POLLSTAR LIVE: WILL YOU BE ATTENDING?

I return to Pollstar Live next week. It will be my first in 3 years but perhaps my 15th total. It was the first “grown up” conference I attended. My college used to send me (and pay for) SXSW and CMJ used to pay for panelists to attend. Both had a heavy focus on “alternative music” but Pollstar was for stadium acts and the men attending mostly wore suits! I learned so much from attending years one and two, I volunteered for the next several just to learn even more. To this day, I often feel, I have been able to stay afloat in the crazy waters of this industry but learning the feeding order.. I love to swim and I have an enormous capacity for finding unexplored islands. That has become my specialty over the years. This year I will show off the one-of-a-kind Bike Zoo.

The highlight of the conference is the awards ceremony and it always falls in perfect timing for me, just ahead of my beloved Austin Music Awards. I would love to share the nominees with you and hear your thoughts on who should win this year. Let me know at roggie@rajiworld.com

Pollstar Awards Categories and Nominees

Congratulation to all Pollstar Award Nominees!

Below are the Categories and Nominees for the 29th Annual Pollstar Awards. One ticket to the Pollstar Awards & Party is included with each Pollstar Live! 2018 registration.

Major Tour of the Year

  • Bruno Mars
  • Coldplay
  • Garth Brooks
  • Guns N’ Roses
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  • U2

Most Creative Stage Production

  • Coldplay
  • Ed Sheeran
  • Katy Perry
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Roger Waters
  • U2

Comedy Tour of the Year

  • Amy Schumer
  • Chris Rock
  • Dave Chappelle
  • Jerry Seinfeld
  • Jim Gaffigan
  • Kevin Hart

Country Tour of the Year

  • Chris Stapleton
  • Eric Church
  • Garth Brooks
  • Jason Aldean
  • Luke Bryan
  • Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

Rock Tour of the Year

  • Foo Fighters
  • Guns N’ Roses
  • Metallica
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  • Roger Waters
  • U2

Urban / R&B Tour of the Year

  • Bruno Mars
  • Chance The Rapper
  • Drake
  • J. Cole
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • The Weeknd

Latin Tour of the Year

 

  • Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull
  • Gloria Trevi vs Alejandra Guzman
  • Juanes
  • Luis Fonsi
  • Marc Anthony
  • Marco Antonio Solis

Pop Tour of the Year

  • Ariana Grande
  • Bruno Mars
  • Harry Styles
  • Justin Bieber
  • Katy Perry
  • Lady Gaga

Best New Headliner

  • Halsey
  • Harry Styles
  • Khalid
  • Portugal. The Man
  • Shawn Mendes
  • The xx

Music Festival of the Year

 

  • Austin City Limits Music Festival | Austin, TX
  • Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival | Manchester, TN
  • Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival | Indio, CA
  • KAABOO Del Mar | Del Mar, CA
  • Lollapalooza Festival | Chicago, IL
  • Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival | Indio, CA

International Music Festival of the Year

  • Barclaycard British Summer Time | London, UK
  • Bluesfest | Byron Bay, Australia
  • C2C: Country to Country | London & Glasgow, UK; Dublin, Ireland
  • Glastonbury Festival | Pilton, UK
  • Lollapalooza Brazil | Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Primavera Sound | Barcelona, Spain

Nightclub of the Year

  • 9:30 Club | Washington, DC
  • Brooklyn Steel | Brooklyn, NY
  • The Fillmore Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA
  • House of Blues Boston | Boston, MA
  • Joe’s Bar | Chicago, IL
  • Thalia Hall | Chicago, IL

Theatre of the Year

  • Beacon Theatre | New York, NY
  • Bellco Theatre | Denver, CO
  • Fox Theatre | Atlanta, GA
  • Radio City Music Hall | New York, NY
  • Ryman Auditorium | Nashville, TN
  • The Wiltern | Los Angeles, CA

Arena of the Year

  • Barclays Center | Brooklyn, NY
  • BOK Center | Tulsa, OK
  • Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN
  • Forum | Inglewood, CA
  • Madison Square Garden | New York, NY
  • Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA
  • T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, NV

Red Rocks Award / Best Small Outdoor Venue

  • Ascend Amphitheater | Nashville, TN
  • Filene Center At Wolf Trap | Vienna, VA
  • Greek Theatre At UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA
  • Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, CA
  • Santa Barbara Bowl | Santa Barbara, CA
  • Vina Robles Amphitheatre | Paso Robles, CA

Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue

  • Forest Hills Stadium | Forest Hills, NY
  • Gorge Amphitheatre | Quincy, WA
  • Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles, CA
  • Lakeview Amphitheater | Syracuse, NY
  • Merriweather Post Pavilion | Columbia, MD
  • Shoreline Amphitheatre | Mountain View, CA

Best New Concert Venue

  • The Anthem | Washington, DC
  • Brooklyn Steel | Brooklyn, NY
  • Levitt Pavilion Denver | Denver, CO
  • Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, MI
  • Wintrust Arena | Chicago, IL
  • U Arena Paris | Nanterre, France

International Venue of the Year

  • Manchester Arena | Manchester, UK
  • The O2 | London, UK
  • O2 Arena | Prague, Czech Republic
  • Royal Albert Hall | London, UK
  • Ziggo Dome | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Venue Executive of the Year

  • Becky Colwell | Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
  • David Kells | Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
  • Keith Sheldon | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
  • Ken Kuhl | American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
  • Kim Bedier | Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
  • Nick Spampanato | Forum, Inglewood, CA

Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year

  • Donna Busch | The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
  • Ed Warm | Joe’s Bar, Chicago, IL; Joe’s Live, Rosemont, IL; The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
  • Jake Samuels | Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL & SPACE, Evanston, IL
  • Josh Moore | Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY & Terminal 5, New York, NY
  • Melanie Cantwell | 9:30 Club, The Anthem, Lincoln Theatre, Washington, DC
  • Stacie George | Irving Plaza, New York, NY; Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY & The Paramount, Huntington, NY

Talent Buyer of the Year

  • Ali Harnell | AEG Presents / MTG
  • Amy Corbin | C3 Presents
  • Brian O’Connell | Live Nation
  • Don Strasburg | AEG Presents
  • Rich Best | Live Nation
  • Stacy Vee | Goldenvoice

Bill Graham Award / Promoter of the Year

  • Darin Lashinsky | NS2
  • Don Fox | Beaver Productions
  • Gregg Perloff | Another Planet Entertainment
  • Larry & Fred Frank | Frank Productions Concerts
  • Michael Smardak | Outback Concerts
  • Seth Hurwitz | I.M.P.

International Promoter of the Year

  • Andy Copping | Live Nation – UK
  • Barrie Marshall | Marshall Arts
  • Denis Desmond | MCD Productions
  • Folkert Koopmans | FKP Scorpio Konzertproduktionen
  • Michael Chugg | Chugg Entertainment
  • Simon Moran | SJM

Bobby Brooks Award / Agent of the Year

  • Cara Lewis | CLG – Cara Lewis Group
  • Dennis Arfa | Artist Group International
  • Jay Williams | WME
  • Kirk Sommer | WME
  • Marlene Tsuchii | Creative Artists Agency
  • Marty Diamond | Paradigm Talent Agency
  • Scott Clayton | Creative Artists Agency

Third Coast Booking Agent of the Year

  • Abby Wells Baas | WME
  • Curt Motley | United Talent Agency
  • Jay Williams | WME
  • Joe Atamian | Paradigm Talent Agency
  • John Huie | Creative Artists Agency
  • Matthew Morgan | Creative Artists Agency

UK Booking Agent of the Year

  • Emma Banks | Creative Artists Agency UK
  • Ian Huffam | X-ray Touring
  • James Alderman | Free Trade Agency
  • Mike Greek | Creative Artists Agency UK
  • Rod MacSween | International Talent Booking
  • Steve Strange | X-ray Touring

Independent Booking Agency of the Year

  • Artist Group International
  • The Billions Corporation
  • High Road Touring
  • Madison House

Booking Agency of the Year

  • APA
  • Creative Artists Agency
  • Paradigm Talent Agency
  • United Talent Agency
  • WME

Rising Star

  • Aaron Tannenbaum, Creative Artists Agency
  • James Rasmussen, Golden 1 Center
  • Joe Giordano, BOK Center
  • Keith Sheldon, Barclays Center
  • Lenore Kinder, AEG Presents
  • Tommy Bruce, Full Stop Management

Personal Manager of the Year

  • Clarence Spalding | Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean
  • Coran Capshaw | Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Chris Stapleton
  • Irving Azoff | Eagles, Journey
  • John Silva | Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age
  • Jonathan Kessler | Depeche Mode
  • Tony Dimitriades | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Road Warrior of the Year

  • Dale “Opie” Skjerseth | The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses
  • Gus Brandt | Foo Fighters, Pharrell Williams
  • Jerome Crooks | Soundgarden, Tool, NIN
  • Keith Keller | Drake, Metallica, Jay-Z
  • Mark “Springo” Spring | Paul McCartney
  • Narci Martinez | Red Hot Chili Peppers, Florence and the Machine

Lighting Company of the Year

  • Bandit Lites
  • Premier Global Production
  • PRG
  • Solotech
  • Upstaging
  • VER

Sound Company of the Year

  • Clair Global
  • Clearwing Productions
  • Eighth Day Sound Systems
  • Rat Sound Systems
  • Sound Image
  • VER Tour Sound

Staging / Equipment Company of the Year

  • All Access Staging and Productions
  • G2 Structures
  • Gallagher Staging
  • Mountain Productions
  • Stageco
  • Tait

Transportation Company of the Year

  • All Access Transportation
  • Pioneer Coach
  • Rock-It Cargo
  • Senators Coaches
  • Sound Moves
  • Upstaging

Video Company of the Year

  • Colonel Tom Touring
  • Moo TV
  • PRG Nocturne
  • RD Touring
  • Screenworks
  • Solotech
  • VER

Tech Enhancement of the Year

  • 3D Live, Flying Lotus
  • Eyellusion, Dio
  • Hurdl
  • Xylobands, Coldplay
  • Yondr