Bakersfield Promoter Lipco Dies

Danny Lipco, a Bakersfield, Calif., concert promoter who got his start organizing shows in the parking lot of a western wear store before moving into ticketing and finally operating the city’s historic Fox Theatre, died Jan. 14 after a brief illness.

Lipco, 59, operated ticketing agency Vallitix, expanding the local company’s reach statewide, and promoted concerts as DBL Entertainment.

Another company, VenueTek, began leasing and operating the Fox Theatre in 2009, and is credited with turning around the venue’s flagging fortunes.

He booked artists including B.B. King, Merle Haggard, My Chemical Romance and Sheryl Crow in 2011 alone, raising the theatre’s profile and helping to put the nonprofit foundation that owns it on stable financial footing after years of struggle.