Peter Shapiro (born September 7, 1972) is an American club owner, concert promoter, filmmaker, magazine publisher, author and entrepreneur from New York City. He is widely known as the promoter for Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead, the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary "final shows". Shapiro first gained renown through two films that screened at the Sundance Film Festival: Tie-Died: Rock 'n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans (1995) and American Road (1997). He has gone on to produce numerous other projects including U2 3D (2007) and All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! (2001). The Producers Guild of America identified him as one of "The Digital 25: Visionaries, Innovators and Producers of 2009". On June 8, 2016, Shapiro was honored at the annual gala of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.
In 1996, Shapiro purchased New York City nightclub Wetlands Preserve. He currently owns the Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas and the Capitol Theatre. He has helped create such events as the Lockn' Festival, Jammy Awards, Jazz & Colors, the Green Apple Music Festival and Fare Thee Well. Billboard named Shapiro to its Power 100 list in 2015 and 2016 while in 2017 Variety placed him on its New Power of New York List.
Peter Shapiro currently serves as publisher of Relix magazine. He is also the founder of FANS, an online community with a focus on the live music experience. Shapiro's other ventures have included GreenOrder, The Hoodie Shop and Stone Fox Bride.
On July 8, 2019, he became chairman of HeadCount, the non-profit organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy, with a focus on registering voters at live music events.
In August 2022, Hachette published Shapiro's book, The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Magic. Kirkus described The Music Never Stops, written with Dean Budnick, as “an entertaining insider's tour of the concert business from a likable guide.”
Early life and career Peter Shapiro, who grew up in New York City, is the grandson of Ezra Shapiro, a former world chairman of the Keren Hayesod (the world's largest fundraising organizations for Israel), and the great-grandnephew of Joel Elias Spingarn, one of the first Jewish leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Shapiro's father Daniel Shapiro was president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the predecessor of the UJA-Federation of New York, from 1983 to 1986.
Shapiro graduated from the Northwestern University School of Communications in 1995. During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Shapiro shot the footage for his documentary debut And Miles To Go: On Tour with The Grateful Dead (1993). The project landed him an associate producer role on Tie-Died: Rock ‘n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans, which debuted at Sundance in 1995 before its national theatrical run. All screenings of Tie-Died were preceded by Shapiro's short film A Conversation with Ken Kesey, which originated during the making of And Miles To Go. Shapiro returned to Sundance in 1997 with American Road. This eight-minute short film, which he made with cinematographer Alex Cornfeld, presented images from the continental United States set to the Phish composition, "You Enjoy Myself."
Wetlands Preserve In 1996, while touring college campuses with Tie-Died, Shapiro learned that Larry Bloch, the founder of New York City nightclub Wetlands Preserve, was seeking to sell the venue. Wetlands had opened seven years earlier as a self-styled “eco-saloon,” which not only focused on music but also supported a not-for-profit Center for Social and Environmental Justice. Bloch tapped Shapiro to shepherd in the club's second era, despite the fact that the would-be owner had no prior club experience. When the club finally closed its doors in September 2001, The New York Times wrote, “the shuttering of Wetlands, which opened in 1989, is a major blow.”. The VW bus originally placed in the club as an information hub and a source of merchandise sales now resides in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Shapiro and Bloch later appeared in the feature-length documentary Wetlands Preserved: The Story of An Activist Rock Club (2008) directed by Dean Budnick, which utilizes archival footage, soundboard recordings and the efforts of a dozen digital animators to present the story of the venue and later aired on the Sundance Channel
Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, Brooklyn Bowl London In the years following the closure of Wetlands Preserve, Shapiro expressed his interest in owning another music venue that would develop its own unique identity. He achieved this goal in June 2009 with the opening of Brooklyn Bowl. Shapiro discovered the 20,000 foot space along with his partner, former Wetlands Preserve general manager Charley Ryan, while walking around the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Shapiro later recalled that The Hecla Iron Works Building built in 1882 “was a huge barn, no electricity, barely any plumbing. We just said, ‘This is it.’ You don't often find barns like that, even in the outer boroughs.” A two year renovation then followed, yielding a 600-capacity club with a 16-lane bowling alley and food provided by Blue Ribbon.
In addition to its high-end sound and high-def video screens, Brooklyn Bowl is LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certified green. As Shapiro has explained, LEED sets pretty specific guidelines. It's one thing to adhere to them with a brand-new building, but it's difficult when you're updating all the electricity, plumbing, flooring, lighting, and air conditioning. All the electronics equipment has to be Energy Star rated. We're 100% wind-powered. We’ve put in a lot of natural light, sensors turn the lights off when there's daylight in the place. The sinks and toilets are all low-flow. The stage is made of recycled tires. We're not selling any bottled beers. We’ve installed bike slots. We use local labor. We use recycled materials in our furniture. It's very significant stuff.
On August 22, 2013, The New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Bowl would be expanding to Las Vegas and London. On March 8, 2014, Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas debuted on the Strip with the club's signature Bowlive event, featuring Soulive and special guests, followed a few days later by a special show from Elvis Costello and The Roots. Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas is a 2,000-capacity, two-story, 32 lane facility in an 80,000 square foot location within LINQ, Caesars Entertainment's retail, dining and entertainment space. In 2014 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas won the Las Vegas Weekly's readers' choice award for Best Live Venue. In 2015 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas was named Best Bowling Alley and Best Small Concert Venue in the Las Vegas Review-Journal “Best Of” Awards. It also was named Best Live Music Venue in Las Vegas by Travel + Leisure. Performers have included Kanye West, Jack White, John Legend, Jane's Addiction, Phil Lesh & Friends, Robert Plant, Trey Anastasio, Skrillex, Guns N' Roses, The Avett Brothers, Erykah Badu, Steve Winwood, Wyclef Jean, The String Cheese Incident, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Spoon, Pretty Lights, My Morning Jacket, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Gogol Bordello and Chromeo.
Brooklyn Bowl London is adjacent to the O2 Arena. The venue offers 12 lanes of bowling in a facility that holds 1000 patrons. The New York Times disclosed that Shapiro had signed a 15-year lease with AEG, which owns the O2. Brooklyn Bowl London offers after-shows along with other original music, while maintaining the signature offerings associated with the original Brooklyn Bowl, which Rolling Stone has named one of the Best Clubs in America and dubbed it "one of the most incredible places on earth. Brooklyn Bowl London has been able to host arena-level performers like Pharrell Williams, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town within its relatively intimate concert space. It opened on January 16, 2014 with a special show featuring the Brooklyn Bowl All-stars, featuring members of Soulive and Antibalas, fresh from their run on Broadway in Fela!. Other artists who have appeared at the venue include Lauryn Hill, Phil Lesh, Talib Kweli, Lucinda Williams, Hothouse Flowers, Dinosaur Jr., Zebrahead, Gov't Mule, Less Than Jake, Maceo Parker, Umphrey's McGee, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Deer Tick. Brooklyn Bowl's London outpost was shuttered after three years in 2017.
The Capitol Theatre Shapiro's next project came to fruition on September 4, 2012 when Bob Dylan took the stage to mark the re-opening of the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The facility was built in 1926 and designed by one of the era's leading theater architects, Thomas W. Lamb. It first saw use as a concert space in 1970, hosting performances by The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin and many others. Following a heyday of a few years, the facility experienced a brief resurgence in the 1990s with shows from Phish, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Strangefolk and performances by The Rolling Stones and David Bowie as part of MTV's Live From The 10 Spot series. In late 2011 Shapiro entered into an agreement with owner Marvin Ravikoff (who had been using the building as a special events facility for weddings and bar mitzvahs) to re-open it as a music venue. Over the ensuing months, The New York Times reported, Shapiro “has spent more than $2 million renovating the 1,800-seat theater, which is 32 miles from Midtown Manhattan. He installed an arena-size lighting system, 10 high-definition projectors and an advanced sound system. The goal, he said, was to create ‘a psychedelic rock palace’ dedicated to live music, rather than theater.”
Opening night was originally slated for September 7, 2012, Shapiro's 40th birthday but the opportunity to put on a show with Dylan, who had previously used the theater as a tour rehearsal space, scuttled those plans by a few days.
On December 31, 2012, the media reported that Shapiro had purchased the building for $11.5 million from Ravikoff. Four months later after some additional renovation, Shapiro christened the theatre's new lobby bar and performance space as Garcia's in official tribute to the Grateful Dead guitarist. Jerry Garcia's daughter Trixie was on-hand and explained, "We chose to launch this idea at the Capitol because of its long and illustrious history with the Grateful Dead and the jam scene. We hope that it becomes a hub for the community to share stories and continue to build lifelong memories and friendships. Pete Shapiro and the Capitol Theatre staff were the appropriate partners to do this with because of our shared goals and his continued love and support of the Grateful Dead community. Just as important to note is the fact that Jerry's parents supported our family by owning and operating a bar in San Francisco in the 1940s and so it seemed right to reconnect with our family tradition." On May 16, 2013, the first public performance took place at Garcia's, with music from Reid Genauer and Friends.
Bearsville Theater
In April 2024 Billboard announced that Shapiro “has added another room to his ever-expanding portfolio of classic venues, inking a long-term lease to manage and program the historic Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY.” The venue is part of the Bearsville Theater complex, which began in 1969 when legendary manager Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Band) opened Bearsville Studios. Artists such as Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones, R.E.M. Todd Rundgren, Jeff Buckley and The Pretenders all recorded at the facility.