Touring Power Players: Billboard’s 2026 List Revealed

As the live sector evolves with the times, Billboard’s list of executives — led by MSG Entertainment’s Josephine Vaccarello — highlights the teams around artists devising new ways to serve and entertain audiences.

Promoters

AEG International

Alex Hill
President/CEO
Adam Wilkes
President/CEO of AEG Presents Europe and Asia-Pacific, AEG Presents
John Langford
President of Asia-Pacific
Emma Bownes
Senior vp of programming
Simon Jones
Senior vp of global touring international, AEG Presents

AEG Presents

Jay Marciano
Chairman/CEO
Rich Schaefer
President of global touring
Debra Rathwell
Executive vp of global touring
Michael Harrison
Angie Rho
Kelly Stelbasky
Senior vps of global touring

All Things Go

Will Suter
Stephen Vallimarescu
Co-founders

Another Planet Entertainment

Sherry Wasserman
Co-founder/president
Gregg Perloff
CEO
Allen Scott
President of concerts and festivals; co-founder/producer of Outside Lands

Bizarro Live Entertainment

Alfredo Alonso
Founder, Bizarro Chile; president, Live Nation Peru
Daniel Merino
Entertainment director, Bizarro Chile; entertainment director, Live Nation Peru

Black Promoters Collective

Gary Guidry
Partner/CEO
Shelby Joyner
Partner/president
Troy Brown
Partner/chief marketing officer
William “Bill” Ingram
Partner/CFO
Shahida Mausi
Partner/chief strategy officer/senior vp

Breakaway

Adam Lynn
Co-founder/CEO
Zach Ruben
Co-founder

C3 Presents

Charles Attal
Charlie Walker
Partners
Amy Corbin
Promoter; South region president, U.S. Concerts, Live Nation
Huston Powell
Promoter

Cárdenas Marketing Network

Henry Cárdenas
CEO
Alex Cárdenas
Carolina Daza
Senior vps of live entertainment

City Parks Foundation SummerStage

Erika Elliott
Executive artistic director

Goose at Central Park SummerStage in June. Merissa Blitz

This year, SummerStage marked a monumental accomplishment — 40 years providing free concerts for New Yorkers — with a similarly monumental season.

“We were lucky enough to get some really amazing funders who gifted us with additional resources to celebrate the 40th,” executive artistic director Erika Elliott says. “It gave us a chance to look back and also look forward.”

That included shows with “important cultural icons — and distinctly New York people” including La India, Angélique Kidjo and Laurie Anderson, “bookings that felt really intentional.” This season’s programming spoke to the diversity of the five boroughs. “No other festival is doing a Taiwanese day, or a dedicated C-pop [Chinese pop] day, or a day fully focused on Morocco,” she says.

Another major moment came when the next-gen jam band Goose did a surprise pop-up show in June in Central Park the night after two Madison Square Garden gigs. Says Elliott: “For me, that was a big coup this year — to have the relationship and the reputation that a band at that level says, ‘Hey, could we do a show with you?’ ”

Elliott, a 22-year SummerStage veteran who has served as its executive artistic director since 2015, admits that because the organization doesn’t depend on ticket sales, she’s in an “enviable position” — but she points out the “competitive landscape” for nonprofits. “Our budget has always increased a little bit,” she says, “but I don’t know that it’s always able to keep up with the increase in artists’ fees.”

Additionally, climate change continues to throw curveballs at the outdoor festival. “We were not able to present Mavis Staples because of the smoke and the air quality. That’s a trend that never used to happen,” Elliott says of the R&B legend’s scuttled July show. “We are working on updating our process every year and always learning more. We look for guidance from the city when possible.”

Changes in the political climate — such as partial travel bans on countries like Nigeria — have also created challenges. “It changes our ability to book artists who deserve to play,” she says. “It’s really unfortunate … to not let an artist come and perform in this country, especially artists who have performed in this country before. I just don’t see how that builds bridges or does anything positive.”

Still, Elliott — a self-described “optimist” — remains hopeful for SummerStage’s future. “I’ve been here so long because it’s a dream job, to be able to bring music and artists and communities together, for free, across all five boroughs,” she says. “We have a legacy to build on for our 80th [anniversary].” —JOE LYNCH

Collectiv Presents

Michael Berg
Partner/talent buyer

Concerts West

John Meglen
President/co-CEO
Paul Gongaware
Co-CEO

Country Thunder Music Festivals

Troy Vollhoffer
President/CEO; president/CEO, Premier Global Production

Danny Wimmer Presents

Danny Wimmer
Founder

Dayglo Presents

Peter Shapiro
Founder

DF Entertainment

Diego Finkelstein
Founder

Do LaB

Jesse Flemming
Co-founder

Fenix Entertainment

Marcelo Figoli
Owner/CEO

Framework

Kobi Danan
Founder

Frontier Touring

Dion Brant
CEO
Susan Heymann
COO

Goldenvoice

Paul Tollett
President
Melissa Ormond
COO
Stacy Vee
Jenn Yacoubian
Executive vps

Iglesias Entertainment

Jorge Iglesias
Founder/CEO

Insomniac

Pasquale Rotella
Founder

La Familia Presenta

Aaron Ampudia
Christopher Den Uijl
Co-founders

Live Nation

Michael Rapino
President/CEO
Arthur Fogel
Chairman of global music/president of global touring
Omar Al-joulani
President of touring
Bob Roux
President of U.S. concerts
Jared Braverman
Hans Schafer
Senior vps of global touring
Colin Lewis
Global tour promoter

Live Nation International

Paul Antonio
President, EMEA/Asia, Live Nation
Dennis Argenzia
President of touring, Asia, Live Nation
Michael Coppel
Chairman of Live Nation Australia and New Zealand
Denis Desmond
Chairman, U.K. and Ireland, Live Nation
Bruce Moran
Executive chairman of Latin America Touring, Live Nation
Caitlin Miller
Senior vp of global touring, EMEA/APAC, Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Urban

Shawn Gee
President
Mari Davies
Vp of talent and booking
Malcolm Gray
Vp of marketing

Loud And Live

Nelson Albareda
CEO

Marshall Arts

Barrie Marshall
Chairman/managing director

Messina Touring

Louis Messina
Founder/CEO
Mike Dugan
President
Haley McCollister
President, Nashville
Kate DesEnfants McMahon
Rome McMahon
Executive vps

Move Concerts

Phil Rodriguez
CEO
Alejandro Pabón
Partner; head of operations, Rimas Nation

OCESA

Alejandro Soberón
Founder/CEO
Leizer Guss
Festivals director
Guillermo Parra
International events director

Bad Bunny at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros in 2025. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Turning the extraordinary demand for live music in Mexico into unforgettable fan experiences has been OCESA’s greatest recent achievement, according to Guillermo Parra, international events director for the promoter, which finished at No. 3 on Billboard Boxscore’s 2026 midyear promoters chart with $559.5 million grossed, behind only Live Nation and AEG.

“Shakira’s 13 sold-out shows and Bad Bunny’s eight-date run at Estadio GNP Seguros are powerful examples, alongside major engagements by BTS, The Weeknd and AC/DC,” Parra says. “What makes this meaningful is the ability to deliver consistently at that scale. It reflects years of building trust with artists, developing specialized teams and investing in venues.”

On her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour, Shakira made history at the Mexico City stadium (formerly known as Foro Sol), becoming the artist with the most performances in a single tour at the iconic venue, where she sold 721,000 tickets across 13 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. And only Madrid hosted more dates for Bad Bunny’s colossal DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS world tour; the global star’s eight sold-out shows at the stadium in December 2025 brought in $88 million from 518,000 tickets sold.

“These results reinforce Mexico’s importance to global touring, while demonstrating that Latin artists can drive some of the world’s most significant live-music moments,” Parra adds.

His favorite musical moment of the past year-and-a-half: Oasis’ return to Mexico. “There was an extraordinary sense of anticipation around those two nights at Estadio GNP Seguros, and hearing the crowd sing those songs together was unforgettable,” he recalls. “For longtime fans, it was a reunion with music that had shaped their lives; for younger fans, it was their first opportunity to experience the band live.”

When asked about the biggest challenges facing the Latin music community, Parra says global touring infrastructure for live music must keep pace with the worldwide growth of Latin artists. “The audience is there,” he notes, “but reaching more fans requires suitable venues, experienced local teams and touring routes that make economic sense, particularly beyond the largest cities.”

For Parra, it is imperative to create more opportunities for emerging artists to develop sustainable live careers, and he believes that festivals, opening slots and venues of different sizes all play a role: “The opportunity is to translate Latin music’s global visibility into a stronger touring ecosystem, where more artists can grow and more communities can participate.” —SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS

Outback Presents

Mike Smardak
Founder/co-CEO

Rolling Loud

Matt Zingler
Co-founder/CEO; founder/CEO, Motion Music
Tariq Cherif
Co-founder; founder, TC Music

SJM Concerts

Simon Moran
CEO

SPKRBX

Berto Solorio
CEO; co-founder/executive producer, The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival

Untitled Group

Nicholas Greco
Co-founder/managing partner

Vans Warped Tour

Kevin Lyman
Founder

Agencies

CAA

Lucy Dickins
Rob Light
Managing directors
Emma Banks
Darryl Eaton
Rick Roskin
Co-heads of global touring

Lady Gaga Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

With a roster that includes top-tier pop talent such as Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Charli xcx, CAA remains a juggernaut at the stadium and arena levels.

But that dominance comes with its own challenges: These days, CAA is in some cases booking four years out, says co-head of global touring Darryl Eaton, with agents at times looking as far ahead as 2030.

“We’re looking at everything holistically to figure out the entire global footprint in one fell swoop,” Eaton says.

And while this has been an exceptional year for CAA’s established clients — from Styles’ 30-date Madison Square Garden residency to The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn outing becoming the third tour ever to surpass $1 billion grossed — the agency is also shepherding newer headliners like Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, Doja Cat and Gracie Abrams to some of the world’s biggest stages.

Among CAA’s new stadium talents is client Rüfüs Du Sol (represented by the agency everywhere other than Europe). When the Australian dance trio put up the on-sale for its Inhale / Exhale tour in October 2024, the team worked to have tickets for the entire run — no matter where a date was booked — ready to go at once.

“We announced Australia, South America, North America and Europe all at the same time, and we put it on sale all at the same time,” Eaton says, “which was really hard across time zones. We were in war rooms, putting shows up in all these different territories over the course of 48 hours.”

The strategy worked: The tour, which ran from March 2025 through September 2026, became not only the first dance trek to gross more than $100 million, but also the first to surpass $150 million, ultimately becoming the genre’s highest-grossing and best-selling tour ever, with $158 million earned from 1.7 million tickets sold, according to Billboard Boxscore.

The tour is emblematic of the way that territories beyond North America — especially in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East — have become priorities for bookers. “The world’s just so much smaller and music is global,” Eaton says. “Our perspective in touring has gotten global as well.” —ARIEL KING

Cara Lewis Group

Cara Lewis
Founder/CEO

Full text provided by the source Billboard 娱乐 via RSS; copyright belongs to the original publisher.