Beale clubs contract for electronic dance music acts’ bookings
Sign with Disco Donnie Presents
The new owners of the New Daisy Theatre and The Palace have signed the leading brand in the electronic dance-music industry to book events in the nightclubs, which are under renovation.
Developers Steve Adelman and J.W. Gibson have signed a strategic partnership agreement with Disco Donnie Presents to produce and promote events focused on electronic dance music, or EDM, which has become one of the most lucrative genres of music worldwide. Disco Donnie Presents, which is owned by SFX, is an industry leader, producing more than 1,000 events a year, including massive festivals headlined by the likes of Skrillex, David Guetta and Calvin Harris.
Adelman, a veteran nightclub entrepreneur who has been working with Memphis businessman Gibson to redevelop the east end of Beale Street, has plenty of history in the dancemusic scene. He once was director of the storied New York dance spot Limelight and founded the long-running Avaland
party at the Avalon Hollywood. He claims to be the first promoter to book superstar British deejays Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold and Sasha in the U.S.
“EDM is under-represented in the Memphis and Mid-South market,” Adelman said in a news release. “Partnering with the global leaders in this field will put us in the best position to not only expand the music and fan base in Memphis, but help support the talent that is currently touring, offering a new home.”
Founded in 1994 by promoter James “Disco” Donnie Estopinal, the New Orleans-based entertainment company has “generated over 5,000 live events, arena shows and outdoor festivals in over 100 markets around the world” according to its corporate profile. Disco Donnie Presents was acquired by SFX Entertainment Inc. in 2012.
The partnership with Disco Donnie Presents comes just months after Adelman and Gibson’s group inked a deal with entertainment giant Live Nation to book music acts at the two clubs.
Live Nation’s House of Blues Entertainment owns and operates a dozen House of Blues clubs, as well as eight Fillmore-branded venues, and books another 55 theaters and clubs varying in capacity from 500 to 5,000. The company produces about 8,000 shows a year. Last month, House of Blues Entertainment CEO Ben Weeden detailed plans for booking the 1,200 capacity Daisy and the 2,000 capacity Palace, noting that they expect to book 150 or so concerts annually into the Memphis market starting this fall.