Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley, Ryman Auditorium Win At 30th Annual Pollstar Awards

Nashville did not go unrepresented at the 30th annual Pollstar Awards on Wednesday night (Feb. 13) at the Pollstar Live! conference in Los Angeles. Wins from Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley, the Ryman Auditorium and more Nashvillians brought home hardware.

Stapleton won the Best Country Tour award for his All-American Roadshow Tour. His 63-city North American tour started in May of 2017, and according to Pollstar, grossed 32.7 million in 2018. Stapleton’s All-American Roadshow Tour has featured Brothers Osborne, Lucie Silvas, Anderson East, Brent Cobb, Margo Price and Marty Stuart thus far, and its extension into 2019 is set to feature Cobb, Price, Stuart and Brothers Osborne as well as The Marcus King Band and Kendell Marvel.

Swift took home the award for Best Pop Tour for her Reputation Stadium Tour
. The tour ranked at second, just under Ed Sheeran, on Pollstar‘s Year-End Top 100 Worldwide Tours for 2018, and grossed $345.1 million. Louis Messina of Messina Touring Group accepted Swift’s award on her behalf, as well as the Bill Graham Award for Promoter of the Year that he won.

Musgraves earned the 
Best Support/Special Guest award for her support of the Harry Styles: Live tour. Musgraves, as well as Stapleton, accepted the award via pre-recorded video. Paisley
 took home Best Brand Partnership/Live Campaign for his work with Nationwide Insurance.

The Ryman Auditorium won 
Theatre of the Year for its ninth consecutive year. The Nashville gem has won the honor 11 times in total.

Stacey Vee of the AEG subsidiary Goldenvoice took home Talent Buyer of the Year after booking the massive country festival Stagecoach.

The 30th annual Pollstar Awards winners:
Major Tour of the Year: Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour
Best Rock Tour: Foo Fighters | Concrete and Gold Tour 2018
Best Hip-Hop/R&B: Beyoncé & Jay-Z | On The Run II Tour
Best Pop Tour: Taylor Swift | Reputation Stadium Tour
Best Country Tour: Chris Stapleton | Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show Tour
Best Latin Tour: Shakira | El Dorado World Tour
Best Comedy Tour: Kevin Hart | The Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour
Best Support/Special Guest: Kacey Musgraves | Harry Styles – Harry Styles: Live
Best Residency: Bruce Springsteen | Walter Kerr Theatre
Best Attraction: America
Best Non-Music Tour of the Year: Becoming: An Intimate Conversation With Michelle Obama
Best New Headliner: Greta Van Fleet
Music Festival Over 30K Capacity: Coachella | Indio, CA
Music Festival Under 30K Capacity: Newport Folk Festival | Newport, RI
Nightclub of the Year: 9:30 Club | Washington, D.C.
Theatre of the Year: Ryman Auditorium | Nashville, TN
Arena of the Year: Madison Square Garden Arena | New York, NY
Best Outdoor Concert Venue: Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO
Best New Concert Venue: The Rooftop at Pier 17 | New York, NY
Venue Executive of the Year: Laurie Jacoby, Madison Square Garden
Talent Buyer of the Year: Stacy Vee, Goldenvoice
Bill Graham Award-Promoter of the Year: Louis Messina, Messina Touring Group
International Promoter of the Year: Barrie Marshall, Marshal Arts Ltd
Bobby Brooks Award – Agent of the Year: Marty Diamond, Paradigm Talent Agency
International Booking Agent of the Year: Emma Banks, Creative Artists Agency
Booking Agency of the Year: Paradigm Talent Agency
Rising Star: Lesley Olenik, Live Nation
Personal Manager of the Year: Coran Capshaw, Red Light Management
Road Warrior: Gus Brandt | Foo Fighters, Pharrell Williams/NERD, Conan O’Brien
Best Production/Transportation Company: Upstaging, Inc.
Best Brand Partnership/Live Campaign: Nationwide Insurance w/ Brad Paisley
Best Touring Musician: Elton John
Marketing/PR Exec: Allison McGregor, Creative Artists Agency
Best Hang: Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Lifer: Frank Riley, High Road Touring
The Unavailable Award: Bob Roux, Live Nation
Most Frequently Name-Dropped: Michael Rapino, Live Nation
The Back In My Day: Ron Delsener, Live Nation
Most Dreaded Phone Call: Irving Azoff, Full Stop Management
Most Terrifying Agent: Marsha Vlasic, Artist Group International

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LB Cantrell

LB Cantrell is Editor/Director of Operations at MusicRow magazine, where she oversees, manages and executes all company operations. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication’s six annual print issues and online news. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.

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