Day After Day Productions Gets Yucaipa Investment; Seth Shomes Joins DWP Talent Services As Partner

Seth Shomes’ Day After Day Productions is the latest music company to receive an investment from Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and Shomes will join Danny Wimmer Presents Talent Services as Partner in the deal announced Sept. 28.

Shomes has been one of the top booking agents n the casino and soft ticket market for more than 25 years. He operated DADP from its founding in 1996 until Shomes joined The Agency Group in 2014, which was ultimated acquired by United Talent Agency.

Shomes in 2021 relaunched DADP basically from a laptop and in just more than a year has grown by leaps and bounds, securing more than $30 million in gross booking and 700-plus individual shows at casinos, fairs, festivals, arenas, performing arts centers, civic events and more. His staff increased to 12, including five booking agents, six coordinators and a head of tour marketing.

The amount of Yucaipa investment wasn’t disclosed, but it’s enough to merit a seat at the table as partner of DWP Talent Services for Shomes, after Yucaipa made a major investment in Danny Wimmer Presents in February 2020.

DWPTS is a division of DWP that focuses on the casino and fair business and was launched in 2021 with the acquisition of Billy Alan Productions, led by veteran industry exec Billy Brill, who himelf has more than 40 years of success in the entertainment, interactive media and casino booking industries.

DWPTS’s current casino roster includes Thunder Valley(Lincoln, California), Agua Caliente (Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, California), Spirit Mountain (Grand Ronde, Oregon), Eagle Mountain (Porterville, California), Pearl River (Philadelphia, Mississippi), Seneca Allegany (Salamanca, New York) and Seneca Niagara (Niagara Falls, New York).

“Over the last decade I have watched with great interest Ron Burkle’s foray into the agency business and I am thrilled to partner with him and Yucaipa. As I re-launched DADP in April 2021 with just myself and a laptop, it is a proud moment that our immediate growth has quickly led to a partnership with one of the biggest entrepreneurs out there, and I look forward to finding internal synergies within Yucaipa’s portfolio of agencies and related entertainment companies,”Shomes says.

David Barnes, Partner at Yucaipa, said “We are extremely pleased to be going into business with Seth Shomes. We greatly admire the company he has built and look forward to having a successful partnership with him for years to come.”

The DADP roster includes more than 30 clients across a wide variety of genres, including 98 Degrees, Aaron Lewis, Brian Wilson, Celebrating Meat Loaf, Deal Or No Deal – Live!, Flo Rida, Ice-T presents The Art Of Rap, Jeff Bridges & The Abiders, Matt Fraser, Missy Elliott, Staind, T.I., The Commodores, Tony Orlando, Tyler Henry, War, Wayne Newton, and more.

Yucaipa Companies, a private equity founded by Los Angeles-area grocery magnate Ron Burkle, has made significant forays in to the music business in the last decade-plus, including investments in Artists Group International, APA, K2 Agency, Primavera Sound Spain, Soho House, and Roberto Medina’s Rock in Rio. Yucaipa was also a minority partner in UK’s CODA agency before it was acquired by Wasserman last year.

Danny Hayes, CEO of Danny Wimmer Presents, said “Billy Brill, Danny Wimmer, Del Williams and I have been looking for the right opportunities to expand our talent buying services for third party clients like casinos and fairs. I was Seth’s lawyer the first time he built Day After Day, so I know what his unique skill set, relationships and reputation will bring to DWPTS. Seth’s creative approach and client philosophy is in lockstep with ours.”

DWP is one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America, with events including Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, GoldenSky Country Music Festival, Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, Louder Than Life, and Welcome To Rockville.