The Hollywood Bowl - one of the premier outdoor music venues in the world and the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic - was honored as the Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 18th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards held February 8, 2007. This marks the third nomination and subsequent award representing an industry-wide acknowledgement that the Hollywood Bowl is not only an icon with a rich and celebrated history, but a destination of choice for performers and audiences alike.
Renowned for its spectacular setting and extraordinary acoustics, the Hollywood Bowl plays host to a tremendous diversity of artists, from classical to jazz, rock, pop and world music. During the 2006 season, the Hollywood Bowl presented more than 90 concerts in a span of 16 weeks, including performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with their Principal Guest Conductor at the Hollywood Bowl, Leonard Slatkin, the farewell performance for Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Founding Director John Mauceri, and performances by Belle & Sebastian, Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, Herbie Hancock, Ziggy Marley, James Brown in one of his final performances, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, Sergio Mendes, Mariza, Al Green and Al Jarreau, as well as a production of The Sound of Music, and much more. Also last season, the team of Andrew Hewitt and Bill Silva brought to the Bowl Roger Waters, Andrea Bocelli, The Who, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Dave Matthews Band.
"It's quite an honor for the Bowl to be recognized three consecutive years as the best major outdoor concert venue, particularly as 2006 was a record-setting year and presented the largest and most diverse season in the venue's history," said Arvind Manocha, the Hollywood Bowl's General Manager. "Being recognized by industry peers in this way is a wonderful testament to all of the hard work that goes into a Bowl season, from booking the artists to putting on the shows to maximizing the patron experience."
The Pollstar Concert Industry Awards honor those whose contributions most enhance and enrich the live music experience. Nominees were selected by more than 125 concert business peers (agents, managers, promoters and industry professionals) and winners were determined by ballots cast by Pollstar subscribers. Other 2006 Pollstar venue winners include Madison Square Garden and Wembley Arena. For more than 25 years, Pollstar has provided music business professionals with the most reliable and accurate source of worldwide concert tour schedules, ticket sales results, music industry contact directories, trade news and unique specialized data services. In addition to publishing the concert industry's leading trade publication, Pollstar also maintains the world's largest database of international concert tour information.
Nestled snugly in the Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States. Seating nearly 18,000 patrons, the Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and presents outdoor concert performances each summer featuring classical, jazz, and world music presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and last summer close to one million admissions were recorded. The Bowl's summer music festivals have become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland. The Bowl grounds themselves - one of Los Angeles County's most renowned parks - are open year-round for visitors to enjoy free of charge.
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Adam Crane, 213.972.3422; Rachelle Roe, 213.972.7310