Adventures In Venueland

Grab your text book and meet us in class as we head to Pittsburgh to chat with Paige Beal, Associate Professor at Point Park University in the Rowland School of Business, who teaches in the Sports, Arts, Entertainment and Music Business (SAEM) program. In a city packed with entertainment venues like PPG Paints Arena, Acrisure Stadium, PNC Park, and Highmark Stadium as well as numerous other venues - Paige talks to us about their pr...

Carve out some ice time and triple-axel your way into this episode with Tami Allen, Senior Director of Winter Sports Events at IMG, and Event Director for Stars on Ice. Tami tells us about IMG, where she’s celebrating her 25th year, and how under the Endeavor umbrella it’s part of a massive global portfolio of businesses across the sports & entertainment ecosystem allowing for collaboration and maximizing opportunities. Stars on Ic...

Sit back in your seat as we queue the lights and get ready to rock with this episode’s guest – Danielle Edwards, Lighting Designer & Director for numerous tours including Greta Van Fleet, Maren Morris, Lizzo, and Kacey Musgraves. We dive into all things lighting as Danielle explains the ins and outs of what goes into designing, programming, and directing lighting for touring productions. Learn about how a typical tour day unfolds –...

Things are coming up roses this episode as we head to Portland, the City of Roses, to chat with Kevin Merlet, Director of Arena Marketing at Rose Quarter – which includes Moda Center, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and Alaska Airlines' Theater of the Clouds. We talk about the unique flexibility and setup of Alaska Airlines' Theater of the Clouds, which is a unique take on an arena curtaining system that allows them to scale and attrac...

BONUS EPISODE – We’re keeping it 💯 with this special bonus episode that marks our 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th overall episode of Adventures In Venueland! 😱 For this bonus, we talk with Marina Foté with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – referred to as “The Greatest Stadium in the World” by the NFL - which is celebrating its centennial anniversary! Hear about their “Coliseum Forever” campaign which celebrates the venue’s past while looking ahead...

Head out to the Rockies to a land known for beautiful nature, iconic venues, and legendary teams, as we chat with Jennifer Persyn, Executive Director of Venue Marketing & Publicity at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) - one of the worlds leading entertainment and management ownership groups. Jen, who oversees venue marketing and publicity for any concerts and family events at their properties, gives us an overview of KSE in Denv...

Tune your guitar and strike your favorite rockstar pose as we travel down to the capital of the Lone Star State, Austin, to chat with Lillian Lee, VP of Digital Marketing Strategy for Fevo. Lillian gives us a rundown on Fevo, an ecommerce experiences company specializing in professional sports ticketing, and how they’re working to digitize the industry and revolutionize the checkout process online. We talk about the evolution of th...

Get up and move your feet with us as we head to Detroit Rock City to chat with the queen of the curls, Jessica Runyon, VP of Global Client Marketing with Ticketmaster. Jess takes us through her day-to-day, from working with venues, promoters, sports, and arts groups on client marketing solutions – self serve marketing products, managed services, email marketing, self-serve pixel placements, digital media, and strategies for marketi...

STORY EPISODE – Joyous holiday season Venuelanders! As we prepare for an exciting 2024 with some incredible guests and bonus episodes, please enjoy this special holiday treat. Here is our version of that classic, fire-side story which will hopefully warm your heart – ‘Twas the Night Before Show Day. 📖💗 We hope you’ll share this short story with coworkers and fellow live event friends, and that you have a peaceful, happy holiday s...

Fine tune that excel spreadsheet and hit the road with as we jet set with Chris Meeds, Accounting Promoter Rep for AEG Presents. Learn what his day-to-day job looks like – from seat adjustments to dressing the house to settling shows to handling trade shots and making sure the artist experience is great. Chris talks about his travel days, which can range from 175 to 250 days out of the year, and some of his favorite parts of his jo...

Grab your camera and join us down on the court as we head to L.A. to catch up with Andrew D. Bernstein, Director of Photography for Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theatre, and L.A Live, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer. We talk with Andy about his 45 seasons of photographing the LA Kings, big Lakers moments – from the ‘Showtime Lakers’ to the Kobe and LeBron eras, being a team photographer for 12 pro sports championships, ...

Slide on those cowboys boots and “get in the mood” for some Texas glam, as we spin our spurs with Hannah Baker Goodin, Director of Branding for Oak View Group's Moody Center in Austin, Texas. With a reputation of some of the best guest, artist, and tour experiences in the country, Hannah walks us through the unique structure of having a branding department and the emphasis and payoff they have seen from putting so much focus on tha...

BONUS EPISODE – Grab a candle, a bundle of sage, switch on that ghost light, and join us on this special, spooky adventure through a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind venue, The Louisville Palace – which in addition to its packed concert schedule, also happens to be haunted by six different ghosts. 👻 You heard that right – SIX! Our ghastly guides for this seance are Jill Zoll, Box Office Manager, and Kaitlin McCoy, Logistics Manager and sel...

BONUS EPISODE (Part 3 of 3) – For our final episode of our Mental Health Series, we speak with Ari Jacobson, Clinical Director at Backline, about handling stress in the live event industry, and signs of it leading to depression in yourself or your peers. One of the most important things is to recognize and have awareness of the stress you are under – often ones not present in typical 9 to 5 jobs. It’s important to understand what y...

BONUS EPISODE (Part 2 of 3) – Now that we’re acquainted with Backline, for our second part of our Mental Health Series we talk about work/life balance with Hallie Lincoln, Co-founder and Director of Case Management for Backline. Hallie talks about their case management program, where they provide 1 on 1 assistance for all sides of the industry where a mental health professional will get them connected with resources or providers. T...

BONUS EPISODE (Part 1 of 3) – Coming off World Mental Health Day last week, we’re presenting our Mental Health Series in collaboration with Backline, a non-profit that connects music industry professionals and their families with mental health and wellness resources. For the first part of this series, we chat with Hilary Gleason, Co-founder and Executive Director for the company, who walks us through the creation of Backline and ho...

Elevate with us as we take a trip to the Mile High City, Denver, Colorado, and chat with Brian Kitts, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer for Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Learn what it’s like to have your venue on everyone else’s bucket list, and all the many unique and memorable parts of Red Rocks Amphitheatre – a national historic landmark that’s 80+ years old as a venue, 300 million y...

Moose, beavers, bears, and stampedes – just another day in the life of this episode’s guest, Glen Mikkelsen, Manager of Entertainment at CN Centre in Prince George, BC, Canada. Join us for this fun episode where we learn all about Northern BC and the CN Centre, what makes them unique and special, and their various events – including the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship (originally ready to start in 2020, one day after things...

Adventures abound as we head to Los Angeles to chat with Noelle Scaggs, Founder and President of Diversify The Stage and multi-platinum recording artist and co-front person of Fitz and The Tantrums – indie pop and neo soul band with hits like “Out of My League” and “The Walker.” Noelle walks us through the inception of Diversify The Stage (DTS), and its mission of creating more equal and equitable opportunities among aspiring live ...