Building the Beat: The Legacy of Gable Music Ventures as told by CEO Gayle Dillman

As more than a decade of music industry highs and lows comes to a close for Gable Music Ventures CEO and Ladybug Music Festival founder Gayle Dillman, we pause to reflect on the unlikely moment that changed everything. It wasn’t the first show, or even the second—it was a right time, right place, right idea moment born from persistence and passion. That spark ignited a movement that uplifted countless artists, helped build a thriving music community, and left an indelible mark on Delaware’s creative landscape.

Gayle Dillman:

Our first sellout was the sixth of a singer-songwriter showcase we were doing. We had Jessica Latshaw booked, right before that video of her on the New York subway went completely viral. We sold maybe 125 tickets to a show at Film Brothers and we couldn’t believe it. And these were all people who hadn’t been to any of our shows. A lot of them became fans of our business that day.“Jessica is actually coming back as one of our headliners for Ladybug this year [2013], and we could not be more excited.” This is what was published in Wilmington a while back. 

Jeremy and I started a series called The Six, 6 artists, 6 songs, $6. We struggled getting people to come to the downtown of Wilmington in those early days. Things started to change when we had Jessica Latshaw booked for our SIX. She was recorded in a NYC subway and went viral. We sold out our first show. At that point, World Cafe Live started to take notice. We went on to book shows, take over the open mic which became Wilmo Wednesdays, and have a regular presence at WCL.

Before that, each show was a struggle and I often would find myself wondering why I was doing this. Patience, persistence and perseverance proved that there was a need for live music in Wilmington. Even though there were only a couple of places downtown, Chicky's Pizza (Extreme Pizza) and WCL for quite some time.   

We went on to create another show at WCL for Jessica and went on to have a lot of very successful shows at WCL.

I guess as I sunset Gable, I am really reflecting how far the music scene has come. From a small but passionate scene to events like Porchfest, Wilmington’s music community has continued to grow and evolve. We are in a climate of arts contraction, not necessarily expansion. When we remember that we all built this music scene, we will find ways to continue to nurture it and find creative ways to expand it. This takes a commitment of the community to support the arts and the businesses that work to keep things going.