Auburn entering into an agreement to host concerts in Jordan-Hare and Neville

[DawgatAuburn]

Partnerships opens door for live music to come to Jordan-Hare Stadium and Neville Arena

Concert announcements are expected to begin this fall, with the first performances scheduled for 2026.

oanow.com

(text below since it's probably behind a paywall)

Partnerships opens door for live music to come to Jordan-Hare Stadium and Neville Arena​

Auburn University Athletics and Peachtree Entertainment have entered into a multi-year partnership to bring major live music experiences to Neville Arena and Jordan-Hare Stadium. This landmark collaboration will deliver more than five multi-genre concerts annually, further establishing Auburn’s position as a premier destination for live entertainment in the Southeast.

Concert announcements are expected to begin this fall, with the first performances scheduled for 2026.

“We are elated to partner with Peachtree Entertainment and Elevate to bring nationally renowned artists and entertainers to Jordan-Hare Stadium and Neville Arena, further expanding Auburn's place as an entertainment destination,” said Rhett Hobart, Auburn Deputy Athletics Director for External Affairs. “This collaboration will bring many additional memorable events to the City of Auburn each year for students and the entire Auburn-Opelika community alike to enjoy, while also growing essential revenue for our department in this new era of college athletics.”

The partnership was made possible in part by Elevate, a leading global sports and entertainment agency, with a dedicated group focused on revenue generation for college athletics.

“We’ve partnered with Peachtree Entertainment, the premier music promoter in the southeast, to create new revenue opportunities for our university partners—starting with a landmark collaboration with Auburn University Athletics,” said Jonathan Marks, Chief Business Officer, Elevate College. “Building on Elevate’s successful work with Auburn, this multi-year innovative model generates guaranteed revenue by activating in their athletic facilities. We’re excited to support Auburn and Peachtree in maximizing Neville Arena and Jordan-Hare Stadium's full potential.”

Peachtree Entertainment, known for its rapidly growing portfolio of outdoor festivals and arena-scale shows, will lead concert production and booking efforts for Auburn Athletics. The concerts will bring a mix of nationally-touring country, rock, pop, and genre-defying artists to Auburn’s athletic venues.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Peachtree to help shape a new era of live entertainment at Auburn,” said Nathan Baugh, CEO of Peachtree Entertainment. “We’ve had great success producing shows across Alabama, and this partnership allows us to expand our footprint in a state that’s already a core part of who we are. We can’t wait to deliver unforgettable nights of music in two of the most iconic venues in college sports.”

 

[dawgstudent]

Wish we could do the same.

 

[Darryl Steight]

Wish we could do the same.

We "could" if we wanted to.

All the SEC and Big 10 schools are doing it.

Rhett didn't magically become a genius when he left here... we could do the same.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Meanwhile State sits on their hands.

 

[TheBannerM]

What exactly does Music Makers do these days. There used to be concerts in the Hump every year and smaller acts would play at the amphitheater. I understand bands don’t tour like they used to, but surely there are bro country acts and smaller bands that would draw a crowd.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

What exactly does Music Makers do these days. There used to be concerts in the Hump every year and smaller acts would play at the amphitheater. I understand bands don’t tour like they used to, but surely there are bro country acts and smaller bands that would draw a crowd.

Bottom line is that State has had opportunities to have some big acts and have not capitalized on it because they sat on their hands.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Wish we could do the same.

COULD? You wish we COULD do it? Is there something stopping us? Knowing that we are probably toward the bottom of the league in revenue generation, we should probably be creatively seeking out opportunities like this. Look at Rhett's quote...."while also growing essential revenue for our department in this new era of college athletics." This isn't about becoming Auburn trying to become Nashville or Austin. It's about using their facilities to make money. And instead of asking people to donate even more to a collective or to the university's fundraising arm, they are being invited to attend a concert. The ask is a lot less painful when the payer gets something tangible out of it.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Why do we want the same? Do concerts sell out the hump? The amphitheater?

I mean, if we will start hosting lollapalooza and 50k people will just miraculously decide to campus out on south farm for a week long festival, sure. Let's do it.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Why do we want the same? Do concerts sell out the hump? The amphitheater?

Genuinely don't know the answer to this. Have we scheduled concerts in the Hump that haven't done well recently?

 

[The Peeper]

Yall must be forgetting that this fantastic** band of guys have the Dude sold out next month

 

[The Cooterpoot]

And Keenum etc are scared of the turf management guys and liability involved. We're last to everything. Keenum and crew are followers, not leaders. But that museum will be cool one day eventually and won't draw as many people as one concert would.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Why do we want the same? Do concerts sell out the hump? The amphitheater?

I mean, if we will start hosting lollapalooza and 50k people will just miraculously decide to campus out on south farm for a week long festival, sure. Let's do it.

OM didn't just sell out one concert but a couple for Wallen. There's no reason we shouldn't be doing it. Go get big acts that can handle a stadium crowd and stop keeping Starkville empty in the summers.

 

[Darryl Steight]

Why do we want the same? Do concerts sell out the hump? The amphitheater?

1. MONEY.
2. Social cred, which we need.
3. Recruiting students. Related to 1 & 2 above.
4. MONEY.

Concerts generate revenue. A concert held at DWS (***if done correctly and you don't give away all the proceeds***) should net the school/athletic department a few million dollars.

We could easily sell out The Hump and Davis Wade if they are the right concerts. Did you see George Strait bring 114,000 people to Kyle Field last year? Metallica on Virginia's football field? Wisconsin just sold out their stadium with Coldplay. I hate to mention it, but how about Morgan 17'ing Wallen doing TWO shows at that piece of shitt stadium right up the road from us? And I can guarantee you they aren't done in Oxford. They will host more of them.

Dawg@Auburn summed it up nicely - it's another way to bring in funds to the athletic department without just knocking on doors and asking alumni to donate 'more'.

And now that other schools have caught on to the above and are putting on concerts, you can really stand out in a negative way if you don't do it. Do you think high schoolers want to go to a place with social cache or without? It's an unpleasant fact, but even if the school broke even on some of them... well, sometimes you really do need to keep up with the joneses if you want to stay competitive.

 

[Darryl Steight]

Yall must be forgetting that this fantastic** band of guys have the Dude sold out next month

View attachment 854740

I'm not into Bananas like some people**, but this is actually a great thing for us. I don't care who the act (or team) is, if you can sell out, you can make money. And anything that brings people to campus and Starkville is nothing but good.

 

[Maroon13]

And Keenum etc are scared of the turf management guys and liability involved. We're last to everything. Keenum and crew are followers, not leaders. But that museum will be cool one day eventually and won't draw as many people as one concert would.

Add many others ...... I heard a couple of state podcast guys come out of left field to moan and groan about the Hardy concert.

Also what OM/Oxford did with Wallen and State/Starkville did with Hardy are pretty good barometers of the potential success of bringing future events to either place.

I thought the Hardy concert was a success but not according to a few out of left field.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Add many others ...... I heard a couple of state podcast guys come out of left field to moan and groan about the Hardy concert.

That concert was as good as that venue will ever see (great show), but the rain changing the date is what hurt. People chose not to come when the date changed. Then the turf bitching started. 17 the damn turf! Fix it and move on! And in the summer/fall you'd have plenty of time to fix turf before baseball started up. We've got so many people stuck in the past it's embarrassing, from our administration to our fans, it's an epidemic!

 

[8dog]

Why do we want the same? Do concerts sell out the hump? The amphitheater?

I mean, if we will start hosting lollapalooza and 50k people will just miraculously decide to campus out on south farm for a week long festival, sure. Let's do it.

These are huge acts schools are getting that sell out and that would provide great exposures for the city and the school but also bring in tons of money to local businesses. We should be chasing these down like crazy. I’m hearing OM is closing in on 2 really big acts.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

We're the most averse to marketing of any P4 program in America. We finally decided to take the state football championships again. I'm sure we'll 17 that up and drop it again too. We always have excuses to do things.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

OM didn't just sell out one concert but a couple for Wallen. There's no reason we shouldn't be doing it. Go get big acts that can handle a stadium crowd and stop keeping Starkville empty in the summers.

We won't have a stadium crowd though. Or again, are we bringing something in that will cause me to drive in from hours away and camp/stay extra day.

Wallen can do well at oxfart because its accessible enough to mempho.

1. MONEY.
2. Social cred, which we need.
3. Recruiting students. Related to 1 & 2 above.
4. MONEY.

Concerts generate revenue. A concert held at DWS (***if done correctly and you don't give away all the proceeds***) should net the school/athletic department a few million dollars.

We could easily sell out The Hump and Davis Wade if they are the right concerts. Did you see George Strait bring 114,000 people to Kyle Field last year? Metallica on Virginia's football field? Wisconsin just sold out their stadium with Coldplay. I hate to mention it, but how about Morgan 17'ing Wallen doing TWO shows at that piece of shitt stadium right up the road from us? And I can guarantee you they aren't done in Oxford. They will host more of them.

Dawg@Auburn summed it up nicely - it's another way to bring in funds to the athletic department without just knocking on doors and asking alumni to donate 'more'.

And now that other schools have caught on to the above and are putting on concerts, you can really stand out in a negative way if you don't do it. Do you think high schoolers want to go to a place with social cache or without? It's an unpleasant fact, but even if the school broke even on some of them... well, sometimes you really do need to keep up with the joneses if you want to stay competitive.

This is the latest Taylor swift concert, at Davis Wade. This was 30 minutes into her set. I'm a bulldog, completely realistic cynicism that we can mishandle the biggest and easiest (although, I will say the bananas playing at the dude is the one thing that is right in our baseball school wheelhouse).

 

[StealYourState]

Won’t happen due to the turf crew, I am serious.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

We won't have a stadium crowd though. Or again, are we bringing something in that will cause me to drive in from hours away and camp/stay extra day.

Wallen can do well at oxfart because its accessible enough to mempho.

I'm a bulldog, completely realistic cynicism that we can mishandle the biggest and easiest (although, I will say the bananas playing at the dude is the one thing that is right in our baseball school wheelhouse).

Geez Blitz - not used to this amount of negativity from you.

I don't believe that with the right act a concert would be a flop. I'm not a music guy at all, but I'm sure others could name reasonable options who would be a healthy draw. And having people have to "drive in from hours away and camp/stay extra day"......I mean, no one is telling anyone that they have to attend. I probably wouldn't go but I am not the target demographic. And bringing people into Starkville on a non-game day for a fun event seems like a win for everyone. Visitors get to see Starkville on a non-gameday, the tourism industry gets a nice infusion, and the University perhaps gets prospective students on campus without having to host them for a tour or some other type of event. Music people who are fans of Ole Miss or Alabama or Southern or LSU don't give a crap if the concert is somewhere else. If they want to see it, they will pack up and go. People already drive hours to see concerts in Memphis, Bham, Atlanta...not comparing us to those cities but we could reap the same benefits. Your cynicism is well-founded, rooted in years of mistakes, but the only bigger mistake we can make now, in my opinion, is sitting around and watching others widen the gap while we huddle up in the corner, whining about our place at the table.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Won’t happen due to the turf crew, I am serious.

Then we need a new turf crew, I am serious. Money >>>>> nice looking grass.

 

[StealYourState]

Then we need a new turf crew, I am serious. Money >>>>> nice looking grass.

Preaching to the choir on that one.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Geez Blitz - not used to this amount of negativity from you.

I don't believe that with the right act a concert would be a flop. I'm not a music guy at all, but I'm sure others could name reasonable options who would be a healthy draw. And having people have to "drive in from hours away and camp/stay extra day"......I mean, no one is telling anyone that they have to attend. I probably wouldn't go but I am not the target demographic. And bringing people into Starkville on a non-game day for a fun event seems like a win for everyone. Visitors get to see Starkville on a non-gameday, the tourism industry gets a nice infusion, and the University perhaps gets prospective students on campus without having to host them for a tour or some other type of event. Music people who are fans of Ole Miss or Alabama or Southern or LSU don't give a crap if the concert is somewhere else. If they want to see it, they will pack up and go. People already drive hours to see concerts in Memphis, Bham, Atlanta...not comparing us to those cities but we could reap the same benefits. Your cynicism is well-founded, rooted in years of mistakes, but the only bigger mistake we can make now, in my opinion, is sitting around and watching others widen the gap while we huddle up in the corner, whining about our place at the table.

I'm just of the thought, if it was in the hump and sold 8k tix, it'd look full and rockin....but if 8k wasnt a sellout and you put those 8k at Scott field, well that place will look vacant, and that's the buzz that would be out there.

 

[Darryl Steight]

I'm just of the thought, if it was in the hump and sold 8k tix, it'd look full and rockin....but if 8k wasnt a sellout and you put those 8k at Scott field, well that place will look vacant, and that's the buzz that would be out there.

I think you're missing the point. Yes, there are some acts that would be perfect for the Hump, but there are also some acts (though not as many) that would sell out Davis Wade. But we would have to go all in. You/we (especially the admin) would have to think and act like a big-time school. I get it - that's not something you or any of us have seen us excel at, but that's where we are. It's happening around the nation at other universities. We're actually getting surrounded by it.

Oxford has done it, twice now, and is working on others as 8dog pointed out. LSU had Garth Brooks. A&M had George Strait and a plan for others coming up. UGA has had Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan before, but is planning another for April. Bama is planning stuff. Auburn just made a public announcement that they are putting a multi-show, multi-year deal in place.

We're going to get left behind if we don't do it, is my point. We either do what (now) everyone else is doing, or we keep ignoring this and enjoy being embarrassed by our peers. We've seen this coming for 2-3 years and could have been out front on this. We chose not to do that of course, so we missed on being the leaders. But now we are faced with another choice, whether to keep up or not.

And again, I'm not saying 'keep up with the joneses' just because it's embarrassing. This is something that MAKES MONEY for the athletic department, plus gives us social cred with the public, so there's really not a good reason NOT to do it (unless you are one of the turf crew I guess). As we recruit new students, we really don't need to be the only school around here that doesn't do cool things. Talk about losing momentum in a hurry, that's the way to do it.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

I think you're missing the point. Yes, there are some acts that would be perfect for the Hump, but there are also some acts (though not as many) that would sell out Davis Wade. But we would have to go all in. You/we (especially the admin) would have to think and act like a big-time school. I get it - that's not something you or any of us have seen us excel at, but that's where we are. It's happening around the nation at other universities. We're actually getting surrounded by it.

Oxford has done it, twice now, and is working on others as 8dog pointed out. LSU had Garth Brooks. A&M had George Strait and a plan for others coming up. UGA has had Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan before, but is planning another for April. Bama is planning stuff. Auburn just made a public announcement that they are putting a multi-show, multi-year deal in place.

We're going to get left behind if we don't do it, is my point. We either do what (now) everyone else is doing, or we keep ignoring this and enjoy being embarrassed by our peers. We've seen this coming for 2-3 years and could have been out front on this. We chose not to do that of course, so we missed on being the leaders. But now we are faced with another choice, whether to keep up or not.

And again, I'm not saying 'keep up with the joneses' just because it's embarrassing. This is something that MAKES MONEY for the athletic department, plus gives us social cred with the public, so there's really not a good reason NOT to do it (unless you are one of the turf crew I guess). As we recruit new students, we really don't need to be the only school around here that doesn't do cool things. Talk about losing momentum in a hurry, that's the way to do it.

I do see that.

 

[RopeDawg]

Wish we could do the same.

We "could" if we wanted to.

All the SEC and Big 10 schools are doing it.

Rhett didn't magically become a genius when he left here... we could do the same.

Not unless Starkville decides to build about 20 more hotels other than Comfort Inn & Suites, Red Roof Inns and Best Westerns

 

[RopeDawg]

COULD? You wish we COULD do it? Is there something stopping us? Knowing that we are probably toward the bottom of the league in revenue generation, we should probably be creatively seeking out opportunities like this. Look at Rhett's quote...."while also growing essential revenue for our department in this new era of college athletics." This isn't about becoming Auburn trying to become Nashville or Austin. It's about using their facilities to make money. And instead of asking people to donate even more to a collective or to the university's fundraising arm, they are being invited to attend a concert. The ask is a lot less painful when the payer gets something tangible out of it.

There’s nowhere for concert goers to stay

 

[Darryl Steight]

There’s nowhere for concert goers to stay

More hotels would be great, but driving to Columbus, Tupelo, or even Jackson after the concert won't keep people from going to see a big act. Just like it doesn't keep them from going to a football game in the same venue.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Are they going to move Auburn Rodeo there?

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

All this gnashing of teeth, and no one asks the real question. Will they be able to fit in a driving range around the back of the stadium for Coach Freeze with all the money they will make? He needs something to do during the practices.

 

[StillTbonewannabe]

The Atlanta Braves have concerts during baseball season when they are on road trips. Maybe our guys should ask them how to do it.

 

[tenureplan]

Maybe we could get Widespread to come back""

 

[The Cooterpoot]

There’s nowhere for concert goers to stay

There's nowhere for 60k football fans to stay but they've still sold out the stadium before