History

The Company

PromoWest Productions was the largest full-service, independently owned and operated entertainment company in the Midwest and was named one of the top 10 largest rock promoters by Pollstar Magazine. PromoWest Productions is now a partner of AEG Presents, the second largest live music company in the world. PromoWest continues to takes pride in bringing today’s biggest names in music featured in an intimate setting, while showcasing up-and-coming artists as well.

AEG Presents is one of the largest live music companies in the world. The company is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including producing and promoting global and regional concert tours, music events and world-renowned festivals. AEG Presents operates in North America, Europe and Asia through 16 regional offices that support its tours which include such artists as Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber, BTS, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry and Kenny Chesney; produce or support over 25 music festivals, including the iconic Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Stagecoach, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Hangout Festival, Electric Forest, and Firefly; and owns, manages or books more than 80 clubs and theaters. AEG Presents produces and promotes more than 11,000 shows annually worldwide and conducts business under such globally renowned brands as AEG Presents, Goldenvoice, The Bowery Presents, Concerts West, Messina Touring Group, Marshall Arts LTD, and Madison House Presents.

Listen to an interview with AEG Regional Vice President and CEO of PromoWest Productions Scott Stienecker on "Getting the Brand Back Together" here.

The Beginning

Scott Stienecker, CEO of PromoWest Productions, graduated from St. Mary’s Memorial High School in 1978 and attended Bowling Green University before transferring to The Ohio State University to join the OSU Pep Board and begin co-promoting concerts for the University. Two notable concerts he co-promoted with Belkin Productions include Black Sabbath and AC/DC at St. John Arena.

In 1981 Stienecker accepted an internship in San Francisco with concert promoter Bill Graham. The following year, he was hired by Parallax Productions based in Berkley, CA, to book concerts in secondary markets throughout California. Stienecker promoted concerts for artists such as The Clash, Talking Heads and The Go-Gos.

PromoWest Productions was founded in 1984, when Stienecker got word that the Columbus Agora was scheduled to close. He purchased the building, now known as Newport Music Hall, and started PromoWest with the mission to bring quality, big-name entertainment and emerging talent to Central Ohio. PromoWest presented its first act, Neil Young, at Newport Music Hall to a sold out crowd on September 9, 1984. Today, Newport Music Hall is famously known as the longest continually running rock club in the United States and has hosted legendary performers and today’s hottest acts including AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran, Metallica, Black Sabbath, The Strokes, Greenday, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more.

Stienecker staged the first evening concerts at Cooper Stadium and the Brewery District as well as managed live entertainment for the Ohio State Fair in 1993, bringing record numbers in attendance.

In 1994, Stienecker partnered with Dave Lucas of Sunshine Promotions to build and operate the 18,000 capacity Polaris Amphitheater. The venue was sold to SFX Entertainment in 1997.

Stienecker had a vision to build a “smaller Polaris Amphitheater and larger Newport Music Hall” resulting in a one-of-a-kind indoor/outdoor concert venue opening in the Arena District, then PromoWest Pavilion, in 2001. PromoWest Pavilion is now known as KEMBA Live! and has an indoor capacity of 2,200 and an outdoor capacity of 5,200.

In 2003, PromoWest Productions assumed management of the building located next door to KEMBA Live!, now known as A&R Music Bar. In February 2005, PromoWest opened The Basement on the lower level of this building to host local and small national and regional acts.

In 2009, PromoWest Productions started broadcasting a weekly TV show featuring live performances from PromoWest venues, as well as incorporating live interviews and behind the scenes footage, which airs on NBC in the Columbus, OH and Pittsburgh, PA markets.

PromoWest partnered with Art Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2010 to build Stage AE, the second venue of its kind, modeled after the original PromoWest Pavilion.

In 2014, PromoWest Productions celebrated its 30th anniversary and announced the purchase of Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH.

Throughout his 37 years in the concert business, Stienecker has produced more than 8,000 concerts that include some of the most influential artists in music such as The Eagles, Jack White, Beck, Santana, Mumford & Sons, Tom Petty, Incubus, The Killers, fun., Lorde, Pixies, Alabama Shakes, The 1975, Jane’s Addiction and Imagine Dragons. Stienecker has grown PromoWest Productions over the past 30 years to become the largest privately owned concert promotion company in the Midwest. It currently produces more than 500 events every year.

• Co-chairman of Touchdown Club of Columbus
• Member of Young Professionals Organization (YPO)
• Voted one of the “40 Most Successful People in Columbus under age 40” in 1995
• Provides a scholarship fund at St. Mary’s City Schools called “Carpe Diem”

PromoWest Productions Show Highlights

Below are some highlights of shows produced over the last 30 years:

10,000 Maniacs, Alice Cooper, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, B.B. King, Bad Company, Bad English, Billy Crystal, Billy Ocean, Bo Diddley, Cheap Trick, Foo Fighters, George Clinton, George Thorogood, Great White, Greenday, GWAR, Huey Lewis and the News, James Brown, Jay Leno, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joe Satriani, Joe Walsh, Kings of Leon, Meatloaf, Megadeth, Melissa Etheridge, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Primus, Quiet Riot, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REO Speedwagon, Slayer, Smashing Pumpkins, Snoop Dogg, Sonic Youth, St. Vincent, The Monkees, Twenty One Pilots, Winger

Bon Jovi, Grateful Dead, Guns N Roses,

The Black Crowes, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa Etheridge, Smokey Robinson

Aerosmith, The Judds, Rush

Marilyn Manson, John Mellencamp, Nine Inch Nails, Tom Petty

Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, The Eagles, James Taylor, Janet Jackson, John Mellencamp, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Santana, Van Halen

George Strait, The Rolling Stones, U2

AC/DC, Deftones, Kings of Leon, Twenty One Pilots, Jack White,

Avenged Sevenfold, Twenty One Pilots

Alabama Shakes, Alice Cooper, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, B.B. King, B-52s, Backstreet Boys, Bastille, Beck, Billy Idol, Bob Dylan, Cage the Elephant, Childish Gambino, Coldplay, Dan Fogelberg, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Death Cab for Cutie, Ed Sheeran, Evanescence, Foo Fighters, Foster the People, fun., Garbage, George Clinton, Goo Goo Dolls, Gwar, Incubus, Jack White, Jane’s Addiction, Jewel, John Mayer, Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Korn, LL Cool J, Lorde, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mac Miller, Marilyn Manson, Melissa Etheridge, Moby, Modest Mouse, Mumford & Sons, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Neville Brothers, Panic! At The Disco, Queens of the Stone Age, Rihanna, Rob Zombie, Santana, Skrillex, Slayer, Slipknot, Snoop Dogg, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Tenacious D, The 1975, The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, The Killers, The Postal Service, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Twenty One Pilots, Wilco, Wiz Khalifa, Young The Giant

311, A Day to Remember, A Perfect Circle, Alice Cooper, Arctic Monkeys, Austin Mahone, Bastille, Boston, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Dropkick Murphys, Fall Out Boy, Fitz and the Tantrums, Flogging Molly, Heart, Hozier, Incubus, Jack White, Lyle Lovett, Mac Miller, Marilyn Manson, MGMT, Modest Mouse, Motley Crue, My Morning Jacket, Of Monsters and Men, Old Crow Medicine Show, Queens of the Stone Age, Rise Against, Sigur Ros, Skrillex, Sleater Kinney, Social Distortion, Soundgarden, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tenacious D, The 1975, The Avett Brothers, The Black Crowes, The Lumineers, The Neighbourhood, The Replacements, Twenty One Pilots, Volbeat, Wiz Khalifa, ZZ Top

PromoWest Owned and Operated Venues & Festivals

• KEMBA Live! (indoor/outdoor), Newport Music Hall, The Basement, A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH
• Stage AE (indoor/outdoor), Club AE – Pittsburgh, PA
• MegaCorp Pavilion (indoor/outdoor) – Cincinnati / Newport, KY
• Bunbury Music Festival – Cincinnati, OH
• PromoWest Fest – Columbus, OH
• Polaris Amphitheater (1994-1997) – Columbus, OH