset, and we should find a way to keep it alive.”
How to accomplish that was a topic of considerable tension.
Andy Molholt, guitarist for Philly band Speedy Ortiz, who headlined the venue in January, said when venue workers were fired, Callahan and his team “lost the respect of the collective Philadelphia music community.”
“By taking over this independent, beloved institution, you’re representing independent music as a whole. With this comes the responsibility to listen to the people who make this community,” he said.
Philly bandleader Carsie Blanton, who has sold-out the WCL multiple times, said the music community “is networked, not just in Philadelphia, but in this whole country. So if you’ve lost my trust and I tell the musicians I know not to play here, that goes a really long way. That’s not a threat. I just need you to understand the importance as a business to win back our trust.”
Frustrations were expressed about ticket buyers not receiving refunds for many canceled shows — an issue that Giles said was being addressed — and bands and fans being blocked on Instagram.
The strength of the World Cafe Live community, Owen Lyman-Schmidt of West Philly band Driftwood Soldier said, “was built on other people’s hard work and other people’s love. You didn’t build it. We built it. And it’s going to take a lot of hard work and humility that I’m not seeing tonight for y’all to start to win it back.”
After commenters took him to task, Callahan spoke.
“There is no one in this room that appreciates live music more than I do,” he said, and talked about Philadelphians’ passion “instilled in our beings from the DNA of our 56 Founding Fathers that wrote the Declaration of Independence right here in this city.”
“I have heard every word that was spoken tonight by everyone,” he added. “I am sorry for the discomfort … It has been difficult.”
But he said his team at the WCL would succeed because “we know that the strength is inside the people, and human capital is what makes a difference.”
A band on stage behind him started to play, and the crowd erupted in jeers.
“These are the people you’re talking about,” Philly singer Samantha Rise, a frequent WCL performer, shouted. “Workers! That was nonsense!”
» READ MORE: World Cafe Live protests continue as staffers are fired and threatened with legal action
Outside the venue — where a mini-marching band accompanied by Philly Elmo had played before the event — workers in red union and Phillies T-shirts gathered.
Arely Peña, a terminated WCL worker, said she came to the meeting “with an open mind and really just wanting to give them a chance. Maybe they learned something, maybe they realized how bad they actually are. I was hoping to be proven wrong. But none of that happened.”
“They’re definitely trying,” said Tyler Lane of West Philly band Astro Alloy. “Agreeing to union stuff, emailing former employees. I think those are signs they are trying to do good. What I’m not believing is the fundamental understanding of why that matters to us in the first place.
“There’s still this attitude of ‘I’m running a business, and these are employees that I paid.’ Rather than ’I have a community to serve.’”
Novalee Wilcher, a laid-off box office worker active in the Save World Cafe Live picket lines, confirmed that Callahan’s team had been in touch with fired employees.
“They emailed us right before the meeting today, saying they would love to have a one-on-one conversation about your future at World Cafe Live.“
The town hall wasn’t reassuring, she said, but despite the rancor, she’d be happy to return.
“I love this job. I teared up when I walked in because the energy was so off. But we are doing this because we love World Cafe Live and we want to save World Cafe Live. So if there’s a way I can help the venue be run without maliciousness and disrespect, I would absolutely love to do that.”