Touring
Shuttered Indie Venues Grant Deadline Approaches
Pollack and his partner Schuyler Hoversten charge a “small success fee” for their services that’s “variable based upon how much work is involved and how organized or not they are,” says Hoversten. It’s similar to how other consultants have helped small businesses apply for other government-sponsored COVID-19 aid programs like the Payroll Protection Program and the SBA’s restaurant grant program during the pandemic. And with the SVOG deadline approaching, they want to encourage businesses not to give up, even if the process seems complicated. “It’s so complex. It’s so convoluted,” Hoversten says. “They’re asking for a lot of information and I think if you’re not completely telling the sto...
Hollywood Park Opens New 6,000-Capacity YouTube Theater
Hollywood Park and So-Fi Stadium managing director Jason Gannon says YouTube Theater is complimentary to the stadium, which can hold 45,000 to 100,000 guests. “From a flexibility standpoint, it was really important for us to do something like this in a conditioned space,” he says. “We’re very excited to open it up in a couple of weeks from a technology standpoint,” Gannon continues. “There’s a lot of screens and a lot of interactive things around here. That was important in putting this together and also in the partnership with YouTube.” YouTube Theater features a 13 feet by 10 feet digital signage display of the YouTube icon, which can be transformed into an immersive video screen for guests to interact with. The th...
San Diego Symphony’s Year-Round Venue, The Rady Shell, Hosts Gladys Knight on Opening Weekend
The symphony will work with the Port of San Diego to program 110 days throughout the year. The remainder of the time, the space will continue to function as a public park with revamped basketball courts and exercise areas. “This is a very unique partnership with the Port. Eighty-five percent of the time this is a public park. People can come and walk around. They can sit and listen to rehearsals. They can watch art being made,” says Gilmer. “Then 15% of the time, we occupy it. Keeping that balance was critical. I think the Port saw this as a real opportunity for activating our coastline and bringing people to the bay that haven’t been down here before.” For Knight’s performance, the venue was outfitted to welcome 3,500 guests – both seated and spread out on...
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2021 Canceled Over COVID-19 Safety Concerns
This year’s Jazz Fest, which annually celebrates the culture and heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana alongside performances by national and international artists, boasted a lineup including Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, H.E.R. and Brandi Carlile, among many others. This isn’t the first time Jazz Fest has been impacted by COVID-19. The 2020 edition of the festival — which traditionally takes place at the end of April and early May for eight days — was also canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the festival during its traditional timeframe,” organizers said on Sunday, adding that next year’s dates are scheduled for April 29-May 8. Ticketholders for both 2021 festival weekends will receive an email...
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Appeals Underway for Denied Applicants
Since appeal notices began rolling out Monday, 494 invitations have been accepted so far. Those entities will need to review the SVOG Eligibility Matrix to see where they believe errors were made on the behalf of an SBA reviewer. The SBA has not provided specific reasons why each entity was declined, leaving the guesswork up to the companies. “There is a balancing act we have to do. The level of specificity slows things down,” The SBA’s senior advisor for COVID-19 programs Deidra Henry-Spires told Billboard at the end of July. “There are conversations we can have after we’ve seen the whole unit of declines once we’ve gotten through [all the applications that came in the first 60 days]. But often in grant programs, you don’t...
Can Festivals Really Come Back? What’s Next After Lollapalooza
Since it became clear that Lollapalooza would be the first major multigenre U.S. festival since the start of the pandemic, promoters hoped it would kick off a shortened but vital festival season, with Bonnaroo, Governors Ball and Firefly scheduled to follow in September. But circumstances have changed as another wave of COVID-19 cases spreads — along with fears that festivals could become super-spreader events. In Chicago, one source tells Billboard that, as Lollapalooza approached, promoters grew nervous that public health officials would impose limits on the event’s capacity. Live Nation and rival AEG have already worked out a compromise with the major talent agencies in case other festivals are forced to cancel. If that happens 30 to 60 days before the event, the promoter only has to pa...
UK Live Industry Gets Long-Demanded Government-Backed COVID Insurance
The government says it is one of the only insurance schemes in the world to cover such a wide array of live events and not put a cap on costs claimed per event. Denis Desmond, chairman of Live Nation U.K. and Ireland, says the government-backed protection is a vital intervention that “offers certainty to artists, concert and festival promoters in the live entertainment market.” “While the new scheme won’t cover all our risk, this intervention will help protect the industry that we all know and love,” says Phil Bowdery, chairman of the Concert Promoters Association. The program follows the establishment of similar government-backed insurance schemes in a number of other European markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Denmark. They provide a much-needed safety net...
Illinois Is Smoking: Pot Sales Peak, Thanks to Lollapalooza
Because recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois in January 2020, pot was legal in the state during Lollapalooza for the first time in the festival’s 30-year history. Although it’s illegal to smoke or otherwise consume the drug in public or around anyone younger than 21 years old, the large crowds at Grant Park boosted sales by as much as 50% at nearby dispensaries in River North and the West Loop, operators told the Chicago Tribune. “We saw thousands of festivalgoers over the weekend at our River North store, making it our biggest weekend to date,” said Jason Erkes, spokesman for Chicago-based Cresco Labs, whose Sunnyside Dispensary in River North was the closest to the festivities. In July, Illinois’ 110 dispensaries sold a record 2.8 million recreational weed products. State res...
Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts Exits 2021 U.S. Tour
Watts, 80, said in a statement he did not want his recovery to further delay the tour, which is set to visit several U.S. cities including Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” Watts said. Watts successfully underwent treatment for throat cancer in 2004. He will be replaced by understudy Steve Jordan, who has played with Keith Richards for years. The Rolling Stones — No Filter Tour 2021 U.S. dates Sept. 26 — St. Louis, MO @ The Dome at America’s CenterSept. 30 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America StadiumOct. 4 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz FieldOct. 9 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan StadiumOct. 13 —...
UK Artists Granted Visa-Free Touring in 19 EU Countries in Post-Brexit Agreements
The coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shutdown of the live music industry have masked many of the problems created by Brexit for the live-music sector. And fears have lingered about extra customs checks and performers and crews requiring visa and work permits for when European touring does resume. According to a survey conducted by the Musicians’ Union and Incorporated Society of Musicians in April and May, 77% of U.K. musicians expected their earnings in Europe to decrease when touring resumes due to additional Brexit-related red tape and touring costs. In January, over 100 acts, including Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Radiohead, signed an open letter to the British government saying it had “shamefully failed” them with the EU trade deal that was finalized on Dec. 24 by not s...
My First Show Back: Mitch Blackman on Reopening Las Vegas With Blackbear
“To see people without masks inside — gambling, clubbing with the bottle service — it was like, ‘Alright. We’re back.'” For the first time in 15 months, live music is returning nationwide after the global coronavirus pandemic ravaged the industry. Billboard’s “My First Show Back” is a series dedicated to sharing stories from throughout the touring ecosystem about what’s happening now, what has been forever altered and what will never change. In this installment, ICM Partners’ Mitch Blackman talks about his client Blackbear performing at the grand opening of the new Money, Baby! club at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas on July 9, which fell on the first week of major events returning to Sin City. In addition, Blackman details his strategy for ...
After Quarantine, Kesha Is Ready to Bring ‘Skanky Disneyland’ Vibes to the Stage
Before she raises hell at the Aug. 15 kickoff of her tour in Denver, Kesha hopped on the phone to discuss the scripted sci-fi podcast she’s involved in, “leveling it up” as a cat lady and which rock star she’d colonize Mars with. You’re returning to touring after a year and a half. What did it feel like going that long without playing live shows? I hated it and went more than a little crazy. I hadn’t stopped performing ever in my life previous to this period of time. So it was a confusing time to be an artist. Also. at the same time, bigger things were happening, so I understood that. There were so many more important, serious things to be addressed. At the same time, I felt a little helpless. Usually the arts give people release and relief, and not bein...
