Outback Presents Promotes David Lower To Booking Manager

David Lower has been promoted from longtime head of production at Outback Presents to Booking Manager. He has been with the company for the last 20 years, joining Mike Smardak after meeting him backstage at a Jeff Foxworthy show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, where Lower was working as the Director of Production.

“I immediately felt a connection to someone who was so kind and passionate about this business it was infectious, and I knew I had found the golden ring I had always been chasing,” Lower said in a statement. “I’ve never met a human being like him — ever. Mike saw something in me, and a couple of weeks later flew me to Nashville and offered me a job. Without hesitation, I accepted and began my tenure with Outback and never looked back. I knew it was where I was meant to be.”

Lower’s journey to the music industry started unlike many others, the Booking Manager born and raised on an Amish farm in a long line of dairy farmers. He heard the band Air Supply doing a soundcheck one day while tending to his family’s butter during a local fair, and from that moment on he was hooked. He left the Amish lifestyle behind, attending college and finding his way into show businesses.

While working with Smardak over the last two decades, Lower has studied relentlessly on how best to take care of all aspects of the live industry for both artists and fans.

“Mike set the bar high from day one with expectations of how to treat artists and the attention to detail it requires, and I strive every day for every show to clear that bar,” Lower said in a statement. “He is my mentor on every level in this business and I owe him more than I could ever express in words.”

After an opportunity to move from production and traveling to booking shows and spending more time in the office opened up, Lower decided to make the switch.

“Luckily, in my new position I get to utilize all the experience I gained over the last two decades producing events and hopefully making me more well-rounded when helping in the booking process, yet still be a resource to the next generation of Outback Production Managers to let them continue on the success Outback has had,” Lower said in a statement.”