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We mourn the loss of Taylor Hawkins as fans and as industry colleagues. He was loved by many and his impact won’t soon be forgotten.  

Credit: Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesRemembering Tragically, Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for Foo Fighters, died this past Friday in Colombia at the age of 50. The Attorney General of Colombia declared that 10 substances were found in his toxicology report, and they will continue to investigate and report their full findings in due time. The weekend saw an outpouring of memories from artists and celebrities taking to social media to express their distress regarding Hawkins’ passing. As the Foo Fighters wrote, “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.”Coachella Takes Action AEG Presents, the group behind Coachella, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Mystic Chamber of Commerce in an effort to shut down the use of the name “Floatchella” for an upcoming music festival in Mystic, Connecticut. The festival, renamed Floatfest, debuted in 2020, and features local performers with audience members viewing from boats.LN + VerizonLive Nation and Verizon have revealed a partnership that will allow the concert promoter to reach over 100 million mobile customers in the US. Verizon is renaming certain Live Nation venues and launching the First Access service, which allows fans to pre-order LN tour tickets via Verizon’s rewards platform, along with a streaming platform called +play that will give customers access to artists’ concerts on Veeps.  Hot New Venue Hard Rock Live is coming to the Sacramento region, opening June 3, 2022, with a performance from Maroon 5. As part of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento, the Live Nation-promoted venue seats 2,500 and will host concerts, sporting events, and more.Fundamentally Flawed After a long and heated debate, the MSG Sphere in London has received approval from the decision-making planning committee. The decision is not yet official, requiring further steps toward a final go-ahead. AEG Presents is among the Sphere’s opponents, stating that the venue is in the wrong location and is fundamentally flawed.Shazam Event Discovery When users “Shazam” a song, they will now be able to find concert information and tickets on sale, along with the Shazam Artist page, which allows users to explore information on upcoming live shows. Apple Music similarly released a feature that employs Shazam technology to identify tracks used in DJ mixes to pay rights holders properly. Crazy Artist Cancellation On the way to Paraguayan music festival Asunciónico, Miley Cyrus’s plane had to make an emergency landing after being struck by lightning. Thankfully, everyone on the plane is safe, however Cyrus unfortunately had to cancel her performance in Paraguay. The dangerous weather ended up causing the cancellation of Asunciónico in its entirety.Kanye Dropped?Following Kanye West’s rescinded invitation to perform at the Grammys, along with recent online harassment of his ex-wife and other celebrities, over 30,000 people have signed a petition urging Coachella to pull West from performing at the festival.New FestNorthern Irelands’ Belsonic concert series has unveiled the new two-day Emerge Music Festival, which will host over 40 acts across three stages. With a 20,000-cap, the electronic music event will take place in Belfast from August 27-28, featuring headliners Disclosure, Eric Prydz, Peggy Gou, and Patrick Topping. People NewsRegarding the MSG Sphere, industry vet Lucas Watson was hired to serve as President of the Sphere arena brand. In this new role, which officially began yesterday, Watson will lead strategy and execution regarding all operational aspects at MSG Sphere, in addition to overseeing global development of the MSG Sphere brand. 

Live Nation is hiring a Director of Legal & Business Affairs (Merch Traffic) in New York to provide legal and practical guidance to merchandise business teams.

Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco is hiring for House Staff, Perimeter Staff, Safety Staff, and Reservation Staff to join their operations team.

Sundance Film Festival is seeking a Festival Producer for its 2023 event. The Producer will work to strategize around and integrate the artistic vision of the Festival with the audience-facing and stakeholder group elements of the event

Have you attended any concerts / live events in support of Ukrainian relief?

OR

Last Week's Results:

60% of BOH readers

who attended SXSW were working. 

Credit: Aerosmith (Credit: Ross Halfin)Line Up Updates and Tour Announcements 

Set to begin June 17, Aerosmith will be continuing their 50th-anniversary celebration with a residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, entitled Deuces are Wild. This will be the first live concert presented through Dolby Atmos, an experience that immerses fans into the music of the performer.As SXSW 2022 came to a close, the dates for 2023 were announced for March 10-19 in Austin, TX (and online), with applications opening later this summer. For those who want to relive this year’s SXSW, 2022 registrants with a SXSW Badge or Online Pass have until April 17 to access Keynotes, Featured Sessions, music showcases, and more. After being postponed from January, the 2022 Grammys are returning April 3 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The Foo Fighters and this year's most nominated artist, Jon Batiste, are the latest to be added to the performance lineup (not sure if this will happen following Hawkins’ untimely death), along with H.E.R., Nas, and Chris Stapleton. The event will also feature an “In Memoriam” performance of Stephen Sondheim’s music. Billie Eilish, BTS, and Olivia Rodrigo were among the first artists slated to perform, all of whom are up for multiple awards. Brandi Carlile, the Brothers Osborne, and Lil Nas X also fall into this category. While last year’s Grammys were much smaller than usual, this year’s 64th edition will likely be much more standard, despite being held in Las Vegas for the first time. Lollapalooza is returning to Grant Park in Chicago from July 28-31, with headliners Metallica, Dua Lipa, and Doja Cat, along with J. Cole, Green Day, Machine Gun Kelly, and Kygo. With a total of 170 artists, the four-day event will take place across nine stages. Find the full lineup here. Lots of amazing performers were featured this past weekend at the 94th Academy Awards, including Beyoncé, who performed “Be Alive” from King Richard and Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, who performed the James Bond theme “No Time to Die.” Both Beyoncé and Eilish were nominated for their first Academy Awards this year for Best Original Song, with Eilish taking home the win. Beyoncé’s “Be Alive” was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Set to perform at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival are artists Norah Jones, Esperanza Spalding, and Angelique Kidjo’s Remain in Light, among others. The event, which is hosted at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island, will take place July 29-31 and feature a tribute to the late promoter George Wein, who founded the Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals along with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. James Taylor recently announced a 20-date summer tour with his All-Star Band, called “An Evening With James and the Band.” Beginning June 21 at Columbia’s Colonial Life Arena in South Carolina, the tour will continue through the summer, starting up again in September for its European leg. Aerosmith is not the only one with a Las Vegas residency - beginning April 9, Meek Mill will be performing in a multi-date residency hosted at Drai’s Nightclub. A few weeks later, the rapper will return to partake in multiple concerts in the weekend lineup for Drai’s LIVE Memorial Day show. This residency comes after the release of Mill’s fifth studio album, Expensive Pain, last fall. Headlining for the Maple House Music + Arts Festival is Jason Isbell + The 400 Unit, Black Pumas, Lake Street Dive, and Elle King, as announced by its organizers. The festival, which is set for May 21 in Pittsburgh’s Hartwood Acres Park, will host a range of local vendors and give a portion of proceeds toward supporting Allegheny Parks.

Credit: Alda's Dance for UkraineTo raise funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) on behalf of Ukraine, broadcasters ITV and STV, along with producers Livewire Pictures and media group Global, will be working together to host Concert for Ukraine. This two-hour long event will be held today, March 29 at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England. The artists slated to perform include Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Emeli Sandé, Gregory Porter, Snow Patrol, and more! 

In addition to Concert for Ukraine, benefit concerts around Eastern Europe have been raising money in support of the country. Certain nations including Germany, Poland, and Romania have each raised sums of seven-figures in war relief funds. 

US Tennis Association (USTA) announced that 10% of the ticket sale revenue for the Billie Jean King Cup matches between the US and Ukraine will be donated to a relief fund on Ukraine’s behalf. Local tournament sponsors are also set to donate. The competition, formerly known as the Fed Cup, was renamed in 2020, and hosts a best-of-five match series. It will be held in Asheville, North Carolina from April 15-16. 

 Concerts are returning in a big way, so here is a guide to 2022’s biggest upcoming tours. 

 Read about what is quickly becoming the music industry’s most popular tool: Discz, an app that recommends songs based on past listening preferences. Morning Brew, the daily business newsletter publisher, will be hosting their first ticketed in-person events this fall. Read about the three all-day summits here. 

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