In the absence of traditional touring activity and live events, Pollstar honored the decade’s most successful artists, venues and events at its 2021 awards.
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Six of VenuesNow/Pollstar’s 2021 Women of Live participated in a video roundtable moderated by a seventh honoree.
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Like so many of the good things that have happened to the independent club sector this year, the initial concept originated with NIVA.
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LIGHTNING THE MOOD: Bill Powell (second from right) with wife Sherry, with Eric Hart of the Tampa Sports Authority and wife Beth. ‘A Wonderful Career’: Longtime Feld executive played a key part in international expansion Bill Powell bleeds grease paint. The former Feld Entertainment executive spent 45 years working in the family show sector. It took a global pandemic for the final curtain to drop on his illustrious career producing circuses, ice shows and action sports events. It’s capped by a prestigious milestone. The International Association of Venues Managers recognized Powell with the 2020 Joseph J. Anzivino Distinguished Allied Award. It’s given to members of the service industries tied to sports, entertainment, conventions and exhibitions. Powell, 68, was Feld’s vice president of entertainment and sales before being laid off in March as COVID-19 began to grip North America. He was among more than 3,000 Feld employees, about 95 percent of […]
“I’M HONORED”: Rick Haycock, shown at the Ottawa Civic Centre in 2009, is the recipient of the 2020 Charles A. McElreavy Award for extraordinary contributions to the industry. He’s no wallflower: Honoree came out of his shell at Landsdowne Park and in IAVM Rick Haycock spent 36 years working at Lansdowne Park, and the event that sticks out most in his mind had nothing to do with sports and entertainment. It was a memorial service for a fallen Ottawa, Ontario, police officer. On Dec. 29, 2009, Eric Czapnik was killed by a suspended member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He left behind a family and four children. The incident greatly affected the community, and his service was moved to the Ottawa Civic Centre, now TD Place Arena. The 10,000-capacity venue was full of mourners, including close to 3,000 police from across Canada and parts of the U.S. The arena is […]
Larry Vallon (right) with Dayglo Ventures’ Peter Shapiro in 2017. (Getty Images) Promoter, being inducted into organization’s hall of fame, looks back on his long career in LA’s concert scene Legendary LA concert promoter Larry Vallon may have announced his retirement from AEG Live earlier this year, but his victory lap continues at the International Entertainment Buyers Association confab in Nashville this week. Vallon is being inducted into the organization’s hall of fame, along with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Jett and manager Kenny Laguna, CAA’s Rod Essig, Vans Warped Tour’s Kevin Lyman and the late Steve Dahl, longtime head of fairs and festivals for Paradigm. “I was lucky to have the career I had,” said Vallon, 72, who opened up AEG Live’s Los Angeles offices in 2004 as vice president of national booking after a 23-year career with MCA Concerts, Universal Concerts and finally House of […]
The VenuesNow Excellence in Concessions Awards are a chance to recognize outstanding individuals making concessions sell in your venue or organization — the changemakers in concessions who create memorable fan experiences. VenuesNow continues to honor exceptional teams and executives in food and drink operations at sport, entertainment, fairs and meeting venues internationally. Food for thought: Our annual for those who cooked up something new It’s always uncertain where a fork in the road may lead, but a fork in the concourse generally means a concession stand is nearby. That’s good news for hungry fans, who have come to expect far more than a hot dog served with ketchup packets or a beer just like the six they have in the fridge at home. Innovators in the industry work tirelessly to keep up with demand by creating new products, opening more inviting spaces and improving processes. Their work keeps us thinking […]
Caylee Hammack performs Wednesday during the ACM Honors show at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. (Getty Images) Nashville building named small capacity venue of the year by Academy of Country Music Ryman Auditorium was named small capacity venue of the year by the Academy of Country Music, giving the legendary Nashville room its third major award in the category this year in addition to honors bestowed at the Country Music Association Awards and Pollstar Awards. The 13th Annual ACM Honors were awarded Wednesday, coincidently, at the 2,362-capacity Ryman, recognizing special and off-camera category winners from the 54th ACM Awards. The event featured a star-studded lineup of live performances and award presentations celebrating Special Awards recipients Brooks & Dunn and Martina McBride (ACM Cliffie Stone Icon Award), Gayle Holcomb (ACM Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award), Miranda Lambert (ACM Gene Weed Milestone Award), Kacey Musgraves (ACM Jim Reeves International Award), Rodney Crowell, Kye […]
Linda Deckard chronicles the events and personalities of this ‘relationship business’ Linda Deckard is the Triple Crown winner of venue awards. In January, she won the inaugural INTIX Impact Award in Dallas; on June 13 she received the Gigi Award of Excellence at the Event & Arena Marketing Conference in Toronto; and at the International Association of Venue Managers’ annual VenuesConnect Conference in Chicago in July, she’ll be handed the Joseph J. Anzivino Distinguished Allied Award, which recognizes members who have made extraordinary contributions to the industry. “I’m thrilled,” Deckard said. “It’s quite an honor and I’m amazed that they are giving it to me. One of the best things about it is that I knew Joe Anzivino and his wife, Nita. I visited them at their house in Vegas after Joe retired from the Harlem Globetrotters; even my dad and stepmom met him. He was a great host who […]
A celebrated and diverse career garners IAVM’s McElravy honor for Mike McGee While working in broadcasting during high school and college, industry veteran Mike McGee had no aspirations of making his mark in this industry. Yet there may be no one more deserving of the International Association of Venue Managers’ Charles A. McElravy Award than McGee, founder of the Houston-based consulting firm Barmac Inc., which has served the industry since 1984. “Before I got into this business, I had aspirations of being in broadcasting,” he said. “I’m blown away by this recognition, since I never envisioned I’d be a recipient of this special award.” McGee will receive the McElravy Award, which recognizes professional, honorary or retired IAVM members who have made the greatest lifetime achievement to the welfare of the association or profession, during IAVM’s 94th annual conference July 21-24 in Chicago. “When you’re a part of an organization as […]
The annual Event & Arena Marketing Conference hosted the fifth EAMC Awards ceremony June 13 in Toronto. Among the winners were Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., which took home the prize for Marketing and Publicity Campaign Under $10,000 for its WWE Easter Egg Hunt campaign. Above: Rupp’s Sheila Kenny and Paul Hooper with Maple Leafs mascot Carlton the Bear. Right: Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment were honored in the Marketing and Publicity Campaign Over $10,000 category for the campaign tied to the arena’s change in naming rights. (Courtesy EAMC X2) Live Nation executives Danny Eaton (left) and Anthony Nicolaidis (second from right) present ZZ Top (with manager Carl Stubner at right) a special recognition from the city of Dallas to celebrate their 50th anniversary show at Dos Equis Pavilion on May 17. (Courtesy Live Nation)
