2024 Year in Review: Entertainment festivals see mixed results
Indianapolis added one homegrown music festival in 2024, while three others were put on hold because of financial challenges in the concert industry.
Concerts
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Electric violinist Cathy Morris leads nonprofit to give ‘big hug of arts’
Arts with a Purpose takes performing arts and visual arts to audiences who lack access to or can’t afford similar experiences.
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IBJ Podcast: Dave Lindquist previews can’t-miss entertainment in 2025
IBJ Editor Lesley Weidenbener sat down with IBJ’s arts and entertainment reporter Dave Lindquist to find out what’s on the docket this year in entertainment.
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Indiana bands and solo artists will span the globe in 2025
Rapper Mark Battles and soul band Durand Jones & the Indications are two Indiana acts planning to perform overseas in 2025.
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Commission gives positive feedback on ISO’s Hilbert Circle Theatre plans
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presented its renovation plan Wednesday night in a preliminary review by the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, which has purview because both the interior and exterior of Hilbert Circle Theatre are protected as historically significant.
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Articles
Concert promoters, hotels and lodging sites soon must disclose extra fees up front
Consumers often see advertised prices for hotel rooms, short-term rentals, and tickets to sporting events and concerts only to be surprised later by so-called “junk fees,” including resort fees, cleaning fees, processing fees and other extra charges.
IBJ Podcast: Why size matters when it comes to Indy concert venues
IBJ arts and entertainment reporter Dave Lindquist talks with MOKB Presents partners Josh Baker and Dan Kemer about the venue — their third — they plan to open in the Murphy Arts Building and why musicians and their management care about venues of different sizes.
Concert launches Fishers arena to high marks, although parking policy faces learning curve
For motorists who did not pay before exiting the Fishers Event Center parking lot on Friday night, a $20 invoice will be sent by mail.
Indoor concert venue planned to succeed Fountain Square’s Hi-Fi Annex
Concert company MOKB Presents announced plans Monday to open a 1,200-capacity venue in early 2026 at the former site of Well Done Marketing in the Murphy Arts Building.
ASL interpreters helped to complete the picture of ‘Eras Tour’ in Indianapolis
Indianapolis-based company LTC Language Solutions sent two interpreters to each night of Taylor Swift’s shows at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Taylor Swift updates: End of final show in Indy; more photos; celebrities among Swift fans
IBJ is covering Taylor Swift’s three-day visit to Indianapolis and the 200,000-some fans expected to converge on the city to attend (or try to find tickets to attend) one of the concerts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Check back regularly for updates.
Swift fans say city’s efforts to impress have succeeded
Some 200,000 people were expected to be downtown for three Taylor Swift shows, and tourism officials have used music performances, activities and Swift-related decor to encourage them to return to the city.
Count Indianapolis hotels and restaurants among fans of ‘Eras Tour’
In a year that’s included the NBA All-Star Game and U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Taylor Swift’s concerts are generating comparable business.
Taylor Swift and fans celebrate past, present during Indianapolis show
Swift opened her three-night stand in Indy on Friday with a whopping 69,000 people in the house who registered up to 114 decibels of adoration during part of the concert.
Photos: Taylor Swift performs on first night of Eras Tour stop in Indianapolis
The show, which ran 3-1/2 hours, included nearly 50 songs from Swift’s discography and featured up-and-coming artist Gracie Abrams as the opener.
Airport welcomes thousands of Taylor Swift fans with music, Girl Scout friendship bracelets
The airport expects to see 20,000 to 21,000 departures on Sunday and Monday each, which would put those days near the top of the venue’s busiest ever, alongside the Monday after the Super Bowl in 2012.
Giant friendship bracelets from Swift’s New Orleans shows come to Indianapolis
The 140-foot-long strands, consisting of 7-foot inflatables resembling beads, were designed by contemporary artist Shawn Kolodny and will be affixed below the north window of the Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday.
Swift concert merchandise sales dominated largely by locals on first day
Local fans waited in line Wednesday at the Indiana Convention Center to secure limited-edition Taylor Swift T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, friendship bracelets and other bracelets.
Traffic plans, pop-up performances unveiled for Taylor Swift weekend
Construction and congestion are expected to be challenges for motorists as nearly 200,000 people gather downtown over a three-day period.
Two Indianapolis writers made the most of Taylor Swift’s ubiquitous appeal
Samantha Fain and Téa Franco served as co-editors for 2022 book “Kiss Your Darlings: A Taylor Swift Anthology.”
Hotels across nine-county area sold out for Eras Tour weekend
Indianapolis’ agency for conventions and tourism also reports that short-term lodging bookings through Airbnb and Vrbo have surged 207% in the Indianapolis area as compared to Nov. 1-3 of 2023.
IBJ Podcast: How Taylor Swift will give Indy a massive platform to promote itself
About 80% of ticket holders over the three concerts will come from outside Indiana, presenting an immense marketing opportunity for Visit Indy, the agency in charge of promoting Indianapolis for conventions and other tourism.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats to perform at Fishers Event Center
The band most recently performed in central Indiana in September 2023 when it played at Ruoff Music Center as part of the FarmAid 2023 festival.
IBJ Podcast replay: The story behind booking Taylor Swift’s tour as Indy prepares for ‘phenomenon’
In this encore presentation of the IBJ Podcast: Eric Neuburger, the director of Lucas Oil Stadium, discusses the advance work required to prepare for the shows and the staff of more than 2,000 people required to stage and host each concert.