Photo above courtesy of Stephen Moore

By Bob Tagert

Most of you who have been in the DELMARVA area for any length of time are familiar with the Birchmere, an intimate concert hall in Alexandria that is host to live musical and comedy acts throughout the year. The main room seats 500 and provides dinner service with seats only a few feet from the stage. The location also features a bandstand with a bar and dance floor. The original Birchmere opened in 1966 as a restaurant and music was added in 1975, soon Michael Jaworek would arrive in town.

Jaworek grew up in New Jersy and attended Nutley High School. He made a trip to New York City back then and caught a couple of shows. Not only was he impressed, he was hooked. “A light bulb went off above my head, I guess I need to get into show business”, he thought.

After high school he attended Illinois University and that is where he embarked on his eventual career. While going to school, Michael and three other guys decided to get together and bring Blues acts from Chicago to perform on campus because nobody else was doing it, and the Blues were very popular on campus. “It was a gamble,” Michael says, “We needed 500 people to show up to break even. We sold 1500 tickets. It was 1972 and we were on our way.” After two years of school Michael realized that he wasn’t going to be a lawyer and initiated a degree in Arts Administration and that is what he does today.

After he graduated, he worked at the University of Tennessee for two years promoting concerts, dances, movies and even one of Elvis Presley’s last shows. From there Michael relocated to this area and ran promotions for University of Maryland for seven years. “While out at Maryland I got a job booking Charley’s Georgetown and I intended to go in house with them, but then they went out of business.” At the same time, Michael got a call from a friend of his who worked for Chesapeake Concerts and said that he was leaving the business to go into Real Estate and would Michael like his gig. “Wow, this is serendipity, so I took the job and worked for Chesapeake Concerts for a dozen years”, he tells me. “I was booking shows all over, the Birchmere, Rams Head, Zeds and many others. At one point I was booking over a thousand acts a year.”

Note: At this point in our interview, our conversation turned to talking about some of the immense talent that came from this area – Danny Gatton, Roy Clark, Roy Buchanan and Eva Cassidy to name a few. Having to get back on track…

…After honing his skills and contact abilities, he arrived in Virginia. He was soon hired as Promotions director at the Birchmere. I asked him how he makes his contacts. “Phone calls go both ways,” he tells me, “In addition to promoters contacting me, I will call them especially if I need to book an act way in the future. If I see that someone is touring in the area, I will reach out and see if they have any open dates”. Michael tells me that groups like the venue since it is one floor and the loading dock is right there adjacent to the show room. The fact that not only is the sound system great, the back stage is very clean and has everything – several bath rooms, showers and even includes a washer and dryer. He also said that the fact that the kitchen serves up some pretty good food as well doesn’t hurt.

Michael Jaworek is a titan in this business. Over the years he has received many awards and mentions. He was honored with “Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year, by Pollstar Magazine, which is one of the top publications of the industry. Co-founder of the Washington Area Music Awards. Member of NARAS National Academy of Recording Artists & Science. In 2013, Michael received the International Buyers Association “Club Buyer of the Year” Award. In May of 2014 the DC Illini honored Michael as their 2014 Illini of the Year. Clearly Michael Jaworek is a treasure here in Alexandria and the Delmarva area.

Michael and the Birchmere also give back to the community through Legacy Philanthropy. Hosting the annual fund raiser for Alexandria’s Capenter Shelter, the “Carpenter’s Cook Off” comes to mind. It is a premier event held each October.

Michael Jaworek is a very interesting story and man. No less is his family. Michael’s wife, Debi Smith, is a renowned American folk singer-songwriter. Debi has toured the world and plays numerous instruments. She performs solo or with her sister Megan as the Smith Sisters. Michael and Debi’s son Lee is an amazing story as well. An Autistic young man he has created artwork that he calls “Artism” and he plays the cello and piano. Lee was featured in this publication as a Personality Profile the March 2024 issue and has been highlighted by Lenny Campello in his Gallery Beat column. Does Michael play an instrument? “As a child I studied/played at the cello for 4 years and stopped, realizing I didn’t have “it” or enough real interest. I played string bass for about 10 minutes in a jazz/pop band, The Chordmen, in NJ…As I like to say, as a musician, I am a great promoter.”