Des Moines-based concert promoters bring expertise to Live Nation's new Waukee venue
The new Live Nation Entertainment-owned performance venue Vibrant Music Hall is benefiting from the expertise of a Des Moines-based concert promotion and booking company responsible for many of the shows across venues in the area.
Live Nation and First Fleet Concerts, owned by Sam Summers of Hinterland Music Festival and the Val Air Ballroom fame, has partnered to serve Vibrant Music Hall, which will open in Waukee on Nov. 5 with rock band Needtobreathe.
It’s the first Live Nation-owned venue in Iowa.
Summers spoke to the Des Moines Register about the partnership during a tour of Vibrant Music Hall on Oct. 23.
First Fleet Concerts began in 2005 and has brought performers to Wooly’s in Des Moines, Water Works Park, and xBk Live in the Drake neighborhood as well as Gabe’s in Iowa City, among other venues. Summers said the people at First Fleet Concerts know the shows that perform well.
Plus, Vibrant Music Hall’s mid-level size is something new for First Fleet Concerts, filling a long-acknowledged gap in the Des Moines metro for performers who may not fill Wells Fargo Arena's 16,110 capacity, but would draw too big of a crowd for a venue like the 800 person Wooly’s. Vibrant Music Hall’s capacity is about 3,300, according to general manager Haleigh Biancalana.
“We’ll do what we always do,” Summers said. “That’s booking with agents every day. My team will get avails, put offers in, bring them to the room. Then we’ll work in partnership with the venue staff here to announce their shows, promote them and bring great quality events to the area.”
Live Nation will handle setup, the box office, ticketing — Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010 — among other responsibilities, Summers explained. First Fleet Concerts, he said, is involved in the entirety of the process, one that begins with communication from an artist or an agent and ends with producing the event the day of.
First Fleet Concerts benefits by getting the opportunity to produce shows at Vibrant Music Hall and accessing the resources a large company like Live Nation has.
Live Nation Entertainment annually books 40,000 concerts and over a hundred festivals, according to its website.
“We're constantly trying to grow as a company, First Fleet,” Summers said. “I think this partnership is a really good one that allows us to continue growing.”
First Fleet Concerts staff is made up of 24 people, according to Summers.
More: Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee opens in November. Here's what to know before your first show.
What types of shows can I see at Vibrant Music Hall?
First Fleet Concerts has previously worked with Live Nation for shows. Now, the two companies will be working together for shows at a Live Nation-owned space.
“We were very excited for the opportunity to come up,” Summers said of this partnership with Live Nation for Vibrant Music Hall. “It’s very easy for us to pitch a venue like this and we don’t have to do much explaining when we’re putting in offers to an agent. This is the new space that opened up. They know the quality of these spaces, what they’re like in other communities.”
Vibrant Music Hall is set up for a variety of programming, in part because of its flexibility to have seating on its first floor in front of the stage in addition to seating on its second level.
Expect diverse programming from concerts to comedians and other speaking engagements, Summers said.
Vibrant Music Hall’s size is what differentiates it from other performance venues in the Des Moines metro. It’s intended to fill that gap that previously existed for artists seeking a venue with capacity larger than Wooly’s or Hoyt Sherman Place, but less than Wells Fargo Arena.
“We’re constantly trying to connect the dots from Chicago and Minneapolis and Des Moines (is) a great market for that,” Summers said.
Vibrant Music Hall events scheduled so far
Here are the performances Vibrant Music Hall has announced so far. Previously, rock band The Black Crowes were scheduled to perform at the venue in November while opening for Aerosmith’s farewell tour. The rest of the farewell tour was postponed to 2024, disrupting The Black Crowes’ availability.
Needtobreathe with Judah & the Lion
The Grammy Award-nominated rock band from South Carolina behind songs like "Brother" and "Who Am I" average 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. They'll be joined by Judah & the Lion, a band from Tennessee spanning country to alternative rock music.
When: Nov. 5
Maverick City Music
The worship music group has won five Grammy Awards since their formation in 2018. Their song, “Promises,” featuring Joe L. Barnes and Naomi Raine peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart in January 2022. That’s in addition to other chart topping songs including “Fear Is Not My Future” and “God Really Loves Us.”
When: Nov. 11
Skillet & Theory of A Deadman
Skillet is a Christian rock band that formed in Tennessee, whose 2009 song "Awake And Alive" made Billboard's Hot 100 chart that same year. Their 2009 album "Awake" went double platinum, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, and they have since released more albums, including last year's "Dominion." The show, presented by Des Moines radio station KAZR's Lazer 103.3, also brings Canadian rockers Theory of a Deadman.
When: Nov. 12
John Cleese
The English actor, writer and producer beloved for being a founding member of Monty Python brings his tour "An Evening with the Late John Cleese" to Vibrant Music Hall. Cleese is also recognizable for his many film roles, including 1988's "A Fish Called Wanda" as well as Nearly Headless Nick in the Harry Potter franchise.
When: Nov. 15
Blue October
The alternative-rock band out of Houston is perhaps most recognized for the 2006 hit song "Hate Me." Blue October's latest album is "Spinning the Truth Around (Part 1)," that Spin said is bringing "back the transportive experience of the old-school album journey with the first of a two-part expansive opus."
When: Nov. 29
Pierce The Veil
"King for a Day" pop-punk and rock band Pierce the Veil comes to Waukee months after their February album release "The Jaws of Life." The Southern California band that emerged during the subculture scene performed at the When We Were Young music festival in Las Vegas last year. Pierce the Veil is joined by supergroup L.S. Dunes, post-hardcore band Dayseeker and punkers Destroy Boys on "The Jaws of Life" tour.
When: Dec. 2
Scotty McCreery
The Season 10 winner of “American Idol,” Scotty McCreery is a country singer from North Carolina. He’s behind the songs “Five More Minutes,” “It Matters To Her” and “This Is It.” McCreery won New Artist of the Year from the Academy of Country Music in 2011.
When: Feb. 9
Whitney Houston tribute
Fans of the beloved “I Will Always Love You” singer and actress can hear her music live with "Queen of the Night: A Tribute to Whitney Houston." The award-winning vocalist, who died in 2012, is behind hits like “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and “I Have Nothing,” among dozens more, and starred alongside Kevin Costner in “The Bodyguard.”
When: March 28
Chicago
From “If You Leave Me Now” to “Saturday in the Park,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Chicago have captivated audiences since the late 1960s. The Grammy Award-winning band, whose sound has incorporated jazz, R&B and more, performed at the Xtream Arena in Coralville in May of 2023.
When: May 18
Riley Green
The country singer from Alabama will come to Vibrant Music Hall on his “Ain’t My Last Rodeo” tour. Green is known for songs like “There Was This Girl” and “Different ‘Round Here.”
When: May 31
Excision
DJ, producer and festival creator Jeff Abel, or Excision, will bring the bass to Vibrant Music Hall. He’s released several albums and created the music festivals Lost Lands in Ohio and Bass Canyon in Washington through Excision Presents, his event production arm.
When: June 18
Tickets for all events can be purchased on Live Nation’s website.
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at PBarraza@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New Waukee venue to partner with Live Nation and First Fleet Concerts
