Live At 9:30, 9:30 Club’s variety series, now has an official website and is scheduled to air on public television.

Hype has been building for a while now over Live At 9:30, the televised variety show affiliated with Washington, D.C.’s most honored and storied music venue. The series is officially in full swing. This week marked the launch of the show’s official website, where fans can watch the first episode; the second episode will start airing on public television this weekend.

Live At 9:30 is the brainchild of 9:30’s co-owner, Seth Hurwitz, television producer/director Michael Holstein, and Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for 9:30 Club and its associated venues.

The initial spark was lit when Schaefer and Holstein happened to attend a luncheon at another venue that was looking to film some of its shows.

“I told him [Holstein], if there’s going to be a music show, it has to be at 9:30 Club,” Schaefer told DCist.

“The lesson for me was to aim high,” Holstein added. “I would’ve personally been happy to work with this other venue, but 9:30 was the obvious choice when I was invited to do so.”

Production companies had approached 9:30 Club in the past about basing a television series at the venue. None of these received serious consideration because they were all pitched as reality shows in which the staff would serve as the main characters. Once Holstein and Schaefer began discussions with Hurwitz, it was Hurwitz’s idea to make Live At 9:30 a variety show, along the lines of what The Ed Sullivan Show once was.

“There’s no need to show the sausage making process,” Schaefer said. “This is about pure entertainment.”

The next step was to find underwriters who could help finance the show without forcing the club to compromise its integrity. After some searching, Squarespace, Lagunitas Brewing Company, and Shinola Detroit partnered in the venture.

With funding in place, it was up to Holstein to figure out the logistics of filming at 9:30 Club.

“One of the commandments was that the band and the ticket buyers come first,” Schaefer said. “Their experience is paramount and nothing can take away from that.”

Luckily for all involved, camera technology has progressed to the point where a film crew can shoot in a relatively confined space like a sold-out 9:30 Club without obstructing the patrons or staff. Holstein also had a solid background for such a project, as he has worked on many of the concerts filmed at the White House in recent years, produced for cable, network, and public television, and built a resume that leans toward music-centric programming.

The easiest variable in the equation, which surprised Schaefer and Holstein, was the willingness of bands to participate in the filming process. Still, tough decisions had to be made because there were only so many slots available in this first season. While Holstein believes they could film any night and get quality footage, in some cases they would just want to film the opener because its an up-and-coming act. In others, such as the series premiere that features Garbage, the filmmakers wanted to showcase an established band that has a history with the club.

“It’s like going to the candy store and standing in front of chocolates, but you can only eat so many,” Schaefer said. “When we’re picking the bands, we’re thinking, ‘What five bands will be a good fit, but different enough from one another to keep it interesting?'”

With the first episode streaming on the Live At 9:30 website, the second through sixth episodes are scheduled to air locally on WHUT and MPT2. The series will likely air on other public television outlets, but, as Holstein noted, PBS is comprised of 350 affiliates, each of whom makes its individual programming and scheduling decisions. After airing on public television, the plan is to distribute the show through a major streaming service, and then eventually land it on cable.

For now, Holstein and Schaefer agree that public television is the perfect broadcasting partner for the series. The system is actively seeking ways to draw in a younger audience, and here is a beautifully filmed program that matches that demographic’s taste. PBS also has a history of quality music programming, for example Austin City Limits or Live From The Artists Den. Finally, the producers would not have to worry about a mandate from public television affiliates to over-commercialize the program.

“We don’t want to have a bunch of Coca-Cola cans in front of the performers or a logo behind them,” Schaefer explained. “We don’t even a sign with the logo of 9:30 Club on the outside of our building, so we’re not going to have someone else’s logo on the inside.”

“You don’t have to NASCAR up the stage,” Holstein said of working with PBS. “It’s an ideal fit.”

The second episode of Live At 9:30 airs locally on MPT2 at 9 p.m. on Friday, June 24, as well as on WHUT at 9 p.m. on June 26.