Features
Steve Ballmer & Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament Announced For Pollstar Live’s ‘Music, Basketball & the Intuit Dome’ Keynote
Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, today announced a keynote discussion for Feb. 8 featuring Steve Ballmer, co-founder of Ballmer Group and Chairman of the LA Clippers, and Jeff Ament, bassist for the legendary rock band Pearl Jam. The two will participate in the “Music, Basketball & the Intuit Dome” keynote, which will cover Ballmer’s vision for live entertainment at Intuit Dome set to open later this year, Ament’s career as a member of Pearl Jam, one of the most successful global touring acts of the 21st century and their mutual admiration for basketball and music.
Opening in August 2024, the Intuit Dome will be the new home of the LA Clippers, currently one of the top teams in the NBA’s Western Conference. The new arena, located in Inglewood, Calif., is slated to host hundreds of sporting events and concerts each year. Its innovative and state-of-the-art design aims to give sports and music fans a new way to experience live events while positively impacting the cultural landscape of Los Angeles.
And that’s already happening: The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced on Jan. 16 that in February of 2026 the Intuit Dome will host the NBA All-Star Game, which will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.
Steve Ballmer is co-founder of Ballmer Group and Chairman of the LA Clippers. Ballmer retired as chief executive officer of Microsoft in 2014 after leading the company for nearly 14 years. He remains a significant investor. During his tenure, Microsoft grew to almost $80 billion in revenue and was the third most profitable company in the U.S.
He is also one of the most successful owners in the NBA, elevating the franchise value of the L.A. Clippers since purchasing the team a decade ago.
Through philanthropy and civic activism, Ballmer Group supports promising and proven approaches that increase economic mobility for children and families in the U.S. Ballmer also leads USAFacts, a project seeking to improve transparency in government.
Ament is a founding member of the Grammy-winning band Pearl Jam, which formed in Seattle in 1990 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Pearl Jam, according to Pollstar Boxoffice Reports, has grossed nearly $370 million and sold more than 5.7 million tickets dating back to June 2000.
Ament has also played in several other seminal Seattle-based bands, including Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog. He also records and performs as a solo artist and is a longtime basketball fan.
The two panelists are just a few of the notable industry luminaries confirmed to speak at the Pollstar Live! conference, which takes place at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles Feb. 6-8. Other participants include artists Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jarred Arfa (EVP, Head of Global Music at Independent Artist Group), Josephine Vaccarello (EVP of Live at Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.), Brittanie Delava (VP of Global Touring, AEG), John Boyle (Global Chief Content Officer at ASM Global), Stacy Vee (EVP at Goldenvoice), Jen Haas (Promoter, I.M.P.), Brad Wavra and Hans Schafer (SVPs of Global Touring, Live Nation), among many others.
This year’s edition of the annual Pollstar Live! conference, which also includes Production Live! (Feb. 6) and the Pollstar Awards (Feb. 7), will tackle issues affecting the opportunities and challenges currently facing live entertainment, including the economy, ticketing, sustainability and technology. Panels announced include “Golden Era 3.0: How Long Will This Boom Last (And What Can We Do to Sustain)?,” “The Role of Artists & The Live Thing in an Election Year,” “The Venue’s Role in Booking, Marketing & Maximizing Concerts,” “The Most Impactful Show Possible: Savannah Hosts Dave Matthews Band,” “Where To Go & When: Developing the Global Touring Strategy,” “How Will AI Change Live for Booking, Marketing, Operations & Risk Management” and “Sphere: Redefining the Future of Live Entertainment.”
The first day of the conference, Production Live!, will cover staging, transportation, regulations, staffing and presentation as well as focus on the need for improved communication and a generational transition in the entertainment production sector. The keynote Q&A for Production Live!, “A Matter of Trust: The Artist/Crew Dynamic in Tedeschi Trucks Band,” will be moderated by Ray Waddell, Oak View Group’s president of media and conferences, and features Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the band, Tour Manager Skip Richman and Production Manager Brian Speiser.
On Feb. 7, the Pollstar Awards will take place at the historic Wiltern in Los Angeles. The ceremony honors the most successful artists, executives, tours, venues, companies and more from the live industry.
Registration for Pollstar Live! is now open. For more information about the conference, visit pollstar.live.