Jam Productions & SaveLive Announce Partnership, Expand Midwest Footprint

Jam Productions and SaveLive have announced a new partnership that will see Jam joining the SaveLive network.

“It has been obvious that for Jam’s business to grow, it needed to be part of a network, something larger with more locations, data and intelligence analytics as well as booking leverage,” Jam co-founder, Jerry Mickelson, said in a statement. “Over the years I considered all the bigger players but there wasn’t a good fit in terms of how we wanted to operate and compete.

Jam Productions, based out of Chicago, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The two companies will be working alongside one another with their new partnership, with Jam Productions planning to produce 450 concerts in 33 different venues following the pandemic.

“I have known Marc Geiger since 1984 and paid close attention to him over the years,” Mickelson said in his statement. “He and his new company are built to preserve Jam’s independent spirit. It’s exciting to reinvent Jam by aligning with a national company outside of our comfort zone and built differently than ours. Jam 1.0 lasted 50 years, became a midwest institution, and had a lot of success with my first partner. It’s time to announce Jam 2.0 with my new partners, Mar Geiger, John Fogelman, and SaveLive. the first show under the Jam Productions banner was WAR, three nights in April 1972, closely followed by Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac, and we’ve carried the mission to present the best artists through to today. We blazed a trail and were always focused on the city’s neighborhoods and on bands who were just starting out. We very much played a part in defining the modern concert business and it’s not over. We’re going to continue to grow and adapt for the next 50 years with SaveLive.”

Jam currently operates Chicago venues, The Riv, The Vic, and the Park West. Mickelson will continue controlling operational decisions for the company. SaveLive was founded in 2020 by Lollapalooza co-founder, Marc Geiger.

“38 years ago, I walked into Jam’s office when I was a young agent booking the Midwest and got indoctrinated into the Chicago scene through Jam’s team and concerts,” Geiger said in a statement. “I fell in love with the company right then. Jam’s platform is a natural next step in building a quality national independent network. Jerry’s tenacity over the years of consolidation has been inspiring and we are super excited to integrate and get to work.”