Adventures In Venueland

Lace up your sneakers and meet us in the center of the basketball universe as we chat with our friend Jeff Johnson, Associate Director with Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jeff, who is celebrating 27 years with the organization, oversees marketing for events as well as traditional advertising for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever . In case you’v...

We’re headed to the Northwest, on the shore of Lake Washington, to chat with Alexa Coyle, Marketing Manager for Seattle Seahawks , Lumen Field , and WAMU Theater + Co-founder of The Female Edge . Alexa oversees event marketing for Lumen Field (concerts, dirt events, WAMU Theater, and conventions), branding and marketing for food and beverage, Seahawks retail marketing, and more. She tells us about...

BONUS EPISODE – We’re excited to launch our latest, ongoing bonus episode series, Breaking In! ✨ This series, consisting of roundtable discussions about breaking into the live event industry, will highlight different perspectives, talk through challenges, and discuss tips for those beginning their careers in venueland. 🆕 For our first episode, we get the perspective of three EVMC conference inte...

We’re headed to “The District” for this episode to talk with Chanelle Grimm, Marketing Director for Monumental Sports & Entertainment ( Capital One Arena , Eagle Bank Arena , and District E ) in Washington D.C. We begin by talking about this year’s EVMC and some of the takeaways from sessions at the conference in Atlanta before diving into an overview of Capital One Arena and Eagle Bank Arena. We...

Live from Atlanta – sit in with us as we talk with J Carter, the visionary Founder & Managing Partner behind ONE Musicfest , as we chat in front of a live audience at the 2025 Event & Venue Marketing Conference . We talk with J about what makes Atlanta special as he tells us about ONE Musicfest, the Southeast’s largest multi-day urban progressive music festival, which has helped shape Atlanta’s ri...

We’re headed out west to the stepping stone to the Central Valley – Escalon, California – to chat with Cassie Gause, Co-founder & Partner at C&K Media Solutions . Cassie tells us all about her company, which offers marketing, sponsorship, and management support for venues, promoters, tours, and artists - from one-off events to entire tours. We learn about her focus, on the marketing side, supporti...

BONUS EPISODE – Peace up ✌️ A-Town down 🅰️ – the 2025 Event & Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC) is just around the corner and we have everything you need to know as you pack and prepare for this year’s SOLD OUT conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosts Paul and Dave are joined by a trio of guests which help craft this podcast version of a KBYG: Kim Allen (EVMC President, Director of Arena Marketing at...

We’re back in the city that’s so nice they named it twice, the financial capital of the world – New York City. On this episode we chat with Joyce Leveston, CEO of New York Convention Center Operation Corporation (NYCCOC), which oversees the Javits Center , one of the busiest convention centers in the world. Resting right on the Hudson River, on the west side of Manhattan, Joyce tells us about nume...

Music City welcomes us back as we head to Nashville to chat with Dustin Turner, Music Marketing Executive at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Dustin walks us through his day to day, and explains how CAA often functions as a bridge between promoters and management teams, working with the artist teams to figure out what the creative is going to look like, and strategizing on ways they can work with ve...

We’re headed to Edmonton for this episode, home of the Oilers, to catch up with Chris Ng-Muk-Yuen, Marketing Manager for Rogers Place and ICE District . Chris tells us about the venue and surrounding district, and its place in the city and approach to engaging with fans. Fresh off the Edmonton Oilers ’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, learn how the team and venue are capitalizing on the...

Let’s talk premium! On this episode of Adventures In Venueland we head back to California and chat with Michele Kajiwara, Senior Vice President, Premium Business & Events at Crypto.com Arena and AEG , and the 2024 WISE Woman of the Year. Michele oversees the sales and service of premium seats, suites, lounges, and hospitality spaces - supporting the various tenant teams ( Los Angeles Lakers , Los...

Put on your shades and pull back that convertible top because we’re headed to Los Angeles for this episode where we chat with Alex Hodges, Chief Executive Officer of Nederlander Concerts . Alex, who is in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, recipient of the T.J. Martell Foundation’s “Spirit of Excellence” Award, and recipient of the SEVT Lifetime Achievement Award, has decades of experience in all asp...

We’re headed to the Garden State for this episode and talking with Michelle McCarthy, Founder & CEO of MCC Marketing Group . Michelle, who is based in Jersey City in the New York City market, tells us about her experience with launching her business and the excitement and challenges that come along with it. She emphasizes the importance of a strong network and tells us about some of her recent cli...

Right on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, join us for a visit to wonderful Baltimore as we chat with Aly Katz, Brand Manager for CFG Bank Arena , an Oak View Group facility. Aly talks about her role at the venue, where she oversees three key areas: back of house (artist gifting, crew activities, promoter relations), front of house (fan activations, photo ops), and social media (branding, aesthetic,...

It’s Episode 100 and we’re running it all the way back to Episode 1 by having back on our first return guest – Nina Jackson, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at NRG Park , an ASM Global managed property in Houston, TX. Nina oversees marketing and PR at NRG Park, a 300 acre sports and entertainment complex that hosts over 500 events and over 5.5 million people a year – which includes NRG St...

Put on your party hat, grab some champagne, and meet us in The Big Apple! For this special episode we ring in 2025 by taking a look at the most viewed event worldwide – New Years Eve in Times Square, New York City. We talk with Damian Santucci, SVP of Production & Operations at Times Square Alliance , a non-profit business improvement district (BID) that works in partnership with the city and surr...

Happy New Year Venuelanders! 🎊 As we kick off 2025 and look ahead to our official Episode 100, we decided to get our team together to look back at episodes one through ninety nine (as well as our variety of bonus episodes) and talk about some of our favorite movements. This isn’t your normal clip show though! Join us for some interesting behind the scenes stories and other great memories with our...

For Episode 99 we catch up with our friend and EVMC Hall of Famer , Jim Delaney, Founder/CEO of Activate Sports & Entertainment. Jim, who is a 30-year veteran sports and event marketer, talks to us about his latest adventure becoming what he calls a “digital nomad” – working on projects remotely as he visits venues and lives in different cities for a couple months at a time. We talk about how he p...

Live from backstage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, we chat with Rachel Bomeli, Vice President of Facility Operations for the facility. We join Rachel the morning after a big show the previous night and learn all about this truly unique venue which features a wide array of architectural styles. We talk about the design of the theatre, their early plans as the venue approaches its centennia...

It’s a party all day in RVA! Join us on the east coast as we head to Richmond, Virginia to chat with Brittany Herndon, Director of Sales & Marketing for Altria Theater and Dominion Energy Center – both managed by ASM Global . Brittany, who also serves as Regional Marketing Director for ASM Global's theatrical venues, tells us about Richmond and what it’s like working at gorgeous, historic theaters...

From the 313 to the 303, we’re chatting with Omar Gates, Marketing & Advertising Coordinator for the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment in Denver. After chatting with Omar about Denver and some exciting development plans announced recently, we dive into his history in the industry which led him from a passion for sports and a bachelor’s degree in economics at U...

BONUS EPISODE – What does a UFO, bloody hatchet woman, haunted miners, and a ghost rattler snake have in common? They’re all regulars at one of the world’s (and universe’s?) most iconic venues - Red Rocks Amphitheatre ! For our third annual Halloween episode we chat with our friend Brian Kitts, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer for Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Performing Arts Com...

Tuck your drafting pencil behind your ear and unfurl those blueprints because we’re talking venue design with this episode, where we chat with Geoff Cheong, Senior Principal and Senior Architect at Populous . With a focus of drawing people together around the things they love and amplifying the atmosphere of excitement and joy, Populous has designed some of the world’s most renowned venues. Geoff,...

Come along as we visit the Bay Area and chat with Sam Hunt, Executive Vice President and Managing Executive at Wasserman Music . One of the youngest to ever win Pollstar’s Agent of the Year in 2016, Sam oversees a powerhouse roster of electronica, indie, pop, and hip-hop artists including names like Diplo, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus, Jamie xx, Animal Collective, Run The Jewels, Big Boi, 100 gecs, S...

For this episode we head back to the hustle and bustle of Music City and catch up with former pro-drummer turned entertainment marketer, Brian Bauer, President of Bauer Entertainment Marketing (BEM). We immediately jump into learning what BEM does as well as interesting discussions on trends in live events and some of the most important things for venues and events to establish. We peel back the l...