Bruce Kapp at Chicago’s Soldier Field, circa 1977
Touring industry veteran Bruce Kapp, who is credited with helping to develop the concept of national gigging, was born with concerts on the brain: While in high school, he booked bands in and around his hometown, Chicago. After receiving a degree in marketing from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.), Kapp opened his own talent agency, which booked bands throughout the Midwest.
By the 1970s, he formed Celebration Concerts, a concert-promotion company whose clients included the Super Bowl of Rock series at Chicago’s Soldier Field stadium featuring Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd, Ted Nugent and Peter Frampton. He spent nearly a decade at PACE Concerts, starting in 1984, and later joined Magic Works, which was acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1998.
His most recent gig was senior VP of touring at Live Nation, overseeing jaunts by Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, Def Leppard, Van Halen and others.
