In The Live Music Trenches with John Harris of XL LIVE
John Harris of XL Live has been in the live music trenches for more than 40 years as a talent buyer, promoter and marketer. He shares his story as well as what’s actually helping him sell more tickets in 2025.
Hypebot’s In The Trenches series is sponsored by venue, festival and promoter marketing solution Bandsintown PRO. It features the unsung heroes who make live music happen. – Bruce Houghton
In The Live Music Trenches with John Harris of XL LIVE
Tell us about yourself.
JOHN HARRIS: I’ve been in the biz since the early 80’s in Harrisburg, PA booking and producing events at 1,000 capacity Metron for about 15 years. During that time I also co-produced concerts on City Island (20K cap.).
I produced Millennium Music Music Conference in Harrisburg for 25 years and the Singer-Songwriter of Cape May (NJ) since 2008. I’ve also been a middle agent for decades and worked for Live Nation and Harrisburg University presents in production management for years.
What is XL Live?
HARRIS: I have been the Talent Buyer at XL LIVE, which opened in the Spring of 2018, for 7 years. The 1,200 capacity venue also has the outdoor 3,000 capacity SouthSide Stage in our parking lot.
We’ve had over 50 sold out shows to date including: All Time Low, Charlie Crockett, Coheed and Cambria, Greensky Bluegrass, Highly Suspects, Jessie Murph, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Rick Ross, Starset, Trampled By Turtles, Turnstile, Warren Zeiders and Wet Leg.
What does your typical workday look like?
HARRIS: Typically, I’ll spend the morning in our offices working with the GM and Marketing Director on the upcoming show announces and on sales. In the afternoon and evening I work from my home office. I still have my land line and rolodex from decades of work in the industry.
What ‘go to’ tools, strategies and outlets do you use to market most shows?
HARRIS: We us all socials including: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok. We also us Bandinstown and Mail Chimp for targeted email marketing. We use local print, local radio and street promo. to a lesser degree.
What newer marketing tools, strategies and outlets show the most promise?
HARRIS: We have found that Mail Chimp and the Bandsintown PRO platform help us reach the most ticket buyers. Bandsintown’s Meta integration also appears to show promise for our marketing efforts.
Name a show or campaign that you were involved in where you felt you had the most impact and why?
HARRIS: Working on shows that are outside of our normal go to audiences like: SAINt JHN, MC Lyte, Gogol Bordello and Xavier Rudd; plus smaller shows where we often need to think outside the box with our marketing efforts,
What do you wish artists would do differently that would make your job easier?
HARRIS: I do feel that artists’ teams give us all of the tools and info we need, in most cases, to do our job selling tickets.
The Competition
HARRIS: Being in a small or secondary market that has several similar capacity venues is always a challenge. In addition, our proximity to major markets and Live Nation venues make it very competitive.
Our distinct advantage is our venues artist amenities like dressing rooms, private bathrooms, showers & laundry. In addition, we have great in-house production and a team that is superior to our competitors.
Our ownership has unqualified concern for our customers too. Tons of well lit, free parking and ample clean bathrooms and bar service. We also feature large screens throughout the venue and outdoor patio featuring a 200 year old mammoth Sycamore tree.
More In The Trenches Interviews
Hypebot’s In The Trenches series is sponsored by venue, festival and promoter marketing solution Bandsintown PRO.
