Live Nation Urban Releases ‘The Black Tour Directory’
Live Nation Urban has published The Black Tour Directory, a comprehensive industry resource developed to bolster inclusivity and expand opportunities for Black professionals and Black-owned companies…
Live Nation Urban has published The Black Tour Directory, a comprehensive industry resource developed to bolster inclusivity and expand opportunities for Black professionals and Black-owned companies in the world of live music.
This one-stop portal lists hundreds of qualified, experienced, and trusted Black tour managers, production managers, sound engineers, lighting experts, stage and set designers, stage managers, techs, travel agents, caterers, tour accountants, bus companies, security staff, and more. They may be found and contacted through the official site.
“When Jenifer Smith from Live Nation Concerts and NyAsia Burris from my team came to me with this idea, I thought it was genius and absolutely necessary,” explains Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee. “There are several amazing resource groups that exist like Roadies of Color, Diversify The Stage, Black Promoters Collective and many others, and we all have one common goal, to make sure once live entertainment returns at scale, there are more opportunities that exist for Black people, and all underrepresented groups of people, throughout the touring industry, particularly in technical and production positions.”
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Smith, who serves as Live Nation director of tour marketing. adds “I felt it was important to create accessibility to people of color that specialize in these fields in order to help diversify live events beyond the stage. As a Black woman working in the music and live events space for over 12 years, I understand the importance of representation within the industry. Using our platform as the leading promoter in the world, Live Nation has the ability to help change the narrative and to provide a powerful resource for the industry.”
The Black Tour Directory is designed to help festivals, producers, promoters, vendors, and venues “live up to an industrywide promise of inclusivity with a straightforward solution to diversifying the road once and for all,” Live Nation Urban officials explained in an announcement.
To celebrate the release of the list, Gee hosted a very special “Backstage with Crew Nation” roundtable interview with a high-profile panel of influential touring officials that can be seen below.
The panel includes Curtis Battles Production founder and chief executive Curtis Battles, Tina Farris Tours founder and chief executive Tina Farris, Founder and chief executive for the Global Event Production Network Victor Reed Sr. and Michael “Huggy” Carter, founder and chief executive of MCG Productions.
Backstage with Crew Nation is a video series launched by Live Nation in conjunction with the Crew Nation Fund to highlight voices in the live music community and spotlight relationships between touring artists and the backstage crews that help them make their concert dreams a reality.
Learn more at blacktourdirectory.com.
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