Pollstar Live! Panel Preview: Social Responsibility And Live Music – Repping The Artist’s Values On The Road

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, returns to Los Angeles April 14-16 and will be held at Loews Hollywood Hotel. The three-day conference is a flagship event for Pollstar magazine with compelling keynotes, panels, roundtables and the Pollstar Awards, celebrating the best in the business, along with plenty of opportunities to network and engage in insightful discussions.

Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features panels on all topics related to staging live events, including lighting, video, stage management, sound technique, concert production, regulations, security and more.

Click these links for the Production Live! and the Pollstar Live! schedules. Register for Pollstar Live! here.

Moderator
Theresa Wolters, Executive Director, MusiCares

Speakers
Jason Cabello, Executive Director, Elsewhere
Hilary Gleason, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Backline
Dr. Chayim Newman, Clinical Psychologist, Co-Founder, Amber Health
Samata Pattinson, CEO, Black Pearl

With the visibility of social media and streaming, more and more artists are using their platforms to make a statement. It could be about something as encouraging as self-love or as pressing as climate change or as personal as sobriety.

Social issues are becoming a larger part of the concert-going experience, and Pollstar Live! will be gathering a group of experts to discuss social responsibility in the live space and the importance of having a team that aligns with the artist’s passions and values while on the road.

The panel will be moderated by Theresa Wolters, executive director of MusiCares, a nonprofit that provides a safety net of critical health and welfare services for those in the music industry. Wolters has worked all over the world to help vulnerable communities for over two decades before joining MusiCares.

She will be joined by Samata Pattinson, founder and CEO of BLACK PEARL, who aims to make sustainability more accessible. Her organization recently curated Sustainable Fashion Guides for Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour,” encouraging fans to explore each tour stop more consciously and creatively.

Dr. Chayim Newman, co-founder of Amber Health, will be able to provide his insight as a clinical psychologist. Through Amber Health, Newman and his team have supported high-profile tours and specialize in clinical care for artists, crew, and other industry members by focusing on various therapeutic modalities in the treatment of psychological and emotional issues.

Recent Pollstar Women of Live honoree Hilary Gleason, co-founder and executive director of Backline, will be part of the important conversation. Her nonprofit has invested over $4 million into the music industry community and created thousands of custom care plans for professionals. Earlier this year, Backline launched B-LINE, a mental health and crisis support line created exclusively for the music industry.

Rounding out the panel is Jason Cabello of Recovery Unplugged. He is the executive director of Elsewhere, a behavioral health program designed for touring professionals. As someone who overcame heroin addiction, Cabello aims to bridge the gap between the live industry and mental health support.