Roger Phelps, general manager of Newport Music Hall, said a lot goes into putting on a concert. Credit: Abby Fricke
Whether it’s rappers like Yeat or acclaimed indie rock bands like The Shins, live music finds an audience on college campuses — and Newport Music Hall is no exception. But, few audience members are aware of what occurs before showtime.
Artists don’t just appear on the Newport stage with all of the necessary equipment for their set and a sold out show — months of preparation and hundreds of people are required to make just one concert run smoothly, Roger Phelps, general manager of Newport Music Hall, said. Booking performers for the Newport stage is the first step.
“If a band is touring, and they begin their routing process, it’s their agent’s job to route them through the U.S., North America, or wherever they’re touring; and, typically, they’ll reach out to cities that the artist has a known fan base for, and there’s a ton of analytics that go into that,” Phelps said. “But, if it’s a hot artist, you know, that’s kind of when we reach out to them and say, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you.’”
Phelps said booking performers is a mutually beneficial relationship between the talent buyers — representatives of Newport — and the artists’ agents. The thousands of college students within walking distance of the venue make Newport a desirable location, he said.
“We’ve been doing this for a really long time,” Marissa McClellan, marketing director for PromoWest Productions, said. “Scott [Stieneker], our owner, has been booking shows since 1984 in Columbus, so there really isn’t an agency relationship that we have not made yet.”
Phelps said the average show is booked four to five months in advance, but it may vary depending on the artist. Yeat who performed a sold out show at Newport in April, had a slightly quicker turn around, he said.
“He popped off relatively quickly in the music industry’s terms, you know, TikTok and social media really helps artists kind of blow up out of nowhere,” Phelps said. “So, that was one that wasn’t planned a year ahead because he wasn’t really, you know, booking Newport-type venues a year before he came here.”
Other artists, McClellan said, may be booked as early as a year in advance — presenting its own challenges.
“People’s attention spans are very short, and you only have a certain window to grab their attention,” McClellan said. “Announcing the on-sale period is the big time, and then like 10 days leading up to the show is the other big time, to hit sales. So for me, ideally, a show would be booked and announced and on sale three to four months in advance of the date. If you do, you know, six-plus months, people forget.”
Once talent is booked and announced, Phelps said the next step in concert planning is a process called “advancing the show,” which he does around a month before the show.
“If I know what shows are happening in November, for example, I’m working on those shows right now. And that’s reaching out to the tour saying ‘Hey, these are all the specs of our venue, here’s what we have to offer, here’s what lighting we have, here’s what sound techs we have. What do you guys have and what do you need?’”
Advertising is ongoing throughout planning, McClellan said but is emphasized particularly during the “maintenance period” — the few months before showtime.
“There’s coordination between managers and agents, with marketing to see, you know, if the show isn’t doing as well, how do we push it? What can we do creatively?” McClellan said. “My marketing managers are street teaming with interns and setting up contests at record stores and different things like that.”
There are numerous pieces to the show-producing puzzle that could go haywire or change at any moment, Phelps said, and it’s up to Newport to ensure that the show runs smoothly.
“In a lot of ways, it’s a thankless job, and I have no qualms with that at all,” Phelps said. “I like being in the background and ensuring that the patrons don’t have to think about that stuff. All they’re there to do is enjoy the show.”
