- Sean Patrick Rhorer and Matt Sandrin have both joined First Date Touring as booking agents. Rhorer transitions to the role from a background in artist management, while Sandrin joins the agency from Tour Peachy.
- First Date Touring has expanded its roster with the additions of Matt Sandrin, who brings 14 acts including Nicole Dollanganger, Gleemer, and Remember Sports, and Sean Patrick Rhorer, who joins with 21 acts including Imperial Teen, Hollerado, and Le Ren.
- The hire expands First Date Touring's agent lineup and adds a Richmond, Virginia base, alongside its Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal offices.
- First Date Touring now represents more than 90 artists worldwide.
First Date Touring, the independent agency founded in Winnipeg in 2016, has added Sean Patrick Rhorer and Matt Sandrin as its newest booking agents.
Rhorer spent over two decades in music, starting as an independent publicist in 2000. He lives in Richmond, VA, owns a boutique artist management company, Distance Management, previously co-owned a publicity and marketing firm, Brixton Agency, and has served as label manager for 6131 Records since 2012. His management client list has included Julien Baker, La Luz, and SOAK.
“When I made the decision to transition from management to booking, First Date Touring were my first call,” Rhorer said. “Their reputation as an artist-forward agency performing far beyond what might be anticipated from a boutique of their size is both encouraging and exciting.”
He arrives with an initial roster of 21 acts, including Imperial Teen, Reversal Of Man, Skavoovie & The Epitones, NØ MAN, Hollerado, and Le Ren, who just announced her sophomore album, Don’t Be Funny Without Me, arriving August 28.
Sandrin began his booking career in 2016 and has built a reputation as one of Canada’s most promising young agents. He most recently worked at Tour Peachy, the independent agency founded by Troy Lusk in 2021, where his roster included Nicole Dollanganger.
“After being friends with the crew from First Date for over a decade, I’m so glad to be teaming up with fellow Canadians who share the same passion for developing artists on the live touring front,” Sandrin said from his home in Toronto.
He joins with an initial roster of 14 acts, including Cashier, Gleemer, Nicole Dollanganger, Remember Sports, and Terraplana.
Together, the two hires give First Date Touring agents across four cities: Richmond, Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg. They join owners Gil Carroll and Adam Soloway, along with agents Evan Dubinsky and David Schellenberg, pushing the agency’s global roster past 90 artists.
The move fits a wider pattern of boutique agencies absorbing experienced operators. It echoes Ashley Ventura’s exit from Cara Lewis Group for Paquin Artists, and the run of veteran moves at Universal Attractions Agency, where Trip Brown left New Frontier Touring and Brian Swanson exited Paquin Artists to join UAA’s rock & pop division within weeks of each other.
Takeaways
This coordinated expansion marks a strategic shift for First Date Touring as it scales its U.S. footprint while maintaining its Canadian roots.
By bringing in Sean Patrick Rhorer (an artist manager and publicist who adds a specialized industry perspective) and Matt Sandrin (a boutique-focused agent from Tour Peachy), the agency is deliberately blending catalog heritage with new-music buzz
Does a manager-turned-agent bring a different negotiating style than someone who’s booked shows their entire career? Will First Date Touring’s expansion into Richmond signal a bigger US push for the Winnipeg-founded agency?
