Experienced British promoters and venue programmers Ade Dovey and Ben Taylor have joined forces for Luminescent, a newly launched live music promotion firm.

Taylor and Dovey bring over 30 years’ combined experience in venue programming, promoting, touring and artist management to the new company. The pair have worked at Manchester venues including Albert Hall, Gorilla, the Deaf Institute, Sound Control, Night & Day Café, Roadhouse, the Haunt, Jimmy’s and Manchester Arena, with artists such as the 1975, Mogwai, Kylie Minogue, the Courteeners, Everything Everything, Osees, First Aid Kit, Nils Frahm, Dinosaur Jr and American Football.

Taylor is also the founder of You Are Not Alone, a nonprofit festival in aid of the charity Manchester Mind, while pre-pandemic Dovey worked for Manchester Arena operator SMG Europe (now ASM Global).

“Throughout 2020 after a range of unforeseeable changes, both personal and professional, it just made sense for us to join forces,” says Dovey, commenting on the launch of Luminescent.

“We ralised we have an opportunity to do something together; something creative and fulfilling”

“We had both hit the ceiling pretty hard with our ongoing commitment to running music venues over the years. We have been friends, and competitors, for ten years, so when Covid-19 flipped the world upside down we just kept in touch and realised we have an opportunity to do something together; something creative and fulfilling – something we had both missed for a long time in our previous roles.

“After some serious soul-searching, the concern of ‘what venues are going to employ us now?’ and the music industry on its knees due to the pandemic, Ben and I realised that this potentially gave us an advantage and it was time to get our ducks in a row. We’ve had time to reflect and develop this new venture, and the feedback we’ve had from industry professionals has already been overwhelmingly positive.”

“I’m a firm believer of things happening for a reason. With the journey we have both been on, juggling and wrestling shows between ourselves in Manchester, it seems fitting that we’ll now be working together to bring some very exciting shows to the table,” adds Taylor. “Ade’s a great friend and superb promoter. I’ve been a big fan of what he’s produced over the last few years. As soon as the idea of us joining forces was born, I was in.

“We just can’t wait to build on Luminescent, work with artists and individuals that we both love and creatively respect, support the music community, be sustainable and do it our way.”

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SMG Europe has appointed Ade Dovey, formerly of Manchester venue operator Mission Mars Group, to its UK event programming team.

Dovey joins a team responsible for the development and programming of content for SMG’s UK venues, Leeds’s First Direct Arena (13,781-cap.), Manchester Arena (21,000-cap.), Newcastle’s Utilita Arena (11,000-cap.), Aberdeen’s P&J Live (16,000-cap.), Hull’s Bonus Arena (3,500-cap.) and the York Barbican (1,900-cap.). He will work alongside SMG Europe event development and bookings manager, Sarah Hodson.

In his previous role as head of programming at Mission Mars, Dovey curated and programmed three award-winning venues, Albert Hall, Gorilla and the Deaf Institute, producing over 700 events a year.

He comments: “It’s an absolute privilege to be joining SMG Europe – the calibre of its venues, its rich history of events and the teams behind each establishment define the meaning of ‘world class’. Personally, and professionally it’s a natural progression from programming venues from 200 capacity to 2,000, and now to concert halls and arena level.

“We’re delighted to have someone of Ade’s calibre and track record of success on board”

“I can’t wait to deliver new content and build on the legacy that SMG contributes to the local and national music industry.”

John Sharkey, executive vice-president of European operations for SMG, adds: “We’re delighted to have someone of Ade’s calibre and track record of success on board and we look forward to working with him and the team to deliver a wave of rich, new and exciting product for our events calendar as we develop our offering across our UK venues.”

SMG Europe manages entertainment venues and F&B operations at locations throughout Europe, including in the UK, Germany, and Poland. Pending regulatory approvals, its parent company, SMG, is set to merge with AEG Facilities to create ASM Global.

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