Schedule

In the five years since the shutdown brought the live business to a screeching halt, many of the veteran professionals who have booked and presented concerts since the early days of the modern industry have moved on. As touring activity returned apace, tales of a bumpy ride were rife before settling down with many new faces rising to the occasion, making up for a lack of experience with refreshing perspectives and strong work ethic. From routing and booking to sound and lights and overseeing shows from a building perspective, touring professionals can now state with confidence: live is going to be just fine.

Ben Lampman

Nick Chavez – Danny Wimmer Presents
Shannon D’Amore – Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
Kelly Deasy – outer/most
Keeyah Johnson – All Things PR and Events
Avery Liardon – C3 Presents

Live music consumption is more popular than ever and there have never been more tools available to bring attention to shows. In such a scenario, the challenge becomes which marketing assets to bring into play, weighing old school butts-in-seats tactics verse new media, and and knowing which avenues are best for specific audiences. A panel of the best live music marketing experts on the planet—all nominees for Pollstar’s Marketing Executive of the Year Award—will take a deep dive into the state of the live events marketing art.

Sarah Madalinski – NS2

Sam Alpert – The•Team
Brittany Herndon – Legends Global
Fabi Kulick – Live Nation
Allison McGregor – CAA
Sara Williams – WME

Touring activity has been charging ahead at a record pace, with production pros faced with venues turning over shows quickly, routing that is challenging at best, competition for rolling freight and drivers, and complex productions that are anything but cookie-cutter. This panel examines the process of mapping out a tour that hits all the marks on time and how to plan for efficiency and Murphy’s Law from the design phase through load-out.

Steve Dixon – Pophouse

Shelbi Curtis-Moehle – Family Entertainment Live
Ben Ikwuagwu – Soundcheck Live
Wayne Linder – Pioneer Coach
John “JT” Taylor – UTA
Jeremy Young – RockForce

Branding and sponsorship alliances continue to mature and evolve and increasingly brands are seeking to work more closely with booking agencies and artist management firms to secure partnerships that engage fans and add value to the overall touring strategy and fuel artists’ careers and relationships with fans.  OVG Global Partnerships president Dan Griffis will join branding professionals from agencies and management firms to discuss the implications of NexGen partnerships, the future of agencies and managers collaborating in broad branding alliances, and the impact such deals can have on artists, fans, brands and venues. 

Dan Griffis – Oak View Group

Just because the artist can dream it and the agent can route it doesn’t mean the touring production professionals—or any human—can execute it. What looks good on paper can turn out to be a budget-buster in reality, and anything conceived must take into account the cost of a team and design that can load-in, be built, run flawlessly, load-out, and travel 500 miles, night after night. This panel will examine what happens when dreams run head-on into reality.

Paul Bradley – Master Tour

Butch Allen – TAIT
Eric Mayers – Red Light Management
Chris Risner – Metallica
Elle Vasquez – FBMM
Emily Waller – Independent

Artificial intelligence has infiltrated virtually every aspect of life and business, and the live entertainment business is no exception. This panel aims to cut through the static and deliver a broad look at how AI can be used in live as a tool, from routing and production to marketing, tracking royalties, settlement and beyond.

Joshua Litwack – Quantizr

Randy Nichols – Force Management
Tobi Parks – Tour Tech
Matt Yasecko – ROAM

The touring industry is at it’s core a transportation business, moving people and gear from point A to point B in a manner that maximizes performances. Professionals in the key sectors of touring transportation will do a deep dive into current market conditions for entertainment coaches, transport, and air charter as it relates to pricing, availability, timing, and key issues a tour and business managers need to know.

Chance Stahlhut – Concert Stuff Group

Julie Black – Premier Aviation
Justin Carbone
Doug Oliver – Pioneer Coach

As resale reaches a breaking point, artists and teams are rethinking how tickets should move in the secondary market. This conversation explores why Face Value Exchange has become a critical tool for protecting fan access, enforcing artist intent, and bringing transparency back to ticketing. David Marcus and Omar Al-joulani break down how FVE works, what’s changing, and why more tours are adopting it now.

Andy Gensler – Pollstar

David Marcus – Ticketmaster
David McKay

Daniel Wright

Tina Farris – Tina Farris Tours / Goodtime Girl Media
Sahir Hanif – Ghost Tech
Bryan Hartley
Cort Lawrence – Raw Cereal
Kyle Martin – Lockton

Social responsibility concerns have become nearly as common a component of national and global tours as corporate partnerships over the past two decades, driven by artists, venues, and other stakeholders. Sometimes the cause is part of the overall presentation of the tour and sometimes it involves practices, philanthropy, or fan engagement at certain or all shows. One thing’s for certain: if an artist cares passionately about a social issue, everyone on the tour needs to care passionately about it and rep the artist’s values however possible.

Theresa Wolters – MusiCares

Jason Cabello – Elsewhere by Recovery Unplugged
Hilary Gleason – Backline
Dr. Chayim Newman – Amber Health
Samata Pattinson – BLACK PEARL

Legendary rock band KISS will bring its incendiary live performances into the virtual era in Las Vegas in conjunction with Pophouse Entertainment Group, the music catalog investment team responsible for ABBA Voyage avatar tour. In a Pollstar Live! exclusive, Pophouse CEO Jessica Koravos will join KISS legends Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and their longtime manager Doc McGhee as they break down how KISS will become the first band to go “fully virtual” in Las Vegas. This can’t-miss session will highlight Day 1 of Pollstar Live! 2026.

Jessica Koravos – Pophouse Entertainment

Gene Simmons – KISS
Paul Stanley – KISS
Doc McGhee – McGhee Entertainment

The relationship does not begin when the tour rolls up to the venue, anymore than it ends when the trucks leave the dock. Tour managers and production managers, and the shows themselves, are best served when a relationship with venue personnel is well established, key personnel are known to each other, and communication is open and regular. Veteran building executives will talk about what works best (or worst) in regard to tour/venue relations and how great shows are often the product of cooperation beyond the rider, and beyond what color M&Ms are in the dressing rooms.

Jake Berry – Jake Berry Productions

Scott Preston – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Erika Hansen – Omaha Performing Arts
Keller Taylor – BOK Center
Michael Sciortino – UBS Arena
Ralph Marchetta – Legends Global / State Farm Stadium/Desert Diamond Arena

The live concert experience can reach beyond the tour into a theatrical experience that can be monetized in subsequent windows. In this session, hear directly from the innovators at Trafalgar Releasing, the global leader in event cinema distribution, alongside key partners from management, agency, label and production who have taken their artists’ content to big screens worldwide. Learn how this model creates a new revenue stream, reinvigorates global fandom, and extends the tour life cycle far beyond the last date on the road.

Tommy Nast – Trafalgar Releasing

Kymberli Frueh – Trafalgar Releasing
Maxim Karlik – CAA
Kristen Mulderig – Ghost
Jared Shelton – Interscope
Sam Wrench – Concert Films
Chris Woltman – Manager

Veteran touring managers will break down the current state of touring production, artist/venue/tour relations, trends in technology, and what it takes to be a successful, happy, professional member of the exclusive society of the road.

Ray Waddell – Oak View Group

Jake Berry – Jake Berry Productions
Rebekah Foster – Ujima Sound Productions Ltd.
Chris Risner – Metallica
Marty Hom – Tour Director / Tour Manager of Stevie Nicks, Shakira, Olivia Rodrigo, Rolling Stones
Misty Roberts – Tour Manager of Haim, Clairo

Join us for a Movement class, blending yoga poses, lymphatic exercises, dynamic stretching, pilates, and functional movements before you start the day. Limited Spots available. Click here to sign up. 

A behind-the-scenes look at how agents, managers, and promoters collaborate to build sustainable touring careers from the ground up, from signing to strategy to maximizing the first live shows upon album release.

Bruce Flohr – Red Light Management

John Chavez – Ground Control Touring
Olivia Mirabella – CAA
Nate Sokolski – The•Team
Nick Storch – Independent Artist Group
Adam Sylvester – Live Nation

For the first time in more than a decade (excluding the shutdown years), gross touring numbers for box office gross and ticket sales were generally flat. That leveling off was considered by most to reflect the end of the artificial inflation brought on by pent-up demand and unusually high traffic post-Covid. Even if reality came to bear in 2025, numbers are still higher than pre-shutdown levels by most metrics. The question is, what was learned, what comes next, and how can the industry regain the momentum that defined this millennium? Some of live’s most influential stakeholders will give us the skinny in this important discussion on where we go from here.

Dina LaPolt – LaPolt Law P.C.

Colin Lewis – Live Nation
Rick Roskin – CAA
Rich Schaefer -AEG Presents
Kirk Sommer – WME

Booking festivals is a year-round activity, planned years in advance by a wide range of talent buyers. With many factors in play, including touring cycles, radius clause, block booking, superstar leverage, “festival money,” radius clauses, and the rise of stadium shows, among other challenges and opportunities, festivals large and small remain a favorite choice for fans, a prime showcase for artists at all levels, and a valuable artist development tool.

Darby Moeller – Sixthman

Erika Elliott – Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage
Josh Kurfirst – WME
Chamie McCurry – Danny Wimmer Presents
Huston Powell – C3 Presents
Allyna Sanchez – CAA

Independent managers, agents, bookers and venues will discuss the current competitive marketplace.

Wayne Forte – Entourage Talent Associates Ltd

Thomas Cussins – Ineffable Music Group
Dayna Frank – First Avenue Productions
Shahida Mausi – The Right Productions, Inc.
Katie Nowak – TBA Agency
Frank Riley – High Road Touring, LLC

This deep dive into the Canadian live entertainment market will examine the current state of acts crossing the border (and beyond), the pertinent routes and availabilities trends from the perspective bookers, promoters, agents and venues. Which acts are doing well, which are showing promise, and what are ways to optimize time frames, overcome challenges such as tariffs and geopolitical trends, and what is the long term prognosis of live music in Canada.

Joey Scoleri – Live Nation Canada

Lindsey Myers – CAA
Alex Patton – Oak View Group / TD Coliseum
Tricia Silliphant – Scotiabank Arena – Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment
Alex Vyskocil – Live Nation

Women are the growth engine of the live music business – driving ticket demand and influencing consumer spending. Grounded in current insights and real market performance, leaders across the live ecosystem will unpack the influence of women artists, how female fans are driving premium spend, and offer practical takeaways to leverage insights to shape tour planning and maximize growth in this female-forward era of live entertainment.

Thayer Lavielle – The Collective

Lydia Asrat – 10Q Management
Christy Castillo Butcher – SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater & Hollywood Park
Ali Harnell – Live Nation Women
Janan Morgul – American Express
Alisha Strother – Live Nation

As international touring and events continue to be the primary growth engine for the overall live entertainment business, veteran promoters, venues and other stakeholders will examine the global touring market, with special emphasis on UK/Euro, India, and the Middle East.

Gary Hutchinson – Oak View Group International

Laura Chiplin – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tony Goldring – CAA
Ashish Hemrajani – BookMyShow
Simon Jones – AEG Presents
Nidhish Varughese – Live Nation

Kristen Fulmer – GOAL/Oak View Group

Adam Gardner – REVERB

This panel looks at how AI playbooks proven in big tech are being applied to one of the most complex consumer marketplaces: live events. Drawing on his experience building AI products at global scale, Saumil Mehta will unpack how those tools are reshaping ticket discovery, fraud prevention, and the fan experience at Ticketmaster. The discussion is grounded in what’s live today, what’s being built next, and what it means for artists, venues, and fans.

Saumil Mehta – Ticketmaster

Michael Brill – D.LIVE GmbH & Co. KG
Jerry Goldman – United Center
Kevin Preast – Vinik Sports Group

Jon Guynn – Oak View Group
Dan Martin – Pollstar
Kurt Samuels Jr – Pollstar

Emilio Grijalva – Dolby Theatre

Mike Mauer – Gate 52
Conway Solomon – WRSTBND

Ariela Gildenson – Oak View Group

Matt Young – Bravado
Derek Ball – atVenu

Kyle Helmick – MGM Resorts International
Ken Ashley – CAA

Charles Rainey – Allied Universal Event Services