If the inaugural ATLive concert series at Mercedes-Benz Stadium flourishes this fall, expect to see a double dose next year.
The event that will take place at the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United on Nov. 15-17 already has two days of marquee country artists on the docket.
Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Sam Hunt, Sugarland, Judah and the Lion and Cale Dodds will fill the building Nov. 15, while Eric Church, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne and Caylee Hammack perform Nov. 17.
The Nov. 16 lineup is still being finalized and is expected to lean toward pop-rock and urban acts.
Tickets start at $39 for the Nov. 15 show and $49 for Nov. 17 (there will not be a combined two-show ticket) and will go on sale Aug. 23 via www.ticketmaster.com.
A portion of the proceeds from the concerts will benefit the Johnny Mac Soldier’s Fund, which provides scholarships to veterans and military family members, and Quest Community Development Organization, whose mission is to develop affordable housing and provide community services to underserved individuals and families.
The series is being produced by Arthur Blank's AMB Sports and Entertainment with support from the Arthur Blank Foundation, which has donated more than $400 million to charity.
Tim Zulawski, chief revenue officer for AMB Sports and Entertainment, said that the idea for ATLive began percolating about three years ago.
“You have 365 days in a calendar year and yes, we want to make the stadium full every day to make money, but also because it means you’re putting on great content,” Zulawski said. “There are only so many pieces of content that puts 50,000 people in a building and [live music] is one of them.”
Zulawski worked with Marcie Allen of MAC Presents (she’s also known for producing the On the Bricks music series in Atlanta in the early ‘00s) to book ATLive, as well as The Messina Group, which has promoted shows from George Strait, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and others at the stadium.
The goal is to turn ATLive into not only an annual performance, but a twice-yearly occurrence.
“If we can get the right talent, we’ll do it,” Zulawski said, noting that Mercedes-Benz Stadium already presents more than 45 events per year and the production associated with a stadium concert takes the venue out of commission for about a week.
He’s already blocked out a late July date for 2020 and believes the November window around Veteran’s Day is ideal, but the uncertainty of the Falcons’ NFL schedule is always a potential issue in the fall.
For now, though, the focus is the maiden outing of ATLive.
"We're getting artists who would normally have an arena show and (bringing them here)," Zulawski said. "At the end of the day, we're out there to bring the best from around the world to Atlanta."
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