2026 Women of Live: Josephine Vaccarello

Josephine Vaccarello
Madison Square Garden Ent. & Sphere Ent. Co. | Executive Vice President, Live

“Josephine was a great partner for us during Billy Joel’s 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden. She always handles her responsibilities with honesty, integrity, and a wonderful sense of humor.” — Dennis Arfa, Chairman, Music Division, IAG

Speaking on the phone with Josephine Vaccarello, the affable and widely admired EVP of Live for Madison Square Garden in New York and Sphere in Las Vegas, she is significantly at Sphere, where in minutes the “Wizard of Oz” will screen.

“At one point in my career,” she says, “my title was Director of or Vice President of Concerts, Family Entertainment, Performing Arts, and Ticketing … oh, and Special Events in one title!”

That overloaded job title belies her tireless work ethic, a willingness to do all and anything to get ’er done, which is at the heart of Vaccarello’s enormously successful career at MSG — the only company she’s ever worked for, which began much further down the ladder. “I went from being an administrative assistant to a coordinator, then into ticketing then booking family shows,” she says.

Her rise through the ranks was driven by an indefatigable work ethic: “Throughout my entire career, if there was a hole to fill, I was going to fill it. If there was something that needed to be done that wasn’t being done, I raised my hand. That’s what I’ve done throughout the entire time.”

Vaccarello’s can-do business approach has helped propel MSG’s buildings to dominate Pollstar’s charts. Sphere and Madison Square Garden crowned the 2025 Year End Arenas Chart grossing $379 million and $230 million, respectively; while Radio City Music Hall topped the Year End Theaters chart grossing nearly $198 million; and The Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre and Theater At Madison Square Garden came in at Nos. 8, 12 and 19 grossing $41.8M, $36.2M and 25.5M, respectively. Total Ticket sales for all six venues is over 6.2 million.

For Vaccarello, those astronomical numbers represent an enormous amount of time, work and energy overseeing a team of 20 while dealing with a multitude of shows simultaneously.

“It’s amazing how much work gets done behind the scenes day after day after day,” Vaccarello says. “Depending on the size of the show, imagine loading in at 3 a.m. or 6 a.m., having a show that night, turning the house over overnight, getting that show out, getting prepped for a Knick game the next day, then going to a Ranger game, and then going back to a concert. It literally happens 24/7. Same thing with Sphere, which also runs 24/7. We work a lot of hours, nights and weekends.”

Asked how she manages the stress, Vaccarello offers one key to her success: “Humor helps ease a lot of tension; that’s what we use to get through.”

And as for the philosophy that guides her career, she says: “Focus on the things you can control. And if you can’t control it, just keep moving forward.”

Born and raised in Queens before moving to Long Island, “Jojo,” as she is widely known (thanks to her nieces and nephews and former MSG president Melissa Ormond), says music has always been a part of her life. “In high school, I actually worked at Jones Beach at the concession stands so I could see concerts for free,” she says, namechecking shows by the late, great Jimmy Buffett and 10,000 Maniacs.

After college, a friend told her about a job at Radio City as an assistant in the concerts and events department. She was hired and six months later MSG bought Radio City and “the rest is history.”

That history is still unfolding with last year’s highlights including: “SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert,” Tony Awards at Radio City; “firsts” at Sphere with genre-expanding residencies from Backstreet Boys and Kenny Chesney, along with the New York Phil and Gustavo Dudamel breaking in Radio City’s newly Immersive sound.

Looking ahead, major plays include Harry Styles’ envelope-smashing 30 shows(!) and Bon Jovi’s nine at MSG; multi-nights with Joe Hisaishi at Radio City, Tedeschi Trucks Band and comic Josh Johnson at The Beacon and Chicago Theatre; a three-week run of “Les Misérables” at Radio City; and No Doubt, Carín León and Illenium debuting at Sphere.

This live business lifer still very much loves what she does. “This is dorky,” Vaccarello says, “but I still get that same feeling when I walk into any of our venues and see everyone singing the same words to the same song and you are a part of whatever that moment is.”