Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists: Laurie Kirby

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, returns to the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Feb. 21-23. The three-day conference is a flagship event for Pollstar magazine with compelling keynotes, panels, roundtables and the Pollstar Awards, celebrating the best in the business, along with plenty of opportunities to network and engage in insightful discussions.

Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features panels on all topics related to staging live events including lighting, video, stage management, sound technique, concert production, video, regulations, security and more.

Click these links for the Production Live! schedule and the Pollstar Live! schedule. Register for Pollstar Live! here.

Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists

Laurie Kirby
Owner of FestForums Conference
Panel: Big In Peoria — The Boutique Boom & the Power of Secondary Market Festivals
Date/Time: Wednesday l Feb. 22 l 11:30 a.m.

Why must everyone go to your panel?
I am not sure everyone should. But if you are starting, rebooting or building a festival, this is a must-see! The landscape has changed considerably since the pandemic, and it is important to understand what that means. Promotors will be working with tighter budgets, resources and talent so there’s that!

What story will you tell during the panel?
I won’t. I’m the moderator but as a niche conference producer, I face the same challenges as festivals. The only difference is that my event is b2b. I have many, many festivals but it’s not my role as moderator.

What’s the story you won’t tell?
I’m not telling.

What may cause tempers to flare?
We don’t flare — we laugh. We’re too smart. It’s how we roll.

What was the best part of your 2022?
Grandchildren.

Your predictions for 2023’s live industry highlights?
People will work harder with less. Lots of people left the business so training new people is an imperative. Technology will continue to play a big role. Events will be shorter and more niche.

Career tentpoles you are most proud of?
Booking CSN for a private party when I was still a lawyer. Having dinner with Nick Nolte whilst hearing his stories and eating his lobster dinner (he was enjoying his “tea”), having Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald sing together at my event, drinking really good wine with Quentin Tarantino at my awards ceremony for Bruce Dern, having the Coen Brothers, Jeff Bridges and T Bone Burnett all together at FestForums and getting the Spinal Tap crew together for a live concert. Ok, enough namedropping… it’s all about my grandchildren.