There is always something going on in Aspen, Colorado and the Aspen nightlife is very active. You can find a wide variety of things to do – but if you want a little culture, you should definitely find out what events are planned at the Harris Concert Hall.

At the Harris Concert Hall, you will find everything from Piano Recitals to Rock-n-Roll Concerts. Events are planned well in advance, so you should be able to find out what concerts and events are scheduled to coincide with your Aspen vacation.

The Harris Concert Hall is located in the West end of Aspen, in a quaint residential neighborhood. Due to parking and traffic problems, you should strongly consider walking to the concert hall. It is a short ten minute walk from the downtown area. Other transportation options include biking or taking the bus. When there are events at the concert,it is very difficult to find parking.

The Aspen Music Festival and School were founded in 1949 by Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke from Chicago. Many music professionals train here and all of the school and festival performances take place in the Harris Concert Hall, which seats over 2000 people.

You should definitely try to visit Aspen during the Music Festival. This takes place over a nine week period in the summer, and there are usually more than 200 planned events. People from all over the world come to the Aspen Music Festival, so be sure that you make your plans and reservations early!

Another exciting event that takes place at the Harris Concert Hall is the Aspen Film Festival. This festival takes place three times each year. The Aspen Shortsfest is held in the Spring. The Aspen Filmfest is held during the Fall, and the Aspen Academy Screenings are held during the Winter. Again, people come from all over the world for these events, so make your plans early.

The Harris Concert Hall is full of history, even though the newest section of it wasn’t built until recently. This is a major part of Aspen’s history and culture, and you should try to attend at least one event at the Harris Concert Hall while you are in Aspen. Most events take place in the evening; however there are also events that take place during the day. You can check with your lodge or hotel to find out what events are planned at the Concert Hall each day. Also inquire about the need to purchase advance tickets for specific events.

Listening to Bon Jovi Songs brings back memories of a Bon Jovi concert that I attended but it wasn’t all good! To discover what happened read on..

Whenever I hear any Bon Jovi songs I am reminded of the time that I went to a Bon Jovi concert on Saturday 6th July 1996. The concert at the Milton Keynes Superbowl was towards the end of the mammoth These Days tour that started on 26th April 1995 at the Andheri Stadium Bombay, India and ended on 19th July 1996 at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

It took my boyfriend and myself over 3 hours to drive to Milton Keynes and we had to queue for 4 hours until 2pm to get into the Superbowl. It was one of those quirky English weather days, one minute the very hot sun was beating down on us and the next there was torrential freezing cold rain.

When we got into the arena we were able to get a spot at the front of the stage but as more fans arrived and blocked us in I became claustrophobic and worried that I wouldn’t be able to escape to the loo during the next 8 hours. I left Mark hugging the front of the stage and escaped to sit on a hillock where I got a pretty good view of the proceedings as the support bands Seven, Gun and Joan Osborne performed.

The most memorable being Joan Osbornes performance, she was great but the weather was still being quirky and it became pretty uncomfortable sitting on grass while soaked to the skin. I wandered round for a few hours and became more uncomfortable as a bloke took a fancy to me and started to harass me despite being told that I was with my boyfriend.

Seeing my discomfort a group of Bon Jovi fans told the bloke to leave me alone and asked me to join them. That was lucky for me in 2 ways, one that it got rid of my stalker and the other in that we were in a marvellous position to watch the show, close to the stage but to the right – away from the main crush of fans.

It was just before 7.00pm and I was feeling tired, very wet and shivering from the cold. I couldn’t have been wetter if I had stood in a pool fully clothed. As I tried to warm my by now numb blue hands I was miserably wishing that I hadn’t agreed to go to the concert.

A few minutes later a helicopter arrived and shortly afterwards I could see the band climbing up the steps to the stage. I did a double take at seeing Jon, he was dressed in a tight tan leather jumpsuit which gave the impression of him being naked from a distance.

The band started up and for 2 hours my discomfort was forgotten as Bon Jovi launched into a string of their hits including Always, It’s My Life, You Give Love A Bad Name, Someday I’ll Be A Saturday Night and my long time favourite Living On A Prayer.

Imagine a sea of over 60,000 fans joining in with the choruses, swaying, waving and punching the air together. It was a spectacular sight on and off stage as Bon Jovi rocked the Superbowl. I was enthralled with the bands performance and stirred by the music and the interaction from the crowd.

I felt disappointed when a fireworks display ended the magnificent performance 2 hours on, but afterwards Bon Jovi reappeared for an air punching encore to round off the show. I was still very wet and cold but warmed by a magnificent performance from the entire band. I absolutely recommend seeing Bon Jovi in concert and despite my discomfort I would go through it all over again – it was worth it.

I’ve been watching videos from the 2008 Lost Highway tour and think that Jon Bon Jovi has still got what it takes. Bon Jovi are a great band and 12 years on I am still a big fan of Bon Jovi songs and hope that I get a chance to see them in concert again, but perhaps an indoor concert!

P.S. As for my boyfriend I dumped him after the show. I don’t rate a guy that lets a woman he is supposed to care about wander off on their own for hours in a strange place and in a 60,000 plus crowd. He cared more about getting a place close to the stage than my safety. I probably ended up with a better view than he did and I was able to go to the loo when I wanted!

“I’m a New Jersey success story,
And they’ll say Lord give me the chance to shake ‘his’ hand,
They’ll say.”

From “Big Casino” by Jimmy Eat World.

When it comes to the world of rock music, not many artists personify a “New Jersey success story” the way that Bruce Springsteen does. Few other musicians can lay claim to the career that Springsteen has enjoyed: nearly 40 years in the business, fifteen original albums released, accounting for nearly 64 million records sold (including “Born in the USA,” one of the best-selling albums of all time), 18 Grammy awards, an Oscar, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and an enduring legacy as an icon of American working-class and socially conscious rock.

Starting off playing New Jersey clubs in the 1960s, Springsteen signed with Columbia Records in 1972. Frequently recording and touring with his backing E Street Band (some of the more well-known members have included Steve Van Zandt, Clarence Clemons and Max Weinberg), Springsteen became known as the premier representative of American blue collar rock. Classic singles like “Born To Run” and “Jungleland” firmly established his reputation, then the release of “Born In The U.S.A.” made Springsteen a certified superstar. The album’s cover of The Boss in faded blue jeans and white tee shirt with rolled up sleeves became an iconic image of the 80s. Subsequent releases couldn’t match the sales or popular success of “Born In The U.S.A.” and Springsteen settled into nearly a decade of writing less commercial music, exploring roots rock, Americana and folk leanings. One highlight of this period was a 1994 Oscar win for his song “Streets of Philadelphia,” which appeared on the soundtrack of the film “Philadelphia.”

Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. 2002’s “The Rising” brought back the E Street Band for the first time in nearly two decades and began a period of newfound commercial success for Springsteen that has continued with a series of successful releases and a highly anticipated concert tour with the E Street Band.

Springsteen’s discography includes dozens of re-mastered versions, re-releases, boxed sets, concert recordings and contributions to compilations, but the following list represents the core Bruce Springsteen catalog (including the E Street Band recordings):

1973: Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ.
1973: The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (includes the seven minute single “Rosalita”).
1975: Born To Run (reached no.3 on Billboard Top 200, named by Rolling Stone Magazine as no.18 on its Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list).
1978: Darkness On The Edge Of Town (reached no. 5 on Billboard U.S. pop charts).
1980: The River (reached no.1 on Billboard U.S. pop charts, included “Hungry Heart,” Springsteen’s first Top 10 pop single).
1981: East Side Story.
1982: Nebraska (reached no.2 on Billboard U.S. pop charts).
1984: Born In The U.S.A. (reached no.1 on Billboard Top 200, featured 7 Top 10 singles including “Dancing In the Dark” and has sold an estimated 24 million copies).
1987: Tunnel Of Love (included the top 10 singles “Brilliant Disguise” and “Tunnel of Love”).
1992: Human Touch.
1992: Lucky Town.
1995: The Ghost Of Tom Joad.
2002: The Rising (reached no.1 on Billboard Top 200 and won Best Rock Album Grammy award for 2003).
2005: Devils & Dust (reached no.1 on Billboard Top 200 and won Best Solo Rock Vocal Grammy award).
2006: We Shall Overcome – The Seeger Sessions.
2007: Magic (reached no.1 on Billboard Top 200 and won multiple Grammy awards).

Anyone who had doubts about Springsteen’s longevity and relevance in today’s rock music environment can cast them aside now. Springsteen released “Magic” to critical acclaim (including a rare, perfect five star review from Rolling Stone Magazine) in 2007, and received Grammy awards for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. Springsteen also picked up another Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental performance for his contribution to the “We All Love Ennio Morricone” compilation.

Pollstar’s 2007 concert revenue figures place Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band reunion tour firmly in the top twenty acts for that year, with revenues of just under $50 million USD. That tour, supporting his latest CD “Magic,” will continue into 2008 with dates throughout Europe and North America.

Have you ever been to a concert and been wowed by the impressive displays of lighting that seem to enhance the mood of the music being played? Indoor and outdoor concert lighting both make use of subtleties in order to highlight the band playing without being too overwhelming.

If you are looking for something new to do with your landscaping, then try to apply concert lighting outdoors in order to illuminate parts of your yard.

Light from the Back

While lighting in traditional theater usually comes from the front, with big floodlights and spotlights providing illumination to see the action, your outdoor concert lighting should come more from behind what you’re trying to illuminate. Concert lighting is more to establish mood and identity than eliminate, and by putting your lighting in the rear and illuminating from behind, you will create more interesting plays of light and shadow.

Decide Who Your Star Is

Just as most bands have a leader in their group; your outdoor concert lighting ensemble should have someone who takes center stage, so to speak. Decide what that centerpiece is going to be, whether it’s a decorative fountain, your prize rosebush, or a clump of well-tended flowers. Among all the parts of the landscape you’re trying to illuminate, this centerpiece alone should be the only one to have any lighting come from the front, your one exception to the rule of lighting from the back.

Use Color

If you think about businesses and gardens with stunning landscaping or outdoor lighting, you’ll realize that the sort of display made was probably not just of light, but of color as well. Your outdoor lighting, like in concert lighting, should involve a little color. This is a lot easier to accomplish these days since outdoor lighting is available with LED displays, which can easily and cheaply provide color to what you’re trying to illuminate.

Use Variety and Simplicity

For a varied and stunning display, use different and complementary colors for your back lights than for what you use to illuminate the centerpiece of your display. As mentioned already, your outdoor concert lighting should set the mood as well as illuminate. As such, don’t fall into the trap of providing too much.

Again, part of the reason to use color and backlighting is to set mood. If you illuminate too much, you create glare, which will make your display too bright to look at when it’s dark out, which is what you’re trying to avoid. By following these basic steps, you will have a great outdoor concert lighting display to highlight some of your best landscaping.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year you know who Hannah Montana is. Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney channel series hit, “Hannah Montana”. Miley, is the daughter of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and she plays a high school student, Miley Stewart, who lives a secret double life as a famous pop star, Hannah Montana. The show is very popular, as a matter of fact, it reaches five million viewers a week.
You also know that people are going to great lengths to get her concert tickets. How great you might ask. Let me tell you.

Let’s start with this little tidbit I read about. On January 3rd, country station Y-108 held a contest of a different sort. First it was held in a mall. It was designed for dads of little girls. These dads were required to wear a blond Hannah wig, a black dress and 2-inch heels while running through the mall doing some wild things. All this to win tickets to a Hannah Montana concert!

And let’s not forget the infamous essay contest that was held. According to sources a mother/daughter duo entered the writing contest in hopes of winning the concert tickets. The essay stated that the little girl’s father died in Iraq in a roadside bombing. It was later learned that the little girl’s father did not die in Iraq, in fact he’s not a soldier. The mother stated that she and her six-year-old daughter wanted to see Hannah Montana in concert and the essay was what they did to try to win the tickets. Officials announced that that mother/daughter duo would not be receiving the grand prize.

What would prompt such behavior in grown men and women you might ask. Let me give you some background. Tickets for Hannah’s concerts have been known to sell out in as little as four minutes. That is not a misprint or a typo, four minutes. Scalpers across the nation have had a field day with this. They are getting four to five times the face value of the tickets. According to one source, a single ticket for the show in Charlotte, N.C., sold for $2,565. The original cost of the tickets…between $26 and $66.

Times have changed and technology has advanced and so we are seeing changes in the way scalpers operate. They no longer hold up tickets outside the arena. Those days are gone. Now you’ll find them behind a computer screen selling tickets online. Most states do not have restrictions on reselling tickets.

It’s been suggested ticket prices (through scalpers) may lessen as the concert date gets closer. However, scalpers will continue to be an issue as Hannah Montana concert tickets are so difficult to get and many people are willing to pay those outrageous prices to have the opportunity to attend her concert.

You may be wondering how to protect yourself from getting gauged when purchasing your concert tickets. Try to buy a ticket as quickly as possible. Though it’s not likely you will get one in the first four minutes that they go on sale, be at your phone ready to place your order. If you miss out on that, check listings on ebay and craigslist. Perhaps someone has a ticket that they cannot use for some reason. And finally, wait until close to the date of the concert and buy your ticket as cheaply as possible.

“I just gave a great concert. I thought I was on top of the world and yet, here I am, three days later, feeling sad and apathetic. Do I need a psychiatrist? Am I a freak?”

Of course you’re not. Let down feelings after a concert performance (even a successful one) are completely normal. How you deal with these feelings determine your level of emotional awareness and professionalism. Here’s how not to deal with let-down feelings from an isolated concert event that you have given:

“I worked so hard for my concert. What do I do now? I’m too lazy to start learning new stuff.”

The above quote deals with a professional’s worst enemy… laziness. Remember that you are not in a position to be lazy in your given profession. There’s too much out there to learn.

“Maybe I need a long vacation. I guess my inner child is crying out to me saying: ‘Stop pushing so hard.’ Poor, tired me… poor, poor tired me!”

If you are a professional that has just completed a huge tour, then you are probably in need of some babying and/or a vacation. However, a couple of concerts shouldn’t really exhaust you to the point of feeling that an all inclusive Hawaii vacation is your only resort for physical and mental recovery.

“I did make some mistakes in my concert, even though I played well. I wish I didn’t. I hate it when I’m not perfect. Perhaps that’s why I’m so sad”.

We are not machines. The word ‘perfect’ should be taken with a grain of salt. Trying your best is far healthier than seeking perfection. Worrying obsessively about mistakes of the past, or potential future difficulties, leads to a road of misery and non-productivity.

So how does a performer combat these negative feelings that occasionally surface in a post-concert situation? Here are some suggestions:

1. Immediately start a new project after a major event. True, you should enjoy the high of a post-concert event. Go for dinner or celebrate a good performance with family or friends. However, as soon as the high feeling is over, get to work.

2. Do not feel like you have worked harder than other concert pianists in preparing for a concert. Everyone is in the same boat. Occasionally, you will find performers who can learn and prepare for concerts quicker than you can. Big deal! Most of us have to work hard. It’s normal.

3. Do not over-worry about what went wrong. It’s silly to obsess about mistakes that are over and done with. Think of concerts as learning experiences. Apply those experiences to your next project. Whatever went wrong will be improved upon in your next concert.

4. When getting back to work, try remembering the basics such as goal setting, seeing small improvements as a source of inspiration, and collecting as much inner patience as possible in coping with the long process of learning new pieces.

No matter how well you play your instrument or how experienced you are on the concert circuit, you’re not totally immune to feelings of let-down. After all, it takes months and months to prepare a proper concert program. Then, in a blink of an eye, the whole event is over. This often leaves performers thinking: “That’s it… all that practice and that’s it?”

The trick is to catch yourself becoming emotionally stagnant or depressed and reversing your situation through some of the steps outlined in this article. Education and self-motivation are truly wonderful qualities in successful stage performers.

Casting Crowns Concert Tickets – 5 Tips to Get Christian Concert Tickets Without Standing in Line-Got to have those Casting Crowns Concert Tickets, but aren’t into camping out all night in a line of desperate fans on the same quest? Good news, you don’t have to! You can have those tickets at competitive prices without ever leaving home or standing in a single line. Read on for 5 hot tips to get the tickets you want, (even for Sold Out artists like Casting Crowns, Third Day, Steve Curtis Chapman) at the best prices without all the hassle.

Where to Buy?

1. Secondary Event Ticket Sellers – The ultimate source for hot demand concert tickets are secondary event ticket seller’s online sites. Bottomline – someone bought tickets they now need to sell. Their loss can be your HUGE GAIN. They sell them via a secondary Event Ticket Seller’s online website.

While there are gads of seller sites cropping up – beware to pick your ticket seller site carefully.

**From my 5 favorites (see link below) you can expect:

- Huge selection (one site alone carries over 1 million tickets in inventory to events worldwide)

- Authentic ticket guarantees

- Consistent pricing structure (the playing field is the same for all ticket sales on their site, unlike eBay where the multitude of sellers call the shots)

- Competitive pricing (comparison shop and see for yourself)

- Multiple payment options

- Reliable delivery guarantees – Even though you are buying tickets that are being resold, you have the comfort of knowing that the sale is managed by a reputable company.

2. Ticket Sales Site Wishlist – Some of the Secondary Event Ticket seller sites have an Alert List or wishlist of sorts. Enter your info there and you’ll be alerted ASAP if what you’re looking for comes available. Think of it as a free lookout service.

3. Fan Sites – Sites dedicated to fans of a particular artist, sport, entertainment event often offer a forum (electronic bulletin board) where fans can post. If another fan has tickets they can’t use, they use this avenue to try to sell them. Keep in mind you’ll be dealing directly with the seller.

4. Pre-sales – Internet searches will give you info on pre-sales and the passwords required to take advantage of the discounted prices they offer. Keep in mind the cost of the passwords adds to the overall cost of your tickets. Some pre-sale passwords can be acquired for free, others have stipulations that prohibit you from being privy to the pre-sale even *with* the password. Always check out the details before paying for a pre-sale password.

5. Youth Pastors – If the event is one that high school or college age Christian youth would be drawn to – check with local youth pastors. They often buy tickets in bulk to concerts or sports events at group discount prices to make available to their students for a group outing. It’s not uncommon for them to have extras that they simply want to get their money back on and will try to sell at the event door for face value. If you contact them beforehand, you’ll have 1st shot at them and scoop them up for sweet prices.

Online Concert Ticket Supplier Reviews – Survey of Sources for Buying Concert Tickets Online-Have you ever seen a performer, singer, musician, or favorite sports event on TV and you just really enjoyed it? Heard an artist on the radio, and you were wanting to hear more? I was that way when I first heard Jennifer Nettles the band Sugarland. Jennifer’s powerful voice and the vibe of the music and band just clicked with me.

It seems that everyone has a favorite singer, musician, sports team, or performer that they really enjoy. When the time comes that you want to see an event where they are playing or performing live, where do you go to get tickets? Well, these days, it’s so easy to get things online, that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to travel to a box office far from your home, to try and get tickets for an event. It’s much, much easier to turn on a computer, get on the internet, and find ticket suppliers that carry tickets for the event you want to attend. It could be cheaper too, with the price of gas these days!

Of course as with so many other things online, there are many scam artists out there, and plenty of online ticket dealers that may not be exactly what they seem. It’s important to know the ones to deal with, and the ones to avoid.

I am an avid concert goer, and have seen many, many live concerts over the years. I’ve even performed myself as a singer and musician in many concerts. It would pain me to know that some unscrupulous ticket dealer cheated people trying to buy tickets to a concert of mine. Consequently, I have done the research over the years, and found what I consider to be the Top 3 online ticket sources.

What you are looking for when considering purchasing concert or event tickets online is really what I call the “Big 5 Reasons to Use a Particular Online Concert or Ticket Event Supplier.”

1. Security – Their website has a secure ordering process (No ID theft worries.)
2. Pricing – Their prices are competitive and the service offers a good value.
3. Selection – They have a large selection of tickets for all sorts of events with great seats.
4. Reliability – They have a track record showing great customer service. You can trust them.
5. Navigation – Their website is easily accessible, easy to use, and the ordering process is intuitive.

In my opinion, there are three website sources for concert and event tickets in particular that go above and beyond the call. These sources are TicketsNow, PurchaseTix, and RazorGator. I have assembled even more info while searching for Sugarland concert tickets, that applies to anyone searching for online tickets to any concert or major event.

Concert Secrets Revealed – Stop Waiting in Line For Your Concert Tickets-
Pssst, wanna buy some tickets? Are you tired of missing out on tickets for your favorite band? If you’re like most fans, you’ve been forced to purchase high-priced tickets on eBay or from online ticket brokers because the concert you wanted to see sold out before you could get tickets.

Take heart! That’s all about to change. I’m going to let you in on some information that can literally take you to the front of the line the next time you want to buy concert tickets!

But before I do, I need to make sure we are alone.

Why all the secrecy you ask?

It’s simple. I’m about to divulge the very same information that the ticket sellers on eBay use to buy their concert and sports tickets for face value all over the country. I’m about to tell you little-known information that will take you from customer to competitor. In short, I would be in serious trouble if they found out I was practically giving away the store.

Think about it this way. If you had a hidden gravy train that let you purchase tickets for as little as $35 each and then sell them later for 200-300% profit, wouldn’t you be pretty ticked off if someone told the whole world about it?

And how do I know about this valuable information?

Easy, I’ve been using it to buy and sell concert and sports tickets for everything from WWE wrestling shows to Kenny Chesney to Beck to U2. This proven information has been refined and developed over the years to make people a lot of money. I know it can do the same thing for you, too.

While this may all sound like typical marketing hype, I can assure you it is absolutely true. Concert promoters, radio stations, fan clubs, booster clubs, and other groups sponsor ticket presales or special promotions for their members. These sales typically occur online a few days or weeks before the tickets go on sale to the general public.

These special advance ticket sales are offered as either an incentive to join in the case of a fan club or radio station mailing list, or as a perk for a loyal group of fans like season ticket holders of an NFL team.

Passwords may be distributed by the venue, artist, team, fan club, promoter, radio station, etc. Whoever is sponsoring the presale will handle the distribution of it. During the presale, a portion of tickets is made available to this select group of people so they may purchase tickets before everyone else has a chance. As you can see, this gives them a huge advantage over the general public. Obviously, the group sponsoring the presale only wants members of the intended group to purchase tickets during the presale. So in an effort to limit the presale, these special sales are, in essence, password protected.

In the past, virtually all presale passwords were a simple word, and anyone who knew this word could purchase tickets. These were considered generic passwords.Recently, in an effort to further limit who could use presale passwords, some groups have begin to utilize unique passwords. A unique password, as the name implies, is specific to each buyer, and may not be used for multiple purchases. Once the password has been used to purchase tickets, it’s no longer valid. Unique passwords are used often by sports teams for season-ticket holder presales or by fan clubs of the more popular musical groups and artists. Due to the additional requirements necessary for unique ticket presales, most of the passwords you find on the Internet are generic passwords, but you need to be aware of the type of password you receive.

Generic passwords are very often used during radio station presales or presales sponsored by concert promoters or venues. Traditionally most passwords have been generic, but more and more artists are employing unique passwords to thwart ticket scalping. Keep this in mind on your quest for a password. I would hate for you to think the password you scored for your favorite band was generic when in fact it was unique.Here are a few things to keep in mind.

* Presales are usually sold from a specified block of seats or a certain price level.
* An event may have more than one presale with its own password selling tickets from the same or different ticket pools.
* The tickets available during the presale won’t necessarily be the same sections that will be available during the general sale to the public.
* Presales provide the advantage of exclusive purchasing links which often results in less people competing for the pool of available seats.
* Presales may have limited seating available in various areas. Since presales are intended as advance purchasing opportunities, they don’t always provide access to better seats. In fact, it is possible that better tickets may be available when the tickets go on sale to the general public, but there will also be more competition for those tickets.
* Presales often have stringent purchase limits that restrict purchasers to 4 or fewer tickets each.
* Presales may be restricted to “will call” only.
* Presales may require you to purchase with a certain credit card or other form of payment, ex American Express.
* A presale may require an additional fee to join the bands fan club.

Hopefully I’ve shown you the value of presale passwords and how they can help you score tickets to your favorite band. With this information, and a little time and effort you, like me, can skip to the head of the line the next time you want to buy concert tickets.

Stay tuned for part two of this guide to learn more specific ideas for finding and using presale passwords. Until then, I’ll be seeing you on the “inside!”

Concert Promoter Learn a Rock Music Career – Spotlight on Concert Promotions-Concert promoters can easily be thought of as major event planners. Every detail of the concert has to go off without a hitch and that responsibility lies solely with the promoter. Concert promotion is a demanding career that requires serious attention to detail. In order to be an effective and successful concert promoter, a high level of organization is necessary. Losing track of important contact names, dates, telephone numbers or venue information could prove disastrous.

The world of concert promotions is full of contracts, legal agreements, insurance policies and riders. In order to make the best business decisions, a concert promoter has to have a working knowledge of all of these legal documents. Not understanding parts of a contract or rider can lead to confusion and difficulties down the road.

Concert promoters can make a huge amount of money, and then, they can lose money as well. Most people don’t realize that quite often, concert promoters actually use their own money to fund a concert event. All of the event expenses are his or her responsibility up front. Once the tickets have been sold, the band gets their cut and the bills get paid. It’s only then that the promoter gets what’s left. For this reason, it’s of the utmost importance to get as many paying customers in the door as possible.

Some of the major costs involved with concert promotion are the venue rental and event insurance. The promoter contacts the venue and works out a cost for the duration of the event. Some venues will require up-front payment while others may require a down payment with the remainder due at the end of the concert. Insurance is absolutely necessary and helps to protect the venue owners, concert promoter and band from possible litigation.

In addition, the concert promoter bears the cost of all advertising promotions and other marketing costs. Promoters these days have a variety of choices for marketing. They can use the internet, radio, TV and even flyers to get the word out about their event. Marketing, when done properly, usually takes up a fairly substantial portion of the concert promoters budget.

A successful concert promoter understands how to advertise to get the most people to buy tickets for the show. They’ve got to have a good sense of the band that they’re promoting as well as their fans. Whether a concert attracts a huge audience or a small one depends on how well the event was promoted, plain and simple. Concert promoters really have one objective; to make sure that enough tickets sell to make a profit. Ideally, all the tickets will sell for every night or day the event will run, but that’s not guaranteed.

The location, size and even layout of a venue has to be taken into consideration by the concert promoter. In order to put on a great rock concert, everything has to be just right. Everything must be considered, from band dressing rooms to the house sound system and lighting. Pleasing the band is only part of the story though. The audience has to be taken care of as well, both inside and outside the venue. Things like security, parking and even restroom facilities all fall under the concert promoters watchful eye.

At some concerts, the concert promoter will have to pitch in and help in other ways. Concert promoters are usually responsible for making sure things are ready for the band. This might include setting up the stage, doing sound-checks and lighting adjustments. Quite often it also means they’ll have to decorate the venue to suit the concert.

At smaller events, the concert promoter is often responsible for collecting tickets or working the merchandise table. At certain types of events, they may even have the task of checking ID’s at the door the day of the event. Promoters are often also responsible for helping to break down the stage used by the band. Clean-up after the concert may also be the promoters job, depending on the negotiated contract.

Being a concert promoter can be exciting, rewarding and risky, but it’s worth it. Concert promoters have great jobs because they work directly with the musicians. Besides that and the fact that the income can be excellent, remember, they’ve got some of the best seats in the house at every show.