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