Touring
Portola Festival Organizers Address Crowd Rush Incident: ‘A Minimal, Isolated Issue’
San Francisco’s Portola Festival at the city’s Pier 80 experienced a crowd issue Saturday (Sept. 24) when a large group of people rushed an early evening set by English producer Fred Again. The incident at the site occurred around 5 p.m. on the festival’s opening day. Video shared to social media shows members of the crowd jumping over the barricade surrounding the event’s Warehouse stage, a large enclosed space with two separate entrances for general admission and VIP attendees. The crowd waiting to get in through the GA entrance began gathering outside the Warehouse roughly 30 minutes before Fred Again’s set was scheduled to begin. As the crowd ballooned in size, a large throng of people bottlenecked at the GA entrance, with many of them unable to get inside and with some membe...
Is Portola the Best U.S. Electronic Festival Lineup of the Year? The Event’s Creator on a Show Six Years In The Making
This weekend’s debut Portola festival in San Francisco took six years to make happen. Launching tomorrow (September 24) at the city’s Pier 80, the two-day event was conceived by Danny Bell, VP Talent Buyer for AEG Presents in San Francisco, who came up with the concept after a 2016 music-fueled traipse through Europe’s electronic hubs. Bell had just left his job as Talent Buyer for HARD Events in Los Angeles, where he’d worked before after graduating from USC. (“I graduated on a Friday and was full time [at HARD] on a Monday,” he says.) With eight months off before he was due to start his new gig at AEG, he wanted to take the type of extended Euro trip many embark on after college. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Lucky for me, I was 27 and I h...
Halsey’s Cosmetics Brands Partner With Live Nation, Receive Equity Investment From Promoter
Live Nation has partnered with Halsey-backed cosmetic companies about–face and af94 to create branding experiences at its venues and festivals promoting the brands. The promoter has also made an equity investment in about-face and af94 to support the growing brands. “The Live Nation partnership will usher in a new way to experience the intersection of live entertainment and makeup,” says Halsey, who serves as the brands’ co-founder and chief creative officer. “Live Nation has given me a platform to express my vision to my audience on stages across the world. Our future together will mean seeing the audiences’ visions come to life from the crowds.” About-face and af94 activations at Live Nation properties will include product sampling, self-guided application and a range of virtual and...
Ben Gibbard Talks Death Cab for Cutie at 25 Years and Today’s ‘Unfair and Unethical’ Streaming Economy
Twenty-five years after Death Cab for Cutie began as a solo project for frontman Ben Gibbard, the indie band is thriving. As the quintet celebrates its silver anniversary, they’re showing no signs of following anyone into the dark. Their 10th album, Asphalt Meadows (out now), follows 2018’s Thank You for Today and has already spawned the group’s seventh No. 1 Adult Alternative Airplay hit with “Here to Forever.” Plus, Death Cab is revving up to launch a tour on Sept. 22 in Madison, Wisconsin. Here, Gibbard shares how the Seattle-based band wrote Asphalt Meadows during the pandemic, what the group’s legacy is after 25 years and the moment he knew that they had arrived. Congratulations on your 10th album. That’s a big milestone number. Did you go into it wanting to create something special t...
Harry Styles Says He ‘Popped Very Quickly to Venice to Spit on Chris Pine’ During NYC Show
Harry Styles is in the midst of a Madison Square Garden residency of sorts, playing 15 shows (with interruptions for other events) at the venerated New York City venue. But he’s also at the dawn of a film career, with his two first significant cinematic roles – in My Policeman and Don’t Worry Darling – debuting this year following his small part in the 2017 war film Dunkirk. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news And if you thought My Policeman – the flick where Styles plays a closeted gay policeman in the repressive 1950s – was going to steal the majority of the headlines, Twitter wags would like a word. Don’t Worry Darling — the Olivia Wilde-directed drama starring Harry Styles, Florence Pugh and Chris Pine — might be justified in worrying a...
Russell Gordon Named VP of YouTube Theater and Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park has named Russell Gordon its vice president and general manager of the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater located at the sprawling, 300-acre sports and entertainment venue in Inglewood, Calif., being developed by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke. The state-of-the-art theater is a 227,000-sq-ft., three-story indoor venue situated under the same roof canopy as SoFi Stadium and American Airlines Plaza. Gordon will be responsible for the evaluation, execution and management of events at YouTube Theater and will report to Otto Benedict, senior vice president of campus and facility operations and SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. Additionally, Gordon will concentrate on developing the intimate venue into a must-play stop for artists, musicians and entertainers alike. “Russell’s vast net...
CAA Signs Italian DJ Duo Tale Of Us
CAA has signed Tale Of Us in all areas in North and South America. Formed in 2008, the world-renowned Italian duo is helmed by artists Anyma (Matteo Milleri) and MRAK (Carmine Conte). Milleri and Conte founded Afterlife Recordings in 2016, which is the best-selling melodic house & techno label on Beatport, according to CAA, and Tale of Us has put on many of the biggest electronic music events around the world. Tale Of Us is currently hosting their acclaimed Afterlife residency at Hï Ibiza for its third installation in the summer of 2022. The duo have participated in artist residencies on the island since 2016. Tale Of Us released the album Enter Endless via the label Deutsche Grammophon in March 2017, an album the band describes in its bio as “profound and beautiful,” which “liberated ...
J Balvin Returns to WME After Leaving Three Months Ago
J Balvin has returned to his longtime agency WME, sources tell Billboard. The move follows a short stint with UTA that started in May. No reason was given for his departure from or return to WME. Balvin left WME for UTA in May after postponing his 25-date José tour. The move was surprising considering Balvin’s long and storied history with the agency. WME began booking Balvin when he still an emerging artist, and the agency played an integral role in his global touring and branding, securing early placements for him in major festivals. UTA never formally announced its deal with Balvin, but the agency has been growing its Latin roster and currently represents several high-profile Latin stars. Bad Bunny, Balvin’s Universal Music labelmate Karol G and Brazilian powerhouse Anitta are...
The Ledger: Concert Companies Are Maintaining a Rosy Outlook for the Rest of 2022
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Strong demand for live music is not a surprise given fans’ time away from concerts in 2020 and 2021. But it’s not straightforward, either. Fans are dealing with inflation and high gas and airfare costs. Companies face staffing shortages and higher costs. Artists are flooding markets’ venues seeking to recapture lost business. Still, judging from some companies’ statements around their latest quarterly results, indications point to an exceptional second half of the year. Live Nation’s second quarter earnings showed a company is primed for a record year. Live Nation sold more than 100 million tickets to its concerts this ...
BLACKPINK Announces Born Pink World Tour: Here Are the Dates
BLACKPINK will be in your area very soon! Today (Aug. 8), The K-pop superstars announced the dates for their Born Pink world tour on Monday (Aug. 8). Spanning from Oct. 15, 2022, to June 21, 2023, the trek is set to make stops in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As of press time, the official Born Pink world tour website reads “and more” at the end of the list of dates, indicating that additional dates may be on the way. The Born Pink world tour marks the girl group’s third concert tour following the BLACKPINK arena tour (2018) and the In Your Area world tour (2018-2020). The group’s last major performance was the YG Palm Stage ― 2021 Blackpink: The Show, their first online concert. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The new tou...
Bruno Mars Will Officially Open Sydney’s Allianz Stadium
Bruno Mars will bring some 24K magic to Sydney later this year when he officially opens the new Allianz Stadium. The pop superstar is booked to perform Friday, Oct. 14 and the following evening to raise the curtain at the rebuilt venue. Veteran concert promoter Paul Dainty, CEO of TEG Dainty, part of the TEG group, is producing the shows. “It’s incredibly exciting to welcome audiences back to Allianz Stadium in the heart of Sydney and who better to lead the opening celebrations than the legendary, record-breaking artist Bruno Mars,” he says in a statement. “These opening shows will go down in history as not to be missed.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Mars’ most recent studio album, 24K Magic, debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart...
Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival Canceled After Court Ruling Made It Illegal to Keep Guns Out of Event
The long-running Music Midtown festival at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, scheduled for Sept. 17-18 with headliners My Chemical Romance, Future, Jack White and Fallout Boy, has been called off, according to a statement issued by festival organizers. The likely cause, industry sources tell Billboard, are recent changes to Georgia gun laws that prevent the festival from banning guns on to the publicly owned festival grounds. “Hey Midtown fans — due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year,” a statement posted on Music Midtown’s website reads. “We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can all get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.” While owner Live Nation didn’t provide any additional details for the ...
