ATLive returns with George Strait and Metallica

Since its opening in August 2017, Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United, and hosted an impressive list of college football kickoff and playoff games. It was the site of Super Bowl LIII two years ago.

Increasingly, the state of the art venue is also a major concert destination.

That element of the stadium will come into major focus again over the next two weeks with the two-night ATLive concert series (Nov. 5 and 6) and a No Filter Tour appearance by The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World, the Rolling Stones (Nov. 11).

Credit: Chuck Leavell

Credit: Chuck Leavell

AMB Sports & Entertainment Group Chief Revenue Officer Tim Zulawski and his team are excited about these shows and others in the future. “We challenge ourselves each day,” he notes, “to put the best events from around the world here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, here in Atlanta.”

With both the Falcons and Atlanta United on the road in the near term, AMB Sports & Entertainment is able to take advantage of that window for all three shows. “The idea of setting the concert staging once and then sharing that across different artists and different genres,” says Zulawski, “allows you to have some economies of scale yet go out to varied markets and bring the best in that musical genre.”

ATLive, in its second year, showcases a night of country featuring George Strait on Friday and a night of heavy metal featuring Metallica on Saturday. For Zulawski, it was crucial to have different styles represented to ensure the largest possible audience each night; the overlap between Metallica fans and George Strait fans is minimal.

Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Warming up for Strait on Nov. 5 will be Eric Church (in an ATLive return appearance) and Caitlyn Smith. Greta Van Fleet and Cage the Elephant are set to open for Metallica on Nov. 6.

Both shows are nearing sellout status, though Zulawski emphasizes that there are some ticket holds for each that will be released as the completion of the stage set-up reveals where sight lines will be clear. Ultimately, as he notes, “there’s gonna be 100,000 people coming to two events, and that’s outstanding.” Some tickets remain for The Rolling Stones on Nov. 11.

The expansion to multiple genres follows a successful first ATLive in 2019, which featured a number of country superstars, from Keith Urban and Blake Shelton to Eric Church and Luke Combs. While many events (such as next September’s Elton John concert) are announced a year or more in advance, a quick schedule meant that AMB Sports & Entertainment sold 90,000 tickets in 90 days for the inaugural series. And the draw of the stadium’s age, look and feel meant organizers convinced Combs and Church to fly in from Cleveland and Washington to perform on the same bill.

Credit: Ryan Fleisher

Like virtually every public event, ATLive did not happen in 2020 because of the pandemic.

While the stadium is ready to roll out the red carpet for artists and fans alike in the coming days, Zulawski’s team and the promoters they work with are already hard at work on what will hopefully be the third installment of ATLive, tentatively penciled in for Veteran’s Day weekend in 2022.

“Maybe it’ll be three nights,” muses Zulawski. Indeed, there are two nights tentatively planned, with a third possible pending artist availability.

Credit: Ryan Fleisher

In addition to booking and organizing the events, the stadium team is also maintaining focus on the aural experience of concertgoers. The venue’s first ever concert, headlined by Garth Brooks in 2017, drew criticism for the acoustics. There has been “capital infrastructure put in” to improve the sound, stresses Zulawski, and stadium staffers get real time, section by section feedback from attendees during events to make adjustments as needed.

Zulawski notes the fluidity to be expected by the various artists on a bill having different sound engineers manning the boards, but adds that his group remains focused on achieving the optimal sound. “We do everything possible,” he says, “in order to provide the best acoustic experience we can provide in our stadium.”

Ultimately, AMB Sports & Entertainment wants Mercedes-Benz Stadium to continue on its path to being one of the top national spots to see a huge concert. It’s noteworthy that both George Strait and Metallica booked just a handful of shows for 2021, and both picked the venue to be among them. “We need to keep the factory humming,” notes Zulawski, as the group continues to supplement the major sporting events closely associated with the place with massive musical moments.

“Our goal,” he concludes, “is to be referenced as the entertainment stadium of the United States.”