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Coachella has announced its official 2022 lineup, Keith Richards’ guitar is being sold as an NFT, and SXSW is set to return this March. Plus, Omicron is still out there, putting a strain on this season’s tours. And finally, have you ever considered how important port-a-potties really are for live events?

Credit: Anthony D’Angio*Crew DogsEric Church and Metallica are among two big names who have begun using Covid-sniffing dogs at their concerts. With more canines in training, this successful method has proven to be “cheaper than testing everybody, and way faster and friendlier.”

Cancellation Pilot SchemeIn November, Australia’s Victorian government announced a year-long pilot scheme to insure the live event sector against cancellations and reduced capacity. With the federal government extending its assistance fund for film and TV productions, live event organizers are in need of the same national-scale help.

NFT FestThe first NFT-gated event is set to take place at AREA15 in Las Vegas from March 18-19, coined The Afterparty NFT Art and Musical Festival. There will be no tickets, but rather “Utopian” NFTs that will give attendees access to the event and further Afterparty experiences.

MusiCare's Annual AuctionSpeaking of NFTs, MusiCares and their official partner, Julien’s Auctions, are bringing in OneOf, an NFT platform for music, to sell a signed Gibson guitar from Keith Richards - as an NFT. MusiCare’s annual auction includes further NFTs from Doja Cat and beyond.

Live Nation UpdateIn Congress’s open letter regarding the events of Astroworld, the Committee of Oversight and Reform asked Live Nation for more information by January 7. LN has been granted extra time to gather insight, which has been requested by Congress in the form of written answers.

Mexico Events ContinueDespite the recent cancellation of Dead & Company’s Playing in the Sand weekends, event producer CID Presents intends on going forward with the rest of their Mexico events, starting tomorrow, with Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa. They will continue to look to Mexico’s latest guidelines and take the planning “day by day.”

Bonnaroo Is BackBonnaroo will be back in Manchester, TN, this June after two years of cancellations due to Covid and severe flooding. The four-day festival will be headlined by Stevie Nicks, Tool, J. Cole and Gryffin, among many others.

Coachella's Lineup Is OfficialCoachella’s 2022 lineup has been confirmed, with headliners Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Kanye West (Ye). After multiple Covid-related cancellations, the lineup did not maintain its 2020 headliners, Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine, and Travis Scott. Full vaccinations will no longer be required to attend the festival.

New Festival Makes Its Debut In ScotlandScotland is slated to host a new live and electronic music festival, Otherlands, which will make its debut at Scone Palace in Perth from August 19-21. Created by Edinburgh-based events team Fly, the three-day camping festival will feature six stages, boutique glamping, and talks with industry leaders.

Will This Ticketing Company Go Public?StubHub Holdings is considering going public with a direct listing, reportedly filing paperwork to pursue this plan. The group, which was taken over by Viagogo last year, is valued at over $13 billion and is working with advisors such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.   

 LEO Events is looking for a Project Manager (Event Strategy & Production) in Asheville, NC, to work on agency-brand relationships, corporate communications, brand strategy, and more. AEG’s Goldenvoice is hiring a Festival Administrative Assistant to facilitate communication between departments and optimize functionality within the company.

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For tour managers in the era of Covid, rules have been rewritten (multiple times) and new responsibilities have been adopted. Rolling Stone spoke with Old Dominion tour manager Tommy Garris about his experience throughout the past two years. He explains that most insight is gained from other artists on tour and the CDC. Different protocols take place in different states based on their varying sentiments surrounding Covid, which requires lots of flexibility. The whole touring team, including the artists, managers, and crew, try to be responsible to benefit themselves as well as their fans. Rest assured, “Nobody is out there saying, ‘Man, I don’t care if a bunch of people die; I just want them to come to my show.’ There’s not an artist out there that has that mentality.”

January and February concert ticket sales are doing poorly for, and 20-40% of fans who bought tickets are choosing not to attend, even without refunds. Digital Music News has compiled a list of events that have been canceled and postponed thus far for 2022, including the Grammys, global tours, and music festivals. Late spring and summer shows remain slightly more promising, though not without worry from managers and booking agents. 

On an optimistic note, SBA’s SVOG grant program (which offers grants to small businesses in need of Covid-related emergency assistance) is having early discussions about another round of funding, as most live event organizations have spent their money from the first round. 

Artists are taking on a variety of strategies to remain safe throughout their tours. As Eric Church’s tour manager Malcolm Weldon says, “If anyone’s telling you how it’s going to pan out, they’re full of sh*t. You can’t predict what nature is going to do.” The methods include: isolating until showtime, hiring a backup driver, foregoing an opening act, trusting your tour manager, playing private house shows, and not being afraid to enforce mask-wearing.

Arrrgh! Gasparilla season is back, and by that we mean the Children’s Gasparilla Parade and the Pirate Fest, taking place on January 22 and 29, respectively. In Tampa, FL, the pirate-themed parade events will return after being canceled last year. Organizers are promising huge crowds, with city officials preparing, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor who is emphasizing the importance of “personal responsibility and a mask.”

As New Orleans prepares to relaunch its Mardi Gras parades after last year’s cancellation, the city is bringing back its indoor mask mandate. With a surge in the city’s Covid cases and hospitalizations, the 40-parade event will certainly benefit from the precautions.

This week's spotlight is on ... SXSW 🔦

Credit: Gary Miller/FilmMagicSouth by Southwest is planning its return for 2022 in Austin, TX, from March 11-20. The hybrid event will have Covid-protocols in place, encouraging boosters, full vaccinations, and mask-wearing. To partake in SXSW, attendees will need proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid test to maintain their credentials. The last in-person SXSW was in 2019, with Covid canceling 2020’s event last minute and 2021’s happening virtually. The conference will continue to update its policies as more information becomes available.

WHO KNEW The Smartest People In The Room

January 20: The Smartest People in the Room - featuring Sixthman’s CEO Anthony Diaz. He’ll discuss his life as a touring musician as well as what it’s like running festivals at sea, especially during the pandemic

 Port-a-potties: essential, dirty, or both? Read what goes on behind the scenes in the portable bathroom world via the lens of a Buffalo Bills port-a-potty worker.

 Snoop Dogg is launching his own hot dog brand, aptly named ‘Snoop Doggs.’ The product comes six years after he claimed he would never eat a hot dog again! Download a free copy of the Sustainable Event Buyer’s Guide to expand your focus on environmentalism within the event industry.

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