Pollstar (03/16/23) Pittman, Sarah
Increasing extreme weather events have challenged the live industry, which in terms of routing has tackled them by planning ahead and being flexible. Many festivals and live executives employ weather monitoring services like Weather Ops via DTN, which will send email or phone alerts to clients if weather conditions are going to impact an event. Pioneer Coach President Doug Rountree explains: "We have apps that allow us to pull up at any given point any bus we have in the fleet, exactly where it's located, how fast it's going, etc. We're constantly looking at the weather. In our drivers' department, we have people who will say, 'Hey, we know that this is coming through Texas, be aware,' and then we will create a different route and let them know how much time it will cost." Rock-It Cargo's Steve Maples highlights cooperation between stakeholders. "Chances are, if the truck's not getting through, the bus isn't getting through," he notes. "And, the artist, if he's on a bus, the bus is stuck behind the crew bus or just ahead of it and they all pull into a truck stop and have breakfast together and we wait for it to blow over." Meanwhile, Higginbotham Insurance Managing Director Paul Bassman has observed artists assuming responsibility for covering guarantees due to weather cancellations at outdoor events among the larger promoters.
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