Last week, Piet Levy wrote an article titled: Bradley Center booking director hired to turn around struggling Miller High Life Theatre. That conversation was with Doug Johnson, the Vice President of Entertainment and Sports for the Wisconsin Center District which owns and operates the Miller High Life Theatre, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Wisconsin Center. He's been behind some of the big bookings we've been talking about lately.
On this week's Tap'd In, 88Nine's Jordan sits down with him to talk about the future of concerts and entertainment in Milwaukee.
Read more and listen to the full Tap’d In podcast below.
Jordan: What opportunities do you see for Milwaukee's growth in the near (and far) future from your perspective?
Doug: I think there's great opportunity in the year 2018 for Milwaukee and national touring acts. There's a proliferation this year. So we're getting our just due. Now, we have to sell tickets. And make sure people are coming out to the gig. I think this will expound on itself.
Jordan: What opportunity are we looking at in the future here with a brand new arena now and a more healthy downtown? What about collaboration?
Doug: I think I have a great relationship with Pabst/Riverside/Turner Hall. We did shows with them at the Bradley Center for Bon Iver and Amy Schumer. I'm welcoming everybody to come into these buildings.
Every building, every room has its niche. And finding that niche and working with people to put the right band in the right room—that's collaboration. Ground zero is downtown. You have the new arena, my three, Pabst/Riverside/Turner Hall, those three—that's where the epicenter of music is going to come together.