#126

$32,000 Concert Ticket 😳

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Live Nation and Taylor Swift both broke records last week - insert surprised face here. Adele's prices are skyrocketing ahead of her upcoming Las Vegas residency kick-off next week. And we honor our colleague and friend, Chase Wilkes.

Master Tour MasterThink you’re the ultimate Tour Master? Master Tour is hosting the first-ever Master Tour Awards highlighting many of the dedicated Master Tour users, venues, and vendors and their outstanding efforts in coordinating tour details during the 2023 Live Production Summit in Palm Desert, CA, on January 20. For more information, visit Live Production Summit.

LN to the Moon 🚀Live Nation announced a record-breaking Q3 with revenues of $6.2 billion. The concert division led the growth with over $5.2 billion in revenue and nearly double the number of shows from the same quarter in 2021 (11,219 vs. 5,579). Ticketing revenue was also up at $531 million from the sale of over 135 million tickets. However, CEO Michael Rapino cites festival sponsorship as the largest growth driver for the org at $343 million, up nearly 97% from the prior-year quarter.  

Halloween HorrorA deadly crowd surge during a South Korean Halloween celebration left 156 dead and 150 injured; 19 were foreign nationals. President Yoo Suk-yeol is calling for new safety measures in the wake of the disaster and the Police Chief has said he feels a “heavy responsibility” for failing to prevent the incident and admits that his officers did not handle the calls for help effectively.

Taylor ManiaTaylor Swift announced 27 dates for her The Eras tour last week and quickly followed up with 8 additional dates (but still no DC stop). Hotels around the country quickly increased their rates, including in Massachusetts, where 2 brides went public about the steep price hike and cancellation of their wedding room blocks. 

In other Taylor news, she became the first artist in history to own all of the Top 10 slots in the Hot 100 chart. In fact, all 13 of the songs on Mightnights made the top 15.

Bracket City Live comes to BroadwayBracket City Live, a new 3-day music festival in Nashville’s lower Broadway district, will take place March 16-18, 2023, during the first rounds of the NCAA basketball postseason. The event is produced by Populus in conjunction with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and is sponsored by FanDuel. 

Southern HospitalityRaleigh, North Carolina’s tourism is boosted by large events such as Dreamville music festival, The World of Bluegrass, and the Chinese Lantern Festival. These festivals collectively brought hundreds of thousands to the area and are helping Raleigh grow its annual tourism numbers from 16 million to its 2028 goal of more than 21 million. Dreamville will return on April 1-2; No lineup has been announced.

NZ Legalizes Drug CheckingEvents in New Zealand will now be able to have licensed drug-checking clinics on site thanks to new legislation. According to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, nearly 25% of the drugs at festivals are not what they claim to be. The clinics will test to ensure the substances are not laced.

Another Kanye HeadlineAs if things aren’t bad enough for Kanye, his former accountant, Thomas St. John, is suing him for $4.5 million after he stopped paying St. John their agreed-upon monthly retainer.

???SXSW’s 2020 cancellation woes continue to drag on. The festival was involved in a (now settled) class-action lawsuit from 2020 ticket holders, which led to a subsequent insurance claim and indemnity lawsuit in 2021. That lawsuit was denied in federal court last month, prompting SXSW to file an appeal and the insurance company to file a cross-appeal. Confused yet?

Hello Adele’s PricesAdele’s much-anticipated Las Vegas residency kicks off in 10 days, and ticket prices appear to be aligned with anticipation levels. Lower-bowl level tickets range from $8,000 - 32,000 on StubHub, and even upper-level seats range from $600 - $2,000.

Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC, is seeking a skilled Audio/Visual Technician for events. This position provides event production support, including but not limited to sound, lighting, visual services, and content streaming for live events.

CAA is hiring an Assistant to the Global Head of Facilities in its LA office. This is an ideal role for someone looking to get into facilities management (not talent or entertainment management).

Insomniac is looking for a full-time Front of House Operations role in Calabasas, CA.

 

A Special Events Coordinator position is available at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa in Temecula, CA, working with the marketing department to oversee all planning and execution of their events.

Have you seen Adele perform?

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Last Week's Results:

 dressed up for Halloween.

New Lineup Releases

  • Megadeth, Motorhead, and Skid Row will join Ozzy Osbourne on the Ozzfest stage of the 2022 Metaverse Festival Nov 10-13.

  • The Inaugural Lollapalooza India announced Imagine Dragons and The Strokes as headliners in January 2023.

  • Tampa’s Innings Festival will also feature Imagine Dragons, plus Weezer, Dave Matthews Band, and The Avett Brothers from March 18-19.

  • Another new festival in Las Vegas: Sick New World, will include System of a Down, Korn, Deftones, Incubus, Evanescence, and Chevelle on May 13.

  • Download Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary with Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, and Metallica June 8-11 in Donington Park, UK.

  • Hinterland Festival, set for Aug 4-6 in Des Moines, IA, announced headliners Bon Iver, Zach Bryan, and Maggie Rogers.

New Venues

  • A new Brooklyn Bowl location is slated for Washington, DC. The venue will be similar to other Brooklyn Bowls in NY, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Philadelphia and will be programmed by Live Nation.

  • Palace Foreshore, will be opening just in time for the summer music season in St. Kilda, Australia. The venue is a partnership between Live Nation, Publica Australia, Pavilion Australia, and the City of Port Phillip. 

  • The Bowery Presents is opening Racket, a 650-cap venue in Chelsea, NYC, in 2023.

It is with a very heavy heart that we share the passing of our dear friend, colleague, and long-time Back of House supporter, Chase Wilkes. Chase’s smile was infectious, lighting up a room - or a credential office - instantly. He loved working in and enjoying events and was loved by so many, including all of us at BOH. We express our sincerest condolences to his family, to his partner Jacq, and to all who loved him. Chase, you will be missed dearly. 

In honor of Chase, we are resharing his guest post, Running Our Way Through Quarantine, originally published on September 29, 2020.

 Want a pep talk from a Kindergartener? Call 707-873-7862. You won’t be disappointed.

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 What it’s like to open for Harry Styles. How to answer, “What’s your expected salary?”

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