Pollstar Live! 2016 starts today

The 7th Pollstar Live! conference kicks off today.

Running until Friday (12 February) at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis (pictured), the three-day event comprises the main conference, the one-day Production Live! conference (dedicated to “the unsung heroes who hang the lights, fly the speakers, set up the pyro and park the trucks”), the Agents Live! closing reception, a trade show and the 27th Pollstar Awards, hosted by comedian Gary Owen.

Highlights include panels on the making of the Super Bowl halftime show, the rise of the boutique festival, sustainable concerts, how to book country music and how women can “succeed in a boys’ club” and keynotes by Kiss’s Paul Stanley and Vivek Ranadivé, the owner of the Sacramento Kings basketball team, who will talk on “the colosseum for the 21st century”,

The Pollstar Awards recognise the best tours, festivals, arenas, agents, managers, promoters, talent buyers and production companies of the year. A full list of nominees can be viewed here.