Production Live! To Feature Keynote Q&A With Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman

Kevin Lyman will take the stage at Production Live! for the keynote Q&A “Truckstops, Parking Lots & Where TF Is Catering? 30 Warped Years With Kevin Lyman.” The discussion will be moderated by Ray Waddell, Chief Content Director at Pollstar parent company Oak View Group.

Scheduled April 15 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Production Live! is the one-day companion conference to Pollstar Live! 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.

From his early days as a touring production professional on Lollapalooza, to founding and melting faces on the annual Vans Warped tour for over 20 years, to his resurrection of the Warped brand in 2025, Kevin Lyman has been many things to many people. Known as a rebel WITH a cause, Lyman has laid his blood, sweat and tears on the line in gravel parking lots, tour buses, and greasy truck stops from coast to coast, and has forgotten more about logistics, moving Patton’s army, and guiding young professionals through the glory and heartbreak of life on the road than many pros ever know. Promoter, producer, mentor, educator, counselor, friend, Kevin Lyman is one of the true iconoclasts of live entertainment.

In October Warped Tour announced dates for its 2025 return with events planned in Washington, D.C.; Long Beach, California; and Orlando, Florida, marking the traveling festival’s 30th anniversary.

Lyman graced the cover of Pollstar in 2018 in honor of the final fully-fledged, cross-country Warped Tour, which wrapped in early August of that year at Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida The trek played 38 shows and grossed more than $19.4 million, with 542,908 tickets sold. The tour placed at No. 64 on Pollstar’s 2018 Year End Top 200 North American Tours and No. 99 on Pollstar‘s Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours. In celebration of Warped Tour’s 25th anniversary, Warped Tour put on events in three cities in 2019: Cleveland; Atlantic City, New Jersey and Mountain View, California.

And last year Lyman teamed up with KMGMT’s Mike Kaminsky and Hopeless Records’ Eric Tobin to launch idobi Radio Summer School Tour, a new traveling festival with artist development and community at its core. The pop punk and alternative rock fest announced its return for its sophomore year today featuring seven rising, independent artists and bands including Taylor Acorn, Charlotte Sands, Rain City Drive, If Not For Me, Beauty School Dropout, Arrows in Action, and Huddy. The 2025 trek has lined up more than 20 stops across the U.S., starting July 11 at The Fillmore Detroit.

READ MORE: Kevin Lyman On Warped Tour’s Return: ‘We Need To Get Young People Back Out To 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.

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?, 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!

In March it was confirmed that FireAid LA organizers — including Shelli, Irving and the Azoff family; Geni Lincoln of Live Nation; Gillian Zucker of the LA Clippers and more — will gather to discuss the remarkable series of events that led to staging the two historic concerts that raised more than $100 million for wildfire relief efforts and the astonishing generosity that made it all possible.

Previously confirmed speakers include WME’s Josh Kurfirst and Brett Schaffer, CAA’s Ryan Harlacher and Matt Schultz, Danny Wimmer Presents’ Chamie McCurry and Del Williams, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’ Sheri Sternberg, Paladin Artists’ Bruce Solar, AEG Presents’ Rich Schaefer, Annie Flook of Propeller, Mollie Lehman of Chorus, Meredith Peters of Laylo, Aaron Summer of Mick Management, MusiCares’ Wade Johnson, Backline’s Hilary Gleason, Recovery Unplugged’s Jason Cabello, Life’s Jam’s Rachael Bronstein, C3 Presents’ Bryan Benson, Dreamliner’s Rich Thomson, Oak View Group’s Ray Waddell, Pioneer Coach’s Wayne Linder, Life Jam’s Rachael Bronstein, Messina Touring Group’s Meesha Kosciolek and Kara Smoak, Houston Productions’ Kell Houston, Arrival Artists’ Erik Selz, MGM Resorts International’s Paul Davis, 313 Presents’ Sarah Zawalski, Harris Blitzer Sports And Entertainment’s Sean Saadeh, Wayne Forte of Entourage Talent Associates, LTD, Randy Nichols of Fly South Music / Force Media Management, Steve Schenck of TKO, Stephen Parker of National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Megan Stoll of Duck Club Entertainment, Julie Black of Premier Aviation, David Kiely of Roadshow Services, Mark Larson of Beat The Street, Wayne Linder of Pioneer Coach, Inc., Rich Thomson of Dreamliner Luxury Coaches, Mark DiDia of Red Light Management, Amanda Phelan of Insomniac, Keith Cunningham of KLOS-FM Los Angeles / Meruelo Media, Allison Hagendorf of A-Game Productions, Wasserman Music’s Lee Anderson, Kiely Mosiman and Lenore Kinder, and UTA’s Mike G and Eddie Clemens and Ken Fermaglich.

Stay tuned for more announcements and 2025 speakers.

Pollstar Live! also includes the 36th annual Pollstar Awards celebrating the live entertainment industry’s most innovative artists, venues, companies, tours and executives. Iconic artist Stevie Nicks, acclaimed international promoter Barrie Marshall, legendary promoter Louis Messina, and historic Nashville venue Ryman Auditorium will be inducted into the Pollstar Live! Music Hall of Fame during the Pollstar Awards, which takes place on April 16 at the Beverly Hilton.

Pollstar Live! 2025 is presented by Lockton and Ticketmaster.

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