NASHVILLE 2023 SPECIAL: TOURING ON THE MOVE

Brian O’Connell is standing on a beach somewhere in Virginia. The head of country touring for Live Nation, who pioneered the notion of the Megaticket for the genre in the early 2000s, is beginning site setup for the inaugural BEACH IT! festival―headlined by Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan―in Virginia Beach.

Laughing, the man who’s about to jump a plane to Chicago for Morgan Wallen at Fenway Park is clearly in his element.

Stacy Vee, Goldenvoice’s VP of festival talent and the woman who creates Stagecoach’s singular awesomeness, is en route to New York for Coachella booking meetings. “Every festival has a rhythm, and you’re always in it,” she says. “I already have sketches for Stagecoach 2025 and 2026.”

AEG’s SVP of Global Touring and Talent Adam Weiser won’t be in Boston for Kane Brown’s historic Fenway Park headlining date because he’ll be in Queens covering the kickoff of Zach Bryan’s two-night stand at Forest Hills Stadium. His partner in crime, SVP of Global Touring Rich Schaefer, will be in Boston as Brown becomes the first Black artist to singlehandedly headline the home of the Red Sox, a trail blazed by JAY-Z, who co-headlined there with Justin Timberlake in 2013.

“Success to these artists isn’t selling out a stadium; it’s not so many #1s,” Weiser says, back from kicking off the third sold-out leg of Kelsea Ballerini’s tour. “It’s playing the right venues at the right moment―creating something that builds. One doesn’t have to be for the traditional country music community; every artist, every collaboration doesn’t have to be for everybody.

“But what we’re seeing is the genre―or the genres across country―all know how to speak to their audience. For some, Country radio isn’t a format for them, but they’re able to reach a wider audience through social media and streaming. Zach is certainly the best example of that.

“Or someone who’s a fan of [’90s stars] Rodney Atkins and Joe Nichols may never even have heard of Kane, who’s on the radio, because the genre’s so big.”

Not too long ago, amphitheater tours replaced fair dates for country stars, outside but far more dignified. The rare hard-ticket arena acts―think Eric Church or Carrie Underwood―toured indoors.

Kenny Chesney truly made country stadium-sized, consistently doing 16, 18, 20+ stadiums as part of his almost yearly summer tours. The eight-time Entertainer of the Year proved there’s an audience beyond “country-identifying” fans starting in the late 2000s.

Since touring thawed after the pandemic lockdown, country has enjoyed unprecedented growth.

O’Connell, who promoted several major 20th century tours and festivals, says, “Business is robust. At arenas and amphitheaters, you’re seeing a new generation―of fans and of new acts who are coming into their own. You’ve got Eric Church doing an arena tour; Kenny Chesney doing an indoor run, and he hasn’t done that in forever. Established acts are being more creative and doing things that are fun; you’re seeing people teaming up together and going out with their friends.

“Even with stadium shows, the sense of community and the idea of the experience―for the fan as well as the artist―is everything. Plus, in the case of the really successful acts, it’s the songs. Take everything away, the songs stay with people.”

Weiser agrees that the organic nature of creative pairings outstrips marketing for marketing’s sake. “You see a very unnatural reaction where the headliners and the support aren’t actual friends. That chemistry makes a real difference, and it speaks culturally to what people are responding to. Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson: Every night, she says, ‘Nine years ago, Luke was writing songs with me in my trailer.’ People can feel that.

“Colter Wall, Sturgill Simpson, Zach Bryan, Koe Wetzel, Turn-pike Troubadours too. All Oklahoma, Texas, the Southwest, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, even Kentucky. They didn’t grow up in the format, and they don’t write to be successful on the radio, but they have a rabid fan-base that exists beyond the mainstream. And they’re successful.

“I put Koe in the same bucket as Jelly Roll; they know how to speak to their audience, how to make them feel something. And it’s not the same fan who goes to a Kane show who goes to a Zach show. The Cadillac Three, Pecos & The Rooftops, Dylan Wheeler, they’re all part of Koe’s world; they speak to that fan base and are relatable. That’s the biggest thing of all.”

Relatability for Vee is also regional. Recognizing California’s rich country―and cowpunk―history inspired her to harness the fire of X, The Blasters, John Doe, Mike Ness and other smaller acts, as well as Dwight Yoakam, Nikki Lane and Ian Munsick.

“Our roots are in punk, and I want to capture that spirit,” Vee explains. “The [Stagecoach’s] Palomino Stage is about that history. But I do a late night there with different artists you don’t expect. Nelly was this year, and it was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had.

“We partner with Diplo for a honky-tonk. He brings in very indie, electronic acts, which sounds like it wouldn’t work, but it’s slayed every time. California has that wide-open thing, and I want Stagecoach to reflect that. Even Zach Bryan; we booked him in ’21 for ’22―because he felt like a California thing.”

Stagecoach and what Vee
has built in the desert speak―hopefully―to the narrowing of the gaps between the more Americana, even hardcore and outlaw country artists who eschew mainstream radio and the massive, stadium-sized artists like Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, who’ve both enjoyed enormous streaming success with Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up” and Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” respectively.

“I have five or six people in my head,” Vee explains. “Men and women who live in different parts of the country, different ages, some younger fans. I want to make sure I have enough for this person and that person, but really, I want things for all the country-curious. I want to book things for people who say they don’t really like country music, too.

“When you get them all together in one place, they check out things they might not listen to on their own―and go home telling people about something new they heard. That spirit of Southern California is all voices, whether it’s what the Palomino Club was, Trixie Mattel, Orville Peck, Compton Cowboys, who bring their horses, or Old Dominion, Bailey Zimmerman and Luke Grimes.”

“It’s community,” Weiser says. “Zach Bryan’s Facebook group is the most incredible thing: They break out for specific shows into subgroups, just to find each other. Luke Combs’ Bootleggers are like Deadheads, and we’ve started finding an unused bar in the venues, sending a text message to them a week out so they know where the meet-up is.”

O’Connell, now three decades into country, understands. “Everybody likes to talk about growth,” he says. “Is it up or down, losing or winning? The reality is: Evolve or die.

“Festivals are maturing. VIP experiences are more robust; food and beverage opportunities and artist amenities are on a whole other level. It’s an experience now as much as who you’re seeing. But I’m also seeing a whole new wave of headliners emerging.

“When Brooks & Dunn did the Neon Circus, it was weekends only, great support, that whole side show they had on the plaza. That started so much of what we’re seeing now. My festivals are about having a soul or a purpose―like Tortuga, which just celebrated 10 years, is about ocean conservation. It has a lot to do with the talent, of course; if you don’t have that, we’re just idiots sitting in a parking lot or a field.

“You realize there’s an expiration date on just going somewhere to see music, so we need to add new people, bring on younger talent and fans. But with the internet, Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, it’s changing. Radio’s still a big player, but they’re not breaking any acts. So it’s a whole new marketplace and reality.

“For touring, there’s opportunity, especially at the club, ballroom and theater level. It used to be if you’re not on the radio, who will buy it? Now for artists, they can break out in so many ways― and we can see and help them build. Sure, you have to ask: Was it playlisted? Is it regional? A trick? But you can make the decision about the size of the room, grow it and watch it happen.

“I mean, Megan Moroney just went #1. Congrats, right? But ‘Tennessee Orange’ has been popping for more than a minute, long before it went to radio. So she’s been building her base long before radio was involved. Radio’s important, but we can build these acts without them, too.”