AEG Releases 2015 Sustainability Report
AEG LIVE OPENS GULF COAST OFFICE WITH ACQUISITION OF
WINTER CIRCLE PRODUCTIONS; GOLDENVOICE ALIGNS WITH BUKU
LOS ANGELES, CA & NEW ORLEANS, LA (August 4, 2015) - AEG Live, one of the world’s leading producers and promoters of live entertainment and operators of live music venues, announced today the opening of a new Gulf Coast regional office with the acquisition of New Orleans-based event promoter Winter Circle Productions (WCP). AEG Live’s new Gulf Coast office, operated by WCP, will serve as a critical base of operations for touring, one-offs, and additional venue and festival opportunities in the Southern region, and will bring to the region the company’s uniqueness, innovation, and high event standards that its fans have come to expect.
Founded in 2009 by Reeves Price and Dante DiPasquale, Winter Circle Productions has grown to a full-service concert and festival production and promotion company, producing about 100 events per year and known for creating the annual BUKU Music + Art Project, a two-day festival held in downtown New Orleans each March. Under AEG Live’s umbrella, WCP will continue to book and produce concerts and events in its partner venues such as the 1,200 capacity Joy Theater and 500-900 scalable capacity Republic New Orleans, while seeking out additional festival and venue opportunities and utilizing AEG Live’s well-established networks and relationships for the further growth of the company.
“We are excited to be expanding our business activities in the Gulf Coast region through this new association with Winter Circle Productions and Dante and Reeves,” said Shawn Trell, Chief Operating Officer, AEG Live. “With our growing presence in the region’s music scene through our touring business as well as our partnership with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and Hangout Music Festival, it made perfect sense to further expand our regional booking presence while adding a home base for us in New Orleans.”
As part of the transaction, AEG Live is also acquiring a portion of WCP’s interests in the two-day New Orleans music festival BUKU Music + Art Project, which WCP will continue to co-produce alongside Huka Entertainment. Goldenvoice, the AEG Live company behind several successful music festivals including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Firefly Music Festival, Big Barrel Country Music Festival, Hangout Music Festival and FYF Fest, will also act as a strategic partner on BUKU.
“Teaming up with AEG will give us the stability and support we’ve been craving to fully tackle the rapid and ongoing growth opportunity in our specialized and competitive region, and allows us the creative freedom to develop new projects and ideas,” said Price. “Looking at the innovators and entrepreneurs who are already a part of the AEG Live family, there’s really no other place we’d rather be.”
“We love the energy of BUKU and of course we love New Orleans,” said Paul Tollett, President of Goldenvoice. “Boutique festivals where the curators understand their market is definitely the future, and BUKU has its finger on the pulse.”
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to have Paul T. and his team at Goldenvoice in our corner,” said DiPasquale, talent buyer for BUKU. “It’s been a blast to watch BUKU pop off over the past few years and we’re thrilled to now be able to tap into the great festival minds at AEG who excel at producing tasteful events with loyal fanbases.”
Winter Circle Productions will continue to operate out of its office in New Orleans, while DiPasquale will split time between New Orleans and AEG’s office in New York. In addition to Price as VP Operations and DiPasquale as VP Talent, immediate additions to the AEG/WCP team include Addie Olsen as Administrative and Marketing Director (as well as Festival Director of BUKU) and Shelby Woolf as Marketing and Ticketing Manager.
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About AEG Live:
AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance. AEG Live is comprised of touring, festival, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions, seventeen regional offices, and owns, operates or exclusively books thirty-five state-of-the-art venues. The current and recent concert tour roster includes artists such as Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood, Cher, Daughtry, Enrique Iglesias, J Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Kenny Chesney, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, The WHO, Trey Songz and Juanes. The company is also currently producing residency shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart and Shania Twain and is the exclusive promoter at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. AEG Live is also the largest producer of music festivals in North America from the critically acclaimed Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival to the Stagecoach Country Music Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
About Winter Circle Productions:
Winter Circle Productions began in 2009 as an independent promotion and production house to attract music that its founders felt was missing from a post-Katrina New Orleans. Creator of Buku Music + Art Project and two-time recipient of the Offbeat Best Promoter Award, WCP is now positioned as one of the most trusted tastemakers on the Gulf Coast, having produced hundreds of shows across many musical genres in dozens of venues. Specializing in the unique and progressive, WCP strives to bring new ideas and concepts to the table and reward attendees with unforgettable experiences and long-lasting impressions.
www.wintercircleproductions.com
Contact for AEG Live – Michael Roth, (213) 742-7155, [email protected]
Contact for Winter Circle Productions – Addie Olsen, (504) 301-9445, [email protected]