Rod Wave’s ‘Redemption Experience:’ A Case Study For Major Independent Concerts

The Florida rapper and singer is taking his live business into his own hands — and may inspire others to do the same.

The stage lights have gone dark in Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena, and spectators are on their feet, applauding and screaming in anticipation of Rod Wave, the concert’s 27-year-old headlining act. A rising platform emerges from beneath the stage and the silhouette of a portly figure appears through a haze of smoke. It looks to be the fans’ hometown hero, whose sung tales of struggle and survival have helped him cultivate a devoted following.

More than 19,000 Wave fans are in the building this August evening for “The Redemption Experience,” a one-night-only sold-out show that doubles as a birthday celebration for Wave, who grew up less than 30 miles away, in St. Petersburg, Fla. These fans are on the brink of losing it as the show inches toward its climax. The man on stage comes into focus. He removes the white towel covering his face. Suddenly, the cheers turn into gasps and then laughter after the big reveal: It’s not the homegrown rap star at all — it’s comedian Druski, trotted out to momentarily deceive unsuspecting onlookers.

“I got all y’all asses!” said the funnyman, who also cameoed in Wave’s “Passport Junkie” music video last year. He cackles in delight at his successful fake-out, which only makes the room buzz louder, upping the anticipation for Wave’s eventual emergence minutes later.

The gag, which quickly went viral on social media, is just one meticulously planned detail of a large-scale experience that was notably put on without the backing of an entertainment giant like Live Nation or AEG. The concert ushered in Mainstay Touring, Wave’s recently announced venture, that puts him at the helm of producing his own shows.

Wave’s agent, Andrew Lieber of MAC Agency, insists the Aug. 29 show marks the beginning of a new career chapter — and a potential industry shakeup.

“That night was 100% invested in by Rod and self-promoted, which is very uncommon,” said Lieber, whose agency also represents NBA Youngboy and Kodak Black. “This is going to be a trendsetting moment… I think it’s going to disrupt the current landscape of touring.”

Lieber told Pollstar that Wave had full creative control over the show’s impressive production, which featured an LED stage illuminated with graphic effects and documentary-style interludes shown on a rectangular jumbotron display. Upon entry, audience members received light-up Crowdsync wristbands that synchronized with the music and venue lighting for an immersive impact.

Wave also recruited his unannounced opening acts: rapper Lil Poppa, singer Mariah the Scientist, and, yes, special guest Druski.

The result was a high-energy show that merged hip-hop adrenaline with karaoke sing-alongs. Throughout the night, fans recited nearly every word of Wave’s hit ballads like “Tombstone” and deep cuts like “Love Overdose.” Singer/songwriter Ruth B. joined for “Street Runner,” which samples her track “Mixed Signals.” Later, Sadie Jean took the stage to perform “2018,” the collaboration with Wave that garnered the singer and pianist her first Billboard Hot 100 appearance. The crowd’s decibels rarely dipped.

“I appreciate y’all for accepting me and supporting me from the very beginning,” Wave told the audience between songs as he walked the oblong 360-degree stage. “I came a long way, for real.”

Wave’s touring has also come a long way. Dating back to 2019, he has a total gross of nearly $100 million ($98.7 million) on 833,670 tickets sold with a $1.39 million average gross, according to Pollstar Boxoffice Reports. In the past year, he twice surpassed that average gross by more than $1 million, hitting a $2.56 million gross on 18,276 tickets at Washington, D.C.’s Capitol One Arena on Nov. 25, 2024 and a gross of $2.47 million on 17,048 tickets on Nov. 13, 2024 at Detroit’s Little Caesar Arena.

Wave’s managed by Hit House Management and his most recent album, Last Lap, dropped in October of 2024 via Alamo/Interscope.

Lieber says he recognizes Wave’s growth since he began working with the artist on his early concert tours in 2020, when he was performing in rooms with capacities in the hundreds. He was named the same year to XXL magazine’s Freshman Class, which celebrates hip-hop’s rising stars set to one day rule the genre.

As Wave’s career has continued to climb, he’s poured himself into touring. (“The further I get in this shit, the more I try to put into the show,” he tells the crowd.) But there have been bumps along the way. Wave reportedly spent more than $13 million on the lighting and production of 2024’s “The Last Lap Tour,” but in January of this year he cancelled the final 13 dates, citing dissatisfaction with production and a nagging leg injury as the causes.

“It’s not fair to me or to y’all to get a half-done show,” Wave wrote on his Instagram account, promising to step it up in subsequent performances. “Shit completely out of my control.”

“The Redemption Experience” marked a triumphant return as well as a reunion between Wave and Lieber, who is on board to propel his independent hustle via Mainstay Touring.

“I don’t know of anyone else taking the business into their own hands like that,” Lieber said, comparing Wave to his Gen-Z music peers. “Everyone looks at Rod as one of the most talented artists in music. Very soon, they’re also going to think of him as one of the most successful.”

Wave has said he intends to educate and empower other performers to take their touring business into their own hands. But that’s just the start; tour management and even a coach bus line are possibilities for Mainstay Touring, according to Lieber.

“He knows his worth,” Lieber said of Wave’s entrepreneurial acumen, “so he’s going to go out and build this shit on his own.”