Dierks Bentley played an intimate show for 200 last week, in honor of the Grammy Museum's Jane Ortner Education Award. This is an award that is given to an outstanding teacher who incorporates music into non-musical classrooms to engage and encourage students to explore history and their creativity. Lois MacMillan of Grants Pass, Oregon received the honor after creating a six-lesson unit based on the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway hit, Hamilton, for her 8th grade history class. We had the opportunity to contribute equipment and support for the event. A sweet mix of philanthropy and Bro Country, huh?
Not a lot to say – more to see. Again our pals at Sequoia came up with a completely new look for a gig they've been doing for over 20 years. Word to Chris Greulach for rocking this one from Blinky LED balls to massive outdoor area that looked so good, to pin spots on six million tables - gorgeous. And that's a lotta circuits, Ligo – Dang, nice. Excellent gig.
It ain't summer if I don't post at least one outdoor concert on a mobile stage. AgenC included us in a show on Rodeo Drive itself. We've done a bunch of these where the street is shut down, and we do a show. The crew has learned by now how to reply to the ceaseless question from tourists – "What's happening here?"Their reply - "we're shooting a mayonnaise commercial". That shuts 'em down every time. The great Anthony Wayne programmed the lighting and made our local street fair look like a Foo Fighters stadium show.
ROCK FULLY for the rest of your summer, y'all!
Our new Global Events Director Jeff Rudner is working on some amazing gigs supporting Formula E. These are Formula 1-type cars that are all electric, and go 200 mph! We will be working on races all over the world, and kicked off the relationship with a 2.1 mile race through the streets of Brooklyn. We provided all aspects of production for the VIP Emotion Club and some related parties and activations on site. What an incredible experience working directly with the Formula E folks who are this massively talented group from all over the globe. It was truly electric seeing the races but also turning the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in to a unique oasis for 1200 race fans. Bonus for me as I brought Cheryl along, and we got to see Bruce on Broadway one night. Concrete Jungle where Dreams are Made, indeed - So excited for Europe, Africa, Asia and South and North America next season!
The new disrupted music industry finds a lot of big acts taking private corporate gigs to spread the word and fatten the brokerage accounts. Sounds good to me. These partnerships between brands and bands probably sound distasteful to all of my old stand-out rock and roll friends, but honestly it's pretty great. There's magic happening out there, and we love it when we get to be involved. This month we hung with John Legend on an Air BnB show, celebrated James Harden the new NBA MVP, at the elementary school he attended in LA with the Boss Rick Ross and Famous Dex, We did a big fundraiser for Chrysalis, who finds jobs for those in need with R.LUM.R and Jamie Foxx, and a whole lot more... Big month for tech with E3 gigs, and even an old-school automotive tour of the east and west coasts. Summertime, and the livin' is easy...
So I write about all of these fun gigs every month, and yes they are fun and they're important to me, but I pound out these gigs to pay the bills and raise a cute family. Mission Accomplished, Homeys. At least so far... Olivia graduated from Mayfield Senior School and is Wisconsin-bound in August. That's all folks - Both kids in college, we out. JK - although Cheryl did celebrate Olivia's graduation party as being her retirement party, too... What an amazing trip it's been - can't wait to see what comes next. Young parents - PLEASE take massive amounts of video at every age... Thanks for indulging me.