*The Following Press Release Was Issued By Scoop Marketing*
Beyoncé Named ‘Pollstar Touring Artist of the Decade’ at 32nd Annual Pollstar Awards
Award Winners Include Bon Jovi, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks, Jennifer Lopez, Kevin Hart, and More
Los Angeles, CA – Writer/comedian Annie Lederman hosted the 32nd Annual Pollstar Awards – A Celebration of Live!, presented by Live Nation, June 16, 2021 at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom. In the absence of touring activity and live events over the previous year, this year’s Pollstar Awards recognized the most successful artists, venues and events under the “Decade” banner. Leading the winners was Beyoncé, named “Pollstar Touring Artist of the Decade.” Touring “Artist of the Decade” honors were also bestowed by genre with winners including Bon Jovi (Rock), Bruno Mars (Hip-Hop/R&B), Lady Gaga (Pop), Garth Brooks (Country), Jennifer Lopez (Latin) and Kevin Hart (Comedy). Venues receiving decade awards included Radio City Music Hall (theatre), The Forum (arena), Hollywood Bowl (amphitheater) and more.
Additionally, this year’s awards also recognized those artists, venues and individuals who rose to the occasion during the shutdown, as determined by Pollstar’s research and editorial staff. These honors included the “Heroes of Live” award presented to Heather Lowery (Femme It Forward), Maria Brunner (Musically Fed), Michael Rapino (Live Nation for Crew Nation), Michael Strickland (Bandit Lites), Noelle Scaggs (Diversify The Stage) and more. For a full list of Pollstar Award winners, see below and at awards.pollstar.live/
“This year’s Pollstar Awards was conceived to get together and celebrate the beauty and resilience of the live thing, which we have all missed terribly,” said Ray Waddell, President of Media & Conferences for Oak View Group, Pollstar’s parent company. “We salute the winners and nominees of our Decade awards and pandemic-related awards and especially our Heroes Of Live honorees. Now, let’s get back to churning out ticket sales and presenting epic shows as we look forward to a more traditional Pollstar Awards in February of 2022!”
In a video acceptance speech, Jon Bon Jovi said, “I want to thank you for the Pollstar Rock Touring Band of the Decade. Welcome to my kitchen, where everything has been done that can be done in this room. I’m begging you, promoters, agents, managers, get me out of the house. Help me and my band break free and get back to what we do best.”
Trey Anastasio said, “This really means a lot to me and thank you all. And last thing I’ll say is, let’s open up the theaters, open up the venues, trucking companies, lighting companies, crew guys and gals and get back out on the road now. Time to go. Live music (is) back!”
The 32nd Annual Pollstar Awards Winners:
Pollstar Touring Artist of the Decade: Beyoncé
Rock Touring Artist of the Decade: Bon Jovi
Hip-Hop/R&B Touring Artist of the Decade: Bruno Mars
Pop Touring Artist of the Decade: Lady Gaga
Country Touring Artist of the Decade: Garth Brooks
Latin Touring Artist of the Decade: Jennifer Lopez
Comedy Touring Artist of the Decade: Kevin Hart
Non-Music Tour of the Decade: Cirque du Soleil
Music Festival of the Decade: Coachella (Indio, CA)
Nightclub of the Decade: Troubadour (West Hollywood, CA)
Theatre of the Decade: Radio City Music Hall (New York, NY)
Arena of the Decade: The Forum (Inglewood, CA)
Amphitheatre of the Decade: Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles, CA)
International Venue of the Decade: Royal Albert Hall (London, UK)
Damn the Torpedoes: 2020-21 Touring Artist: Bert Kreischer
Virtually Yours: 2020-21 Touring Artist: Brad Paisley
Best Livestream Event/Virtual Event: The Beacon Jams / Trey Anastasio
For Our Stage to Your Screen: Best Livestreaming Venue: The Ryman / Grand Ole Opry
Best Livestreaming Platform: Mandolin
Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic: Billy Strings
Pandemic Innovation Award: “The Bubble Concerts” – The Flaming Lips
Heroes of Live:
Heather Lowery, president & CEO, Femme It Forward
Maria Brunner, founder, Musically Fed
Michael Rapino, president and CEO, Live Nation (for his work with Crew Nation)
Michael Strickland, founder, Bandit Lites (for his lobbying and work on behalf of live entertainment industry relief)
Noelle Scaggs, founder, Diversify The Stage
Place I Most Look Forward to Hanging Post-Covid: The Redwood Deck at the Greek Theatre
Most Frequently Name-Dropped During Lockdown: Michael Rapino
Person To Score a Dinner With Post-Covid: Irving Azoff
Most Visible Person During Covid (or How Can I Miss You If You Don’t Go Away?”): Dan Steinberg
The Pollstar Awards: A Celebration of Live capped the first of two days of Pollstar Live!, the largest gathering of live entertainment professionals in the world. For the first time in more than a year, the touring industry reconvened for the flagship event for Pollstar magazine, which began with Production Live! on June 15. The conference hosts influencers, visionaries and thought leaders from all facets of live entertainment, from the most experienced, proven entrepreneurs and business leaders, to the next generation of executives and those “in the trenches” who will address the industry’s triumphant return as well as the crucial issues of inclusivity, safety and such topics as artist development, the performance economy, ticket sales, fan engagement, branding/sponsorships, technology and more.
Capture is proud to partner with Oak View Group to provide COVID-19 safety solutions for the Pollstar Live! Conference. In March 2020, Capture expanded their mission to respond to the global coronavirus outbreak and developed optimized protocols, testing solutions and technology to address critical pandemic needs. Capture delivers customized, scalable, quality testing, vaccine verification and technology solutions to safeguard communities and manage crisis.
ABOUT POLLSTAR:
Since its founding in 1981, Pollstar, The Voice of Live, has been the premier trade publication dedicated to covering the worldwide concert industry. Pollstar data is the leading resource for the touring industry encompassing box office numbers, routing and directories. Pollstar produces a weekly magazine, publishes daily content to Pollstar.com and its “Daily Pulse” e-newsletter and executes the world’s largest gathering of live music industry professionals – Pollstar Live! The annual conference features the industry’s most important executives and thought leaders on a variety of panels, keynotes, and networking opportunities. The conference culminates with the Pollstar Awards which highlight the most impactful companies, executives, tours, and achievements over the past year. In 2019, the publication, along with its sister magazine VenuesNow, was honored with three Folio Magazine Eddie and Ozzie Awards.
ABOUT OAK VIEW GROUP:
Oak View Group (OVG), VenuesNow and Pollstar’s parent company, is a global advisory, development and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries. Based in Los Angeles, OVG is helmed by its CEO Tim Leiweke and backed by The Azoff Company. OVG is composed of a sponsorship/partnership company, a consulting division, a venue security company, a media division, a venture fund/equity division and an Arena Alliance. The Arena Alliance is designed to serve a select group of leading facilities with access to unprecedented scale and resources through sponsorship optimization, untapped revenue streams, insights and access to premier sports and live entertainment content.
