Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), owner of Nashville, Tennessee’s Grand Olé Opry, a live country music radio show, is expanding into the festival industry with the acquisition of a majority stake in Southern Entertainment.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Southern Entertainment is the company behind several premier country music festivals, including the Carolina Country Music Festival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Barefoot Country Music Festival in Wildwood, New Jersey; Lovin’ Life Music Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina; THE Greenville Country Music Festival in Greenville, South Carolina; and the next Fes of music on the ground and in streamingt in Winnsboro, South Carolina, launching in 2025.
Founded in 2015 by Bob Durkin And Rob PedlowSouthern Entertainment has produced over 500 musical events. The Charlotte-based company’s portfolio includes festivals in several states, with the Carolina Country Music Fest in Myrtle Beach being its flagship event.
“In just 10 years, the Southern Entertainment team has grown its business to become one of the strongest independent festival companies in the United States,” said Patrick MooreCEO of Opry Entertainment Group.
“This investment will allow us to expand our reach to a broad and loyal fan base, complementary to our current audience.”
Patrick MooreOpry Entertainment Group
“With this investment, we enter a dynamic and growing events sector with seasoned operators who share our passion for creating unforgettable experiences for artists and fans. This investment will allow us to expand our reach to a broad and loyal fan base, complementary to our current audience.
Under the terms of the agreement, Durkin and Pedlow will continue to lead Southern Entertainment.
This acquisition marks an expansion for OEG, which is majority owned by Ryman Home Properties.
“Joining forces with OEG will add immediate value to our existing events and allow us to accelerate our plans to bring festivals to new markets,” Durkin and Pedlow said in a joint statement.
“We are confident that our fans, the artists who perform on our stages and the cities in which we operate will benefit from our alliance with such an iconic name in country music.”
Following the merger, OEG’s artist development programs will be integrated into Southern’s festival programming, where many Opry members and Opry NextStage artists have performed.
Looking ahead, the combined entity plans to develop additional artist-centric experiences and explore new markets.
“We view festivals as a tremendous opportunity to deepen our commitment to artists at all phases of their careers, and we are especially excited to partner with Southern Entertainment to attract even more emerging artists to play on our stages.” large-scale events,” Moore added.
The deal is the latest in the music festival industry after acquisition European festival operator Superstruct Entertainment by the investment giant KKR in June 2024.
Also in 2024, German live music giant CTS Event completed its acquisition of from Vivendi ticketing and festival activities, a transaction with a total enterprise value of approximately 300 million euros (approximately US$309 million at current exchange rates).
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