By R.V. Baugus Not saying that Gary Smith and I go back a long ways, but when I began working at then IAAM in April of 1990, his Pollstar magazine was one that arrived weekly in the mail. Gary was one of the first people in the industry I remember calling on, most likely because he wa

By Meredith Adams Since opening its doors for business in October 1999, the Smoothie King Center quickly established itself as the number one entertainment and sports venue in the region. It has hosted many of the world’s largest concert acts, sporting events, and family shows as well

By Jana DeGeorge On Thursday, October 3, Simmons Bank assumed naming rights to Verizon Arena, which is now Simmons Bank Arena. The event comes nearly a year after the bank’s November 2018 announcement of a $10.5 million deal to acquire naming rights to the 18,000 seat multi-purpose ar

From Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Former figure skater and founder of the Champions On Ice Tour, Thomas (Tommy) James Collins passed away at his home in Edina, MN, surrounded by his family on September 1, 2019 of natural causes. Tom was born in 1931 to Thomas and Martha Collins i

It’s 9 o’clock on a Saturday … regular crowd shuffles in. –Billy Joel, Piano Man OK, so it was 9 am and not 9 pm, although Billy Joel’s hit from 1973 does not actually indicate morning or night. And this regular crowd did not shuffle “in,” since the