Pollstar Live! Announces Keynote With Jelly Roll & Michael Rapino; Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda & Zach Sang

Genre-bending powerhouse and breakout star Jelly Roll will take part in a keynote discussion at Pollstar Live!, joined by moderator Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation. Adding to the star-studded lineup at the 2025 conference, Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda has been confirmed for a Keynote Rainmaker session moderated by media personality and interviewer Zach Sang.

Scheduled April 17, the keynote discussion “Jelly Roll: Beautifully Unbroken” will feature the acclaimed singer/songwriter discussing his rapi ascension into arena-level headlining status, the state of country music; touring today, and what’s coming next in touring and recording. Jelly Roll is as much known for his prolific creativity and talent as his enduring focus on making the world a better place – from testifying in Congress about fentanyl to taking the time to visit people who can’t make it to his shows including those behind bars or in rehab or in homeless shelters.

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Jelly Roll was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2024, along with earning a nod for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the track “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson. After winning New Headliner of the Year honor at the 2024 Pollstar Awards, this time around he’s a finalist for Country Tour of the Year.

In March Jelly Roll played a run of dates across Canada, marking his debut international headlining tour. He ranked No. 41 on Pollstar’s 2025 Q1 Top Touring Artists Worldwide Chart with an average gross of $1,175,625 and an average of 11,625 tickets sold. Jelly Roll is represented by CAA’s Hunter Williams.

The Rainmaker Q&As at Pollstar Live! are described as conversations with visionaries, change agents and thought leaders of the live entertainment industry. During his April 16 Q&A moderated by Zach Sang, Shinoda will discuss how he and his bandmates engineered their stunning relaunch last year, which landed No. 1 songs and a No. 1 album globally, as well as touring sold-out stadiums and arenas around the world in the fall and into 2025.

After going on hiatus seven years earlier following the death of frontman Chester Bennington, Linkin Park returned to the stage in September 2024 and introduced two new members – singer Emily Armstrong (formerly of Dead Sara) and drummer/producer Colin Brittain (G Flip, Illenium, One OK Rock). The band has since been filling venues around the world and ranked No. 18 on Pollstar’s 2025 Q1 Top Touring Artists Worldwide Chart with an average gross of nearly $3.7 million and an average of 40,542 tickets sold. Linkin Park is booked worldwide by WME.

CAA signed radio personality Zach Sang in December, with an announcement from the agency noting that Sang is “working on multiple new ventures across TV, radio, books and more.”

Yesterday it was announced that the immensely popular podcast Promoter 101 will return after a long absence with an exclusive Pollstar Live! pop-up featuring principles from upstart indie agency Paladin Artists.

Emporium Presents’ Dan Steinberg and WORKS Entertainment’s Luke Pierce, co-founders of Promoter 101, will serve as moderators. Scheduled April 17 at 2:15 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the session will feature three agents from Paladin Artists as speakers: Steve Martin, Andy Somers and Chyna Chuan.

“Luke and I are so excited for the reboot of Promoter 101, in this new monthly format, and we just can’t imagine a better place to kick it all off than Pollstar Live! with the Paladin Artist crew as our first guests,” Steinberg told Pollstar. “This is just so good and the right time to revisit this project with a modern twist.”

Steinberg and Pierce graced the cover of Pollstar in 2019 to celebrate what was then being called the final episode of the beloved podcast. The podcast began in October 2016 with special guest Tom Ross and went on to feature 250 guests over 202 episodes. The final keynote interview took place in 2019 at IEBA with special guest AEG Presents Senior VP of Touring Debra Rathwell.

Stand-out episodes of the podcast included a 2018 session recorded at Pollstar Live! In which Steinberg interviewed Live Nation President/CEO Michael Rapino in a keynote Q&A.

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, will take place April 15-17 at the Beverly Hilton. 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.

Previously announced Pollstar Live! Keynote and Rainmaker sessions include “The Story Behind FireAid” and a Kevin Cronin Q&A with CAA’s Rob Light. Plus, the Production Live! Keynote “30 Warped Years With Kevin Lyman” will be moderated by Oak View Group’s Ray Waddell.

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.

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. Last week it was announced that the Pollstar Awards will present LA Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer with The Visionary Award, as well as posthumously honoring legendary artist manager Gary Kurfirst with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Pollstar Awards, which takes place April 16 at the Beverly Hilton, will be hosted by iHeartRadio personality Valentine.

Pollstar Live! 2025 is presented by Lockton and Ticketmaster.

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