Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters gave The Guild’s first performance in May 2025. Photo: Eze Amos
The Guild, a new concert venue inside Vault Virginia, does nothing by the standard promoter’s playbook. Meticulously planned schedule with regular shows? No. Big marketing push? Also no. Optimized seating for maximum occupancy? Definitely not.
“The most common term people used was ‘intimate,’” says promoter Michael Allenby of audience responses after The Guild’s first concert. “This is a showcase venue. You don’t have to try to sell a lot of tickets.”
Allenby says The Guild hosts mostly solo acts, drawing on Charlottesville’s local talent as well as artists traveling with larger bands. Attendance is geared toward core fans and likely to be by invitation only.
The first show at The Guild, held on May 2, featured Jeremy Garrett of the Infamous Stringdusters. Ryan Cavanaugh and Chris Luquette joined the renowned fiddle player on the venue’s small stage.
“We’re lucky to have great venues, but most have rock club infrastructure … formatted to fit as many people as the fire code allows,” Allenby says. “What I heard the market [needed] was a place where people could have an elevated hospitality experience.”
Being located in Vault Virginia gives The Guild certain freedoms. Not only can the venue eschew nightly shows and a laser focus on the bottom line, but the seating area is also surrounded by a comfortable, open area with a private restaurant and bar.
“How the venue is different is the approach to getting people in the room,” Allenby says. “There is natural scarcity, and the scarcity ties into the intimacy.”
