Not So Little — And Rocking Out! In Arkansas (VenuesNow Market Focus)

Music is big business in Little Rock.

The live music scene in Arkansas’ capital is rooted in Southern musical traditions while embracing a diverse range of contemporary genres, including indie rock, alternative, hip-hop and EDM. Without a major professional sports franchise, Little Rock has developed a loyal local and state music following and national reputation.

This article is part of the monthly VenuesNow Market Focus article that appeared in the June issue of Pollstar, which includes additional charts and information. It can be purchased here.

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Geographically positioned for audience attendance and tour routing success, Little Rock is in the central part of the state with a Nielsen Designated Market Area comprising 587,660 homes and is No. 61 on Pollstar’s U.S. concert market rankings.

In 2024, reported live revenue in the market totaled $24,931,218 off 344,832 tickets sold, according Pollstar Boxoffice.

Little Rock and North Little Rock are two distinct cities, separated by the Arkansas River but connected by seven bridges. Located south of the Ouachita Mountains and near the Mississippi Delta, Little Rock is about 140 miles from Memphis, around 320 miles from Dallas and roughly 340 miles from New Orleans.
It is the largest city in Arkansas, making it a key political, economic and cultural center in the state.

The venues run the gamut from gritty indie dive bar White Water Tavern to midsize modern music room, The Hall, which hosted the largest club show of 2024 with Treaty Oak Revival, on Feb. 15. According to Pollstar, the show had a $32,000 gross and moved 1,400 tickets, with an average ticket price of $22.86.
The city’s 2,222-cap. Robinson Center hosts the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Broadway series. The biggest show of 2024 was “Harry Potter in Concert” presented by Innovation Arts and Entertainment, with a two-night haul of $290,343 from 4,005 tickets sold and an average price of $72.50.

Situated on seven acres along the Arkansas River, the 8,375-cap First Security Amphitheater hosts events and festivals throughout the year. The largest concert it hosted last year was one promoted by AEG presents featuring Koe Wetzel on Sept. 28. The successful show grossed $330,200 off 7,210 tickets sold and an average ticket price of $47.05.

In a market that punches above its class, Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock is the undisputed heavyweight champ.

The arena is owned and operated by the Pulaski County Multi-Purpose Civic Center Facilities Board. Since its opening in 1999, the venue has undergone several name changes, including Alltel Arena (1999–2009), Verizon Arena (2009–2019) and now Simmons Bank Arena, following a naming rights agreement in 2019 with Arkansas-based Simmons Bank.

From its inception, the arena was funded by a combination of local, state and private monies. It is considered the crown jewel in the development of Little Rock’s River Market and its expansion of the Little Rock Convention Center. The Arkansas State Capitol presides over the district, which includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the North Little Rock Main Street Restaurant Row and the Arts District.

Simmons Bank Arena has a seating capacity of up to 18,000 with 29 suites and 28,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, providing the flexibility to host a range of events, including concerts, sports, trade shows and conventions with a curtain system that makes it easy to scale up or down as needed.
In 2024, the largest arena concert was Zach Bryan, promoted by AEG Presents, which grossed $6.1 million over two shows in May and sold 33,344 tickets, averaging $182.96 per ticket. The biggest family show at the arena was Feld Entertainment’s “Disney On Ice: Find Your Hero” with six shows in April that grossed $614,077 and moved 18,859 tickets. The family event had an average ticket price of $32.56, according to Pollstar Boxoffice.

Venue vet Michael Marion has been general manager of the facility since its opening. A 49-year veteran in the industry, Marion was recently named the recipient of the 2025 Charles A. McElravy Award by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). The award is one of the highest honors in the venue management and is presented to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication and service to IAVM and the profession.
Marion was an agent for Triad Artists in Los Angeles, representing legendary performers such as Tina Turner, Steve Winwood and Whitney Houston from Virginia to Texas when he first recognized the need for a world-class arena in North Little Rock. The go-to venue in the ‘80s was Barton Coliseum at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, which was built in 1952.

“It was the concert venue for the state in a lot of ways,” explained Marion. “But Barton had seen better days. There were some shows I know as an agent that skipped the market because Barton was only about 9,000 seats.”

Marion left Triad in 1992 to become director of the Tupelo Coliseum (now Cadence Bank Arena) until 1997, when he moved to Little Rock and was named general manager of the arena, which was then under construction.

“I knew there was pent-up demand,” said Marion. “Since we opened, our max capacity is around 18,000, and we’ve been able to attract really big shows. And that’s the change that people have seen is that whether it’s Harry Styles or George Strait, who has been here five times, or four times with the Eagles, we are able to attract a lot of the bigger shows. We made ourselves a solid secondary market. I like to tell people, ‘We pretend we are bigger than we are.’”

Simmons Bank Arena has attracted major acts due to its strong marketing and welcoming environment. Despite being a secondary market, it has successfully hosted significant shows and maintained the facility by investing in capital improvements, such as premium spaces prime for upsale, including the Legends Lounge and the Vibe Room.

The executive team shares the same longevity as Marion, with Director of Marketing Jana DeGeorge (25 years), Director of Finance Jared Lillard (20 years) and Director of Event Services Joe DeGeorge (25 years), providing continuity of service.

Over the years, the arena has served as the home venue for several sports teams, including the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans (NCAA) from 1999 to 2005, the Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL) from 1999 to 2003, the Arkansas Twisters (af2) from 2000 to 2009 and the Arkansas RimRockers (NBA D-League) from 2004 to 2007.

The arena has also hosted significant sporting events such as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2003, 2006 and 2009, the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2000 and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s first and second rounds in 2008. But there are no immediate plans to host a full-time sports tenant at the arena.

“There’s already a professional sports team in Arkansas,” joked Marion. “They’re called the Razorbacks.”

The venue’s primary focus is being a destination for major concerts and entertainment events with noteworthy performances including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” farewell tour and the Eagles’ “Hotel California” tour.

“Number one, it’s all about the money,” Marion said. “We sell tickets here, and we are very fortunate that Jana does a great job with marketing. We are the biggest arena in the state that does shows like this. When we have a weekend show, we are covering the whole state in terms of sales. …You can be charming all day long, but if you’re not selling tickets, it doesn’t matter.”

Other notable venues in the state include the 10,000-capacity First National Bank Arena at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, the Walmart Amphitheater in Rogers (11,000) and the 4,000-cap outdoor venue, The Momentary, in Bentonville.

Selling tickets matters, but Simmons Bank Arena also prioritizes hospitality.

“We are very welcoming to the artists,” said Marion. “I like to tell people we are the building of ‘Yes.’ We want to make things work for people. Our first answer is never ‘No.’ It’s, ‘Let me see what we can do to figure it out.’ They trust me, and they trust the staff to take care of them.”