Larry Hurley - President
Our Story
Over the past few decades, Larry Hurley has established himself as a leading industry professional with experience in booking, artist and show management, and has built a reputation for himself among artists/venues on a national and international scale. In late 2020, he officially formed Smiley’s Unique Entertainment, as well as its subsidary company, Smiley’s Unique Music.
Working For Alex Cooley
Larry, otherwise known as “Smiley”, trained for several years under the late great Alex Cooley. Known as the unofficial “mayor of Atlanta music”, Alex Cooley is credited as the man who “brought Rock N Roll to Atlanta”. Founder of the Altanta International Pop Festival two weeks before the famous Woodstock concert in 1969, his second Atlanta International Pop Festival would be the largest gathering in Georgia until the 1996 Olympic games. In 1994, Cooley recognized his long time dream as he promoted the first Music Midtown, which since has expanded into a massive annual internationally recognized 3-day festival. Working under Alex, Larry directly worked with many national and international acts including the Allman Brothers Band, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mother’s Finest, Glenn Phillips, etc.
Alex Cooley also owned and operated “Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom” from 1974-1979 before became the “Agora Ballroom”. The historic building burned down in 1987.
You can read more about Alex Cooley’s legacy HERE.
Alex Cooley during the renovation of the Capri Ballroom, which opened in February 1979 with Waylon Jennings as the first performer. The Capri eventually became the Roxy, which in turn became the Buckhead Theatre.
