Photo by Grant James
Jesse Lauter is a music documentary/concert film director, music producer, mix engineer, and DJ. He is also the Head of Production & Media for Dayglo Presents, a live music production and media company. Jesse has worked with artists such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell, Little Feat, Scarlett Johansson, Stephen Stills & Judy Collins, Ben Harper, Langhorne Slim, Elvis Perkins, The Low Anthem, Neal Francis, Mikaela Davis, Ingrid Michaelson, Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Pussy Riot, Lola Kirke, Jessi Colter, Ian Axel (A Great Big World), Ivan & Alyosha, Jukebox The Ghost, James Blood Ulmer, Blind Pilot, Marco Benevento, Sam Cohen, among others.
Jesse directed, produced and co-edited Learning To Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen about Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, featuring Leon Russell, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Jim Keltner, and Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes). The New York Times called it “a revival” and Variety Magazine called it “a luscious rock nostalgia trip.… a testament to how one gorgeously raucous rock ‘n’ roll moment can reverberate through the decades.” The movie premiered at the Woodstock FIlm Festival, made its international premiere at the Raindance Film Festival, and won Best Music Film at the Melbourne, Prague and Amsterdam International Film Festivals. It was picked up by the Criterion Channel, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic in 2024. Jesse also directed and produced the Tedeschi Trucks Band's concert film and documentary, Live From The Fox Oakland, whose soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy. He is currently in production on his next film about the rock band, Little Feat, which features Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, members of the Grateful Dead and Phish, among others.
Jesse graduated from NYU’s Clive Davis Institute with a BFA in Recorded Music. His studio work has to lead to recognition and features in trade magazines like Tape Op, Mix and Sound on Sound. In addition to albums, EPs, and singles, Jesse has often tackled large-scale multi-artist tribute records and concerts. He was the Executive Producer of Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One, a critically-acclaimed tribute album to Bob Dylan’s overlooked 1980s catalog, featuring Built To Spill, Gene Ween & Slash, Glen Hansard, Reggie Watts, Lucius, Craig Finn (The Hold Steady), Deer Tick, members of My Morning Jacket, Blitzen Trapper, and Widespread Panic. Jesse also produced Sincerely, L. Cohen: A Live Celebration of Leonard Cohen, a tribute concert that took place in Brooklyn after the passing of Leonard Cohen. The lineup featured Richard Thompson, Josh Ritter, Amy Helm, Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Cassandra Jenkins, Low Cut Connie, Will Sheff (Okkervil River), Delicate Steve, among others. A live album of the concert was released shortly thereafter.
As the Head of Production & Media for Dayglo, Jesse has general creative and technical oversight of video and audio production for Pete Shapiro's live music & media empire-- which includes The Capitol Theatre, the Brooklyn Bowls (NYC, Las Vegas, Nashville, Philadelphia), the Bearsville Theatre, and two other venue projects currently in development. He produces and directs livestreams for FANS.live and Relix, primarily from The Capitol Theatre, and is also involved in the creative development and production of various special projects for Dayglo, including festivals, events and album releases, including Relix’s highly successful vinyl series. Prior to working full-time for Dayglo, Jesse was the producer of The Relix Sessions on Twitch, a pandemic live-stream concert series with one of the largest viewerships for a music channel on the Twitch platform. Artists included George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Christian McBride, Robert Randolph & G. Love, Dashboard Confessional, Robyn Hitchcock, Hanson, Amanda Shires, Sam Bush, Gogol Bordello, Dispatch, OAR, Langhorne Slim, Louis Cato, Neal Francis, Mikaela Davis, Eric Krasno, Maggie Rose, Circles Around The Sun, Benevento Russo Duo, Celisse, Eggy, among others.
Jesse is also a DJ and music curator. Better known as Uncle Jesse when he’s behind turntables, you can catch him spinning his favorite brands of funk, disco, soul, reggae, and classic rock at festivals like Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Newport Jazz, venues such as the Brooklyn Bowl, or Phish’s all-inclusive concert vacation in Mexico. He’s opened for George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Vulfpeck, and has curated the music for high-end restaurants, runway shows, and film premieres.
Jesse primarily works out of his apartment in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. He is the sole proprietor of Good Fast Cheap Productions Inc.