Adventures In Venueland

14/08/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Grab your laptop and throw those rock hands in the air because we’re chatting with Fabrice Sergent, Leader & Co-Founder of Bandsintown. Fabrice takes us through the history of the company, which is the largest concert discovery platform in the world. He explains how Bandsintown alerts fans when their favorite artists come to town and helps them discover new artists, helps artists to promote their tour dates and reach new fans, and helps venues populate dates on different platforms and reach new buyers. bit.ly/Venueland

31/07/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: New England here we come! Join us in Somers, Connecticut, as we talk with Marissa Dionne, VP of Marketing for Oak View Group. Marissa gives us an overview of OVG, where she is primarily focused on marketing for venue management, hospitality, parking, and arena and theatre alliances, for the company. She oversees marketing and provides support for 400+ venues through venue management, booking and hospitality. bit.ly/Venueland

17/07/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Tighten those laces and grab your adventure gear because we’re headed to The City of Trees, Boise, to chat with Michael Cullen, Assistant Director of Marketing & Brand Development at ExtraMile Arena.🌳 From digital, graphic design, and grassroots marketing to merchandising, we hear about a day in the life of Michael and his venue, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. bit.ly/Venueland

10/07/2024

BONUS EPISODE: Pack your bags for Italy 🇮🇹 and dust off some clues with us as we dig into our first episode of a new ongoing bonus series – Ancient Venues. For this first episode we take a look at the Amphitheatre of Capua (Anfiteatro Campano), located in modern day Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy. We are joined by Valerie Higgins, Associate Professor of Archaeology at The American University of Rome, who guides us through the history of this legendary venue from the Roman Empire. We learn all about this incredible venue, historic venue terminology, seating and ticketing, events that were hosted, why large scale events like this took place, concessions and design, and its fascinating hypogeum – located under the arena floor where they staged scenery and warriors for the events. bit.ly/Venueland

03/07/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Rev those engines and join us in Motor City as we head north to talk with Kim Klein, VP of Marketing & Communications for 313 Presents in Detroit, Michigan. We learn all about 313 Presents, which oversees Little Caesars Arena, Fox Theatre, Comerica Park, Pine K**b Music Theatre, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, and Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre. They work with over 30 promoters across all the venues, producing and promoting over 300 events a year. We hear about the latest waves Detroit is making and how the city is blooming with rich culinary and music scenes. bit.ly/Venueland

19/06/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Live from the Mile High City – join us as we talk with Chad Brown, Colorado sports legend, in front of a live audience at the 2024 Event & Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC) in Denver, Colorado. Having played in and called games at numerous venues, we talk with him about what makes a venue great, and how it’s often the impact it has on the community more than the innovations and shiny features. bit.ly/Venueland

30/05/2024

29/05/2024

BONUS EPISODE:
We’re headed to the mile high city for the 2024 Event & Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC) and taking you along for the ride with a preview of this year’s sold out conference.

🥳 Joining us in Denver? Listen along as you pack your bags for important tips and useful advice to make your adventure to the Rockies a smooth one. Dave and Paul are joined by former guest and current EVMC President, Kim Allen (Director of Arena Marketing at Golden 1 Center), as the three talk through every aspect of the conference, including: dress attire, tips for first-timers, evening events, can’t-miss sessions, and what to expect with the conference’s new name. Consider this your audio KBYG for EVMC 2024. bit.ly/Venueland

22/05/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Grab your magnifying glass and inspector hat and join us on this adventure as we investigate the live experience with this episode’s guest, Bret McCormick, Facilities, Fan Experience, & Ticketing Beat Reporter for Sports Business Journal. 🕵️‍♀️ Bret, who is based in Charlotte, but travels a dozen or so times a year to various venues, tells us what it’s like covering the live experience and some general trends he is seeing. We discuss two areas where he’s seeing ground-shaking changes – European soccer stadiums and college sports venues. bit.ly/Venueland

08/05/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Rocket City 🚀 meets Music City 🎸 as we talk with Olivia Christian, Marketing Director for tvg hospitality – a hospitality group that focuses on fan and artist experiences. Olivia tells us all about tvg’s flagship and first U.S. venue, The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, AL, which is an 8,000 capacity greek-inspired amphitheater which opened in spring 2022. In addition to hosting many national touring shows, the venue focuses on being the “third space” for people (after home and work) with a huge focus on community and cultural events. Listen now!

24/04/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: Fire up the barbecue and grab your 10-gallon hat because we’re headed down to Dallas for this week’s episode with Julian Bowman, Senior Director of Marketing for Fair Park – a massive multipurpose complex that boasts over 1000 events a year. The national historic landmark is home to Cotton Bowl Stadium, Broadway Dallas, Dos Equis Pavilion (managed by Live Nation), a children’s aquarium, botanical garden, African American Museum of Dallas, The Hall of State, and so much more. They also play host to The State Fair of Texas, the longest running fair in the country, that welcomes a whopping 2.5 million visitors across 24 days. Everything truly is bigger in Texas!

10/04/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 Point Park University 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 program and how they work with the local venues on an extensive internship and shadowing program. bit.ly/Venueland

27/03/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 about marketing shows in international markets. ⛸ bit.ly/Venueland

13/03/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 – from chalking to building rigs to making adjustments and then running the show. bit.ly/Venueland

28/02/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: We head to Portland, the City of Roses, to chat with Kevin Merlet, Director of Arena Marketing at the Rose Quarter – which includes Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, 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 attract many artists and comedians that may otherwise go elsewhere. He explains their need and benefits of being authentic and community focused and how authenticity drives and brings forward creativity. bit.ly/Venueland

21/02/2024

BONUS: 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 toward its future. Marina tells us some fun stories and interesting facts from the Coliseum’s history, as well as some incredible nuggets discovered during this anniversary campaign. bit.ly/Venueland

14/02/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 Denver, which owns and manages a plethora of venues and teams including Ball Arena, Paramount Denver, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids Soccer Club, Altitude Sports & Entertainment, Altitude Authentics, and KSE Radio. 🏔 bit.ly/Venueland

31/01/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 the event experience, and the importance of flipping strategies on their head to innovate and create new, better experiences. bit.ly/Venueland

17/01/2024

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 Hartwig, 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 marketing rollouts. We dig in to great tips for career development, such as being positive, showcasing your authentic and reliable self, building relationships, and tips for working with difficult people. bit.ly/Venueland

20/12/2023

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 season however you celebrate. See you in 2024! bit.ly/Venueland

16/12/2023

JUST ANNOUNCED: Fine tune that excel spreadsheet 📊 and hit the road with us 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. We ask Chris “what makes a good venue from the tour side?” and discuss some tips he has for venue staff on how to keep tour dates smooth and hospitable. Enjoy this fun discussion about industry jobs, tour life, and the magic of live events.

29/11/2023

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 Theater, 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 Los Angeles Lakers moments – from the ‘Showtime Lakers’ to the Kobe and LeBron eras, being a team photographer for 12 pro sports championships, and covering 40 NBA Finals and 38 All-Star Games as the senior NBA photographer. We also talk about Legends of Sport, a sports content platform that Andy co-founded and serves as the host of the podcast on, which focuses on highlighting iconic sports moments, connecting the past to the present, and shining the spotlight back on legendary players who have since retired from their sport. So much to unpack in this episode, so make sure to give it a listen! bit.ly/Venueland

15/11/2023

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 ATX 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 that side. bit.ly/Venueland

31/10/2023

BONUS EPISODE: Happy Halloween! 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, Louisville Palace – which in addition to its packed concert schedule, also happens to be haunted by six different ghosts. 👻 Join us for our second annual bonus Halloween episode with our ghastly guides for this seance, Jill Zoll, Box Office Manager, and Kaitlin McCoy, Logistics Manager and self-proclaimed venue ghost expert, who walk our hosts through the various haunted happenings in this Spanish baroque theatre. bit.ly/Venueland

23/10/2023

ICYM, we sat down with Backline and dropped a Mental Health Series last week. Backline is a non-profit that provides mental health and wellness resources for the live events industry. We wanted to make sure you knew how to take advantage of their great tools and resources!

Check out Backline.care/tour-notebook for an amazing Touring Notebook they’ve put together and the many other resources they’ve compiled for our industry. 👏👏

20/10/2023

BONUS EPISODE: Mental Health Series: Managing Stress

(3/3) 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. Hear about Backline’s free or discounted subscription services (like meditation, yoga, and others) and their free support groups, and how important it is to find like-minded people and friends that you can relate to, trust, and vent to when needed. bit.ly/Venueland

18/10/2023

BONUS EPISODE: Mental Health Series: Work/Life Balance

(2/3) 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. We discuss common challenges that face people in live events around balancing a hectic but fun work life with a social life, family, and friends outside of work. Hallie gives us insight into some trends and challenges they see with live event professionals they support, such as an increase in burnout – and how hopes for a more balanced and supportive industry post-pandemic haven’t panned out in many ways, with more events and more pressure being packed into tours. bit.ly/Venueland

16/10/2023

BONUS EPISODE: Mental Health Series: What is Backline?

(1/3) 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 how the organization has continued to evolve and offer more resources to meet people’s needs. She discusses the three pillars of their support: case management, support groups, and mental health and wellness resources. bit.ly/Venueland

10/10/2023

In honor of we’re excited to announce our Mental Health Series in collaboration with Backline, a non-profit which provides mental health and wellness resources for the live events industry. This 3️⃣ part series dropping next week will explain the origin of Backline and the resources they provide for people working in the industry, as well as deeper dives into work/life balance, stress, and depression with some of Backline’s clinicians. As with our Earth Week Series, we hope to use our platform with these episodes to help provide tools to make the industry a little better and support those working within it. We’re really proud of this series and hope you and your industry coworkers and friends are able to take away some nuggets and tips to make your adventure that much smoother.

04/10/2023

JUST ANNOUNCED: 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 Park and 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 years old as a location. bit.ly/Venueland