Celebrity Name: Drook
New Company: Ground Control Touring
Primary Agent: Alisa Preisler
Department: Booking
Territory: North America
- Richmond, Virginia dream pop trio Drook has signed with Ground Control Touring for North American booking representation.
- Agent Alisa Preisler will represent the band at the boutique agency, which has over 600 clients and offices in New York and Los Angeles.
- Drook will continue their existing partnership with Earth Agency for representation in other territories.
- The signing follows Drook’s biggest achievement yet; their debut album The Pure Joy of Jumping (September 2024) won the 2025 Newlin Prize for best Richmond-area album.
Drook, the Richmond, Virginia-based indie trio made up of Liza Grishaeva, Matthew Shultz, and Tyler Smith, has signed with Ground Control Touring for North American booking representation.
Agent Alisa Preisler will handle the band’s live bookings at the respected boutique agency. The band continues their relationship with Earth Agency for representation elsewhere.
Ground Control Touring, which put artist-first booking on the map since its founding in 2000, has been on a roll with new signings in 2026. The agency recently added Dagmar Zuniga and Shabazz Palaces to its roster, signaling an appetite for left-of-center, artistically distinct acts, a perfect fit for Drook’s sound.
The band, formerly known as She, rebranded as Drook in 2022 and released the celebrated EP Life in Estates, which earned a Newlin Prize nomination.
A year later came Mr. Fisher’s Dirty Club Mix, pivoting into electronic territory. Their debut full-length, The Pure Joy of Jumping, landed in September 2024 and brought both sounds together in electrifying fashion, critics called it bold, layered, and full of surprises.
The album went on to win the 2025 Newlin Music Prize, voted on by over 150 Richmond-area musicians and tastemakers. Drook also has 17 upcoming tour dates across multiple countries as of early 2026, a sign that their live profile is rising fast.
Takeaways
Drook’s move to Ground Control Touring is a smart play at a critical point in their career. With a prize-winning debut album behind them and a growing tour schedule, landing at a boutique agency that champions artistic vision over pure commercial scale, exactly what GCT has built its reputation on, gives the band a real platform to grow on their own terms.
The dual-agency setup with Earth Agency also keeps their international opportunities open, which matters for a band already touring across four countries.
Does signing with GCT signal a bigger North American touring push in 2026 and beyond? Could Drook’s electronic-leaning sound land them slots at major indie or electronic festivals in the near future?
