Pollstar Live! Announces Details For Panel On State Of Mid-Level & Boutique Festivals

C3 Presents’ Bryan Benson, WME’s Josh Kurfirst, Danny Wimmer Presents’ Chamie McCurry, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’ Sheri Sternberg and Paladin Artists’ Bruce Solar will take part in the Pollstar Live! panel State of Mid-Level & Boutique Festivals.

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, will take place April 15-17 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. As previously announced, the conference was pushed back to April from its original dates in February to ensure that the conference does not distract critical resources in Los Angeles following the devastating wildfires so that the focus can remain on rebuilding efforts. The three-day conference is the flagship event for Pollstar and offers engaging discussions and keynote conversations led by the top visionaries and executives in the live business along with plenty of networking opportunities.

Benson serves as the Lead Booker for Live Nation Nashville / Talent Buyer for C3 Presents and handles booking for Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, among other duties. He was nominated for a Pollstar Award for Talent Buyer of the Year in 2023.

Kurfirst is a Partner and Global Head of Festivals for WME. Since starting at the agency in 2012, he’s created a system for booking festivals that has been renowned by festival promoters for its convenience and efficiency, and has helped WME become one of the top talent suppliers to festivals worldwide. Kurfirst also works as a responsible agent and is on booking teams for Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Weezer, The War on Drugs and Maneskin / Damiano David and more.

Renowned for her expertise in marketing, branding, ticketing, event operations, and revenue management, McCurry has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern festival landscape. As Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager at Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP), McCurry leads the company’s revenue strategy and drives operational efficiency across the company’s portfolio of events. She was honored as part of Pollstar‘s 2024 Women Of Live list.

Sternberg is one of the founders of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, now a three-day, free concert in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco which presents 75 bands over six stages each year. She served as Director Of Production from 2000-2016 and is presently Executive Producer for HSB. In addition she has been a freelance Technical Producer for many private events for the past 35 years.

Solar is a partner at Paladin Artists. He joined the agency in 2023 after previously serving as partner and co-head of Worldwide Music at APA. His roster includes Blondie, Cake, Brian Wilson, Psychedelic Furs, The Zombies, Eels, Fantastic Negrito, Jet, Band of Skulls, and Jeff Bridges.

Prior to the 2020 pandemic shutdown, mid-level, boutique, and artist-curated festivals in markets of all sizes were enjoying a renaissance. While many festivals have cracked the code on tapping into consumer tastes of music and lifestyle, cancellation headlines reared their ugly heads last season and smaller festivals are facing challenges beyond just the weather. Veterans of the space will take on the current state and future of a space that remains crucial to the overall health of the live music economy.

Pollstar Live! starts with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features insightful panels and discussions from industry professionals on all topics related to putting on live events including lighting, video, concert production and more.

The Pollstar Live! schedule will include artist Q&As, interactive industry “Town Halls” and more industry topics and issue-related content than ever before, including genre-specific analyses and sector-oriented drill downs for talent buyers, festivals, venues, promoters, agents, marketers, ticketers, tech, casinos, merchandisers, branding specialists, safety/security professionals and international event producers. Among the topics addressed are Are We in a Market Correction?, ROCK IS BACK!, South Asian Artists & Markets: Is it a Niche or a Trend?, and State of Mid-Level & Boutique Festivals.

Production Live! will once again seek to facilitate engagement between the primary industry of tour planners, managers, agents and promoters, with the highly-skilled road teams tasked with executing the artist’s vision on the stage. Topics include National Tour Deals vs. Market-By-Market: What It Means for Production Teams, Best Laid Plans: Reconciling Touring Ambition with Reality, DAY-OF-SHOW: Who Has Their Sh*t Together (AND Who Doesn’t)?, and Staying Mentally, Physically and Financially Healthy on the Road, as well as the return of the popular Tour Managers Roundtable: Ask Us Anything!

Previously confirmed speakers include AEG Presents’ Rich Schaefer, TKO’s Steve Schenck, Danny Wimmer Presents’ Del Williams, Dreamliner’s Rich Thomson, Oak View Group’s Ray Waddell, Pioneer Coach’s Wayne Linder, Life Jam’s Rachael Bronstein, UTA’s Mike G, Messina Touring Group’s Meesha Kosciolek, Houston Productions’ Kell Houston, Arrival Artists’ Erik Selz, MGM Resorts International’s Paul Davis, Recovery Unplugged’s Jason Cabello and Wasserman Music’s Lee Anderson, Kiely Mosiman and Lenore Kinder.

Stay tuned for more announcements and 2025 speakers.

The 2024 edition of Pollstar Live! set a record in attendance with a lineup of speakers that included Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Los Angeles Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer; Jon Bon Jovi; Full Stop Management CEO Jeffrey Azoff; Executive Chairman and CEO of Sphere James L. Dolan; Live Nation President of U.S. Concerts Bob Roux; Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks; CEO of Oak View Group (Pollstar parent company) Tim Leiweke; CAA Head of Music, Partner and Managing Director Rob Light and many more.

Pollstar Live! also includes the 36th annual Pollstar Awards celebrating the live entertainment industry’s most innovative artists, venues, companies, tours and executives.

The most recent Pollstar Awards show was held at the iconic Wiltern in Los Angeles and was hosted by comedian, author and actor Tom Papa.

Pollstar Live! 2025 is presented by Lockton and Ticketmaster.

Visit https://www.pollstar.live/ for more information and to register for Pollstar Live!