AEG Presents has acquired live music venue The Complex in downtown Salt Lake City.

Established in 2010, The Complex contains multiple indoor and outdoor event spaces and has welcomed more than two million music fans through its doors over the past 15 years. Acts to have performed include Billie Eilish, Billy Idol, Flume, J Cole, Jelly Roll, Lil Wayne, Megan Maroney, Macklemore, Slayer, Travis Scott and Vampire Weekend.

Most live music events are hosted in its two primary indoor venues: the 2,500-capacity Rockwell and the 850-cap The Grand (850 capacity), while summer concerts are also held in The Lot (cap. 4,000).

The deal marks the first venue owned and operated by AEG in the city.

“The Complex is the backbone of live music in Salt Lake City”

“The Complex is the backbone of live music in Salt Lake City,” says Don Strasburg, AEG president, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest regional offices. “We have always loved promoting shows at The Complex and are so thrilled to bring AEG Presents’ knowledge, relationships and resources together with the entire management team. We are diligently reviewing every opportunity to enhance the already stellar patron and artist experience to make sure the live music fans get even better world class experiences.”

The Complex will continue to employ the existing staff, with shows booked by AEG talent buyer Xavier Frey and the venue managed by GM Paul Brucks.

“After 15 years as an integral part of the Salt Lake City music scene, we’re looking forward to taking things to the next level as an AEG Presents venue,” says Brucks, “We’ve always been focused on providing the exceptional live music experience for our community and this will allow us to expand on that endeavour.”

Last week meanwhile, AEG announced a collaboration with video game company Activision Publishing around the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. As part of the link-up, AEG-owned and operated venues including Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre and The Roxy will be featured in the game.

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Three people were wounded in a shooting following a concert by Los Angeles rap group Shoreline Mafia in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The gunshots were fired as the three victims left multi-room music venue the Complex on Friday evening (22 November). It is believed they had attended the concert, which took place in the Complex’s 2,500-capacity Rockwell venue.

All victims, two adults and one minor, are expected to survive.

According to Salt Lake City police officer Carlos Valencia, the two adult victims had engaged in a verbal confrontation inside the venue, although no connection to the shooting has been confirmed.

Shoreline Mafia’s 2019 tour has seen them play across the United States and Europe, with shows in Germany, Austria, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

The group is now embarking on the Australian leg of the tour, appearing at Brisbane’s Wildlands festival (28,000-cap.), Beyond the Valley (16,000-cap.) in Victoria, Perth’s Origen Fields (15,000-cap.) and Field Day (20,000-cap.) in Sydney.

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Live Nation has taken control of Utah’s United Concerts, in its eighth acquisition of 2017.

The union of the two companies – which have co-promoted concerts in the Utah region for a number of number of years – is a “natural progression as they aim to bring even more live events to the community”, says Live Nation. Live Nation’s Ticketmaster division also has an existing exclusive ticketing deal with Vivint Smart Home Arena (19,911-cap.) in Salt Lake City.

“Having partnered with United Concerts on hundreds of shows in the past, we’re confident they are the right partners as Live Nation grows our presence in the market,” says Bob Roux, Live Nation’s co-president of North America Concerts.

“Becoming part of Live Nation is a strategic move that will benefit our operated venues and Utah’s live music community at large”

United Concerts CEO Jim McNeil – who becomes president of US concerts, Salt Lake City, for Live Nation and reports into Roux – adds: “Becoming part of Live Nation is a strategic move that will benefit our operated venues and Utah’s live music community at large.

“We look forward to connecting artists with countless fans here in Salt Lake.”

Salt Lake City-based United Concerts has produced more than 6,000 events in its 50 years in business.

Live Nation’s last acquisition was in July, when it bought a majority stake in Swiss hip-hop festival Openair Frauenfeld. It made a record eight acquisitions in 2016.

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