Features
All In The Timing
Drusky said he got into the business working for DiCesare-Engler Productions in 1997. The company was eventually swallowed by SFX, then Clear Channel. About a year after he was laid off, he took the plunge and launched his own business.
His timing turned out to be an advantage.
“Right after I got laid off, [Clear Channel] got out of doing small shows and closed up its small amphitheatre, which was the Chevrolet Amphitheatre,” Drusky told Pollstar. “In 2009, some other people re-opened it [as the 6,000-capacity Trib Total Media Amphitheatre] and I’m the exclusive booker there. I knew I could fill a void in the marketplace and succeed.”
Drusky also took advantage of another opportunity in the city of Homestead, a suburb of Pittsburgh, a few years ago. The Carnegie Library board chairman was seeking promoters to book the facility’s 1,038-capacity Music Hall.
“At that point, something in the city was missing – a nice, smaller, 1,000-capacity theatre. I knew there were plenty of things that could go into the place,” he said. “And it wasn’t so far off the beaten path that people wouldn’t go there.
“Of course, people wanted to see pictures [because] it was a new venue. Once they saw how nice it was, the nice stage and production, it was a no-brainer. I started getting things moving pretty quick.”
Highlights for Drusky so far include promoting 352 shows and being chosen 2010’s Pittsburgh promoter of the year through a survey by the Iron City Rocks website in a market that includes Live Nation, Elko Concerts, PromoWest Live and Grey Area Productions.
But he’s not taking his success for granted.
“Having a good reputation precedes moving along where you need to be. You have to show you really care about the patron as well as the artist and make sure everyone has a good time,” Drusky said.
“Had I not [worked for DiCesare-Engler and Clear Channel] I don’t think I could have succeeded in what I do. The experience was second to none.”