Theo Craig Out As Booker of Rontoms Sunday Sessions

Rontoms Sunday Sessions is undergoing a "change in direction," according to the bar's eponymous owner, and it doesn't involve talent buyer Theo Craig.

Beginning in October, Craig, who has booked the popular weekly local-music showcase at the East Burnside bar since 2012, will be replaced by the venue's sound engineer, Boone Howard, formerly of the band the We Shared Milk. 

“It would be an understatement to say I’m disappointed,” Craig says, “and an overstatement to say I'm crushed.” 

Craig says the decision caught him off guard. In three years, Craig turned the Sunday Sessions into a rite of passage for emerging Portland artists. He says he had no intent of moving on any time soon, until owner Ron Toms called "out of the blue" and informed him that he was going in a "new direction." 

"Theo has his repertoire," Toms says. "After years of his repertoire, we decided to shake it up a bit."

Despite the bar being packed most weeks, Toms believes there was "some potential being unrealized." The night will still be free, still take place every Sunday and still be mostly locally focused. But Toms says he's hoping to bring in bigger-name national touring acts on occasion, while also broadening "the spectrum of genres."

“Theo is fantastic at recognizing talent and bands, and he made [Sunday Sessions] a launching pad,” he says. “We still want it to remain that. But we want some feathers in the cap as well.” 

Craig has Sunday Sessions booked through September, with a few others in October and November. He plans to continue promoting shows around town, but admits his future is uncertain. He is also finishing his tenure as PDX Pop Now's Artistic Director this year, and his band, Mascaras, is about to go on hiatus.

"I can't see myself not meddling with music," he says.

MORE ON THEO CRAIG:

1. "Meet the man who made a Burnside bar the epicenter of Portland music." (Feb. 6, 2013) 
2. "Best New Band: Mascaras." (May 13, 2015) 

WWeek 2015