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Perryscope Concerts ...

Early History (1977 - 1996)

Perryscope Concerts was founded in in the summer of 1977 by Norman Perry and Donald K. Donald, well-known promoters in Eastern Canada. Their first real production tour was with a band called The Stampeders, who toured B.C. and Alberta in the fall of 1977. From the very beginning, Perryscope developed a strong reputation as an artist-friendly promoter that sought out promising new acts and valued working with young, up-and-coming bands and entertainers.

From the outset, Perryscope championed new and innovative music. It began to book seminal touring artists such as The Ramones, Blondie, Devo, Patti Smith, Joe Jackson, Talking Heads or Tom Petty at the Commodore. It never lost its commitment to building local talent and booked such bands as the Pointed Sticks, D.O.A., Young Canadians and the Subhumans as headliners or opening acts.

By the 1980s, Perryscope developed a strong reputation with artists, managers, agents and record labels as the leading promoter in Western Canada able to book shows and live entertainment events in Vancouver, other central British Columbia cities and eventually expanding into Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In 1981, Perryscope promoted a then up-and-coming band’s first North American tour. On March 24th, U2’s Boy Tour opened at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC. In 1982, Labatt’s began to sponsor presentations by Perryscope. In 1987, Perryscope had been averaging over 250 shows a year and by far the biggest single event, up to that year, was the November presentation of U2’s Joshua Tree tour, which grossed $1.3 million in Vancouver alone. Perryscope went on to promote another six U2 tours.

From 1977 to 1986, Perryscope’s stature and profile in the North American touring industry steadily increased as evidenced not only by the significant press coverage it was garnering in Canadian press but also by being featured in Billboard in at least 87 articles, ads and tour listings over this period.

From the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Perryscope solidified its reputation as a leader in North American concert production, regularly breaking Western Canadian box offices records. By 1997, Perryscope Concerts was producing at least 500 concerts and special events annually throughout Western Canada and the Pacific North West. Perryscope had created and produced many special events including: -	“Another Roadside Attraction” (ARA), a biannual, multi act, across Canada touring festival headlined by The Tragically Hip. -	The Merritt Mountain Music Festival, an annual country music festival. -	Coast-to-coast Canadian concert tours by artists such as Blue Rodeo and Garth Brooks. -	Thousands of concerts by the world’s most popular music artists such as Aerosmith, INXS, Sting, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Santana, Frank Sinatra, Jose Carreras, Whitney Houston, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, John Mellencamp, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Elton John, Van Morrison, etc.

In 1996, after almost 20 years in the concert production business, Perryscope Concerts merged with MCA Concerts, eventually becoming House of Blues which morphed into Live Nation.

2012 and Beyond

In 2012, Perryscope has returned, developing or acquiring unique and new content for live entertainment venues and creating innovative performance, promotion and distribution opportunities.