#188

Issue #188 | January 30, 2024

Festival lineups continue to roll out, even though ticket sales for Coachella seem to have stalled. Sustainability efforts are ramping up in the live industry with new initiatives across festivals, sports, and parades.Oh, and Taylor Swift is going to the Usher concert in Las Vegas next weekend. 

Credit: Michael Hickey/GI via BillboardMadonna suit updateMadonna and Live Nation say they will “defend this case vigorously,” in response to the recent lawsuit filed by two Barclays Center concert-goers over the 2+ hour delayed start to the December Brooklyn, NY show. Their joint statement references a “technical issue during soundcheck” that was well publicized.

Coachella tix sales slowest in 10 yearsFirst there was a delay in the Coachella lineup release, now it appears there is a delay in ticket sales. In 2015, tickets sold out in just 40 minutes, in 2022 it took a few hours longer, but still less than a day. Last year, sales were even slower, but both weekends were sold out within a few days. This trend is going in the wrong direction: more than 10 days after tickets went on sale, there are plenty of tickets still available for both weekends, with only tier 1 for weekend 1 sold out. 

Church & Wallen revive Field & Stream 🎣Country artists Eric Church and Morgan Wallen are working together to revive the outdoor lifestyle brand Field & Stream. The pair is reuniting the magazine/media and retail elements of the divested brand via acquisitions from Recurrent (media) and DICK’s Sporting Goods (retail) and have plans to launch a new outdoor music festival in conjunction with Southern Entertainment in October. 

StubHub sued over fee deceptionStubHub has been sued by customers claiming that the ticketing site “consistently underestimates fees for tickets that cost $20 or more by $3 per purchase, and by $2-$3 for lower-priced passes.” Based on 100+ “experiments,” they found that the site adds the extra fees “like clockwork” and they say “this bait and switch is made even more deceptive by the fact that the price increases only at the final checkout screen.”  

Lollapalooza 🤝 Re:wildLollapalooza is upping its sustainability game by partnering with conservation organization Re:wild across all global festivals. The initiative kicked off in Mumbai last weekend. The partnership includes sharing Re:wild’s message on social feeds, space at the festivals to spread the message in person, and financial support. 

SI Tickets isn't going away, despite layoffsDespite the editorial team layoffs at Sport Illustrated, SI Tickets CEO David Lane promises that the ticketing entity, as well as the betting, resorts, and other entities aren’t going away in a LinkedIn post. The post concludes, “For nearly seven decades, Sports Illustrated has been the most trusted name in sports, and it will continue to be to millions around the world for decades to come.” 🤔 

Loss of Splendour Festival costs millionsNottingham’s Splendour Festival announced that it is “taking a break in 2024.” A city council-forced tendering (bidding) process for the rights to organize the event - which were eventually won by the “usual organizer” - caused significant delays that did not allow for enough time to stage the event this year. Unfortunately, the city will now lose out on the “millions” that the 40,000 festival attendees bring into the local economy. 

AEG aplogizes to Sleep Token fansMany Sleep Token fans who were promised presale access codes to their North American The Teeth of God tour missed out on getting tickets to the sold-out show due to “technical malfunctions.” Some presale codes weren’t received until 24 hours after the presale, others who did get codes experienced long wait times or were kicked out of the queue. Promoter AEG apologized, “While our intentions were good, to put it simply: we failed.”

WM Phoenix Open's recycled swag ♻️The WM Phoenix Open golf tournament occasionally has a festival-like atmosphere, complete with beer showers and empty cans and bottles covering the fairways. This year, clothing brand Peter Millar and recycled textile company Repreve are teaming up to collect all of the used plastic water bottles and repurpose them into sustainable clothing for next year’s tournament. Just another reason why the event has been called the “world’s largest zero-waste sporting event” for the past 8 years.

TrashFormers and MardiGras' Ground KreweIn other festival-like revelry and sustainability news, the TrashFormers are making a big impact at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, LA. The small group, run by the larger Grounds Krewe, dress up in eco-themed, punny costumes to collect recyclable items along neighborhood parade routes. Grounds Krewe members tackle the larger celebrations in NOLA itself, collecting recyclables, cleaning and recycling beads that can be reused, and selling eco-friendly products to throw from floats.

 Live Nation has brought back its 12-week Venue apprenticeship program in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, or San Diego. Ticketmaster is looking for a remote Sr. Manager, Global Pricing Operations. Salary $76,000 - $95,000. Hope Media Group is hiring a VP, Hope Events to oversee their concert department in Nashville, TN. Thrill One Sports & Entertainment is hiring a hybrid Supervising Producer, Live for their live broadcasts in Las Vegas, NV. 

Best way to travel?

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements

• Justin Timberlake announced “The Forget Tomorrow World Tour,” making 22 stops across North America, starting April 29 in Vancouver, BC. He also announced a FREE one-night-only concert at Irving Plaza in NYC tomorrow night (Wednesday, January 31) in celebration of his birthday.

• Tomorrowland is bringing a new EDM festival to Medellín, Columbia, CORE Medellín, on May 11 - 12.

• Sueños Music Festival will be headlined by Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro, Maluma, and Ivan Cornejo, May 25 - 26 at Chicago’s Grant Park.

• Usher, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, and Backstreet Boys top the Lovers & Friends lineup. And in the most recent episode of botched artist announcements, Mary J. Blige was in, then out, and now back in - with a higher billing - the May 4 lineup at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

• Guy Fieri's Flavortown Fest will be headlined by Greta Van Fleet and Kane Brown, June 1 - 2 at The Lawn at CAS in Fieri’s hometown of Columbus, OH.

• Parklife in Heaton Park, Manchester, UK will feature Doja Cat, Disclosure, J Hus, and Kaytranada, June 8 - 9.

• Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch, and Jo Dee Messina will headline Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, July 13 at the Round-Up Grounds in Pendleton, OR.

• Faster Horses Festival will feature Hardy, Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson, July 19 - 21 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI.

• Tomorrowland Belgium revealed its 20th Anniversary lineup with over 400 artists. The mega-festival takes place July 19 - 21 and July 26 - 28.

• Martha’s Vineyard, MA’s Beach Road Weekend is canceled for 2024 and is planning a move to Cape Cod in 2025. 

• Zach Bryan, Dave Matthews Band, Tyler Childers, and Neil Young will headline Bourbon & Beyond, September 19 - 22 in Louisville, KY.

The Sphere is ready for the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers to take over Las Vegas next weekend. Looking for something else to do while in town? Check out the best events and parties surrounding the big game.

Sports betting site Action Network breaks down their predictions on Usher’s halftime performance (no, Taylor won't participate, but maybe she’ll be serenaded?).

 American Airlines added flight 1989 from Kansas City to Las Vegas and return flight 87 from Las Vegas to Kansas City in a nod to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. United also added Swift, Kelce, and Mahomes themed flights.  It’s unlikely that Taylor will be on any of those flights - she’ll be traveling from her Tokyo concert the night before - but it is possible for her to make it to the game on time. 

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