Live Music Industry News

No Doubt will reunite at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2026. The announcement arrives on the 30th anniversary of the influential group’s landmark 1995 album, Tragic Kingdom.

The Sphere engagement will mark No Doubt’s first extended run of shows in 14 years. The band — Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young — will perform at the technologically advanced venue May 6, 8, 9, 13, 15 and 16.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has released its individual State of Live reports, a series of statewide studies examining the economic contributions of independent venues across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The reports provide policymakers, community leaders, and NIVA members with localized data on the contributions and challenges of independent venues, festivals, and promoters,

The individualized state reports expanded on the groundbreaking State of Live study NIVA unveiled in June, which found that in 2024 alone, independent venues generated $153.1 million in total economic output. Moreover, they contributed $86.2 million directly to the U.S. GDP, supported over 907,000 jobs, and paid over $51.7 billion in wages and benefits.

Former X-ray Touring agent Jamie Wade has launched new independent live music agency Lola. Artists. The company will be based in London but will work across Europe and international markets. The live industry veteran brings more than 20 years of experience and has retained his personal roster, which includes Kate Nash, We Are Scientists, Connie Constance, Tennis, The Futureheads, Badly Drawn Boy and Binki. Wade says that Lola, which is dedicated to representing artists across live touring, bespoke events and unique shows, will introduce a new agency model

Ahead of the inaugural edition of Bengaluru-based rock music festival Bandland in December 2023, organiser BookMyShow’s chief of the live entertainment business, Owen Roncon, said that their “long-term plan” was to make it a nationwide series that would include “single-day ‘Arena’ concerts” to be held through the year. It’s taken almost two years to get off the ground, but last month, the company announced that it would soon be staging “tours, and stand-alone concerts, and a lot more” under the Bandland name.

Cyndi Lauper announced she’s heading to Las Vegas for a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, giving fans who missed her current Farewell Tour one last chance to see the music icon.

Cyndi Lauper: Live in Las Vegas kicks off at The Colosseum on April 24, 2026, and runs through May 2, 2026, as Lauper brings her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun show to the city for this special engagement.

Messina Touring has unveiled a new logo and is refreshing its brand to reflect the company’s forward-looking approach to live music and its unwavering commitment to artists.

The company was founded by legendary promoter Louis Messina, and has spent decades at the forefront of touring innovation, building record-setting tours for some of the world’s most celebrated performers, including George Strait, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Kenny Chesney, The Lumineers, Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Ty Myers, Old Dominion, Phoebe Bridgers and Zac Brown Band.

Oak View Group (OVG) announced the appointment of Amy Latimer as the company’s Chief Business Officer. Based in Boston, Latimer’s portfolio at OVG will include oversight of all aspects of OVG’s business as well as its partner offerings at venues around the world.

With an extensive career in venue management, Latimer most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Delaware North, where she oversaw a network of 200 global locations, from iconic sports and entertainment venues to national and state parks to destination resorts and gaming properties She also spearheaded major renovations and expansion

Hip-hop artist Rod Wave and Hit House Entertainment are facing a multi-million-dollar lawsuit from promoter Grizzly Touring, which alleges breach of contract over unfulfilled concert performances.

According to legal filings obtained by TMZ, Grizzly claims it paid more than $40 million to Rod Wave, including a $20 million upfront advance to help cover production expenses for a total of 35 shows.

However, Grizzly alleges that Rod Wave, whose legal name is Rodarius Marcell Green, performed only 26 shows, earning $29.9 million, and has failed to deliver an additional $27 million owed for advances.

Which night of Paul McCartney‘s 2025 tour was the official opening night — Friday, where he played an only recently announced gig at the Santa Barbara Bowl, or Monday, where he did what had long been announced as the first show, at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert? That may seem like a small and unimportant distinction to the non-Macca-heads among us. But for anyone planning to attend his road show coming up, or just following it vicariously, there were good reasons to be curious about the differences between the two shows. (Which is, of course, why we did the vigorous journalistic duty of attending both; see our review of Friday night’s Santa Barbara gig here.) It has to do with the geeky task of nailing down his setlist for the tour, yes, but more significantly, it has to do with nailing down his stamina.

When the globe’s hottest acts announce world tours, fans are both elated and daunted. 

Not only do they have to fight millions of other fans for a spot, but also millions of bots trying to scoop up as many tickets as possible to resell at inflated prices on the secondary market.

According to Queue-it, a provider of virtual waiting room services, popular onsale events can see bots outnumber genuine customers by as much as 20-1. Bots use their speed and volume advantages to disrupt the sale, flying through user journeys and giving bot mitigation software limited time and data to detect and block them.

Non-transferable tickets are marketed as a form of consumer protection—meant to tighten access, prevent scalping, and ensure tickets remain in the hands of fans. In reality, tech-savvy ticket brokers have already found sophisticated workarounds. One of the most widely used tools for bypassing this particular restriction is called SecureMyPass.

Because even music has turned into team sports, Turning Point USA has announced that it will be hosting its own Super Bowl halftime show in protest of the NFL’s official headliner, Bad Bunny.

The right-wing organization, which was founded by the late Charlie Kirk, posted about its “All American Halftime Show” on social media, writing, “Performers and event details coming soon.” The post links to a survey that allows people to select which music genres they would like to be featured at the big game, including “Anything in English,” “Americana” and “Worship.” (It also lists “Hip Hop,” despite Kirk once advocating for people to “stop listening to rap music and this degenerate hip-hop stuff.”)

Grassroots venues are the bedrock of the country’s music industry, giving artists a place to hone their craft, and punters a place to see them perform up-close – possibly before a bigger, starrier career. But since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed their doors – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

In this moment of crisis, a solution is on the table: a proposed £1 levy on tickets for all arena and stadium shows with more than 5,000 capacity could raise up to £25m annually for the grassroots venues facing closure. A poll of about 8,000 music fans found that 93% supported the initiative by the charity Music Venue Trust, and a spokesperson from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says it “fully supports” the rollout.

Brooklyn Bowl Nashville took home this year’s Club of the Year. Bridgestone Arena was named Arena of the Year. Andrew Fortin of Neste Live! Took Fair/Expo Buyer of the Year and AEG Presents’ Adam Weiser claimed Promoter of the Year. Neste Live! was named Special Events/Corporate Buyer of the Year.

The event also honored the induction of two new members, Alex Hodges and Chuck Morris, into the IEBA Hall of Fame.

We heard you! Starting Tuesday, accessing our platform is easier than ever. For the first time, we’ve eliminated the daily password for CelebrityAccess members.

No more daily emails. No more searching your inbox. Starting on Tuesday October 7th at 2 PM EST, simply log in once at https://members.celebrityaccess.com/login.php, and you’ll stay securely connected.

This upgrade means uninterrupted access to the industry’s leading database, analytics, and news — whenever and wherever you need it. Whether you’re searching for contact information, checking artist analytics, or staying informed with breaking updates, your connection is always on.

Lainey Wilson glowed like a bona fide superstar Thursday night (Oct. 2) when she headlined Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for a sold-out show that felt both larger-than-life and deeply personal.

Rising 15-year-old artist Maddox Batson opened the evening with an acoustic set that showcased his impressive confidence and natural charm, winning over fans young and old. He was followed by independent country duo Muscadine Bloodline, whose blend of tight harmonies and high-energy stage presence earned enthusiastic cheers. Their heartfelt connection to the crowd set the perfect tone for the main event.

A total of 21 live music agencies will be present at the UK’s first Grassroots Networking Day, scheduled for Oct. 14 at 229 London – an event jointly oranized by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP), and Music Venue Trust (MVT).

Grassroots Networking Day will bring together bookers and programmers from independent festivals and grassroots music venues, promoters and booking agents for a day dedicated to building new relationships and developing alliances to work more effectively together.

Apart from announcing that they were the ones finally bringing Calvin Harris and John Mayer to India in November and January respectively, this week, BookMyShow shared another piece of news that might have slipped under some people’s radar. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana’s Department of Tourism to “facilitate international-scale concerts and boost the concert economy in the state”.

The MoU was signed at the Telangana Tourism Conclave in Hyderabad, which was held on September 27, to mark World Tourism Day. Though the emphasis appears to be on tourism, the mandate is to enable both “national and international performances”, says BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani.

Music Venue Properties (MVP), a Charitable Community Benefit Society created by Music Venue Trust (MVT), has added three more grassroots venues to its ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign.

The Own Our Venues campaigns were launched to purchase and protect the freeholds of music venues. Music Venue Properties launched its second community share offering back in May, the next phase of its Own Our Venues scheme.

MVP has now welcomed Northern Guitars in Leeds, Sheffield’s Gut Level and Newcastle’s Little Buildings.

Lewis Capaldi, The Cure and Calvin Harris have been announced as headliners for next year’s Isle of Wight Festival.

The annual festival, which takes place 18-21 June, will also welcome the Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Wet Leg, The Last Dinner Party, Tom Grennan, The Kooks, Rick Astley and many more yet to be announced acts to the island.