Audacy Adds a New Level of Emotional Bang to Its Live Events

For a case in point look no further than the country music quotStars and Stringsquot concert that took place in New York last month timed to coincide with the somber anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacksThe focus will continue with quotWe Can Survivequot focused on mental health in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 23It will also be in evidence during an intimate album release concert by Coldplay in Los Angeles October 24 and a New Year39s Eve event with Maroon 5 in Las VegasquotWe love creating memoriesquot said Michael Martin the Senior Vice President of Programming and Music Initiatives at Audacy which is home to over 230 local radio stations and a digital platform home to thousands of podcasts The company rebranded from Entercom to Audacy in March 2021 following a fouryear transformation that budded after a merger with CBS Radio in 2017quotYou can always see a band in an arena and that39s a great experience But something like 39Stars and Strings39 those people will remember that nightquot Martin addedDesigned to benefit 911 Day the nonprofit that runs the federally designated September 11th National Day of Service quotStars and Stringsquot took place on the rooftop of Pier 17 where not only did the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge loom but so did the brilliant twin beams of light shining from the site of the former World Trade CenterThe musical lineup included the Zac Brown Band Darius Rucker Lee Brice Chris Young Tenille Arts Caroline Jones and Jameson Rodgers At the end all of the stars gathered for an unrehearsed rendition of The Band39s quotThe Weightquot to cap the eveningThe dramatic setting bumped it up a notch and gave the event a feeling of camaraderie that happens when music brings people together Martin said quotThere39s an emotional connection and that39s what we love to create for people with their favorite artists doing their favorite songsquot he explained quotThat builds a bond It builds a bond with our company and what we try to do It just adds an emotional connection so we39re not just a jukeboxquotHe likened it to what might happen if Dave Grohl did an intimate solo show at the Troubadour amid a big Foo Fighters tour quotI39m not saying we39re doing that but I39m saying that is the mindset What can we create that is uniquequotThe same kind of chemistry took place in 2014 when the company arranged for Ed Sheeran to perform on Ellis Island at an outdoor concert near the base of the Statue of Liberty Even more intimate was a show with Bono and the Edge on the porch of a house on Cape Cod in 2018 amid U239s Experience Innocence Tour quotI do this for a living and I39ll never forget that dayquot Martin saidNot all Audacy events have a charitable component but the annual fall concert quotWe Can Survivequot at the Hollywood Bowl was conceived as a way to raise breast cancer awareness From the first year when Katy Perry helped curate it quotwe realized we had something very very special both for the cause the location and the artistsquot Martin recalled quotAnd year by year the artists just gravitated to itquotThis year39s lineup features the reunited Black Eyed Peas Coldplay Doja Cat Maroon 5 Shawn Mendes and The Kid LAROI The cause has switched to mental health awareness with proceeds benefiting the American Foundation for Suicide PreventionquotPart of my goal with each of these things that we put together is we want to have the audience to have a phenomenal timequot Martin explained quotBut we also want the artist to say 39I really like that idea That39s a really cool thing to do39quotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Audacy Adds a New Level of Emotional Bang to Its Live Events

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Roger Catlin

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Audacy Adds a New Level of Emotional Bang to Its Live Events

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