ROCK OF AGES: The first day of summer may be 6/20, but the international summer festival touring season officially kicks off this weekend with Germany’s simultaneous Rock im Park/Rock am Ring, which is expected to post a combined attendance of 150,000.
The same artists play two different locations—Rock am Ring takes place at the Nürburgring racetrack and Rock im Park is held at the Zeppelinfield in Nuremberg. Promoted by Live Nation Germany CEO Marek Lieberberg, whose family company MLK founded the festival almost 40 years ago, the events feature headliners Avenged Sevenfold (CAA’s Ryan Harlacher), Queens of the Stone Age (WME’s Josh Javor), Green Day (CAA’s Jenna Adler) and Måneskin (ITB’s Lucia Wade).
Other major events coming this weekend include the Parklife fest (6/8-9), one of the most popular events in Manchester, U.K. Teaming up with some of the top clubbing brands globally, Parklife features multiple stages and headliners Doja Cat (CAA) and Disclosure (Wasserman). In the U.S., AEG will debut the inaugural, single-day No Values 6/8 in Pomona, California, led by punk mainstays such as the Original Misfits (CAA), Iggy Pop (IAG), Social Distortion (Paladin Artists’ Andy Somers) and Bad Religion (CAA).
Marek Lieberberg, David "Beno" Benveniste
DOUBLE TROUBLE: When Another Planet Entertainment and Live Nation announced that System of a Down (WME) and Deftones (CAA) would play Golden Gate Park’s first nighttime concert on 8/17, one week after San Francisco’s famed Outside Lands festival (8/9-11) at the same venue, wonderers wondered how the former would perform given the proximity to the latter, which features headline talent such as as Tyler, the Creator (WME), Post Malone (UTA), The Killers (WME) and more than 50 other artists.
Any doubts were quickly quashed when the David "Beno" Benveniste-steered SOAD/Deftones show, augmented by The Mars Volta (WME), Viagra Boys (Wasserman) and Vowws (33&West), sold out in 90 minutes. Tickets for the gig, the last of only two SOAD will play in 2024, started at $169 plus fees for general admission and $399 plus fees for VIP. Meanwhile, Outside Lands itself is said to be close to or at a sellout, so for once, everybody wins!
Golden Gate Park has been hosting daytime concerts since 1967, with legends such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Neil Young and Pearl Jam having played there before dark. The idea with the upcoming August events seems to be similar to the approach being taken by AEG’s star-studded British Summer Time concert series in London’s Hyde Park (6/29-7/14), whereby organizers can slash costs and increase profits exponentially by using the same stage and local crew multiple times. In this case, the majority of Outside Lands’ stages will be taken down before the SOAD concert, but the main stage on the field will remain.
Could similar scenarios be on the horizon for like-minded green spaces such as Chicago’s Grant Park or New York’s Central Park? It might be time to buy low on grass seed as Another Planet has already indicated they plan to double up again in 2025.
BUMPY ROAD AHEAD: Hey, it’s tough out there, but we can’t deny hearing a lot of talk right now about artists cancelling big tours they perhaps shouldn’t have booked to begin with—even the New York Times is sniffing around recent high-profile pull-downs by The Black Keys and Jennifer Lopez. Now, we’re told several other artists are contemplating downsizing or postponing their upcoming outings as well. The culprits? Some combination of high ticket prices, bad advice/guidance from agents/managers, promoters making offers to artists and reps they cannot refuse and artists who are simply clueless as to how big they are—or aren't.
Another Planet Entertainment's Gregg Perloff and Allen Scott
