Production Live! Panel Preview: Venue/Tour Relations – Beyond The Rider

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
Jake Berry, Co-Founder & Owner, Jake Berry Productions

Speakers
Scott Preston, Executive Director/GM of Arena Ops, MGM Grand Garden Arena
Erika Hansen, VP Commercial Entertainment, Omaha Performing Arts
Keller Taylor, Vice President, BOK Center
Michael Sciortino, General Manager, UBS Arena

Ask anyone in the live music business about the keys to growth and success in such a competitive business and it’s likely the word “relationships” will be mentioned.

And it’s a common denominator for a reason. It takes a village to put on live events, and they’re best executed when promoters, agents and venue personnel, agents, promoters and managers understand each other and the needs of each party.

How does one build, maintain and grow those relationships? It’s one of many questions that will be explored at Pollstar Live! during the “Venue/Tour Relations: Beyond The Rider” discussion featuring executives from some of the busiest buildings in the country.

The discussion will be moderated by Jake Berry, an award-winning production director who has worked tours for major acts like U2, Beyoncé, Metallica, The Rolling Stones and Shakira.

Scott Preston, executive director and general manager of arena operations at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, will be part of the conversation, bringing with him his experience working with teams from all over the globe and drawing major acts to Sin City.

Erika Hansen, vice president of commercial entertainment for Omaha Performing Arts, will also participate in the panel. She boasts two decades of experience in live entertainment and a forward-thinking perspective on venue and tour partnerships, prioritizing the alignment of venue objectives with the evolving needs of tours.

Seasoned Oak View Group executive Keller Taylor will be part of the conversation. The vice president of BOK Center and Arvest Convention Center in Tulsa has worked with over 10 venues and has experience opening a building, including the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in 2009.

Rounding out the panel is Michael Sciortino, general manager of UBS Arena, the home of the New York Islanders. He joined the venue in July 2020 and meticulously planned the November 2021 opening.

All participants on the panel collectively boast nearly a century of experience in the live industry, and their stories and insight on everything behind the scenes can serve as a valuable guide for anyone aspiring to jump into the business, whether that’s working on the venue side or helping bring productions to life.