Hodges Returns To Nederlander

The "year of the reunion" has extended from the music to the business side as former House of Blue Concerts Executive VP Alex Hodges announced he’s rejoining Nederlander Concerts where, as chief operating officer, he’ll work "shoulder to shoulder" with CEO and ex-HoB VP Adam Friedman.

Hodges left HoB Concerts February 2nd, less than two months after Live Nation completed its purchase of the company. He officially returns to Nederlander April 15th, when he rejoins not only Friedman and former HoB talent buyer Paola Palazzo, but senior VPs Ken Scher and Moss Jacobs from his previous tenure with the company.

"This makes sense for us," Friedman told Pollstar. "Alex’s skill sets are one of a kind in the industry. He’s the only guy I know to be an agent, a manager, promoter and an executive. He’s uniquely qualified to join the team.

"This is a very respected firm that is known for its promotion and marketing capabilities," Friedman continued. "It’s a company that has an unbelievable team, great core assets, is privately held with no distractions from Wall Street or anywhere else, and is positioned to grow."

Part of that growth plan, Friedman said, is moving beyond promoting just the core venues Nederlander controls including icons like the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara Bowl. Hodges will play a key role in driving growth to create a regional presence for Nederlander in terms of routing tours, and presenting artists that may otherwise be overlooked by the Live Nations and AEGs of the industry.

"The last 14 months have been spent trying to tool this company up to move. Move beyond the border it has been living in," Friedman explained. "But for us to be a competitor to the big guys, we’re going to need to offer up unique routing opportunities and multi-city offers.

"We’re going to be able now, with Alex driving the strategy on the talent and marketing side, to put together cohesive packages. I look at the strategy and say we want to get deeper penetration into the markets we want to book in, we want to build our core venues to be even more powerful, and we want to take that and leverage it into multi-city opportunities and touring alternatives for artists. I can only think of one guy to drive the strategy. And that’s Alex."

For his part, Hodges is rested and ready after taking some time to consider his options after leaving Live Nation and the former House of Blues office he’d worked out of for the last 10 years.

"I’m really excited," Hodges told Pollstar. "This team of people Adam has put together is exciting and going to be a real pleasure. It’s going to be a reunion working day-to-day with many of them because I spent seven years working on the schedules of various venues, outdoor and indoors, with Ken Scher when I was with Nederlander before. I worked with Paola Palazzo bringing her into the promoting field from her previous agency background.

"The entire team that Adam has put together is an energetic and qualified team of terrific people and I’m looking forward to joining them, rolling my sleeves up and getting to work," Hodges said.

Friedman and Hodges will work closely in creating and implementing strategies to move Nederlander forward by advancing the companies strategic talent and marketing initiatives including building strong partnerships with artists and their reps, expanding outreach to venues and fans by booking throughout California, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona.

Hodges will also drive Nederlander’s expansion into new markets by developing new routing opportunities and multi-city runs through the western U.S. and create a platform for Nederlander to become a touring alternative to artists looking for an independent, first-class promoter with access to well-run, iconic venues.

"I am delighted to welcome Alex back to the Nederlander Organization as we expand our concert promotion and venue operation business," chairman James M. Nederlander said.

"Alex has a long and tenured career in the industry and was a key player in building our award-winning venues into the ‘must play’ for many world-renowned artists. I am certain he will once again be a key contributor to our success and growth."