.about mike ziemer
a brief overview of 22+ years in the music industry
CONCERT + FESTIVAL PROMOTER
When it comes to the music industry, Mike Ziemer is a man of many hats! Starting in 2002, Ziemer began interviewing bands and reviewing albums for online magazines in order to get into shows for free and meet his favorite artists. After building up a large list of contacts, he was asked by a local band to manage them. The band’s first request was for Ziemer to help them put together a concert in the suburbs, the rest was history.
In March 2004, Third String Productions was born at The Plano Centre where Ziemer would hold shows in multiple rooms from 2004 - 2009 with attendance ranging from 500 to 4800! The Plano Centre was the birth place of Unsilent Night and So What?! Music Fest (previously known as South By So What?!).
After outgrowing the Plano Centre, Ziemer began booking live events across Texas, and beyond, averaging as many as 400 events annually between multiple markets from 2021 - 2023.
2023’s So What?! Music Festival was the largest in the festival’s history bringing in over 22,000 people across 2 days in Dallas, TX.
Over the last 20 years, Ziemer has been instrumental in helping introduce and build artists through his festivals including A Day To Remember, Enter Shikari, Forever The Sickest Kids, Dance Gavin Dance, Beartooth, Of Mice & Men, Polyphia, and many more.
In 2023, Ziemer founded the entity Restless Shows (now No Rest Shows) with long time friend Arturo Piña. Following the success of the first year of his festival, Restless Fest, Ziemer realized that this brand was something special for the underground music of the next generation of artists and needed to have its own identity and team behind it. The company has already made major waves with a stacked resume of booking JPEGMafia, Glaive, OhGeesy, Lucki, Veeze, Lil Darkie, Homixide Gang, Bashfortheworld, Sid Shyne, Dom Corleo, Jeleel!, Nascar Aloe, Black Kray, Joeyy, 03 Greedo, Premo Rice, Jasiah, and many more.
An offshoot of No Rest Shows, Haus Of Restless, was launched in 2024 to focus on electronic music events including recurring parties We’ve Lost Dancing, Blade Rave, Tron Rave, and more.
Blade Rave is currently touring the US selling out venues coast to coast with it’s modern twist on the Blade Bloodrave seen. The event features goth - techno - house djs, official Blade Rave dancers, customized visuals, themed beverages including blood bags, a blood bath moment, and more.
Ziemer and his long time business partner Orlando Mendoza announced they would be taking 2025 and 2026 off from the festival to focus on their new ventures in Deep Ellum including taking over operations at RBC Deep Ellum, opening up their own bar TX Tea Room and their own live music venue and event space, Puzzles Deep Ellum.
OTHER VENTURES
Ziemer has also independently run his own record label, Third String Records since 2014. The label has released music for over a dozen bands with streams totaling over 20 million across all platforms.
He also founded the artist management company, Flip A Switch Music Group alongside his partners Luke Knipe and Matt Dunne. The management company roster currently includes songwriters, producers, engineers, and bands.
Ziemer was also a partner in Furnace Fest, taking place from 2021 - 2024 in Birmingham, AL featuring a wave of bands primarily from the late 90s and early 2000s hardcore and post-hardcore scene while still being inclusive of current up and coming bands in those genres.
During 2020, while live music was on pause, Ziemer opened up his first recording studio, Flip A Switch Studios in his backyard of his Oak Cliff home. The studio has attracted some of Texas’ hottest acts including Bashfortheworld, Tay Money, Lil Twist, SVDDEN DEATH, Luna Luna, LilBootyCall, Astrus*, oodaredevil, and many more. In 2021, he opened his second recording studio in Deep Ellum. The upgraded studio has attracted artists Slimesito, Milkshawty, Wasteey Monroe, brands including Pepsi + Takis, and labels including TDE, OVO, and many more.
In 2024, Ziemer added Legacy Music Group to his list of ventures taking over the legendary studio in the heart of Deep Ellum where artists such as Post Malone, Mac Miller, and many more recorded some of their most popular tracks. Ziemer partnered with Grammy Award winning producer Sader to re-open the studio.
In 2025, Ziemer opened up a record store called GRWM Dallas with his long time friend Victoria Jameson. Like his other ventures, the record store is also located in Deep Ellum. The name is a play on words as the business is both a record store (get records with me) and style lounge (get ready with me).
PIERCE THE VEIL @ SO WHAT?! 2023
TURNSTILE @ FURNACE FEST 2023
MONSTER MOSH 2023
.business ventures
BLADE RAVE [website]
Step into the Vampire underworld for one night only as we turn your favorite venues into a Bloodrave inspired by the film Blade. This event is currently touring the US and beyond, selling out parties in Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and many more.
This event is a part of the No Rest Shows / Haus Of Restless Brand.
FLIP A SWITCH CREATIVE [website]
Flip A Switch Creative is a full service agency with a heavy emphasis on creating a “fear of missing out.” With decades of experience in creating content for businesses, music festivals, artists, and more, our goal is to make your business or event look like the place to be.
Our services include content creation, social media management, brand identity + strategy, consulting, live event coverage, and much more.
FLIP A SWITCH MUSIC GROUP [website]
Flip A Switch Music Group is a management company with offices in Los Angeles and Dallas. Our clients include bands, songwriters, engineers and producers.
Mike Ziemer’s clients include He Is Legend, NYGMA, Oh, Sleeper, slo/tide, Slow Pulse.
FLIP A SWITCH STUDIOS [website]
Founded in 2020, Flip A Switch Studios offers affordable recording services in Oak Cliff. Our clients include Tay Money, BashfortheWorld, Lil Twist, SVDDEN DEATH, Lilbootycall, Luna Luna, and more.
FURNACE FEST [website]
Originally taking place from 2000 - 2003, Furnace Fest was revived in 2020 (later pushed to 2021) as a one time resurrection of the event. Following the initial success, the festival founders agreed to extend the revival for a total of 4 years as tribute to the original 4 years. 2024 was the “end of an era” for Furnace Fest.
GRWM DALLAS [website]
Get Records With Me, Dallas. is a record store and style lounge located in the heart of Deep Ellum. The goal of the space is to connect people with music through in-store events, album signings, and of course discovering your new favorite artists via CD or Vinyl.
GAZED & CONFUSED FEST [website]
Established in 2025 and launched in 2026, Gazed & Confused Fest is the Emo-Indie-Grunge-Gaze-Rock mini fest of your dreams! This mini-festival features the hottest up and coming Shoegaze, Emo, Indie, Alt, Nu, bands in the music scene.
This event is produced by Third String Entertainment and curated by our very own Jewel Patani.
LEGACY MUSIC GROUP [website]
A longtime staple of Deep Ellum, Ziemer took over Legacy Music Group in 2024 with the help of Grammy Award winning producer-engineer Sader.
The space has been home to Post Malone, Mac Miller, and many other famous artists over the years.
MONSTER MOSH MUSIC FESTIVAL [website]
Originally taking place in 2008-2009, Monster Mosh regained popularity in 2022 when it returned as a mini-festival at Gilley’s in Dallas. In 2023, the festival expanded to 2 days with acts including Attila, I See Stars, Suicide Silence, Carnifex and more.
NO REST SHOWS [website]
Founded in 2023 by Mike Ziemer, Restless Fest is a music festival with heavy emphasis on next-gen music. In December 2023, the brand was purchased by a private investor and transformed into its own entity Restless Shows and is now known as No Rest Shows.
No Rest Shows also has Haus Of Restless which books EDM and hyperpop events.
PUZZLES DEEP ELLUM [website]
Puzzles Deep Ellum is a brand new live music venue and event space located in the heart of Deep Ellum, located in the former Quixotic World space. Our main objective is to bring new live to one of Dallas’ most famous event spaces. Come see the all new Puzzles Deep Ellum!
Also… yes this is a nod to How I Met Your Mother.
RBC DEEP ELLUM [website]
We are proud operators of one of Deep Ellum’s longest running venues, RBC Deep Ellum. The hidden little gem of the Dallas music scene, located behind Twisted Root on Commerce Street in Deep Ellum. For years we put on concerts and events in the space and were honored to start operating it in 2024.
SO WHAT?! MUSIC FESTIVAL [website]
Since 2007, So What?! Music Festival has taken place 16 times in Texas including 10 spring editions, 2 fall editions, 1 Houston edition, and 2 summer editions.
The festival is most
THIRD STRING ENTERTAINMENT [website]
Founded in 2004, Third String Entertainment has produced thousands of concerts and dozens of music festivals across Texas and beyond.
THIRD STRING RECORDS [website]
A record label initially started in 2005 when I had zero idea what I was doing and re-launched in 2014 when I sort of knew what I was doing. Home to a bunch of bands, past and present, that I love and help support.
Currently: NYGMA
TX TEA ROOM [website]
TX TEA ROOM is a dive bar, restaurant, and live music venue in Deep Ellum with a very local feel. Come by and enjoy cold drinks, darts, hot dogs, live music, pool tables, and the old Deep Ellum vibes that’s been missing from the neighborhood. For those that remember July Alley, The Prophet Bar, Gypsy Tea Room, Wits End, and Green Room, this is your new home bar!