Joseph Sater, Lilli Dennison, and Nabil Sater playing rock stars at the Middle East.

Nando Sistillio playing strongman at Centerfolds

The Lyons Group's Steve Coyle, Ray Montgomery, Mindy d'Arbeloff, and Eric Aulenback playing billiards at Kings.

The Dharma Group's Kevin Troy playing Texas Hold 'Em at Jillian's

> NIGHTCLUBS AND BARS (continued)

Paul Barclay

The Rack

The Rack caters to we civilians who get off on rubbing shoulders with actors, athletes, and reality-television " celebrities. " Barclay is also extremely generous in donating his facility and services for events benefiting charitable causes, which is a huge plus in our book.

Jim Singleman

Boston Billiard Club

When the leading national industry publication deems your pool hall the best in the country, then you know you’re doing something right. Singleman has built a small empire of Billiard Clubs throughout the Northeast, with seven in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Jamie Giorgio

News

Giorgio has a rich history in Boston nightlife, which is all the more impressive considering his young age. His family operates La Famiglia Giorgio restaurants, he has had great success working as a nightclub promoter, and now he owns and operates News, a fantastic restaurant and lounge that stays open late. Giorgio’s connections ensure that all manner of nightlife-industry people come to his joint to hang out and have a good time.

Tom Beaulieu

Rise

It takes a true player to overcome all the obstacles Beaulieu faced in opening Rise, Boston’s only after-hours club. The club, which admits members only, fills a late-night niche in providing night owls with a safe (and alcohol-free) place to soak in the grooves provided by top DJs. Beaulieu is an owner and the face of the club.

Dave Greaney

Stadium and the Junction

Greaney is a relatively new player on the local nightlife scene, but he’s come in with a bang. Along with partner John McGrail, he owns the Junction bar in South Boston, as well as the huge and gorgeous sports bar and nightclub Stadium in the same neighborhood. These gentlemen have some ambition in the nightlife realm, and we expect continued success from them in the coming years. 

Marvin Gillmore

Western Front

Marvin Gillmore is admired far and wide not only for his success in the nightclub industry (his Western Front club has been a Cambridge fixture for decades), but also for his straightforward and caring personal manner. If he weren’t so honest, Gillmore could have been a politician.

Joe and Steve Slesar

Boston Beer Works

These brotherly kings of beer have sagely set up their Boston locations near the FleetCenter and Fenway Park. Their fantastic beer is worth traveling to, even in the off-season. They also own a Beer Works in Salem.

John Cronin

Soho and Sanctuary

Design matters. Anyone who thinks that every new club comes from the same cookie-cutter model hasn’t visited Soho and Sanctuary, two of the hottest nightspots in Boston.

Joey Ascari

Tonic, Black Rhino, Aqua, Joshua Tree, Beer Garden, the Playwright, and Sauce

Talk about being a player — anyone who is in for a piece of seven nightclubs definitely knows what it takes to get the job done. The fact that these establishments are spread all over the city (Southie, downtown, Somerville) makes Ascari’s influence all the more encompassing.

Dino Passaretta

Whiskey Park

Whiskey Park is the kind of upscale, sophisticated lounge that considerably ups Boston’s hip quotient — the Whiskey Park brand is well-established nationally as an " in " place to see, be seen, and party with class. As GM, Passaretta is the man running the show at the Boston location, in the Park Plaza Hotel.

Joseph Sater, Nabil Sater, Lilli Dennison

The Middle East

The Middle East complex, which features the Upstairs and Downstairs rock rooms, as well as ZuZu and the Corner Bakery, is the kind of club that makes New Yorkers jealous. It’s hip, it’s efficient, and it’s one of the best club complexes of its kind in the country. Everything from top-notch international acts — in a wildly diverse array of genres — to up-and-coming local bands to jazz to dance parties to belly-dancing (and let’s not forget the great food) are on the menu each and every night at the Middle East. The Sater brothers are not absentee owners, either, as they can be seen at the club on most nights. Dennison, as scenesters know, is the force behind ZuZu’s emergence as a destination hot spot.

Nando Sistillio

Centerfolds

Centerfolds is not your sketchy uncle’s gentlemen’s club — it is a clean, nicely designed, efficient business where no funny business is tolerated. It is also one of the most fun places to spend a night out in all of Boston. Sistillio is the man in charge.

Patrick Lyons, John Lyons, Mindy d’Arbeloff, Ed Sparks, Steve Coyle, Steve Adelman, Eric Aulenback, and Ray Montgomery

The Lyons Group

The Lyons Group practically defines " nightlife players " in Boston. Its holdings include Avalon, Axis, Embassy, the Modern, I/D, and Bill’s Bar on Lansdowne Street; the restaurants Sonsie, Harvard Gardens, part of Jasper White’s Summer Shacks, Lucky’s Lounge, and the Tiki Bar; the entertainment emporium that is Kings and the deVille Lounge; Sophia’s nightclub; and, in the Alley, the Big Easy, Sugar Shack, and Sweetwater Café (obviously, we could have listed this group in the restaurant category as well). These eight people are the engine that makes the Lyons machine run smoothly. Their exact roles are as follows: Patrick Lyons, chairman/owner; John Lyons, VP of operations; Mindy d’Arbeloff, VP of public relations; Ed Sparks, CEO/owner; Steve Coyle, VP of operations; Steve Adelman, marketing director of Avalon/Embassy; Eric Aulenback, VP of operations; and Ray Montgomery, GM of Avalon, Axis, and Embassy.

Kevin Troy

Dharma Group

As its name suggests (dharma is the Buddhist way), the Dharma Group is very quietly one of the most powerful and influential entertainment companies in the city. Jillian’s Boston, Tequila Rain, Pravda 116, the Blue Cat Café, and La Boom are among its local holdings. Across the country, the group owns 40 Jillian’s, a nightclub in Hollywood, and several bowling alleys. Look for another such bowling alley, Lucky Strike Lanes, to open soon on the third floor of Jillian’s Boston. Owner Kevin Troy is the local face behind this group, while marketing director Tracy Wallace works the " buzz " end of the business.

> MUSIC

Dave Marsden, Jim Ahern, Don Law, and Maureen Ford

Clear Channel

Don Law has been a Boston legend for decades, since his days of booking the old Boston Tea Party (then Boston’s premier rock room) when he was only 26. Don Law Productions is now part of Clear Channel, where Law serves as chair and co-CEO of the music division. Other key members of the team are Dave Marsden, vice-president and talent buyer; Jim Ahern, talent buyer; and Maureen Ford, vice-president of national venue sales.

John Peters

MassConcerts

As president of MassConcerts, Peters is responsible for bringing a wide variety of great music to different venues in New England. The company, one of the top independent promoters in the country, brings a diverse array of national acts to such venues as the Roxy, Lupo’s, the Somerville Theatre, and more.

Adam Lewis

Planetary Group, Great Northeast Productions

Lewis is the president, co-founder, and co-owner of the Planetary Group, an area promotions company that works with international, national, and local music artists. One of his recent successes has been bringing American bands to China — he has made 10 trips in the last 18 months (and still sheepishly admits to speaking only 10 words of Chinese). Lewis also works in partnership with Great Northeast Productions, the company that throws the Phish extravaganzas each summer.

Mike Dreese and John Brusger

Newbury Comics

Why are a couple of retail guys on the list of nightlife players? Because Newbury Comics has been a steadfast supporter of the local music scene since the beginning. The shop stocks more local bands than any other record store, and it employs its fair share of day-jobbing musicians.

Lee Berk

President of Berklee College of Music

Berklee is a driving force behind our local music scene, as each and every year, a plethora of young musicians comes to hone their skills at the school. The clubs around Berklee take advantage of this incredible resource by hiring some of these students to lay down the grooves for their patrons. For its part, Berklee often employs established artists like Gary Burton and Joe Lovano, which means that they play more gigs in Boston as a result. In June, Roger H. Brown will take the reins from the estimable Berk.

Jeff Marshall

The Lyons Group

As director of live-music operations and marketing for Lyons Group, Marshall is a man who wears many hats. His street cred in the industry has been firmly established by his 18 years at the Lyons Group (including a long run directing Bill’s Bar), as well as by his 1988-2001 stint as owner and operator of Monolyth Record Group. His current responsibilities include managing the live-music programs for the Paradise, the Paradise Lounge, Avalon, and Axis. Marshall also acts as liaison between his company and Clear Channel. In his spare time, he works as an independent consultant to labels and artists.