Bob Seger and Brad Paisley are among the artists to take center stage at the 2015 Billboard Touring Conference on Nov. 18 and 19. The annual gathering of talent buyers, promoters and live industry insiders, held at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, will shine a light on the two touring titans, the former receiving the Legend of Live honor and the latter sitting for a keynote Q&A conducted by Billboard‘s Ray Waddell.
Elsewhere on the schedule: A variety of sessions will bring together executives and veterans of the live-event industry. Among them: Jay Marciano, COO of Anschutz Entertainment Group and chairman of AEG Live, who will discuss the challenges and opportunities that the company sees at festivals and key tours (Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, The Rolling Stones); Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, who will speak about his 20 years at the helm of the longest-running traveling music festival and how it helped break such bands as No Doubt, Blink-182 and Sublime, in addition to his work in sustainable and green touring; and Live Nation executive vp/president of global talent and artist development David Zedeck will discuss his role overseeing the global touring initiatives for the world’s largest promoter, as well as his 25 years as an agent representing Justin Timberlake, One Direction, Selena Gomez and other artists.
The conference also will host a discussion with the team behind The Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well shows, which raked in $52.2 million from five dates, as well as a case study on newcomer band Echosmith.