The Nicodemus Agency was originally founded as a boutique touring company by Seth Fein in 2005, after years of performing in bands got the best of him. After putting on small shows in Urbana for a few years, he hung up the drumsticks, and started booking tours for feisty and hardworking indie rock bands. About the same time, he founded The Pygmalion Festival. Two years after that, he co-founded Smile Politely with designer Mason Kessinger and creative director Chris Maier. Two years after that, he and designer Matt Flowers co-founded Wax Era Creative. That same year, Justine Bursoni opened her photography studio. In 2013, Patrick Singer joined the team, they tried to do a print magazine called Bonfire. It was cool, but it didn't make sense financially. The following year, they did a small festival in Urbana called The ILLIAC. It was cool, but the people who own Cinema Gallery, Mirabelle Pastries, and Heel to Toe in Downtown Urbana cried and whined and screamed bloody murder about it, and one of them literally physically assaulted Seth, so they decided not to do that anymore. In 2013, Pygmalion added a literature component to the mix with the help of poet Caleb Curtiss, and Ninth Letter, a literary journal published at UIUC. That same year, Justine started The Made Fest and integrated it into Pygmalion. A year after that, Justine and Seth had a son named Ellis. A year after that, Patrick developed a Tech component to Pygmalion. Two years after that, they started a food festival as part of Pygmalion, and they opened a venue called The Accord in partnership with CMT Ventures. A year after that Justine and Seth had another son named Ira. So they decided to close The Accord to focus on raising their boys, and making Pygmalion, Smile Politely, Justine Bursoni Photography, and Wax Era Design as strong as possible.
Now it's 2017. We'll keep updating this page as time goes on.
If you want to know more about our history, including the shows and tours we've booked, click here.