Touring
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Texas promoter Edwin Cabaniss with Kessler Presents has announced plans to restore Dallas’ Longhorn Ballroom. The notorious nightclub was once owned by Chicago mob associate Jack Ruby, who famously shot and killed John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald as he left Dallas Police headquarters on Nov. 23, 1963.
The Longhorn opened in the 1950s as singer Bob Wills’ Ranch House. It was later operated by recording artist and record label boss Dewey Groom through the ’60s and ’70s, hosting concerts by Nat King Cole, Patsy Cline, T- Bone Walker and many more.
Cabaniss plans to incorporate the venue’s long history when it reopens this spring, in part with the original museum-style display cases built into the walls. The venue has traded hands a number of times in recent years and closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These cases include everything from Tex Ritter’s suit to James Brown’s robe; an extraordinary collection of guitars from artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette, and BB King,” according to a press release announcing the reopening plans.
“As a 5th generation Texan, I know how important the return of the Longhorn Ballroom is to Texas in general and to Dallas specifically,” says Cabanis. “The lore is real. The floors have secrets and the walls have memories. And we’re excited to tell these stories with each show we present.”
Cabannis previously restored The Kessler Theater in Dallas and The Heights Theater in Houston.
In a statement, Dallas mayor Eric Johnson added that the venue is “a monument to our city’s rich music history,” calling the project “a wonderful opportunity to help preserve a piece of our past.”
For grand opening details and lineup announcements, visit longhornballroomdallas.com.
Josephine Vaccarello, a 25-year veteran of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., has been promoted to the role of executive vp, live.
In the new role, Vaccarello will lead MSG’s live entertainment bookings business at all the company’s venues, which include New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre. Vaccarelllo takes on the new role after serving as senior vp, MSG Live, in which she booked concerts, comedy, special events and residencies including Billy Joel, Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden and Jerry Seinfeld’s Beacon Theatre residency.
She will also be responsible for booking residencies at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, which is set to open in the second half of 2023. Vaccarello started at the company in 1998 as an administrative assistant.
“Throughout my 25 years at this Company, I’ve had unique opportunities to grow and evolve my career within the organization, and I’m honored to take on this elevated leadership role, particularly as MSG Entertainment expands its live entertainment business. We have a lot of big ideas for the future that will make an indelible mark on live entertainment and I’m looking forward to continuing to create iconic moments with artists for our fans in New York, Chicago and soon, Las Vegas,” Vaccarello said.
She will report to James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of MSG Entertainment, in addition to his position as executive chairman of AMC Networks.
“Over her tenure at MSG Entertainment, Josephine has been instrumental in growing our live event business by pursuing innovative opportunities including multi-night bookings and unique residencies, and bringing unforgettable events featuring the world’s biggest artists to our venues,” Dolan said. “In this new leadership role, I am confident she will continue to raise the bar within the live entertainment industry by leveraging her unparalleled relationships and expertise across our portfolio and in booking our newest venue – the state-of-the-art MSG Sphere.”
This story was originally published on THR.com.
Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club has a new naming rights partner for its 22,000-seat stadium. As of today, the Downtown L.A. venue will be renamed BMO Stadium. It has been known as Banc of California Stadium since opening in 2018.
BMO is a financial services provider in North America with more than 500 branches and digital banking services in all 50 U.S. states. The newly formed partnership supports the U.S. expansion pillar of BMO’s North American growth strategy.
“Our partnership with BMO unites two organizations that share a vision and commitment to be leaders and forces for good in our community,” LAFC co-president and CBO Larry Freedman said in a release. “BMO Stadium is the premier outdoor arena in the Heart of Los Angeles, having established itself as a world class sports and entertainment venue that hosts iconic concerts, events and top-level soccer. We are excited to begin our partnership with BMO, and to welcome our fans, supporters and the people of the city of Los Angeles to BMO Stadium.”
The first open-air stadium built in the city of Los Angeles since 1962, BMO Stadium has hosted major events such as the 2022 MLS All-Star Game, the 2023 MLS Cup and numerous concerts and festivals featuring artists such as The Killers, Imagine Dragons, BLACKPINK, Twice, Santana, Guns N’ Roses, Armin Van Buuren, Rufus Du Sol, Kygo, Maroon 5, Iron Maiden and System of a Down.
BMO Stadium is home to the 2022 MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield Champions LAFC team, as well as the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Angel City Football Club (ACFC). ACFC made its NWSL debut last season and led the NWSL in attendance in 2022, averaging more than 19,000 fans per game for its inaugural season. ACFC is also led by one of the largest women-led ownership groups in professional sports, aligning with BMO’s long-standing commitment to equity in sports, according to the financial provider.
“BMO is thrilled to forge this partnership with LAFC,” said BMO chief strategy and operations officer Cameron Fowler. “Through BMO Stadium, we will share our passion for soccer and commitment to the Los Angeles community while bringing to life our Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. We look forward to supporting LAFC and its fans this season and beyond.”
Through a raunchy video that pays homage to her 1991 Truth or Dare documentary, Madonna announced that she’ll be hitting the road with her global Celebration Tour, honoring her 40-year career.
The 35-city trek, produced by Live Nation, is set to kick off in North America on July 15 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., and will hit Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas and San Francisco before wrapping up in Las Vegas on Oct. 7. Madonna will then visit fans in Europe with confirmed dates in London and Amsterdam, to name a few.
The Queen of Pop will be joined by Bob the Drag Queen as a special guest on all the dates.
However, wouldn’t it be an extra treat for her loyal fandom to have some of her past collaborators as surprise guests as well, such as Maluma and Tokischa? Neither have been announced, but with the former, Madonna dropped “Medellín” in 2019, which hit No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart and No. 18 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. With the latter, she dropped a new remix to her 2005 hit “Hung Up” called “Hung Up on Tokischa.” The original track peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005.
With the Celebration Tour happening this year, we’re hoping for yet another bonafide collab between Madonna and a Latin act. From Rosalia to Bad Bunny to Shakira, and more, who should she hit the studio with next? Vote below!
Zach Bryan is getting ready to head out on the road staring this spring, and it’s shaping up to be his biggest tour yet. The country star announced his Burn Burn Burn North American tour on Thursday (Jan. 19), and he’s keeping a big promise: Tickets won’t be available via Ticketmaster.
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Named after his song of the same name, the Burn Burn Burn North American tour is slated to kick off on May 10 at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., and includes stops in New York City, Denver, Chicago, New Orleans, and Minneapolis before concluding on Aug. 30 at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.
Fans looking to secure tickets can sign up for the Fair AXS registration at www.axs.com/zachbryan. Those who want to attend have until Jan. 29 at 10 p.m. ET to register for tickets, and will be notified via email beginning Feb. 13 if they have been selected; tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. An invitation email for the chance to purchase tickets does not guarantee tickets will be available.
Bryan circumventing Ticketmaster and going with AXS for his tour comes after the surprise release of All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live at Red Rocks) in December. In announcing the live album, the country star — who has been outspoken about his dislike for Ticketmaster — took a stand against high ticket prices.
“Seems like there is a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately. I have met kids at my shows who have paid upwards of four hundred bucks to be there and I’m done with it,” he wrote via Instagram on Christmas Eve without naming the ticketing giant. “I’ve decided to play a limited number of headline shows next year to which I’ve done all I can to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show… I believe working class people should still be able to afford tickets to shows… I am so so tired of people saying things can’t be done about this massive issue while huge monopolies sit there stealing money from working class people.”
He concluded his message at the time, “Just did everything I possibly could to make tickets more affordable.”
See the full list of tour dates for Bryan’s Burn Burn Burn tour below.
Jeremy Holgersen has joined APA as a senior vice president and agent in the concerts division, it was announced today by Bruce Solar, the company’s head of concerts. Holgersen arrives at APA from UTA, where he worked following its acquisition of The Agency Group. It was during his lengthy tenure at The Agency Group — joined in 2000 — that he and Solar met.
Holgrensen’s roster at UTA included Action Bronson, Apocalyptica, At The Gates, Bad Brains, Bob Vylan, Cypress Hill, D’Angelo, G-Eazy, GZA, Jesse Royal, Ms Lauryn Hill, Nova Twins, Patoranking, The Pogues, , Protoje, Suicidal Tendencies and more, “most of whom are expected to join him at APA,” according to a press release.
“We are truly excited to have Jeremy join us at APA,” says Solar in a statement provided to Billboard. “Jeremy is a great agent with exciting clients and a wonderful colleague who I loved working with in the past and am glad we have reunited.”
Holgersen added, “the industry has taken note of all the exciting things that are happening at APA and how well they represent music artists in a 360-degree fashion, and I know that the best is yet to come for the artists that are joining me at APA.”
Holgersen joins touring agent Steve Kahl, who came to APA from CAA in October, as well as former ICM Partners touring agents Mitch Blackman and Mike Hayes. Others include comedy agents Chris Smith and Josh Lanham from ICM, Steve Kahl from CAA and Sam Sauerhaft, who previously worked in management.
Clients joining APA from these agents include Kamasi Washington, Blackbear, Robert Glaspar, Jax, Belinda Carlisle, Jon Belion, Martin Lawrence, Mike Epps and over 100 others.
In 1910’s The Vagabond, the French writer Colette claimed, “The only real things are the dance, the light, freedom, music.” If that’s the case, then there are few pop catalogs more in touch with reality than Madonna’s.
The Queen of Pop kicked 2023 off right by announcing the Celebration Tour, a global trek honoring her four decades of culture-changing hits.
Needless to say, she has a lot of material to choose from — with 12 No. 1s, 38 top 10 hits and 57 titles on the Billboard Hot 100, Madonna is an all-time pop GOAT. And considering her most recent tour (the excellent, intimate Madame X Tour from 2019-2020) was primarily focused on the album of the same name she was supporting, there’s quite a number of beloved classics that Madge hasn’t performed live in several years.
That seems set to change with the Celebration Tour, which promises to be a career-retrospective run of songs from the pop icon, whose self-titled debut introduced the world to a new game-changing superstar back in 1983. And since we’re looking at 40 years of Madonna, we decided to round up 40 songs we would love to hear the Material Goddess perform live.
Now, we’re not saying we want every one of these songs performed in full at every tour stop — a 40-song setlist is less a concert and more of a marathon. Some we’d like to hear in part, perhaps as a segue or in a medley; others we could imagine M performing as a surprise treat on select tour dates. But this is our wish list.
GoldenSky Country Music Festival will return to Sacramento this year on Oct. 14 and 15 at Discovery Park, with a performer lineup led by Eric Church, Sacramento’s own Jon Pardi, as well as Maren Morris and Parker McCollum.
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Also performing are Jordan Davis and Country Music Hall of Famer Wynonna Judd, as well as Lainey Wilson, Elle King, Eli Young Band, Niko Moon, Ingrid Andress, Nate Smith, Adam Doleac, Frank Ray, Tenille Arts, Drake Milligan, Megan Moroney, Kidd G, Willie Jones, Lakeview and Avery Anna. GoldenSky Country Music Festival is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents in partnership with Visit Sacramento.
”We’re thrilled to partner with DWP to bring the West Coast’s premier country music experience back to Sacramento,” said Visit Sacramento President & CEO Mike Testa. “This year’s incredible lineup, coupled with unique local activations and Sacramento as the backdrop will make for an unforgettable weekend. We can’t wait to welcome music fans from across the country back to our city.”
The event will also feature an array of activities for festivalgoers, including GoldenSky Beer Festival, a “festival within the festival” that will showcase the top local, regional and national tastes with over 150 different selections of beer, hard seltzer and ciders. The Farmhouse, presented by California Bountiful, will offer a local food experience featuring some of Sacramento’s top dining establishments. Other festival offerings include El Dorado Market, River City Saloon & Dance Hall, Loud Lounge, Wines of Sacramento and Sidelines Sports Bar.
GoldenSky Country Music Festival debuted as a two-day event in 2022, with 50,000 people in attendance for a lineup that included Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, Brothers Osborne, Midland, Carly Pearce and Parmalee.
Oak View Group (OVG) has hired ASM Global’s senior vp of finance and global solutions Gary McAneney to serve as senior vp of finance and CFO at OVG’s UBS Arena at Belmont Park in New York.
Based in the Mid-Atlantic region, McAneney starts his new role effective immediately and will report to Francesca Bodie, president of business development for OVG, and Kim Stone, president of UBS Arena and executive vp of OVG East Coast.
“OVG has experienced unmatched industry growth over the last year, and Gary’s bold leadership and dynamic experience will be instrumental as we continue to steam ahead. We look forward to having him aboard,” said Bodie.
With more than 30 years of experience, McAneney will lead financial operations across all OVG-owned and operated venues within its ever-expanding business development division, plus oversee finance functions at UBS Arena.
“I’m pleased to welcome Gary to the team at UBS Arena,” Stone said. “With his diverse background in all financial disciplines, and proven ability to make valuable contributions, Gary will play a critical role at UBS Arena and be an asset across all other OVG divisions given his extensive experience in the industry.”
McAneney joined ASM Global in 2019 out of West Conshohocken, Penn., and has had a long career in the facilities business. At SMG, which merged with AEG Facilities to form ASM Global in Oct. 2019, he oversaw financial and accounting reporting for all of SMG’s operating contracts, including Mercedes Benz Superdome (New Orleans), NRG Stadium (Houston), Soldier Field (Chicago), U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis) and Moscone Center (San Francisco).
“I’m excited to join the world-class team at Oak View Group, and for the opportunity to work with the most progressive and dynamic company in our industry. The quality of leadership and vision within OVG is unparalleled,” said McAneney.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. EST examining the ticketing industry and Ticketmaster’s handling of the Taylor Swift ticket sale, Senator Amy Klobuchar‘s (D-MN) office announced.
Titled “That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment,” the hearing will look at accusations of anti-competitive behavior in the ticketing space and examine the history of the 2010 Department of Justice consent decree governing the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
The merger has long been criticized by members of both parties with Klobuchar recently identifying the Swift crash as an example of how “Ticketmaster’s power in the primary ticket market insulates it from the competitive pressures that typically push companies to innovate and improve their services.”
The Nov. 15 sale crash, which affected both Ticketmaster and its competitor SeakGeek, was the result of massive demand from Taylor Swift fans and an illegal bot attack, Ticketmaster wrote in a Nov. 15 blog post.
Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, will be joined at the hearing by ranking member Mike Lee (R-UT) for the hearing before the full Senate Judiciary Committee with Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) and incoming ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
“The issues within America’s ticketing industry were made painfully obvious when Ticketmaster’s website failed hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to purchase tickets for Taylor Swift’s new tour, but these problems are not new. For too long, consumers have faced high fees, long waits, and website failures, and Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company faces inadequate pressure to innovate and improve,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “At next week’s hearing, we will examine how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike. Without competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”
“American consumers deserve the benefit of competition in every market, from grocery chains to concert venues,” Lee added. “I look forward to exercising our subcommittee’s oversight authority to ensure that anticompetitive mergers and exclusionary conduct are not crippling an entertainment industry already struggling to recover from pandemic lockdowns.”
“It’s been more than a decade since Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation, and competition in the ticketing and live entertainment industries has only gotten worse. Too often, consumers are the ones who pay the price for this market failure,” said Durbin. “I look forward to this hearing to explore what led to this environment, as well as steps we can take to bring competition back to these industries in a way that puts fans and artists first.”
“I’m glad to see the committee will look into the Ticketmaster debacle,” said Graham. “I look forward to hearing more about how we got here, and identifying solutions.”
A witness list has not been released for the Jan. 24 hearing. A spokesperson for Ticketmaster did not comment when asked about the upcoming hearing.