10 students to gain experiential education on ‘Happy Together Tour’
This June, for the second year in a row, 10 Belmont University students will join professor and legendary musician Mark Volman (a founding member of the band The Turtles) on the road for an East Coast run of the “Happy Together Tour.” The tour’s “classroom” and schedule looks something like this: one tour bus, a precious few hotel rooms, long hours and many stages—for two and a half weeks and a grade.
Under the guidance of faculty advisor Mark Volman and staff advisor Lucas Boto, students will work with touring artists and crew professionals in the areas of tour management, stage management, audio engineering, tour accounting and merchandise sales. These duties will be in addition to their continued learning each day during the process of load-in, setup, tear-down and load-out. These hands-on educational avenues outside of the classroom provide networking opportunities with all of the supporting organizations while gaining an understanding of the revenue flow from music consumer to touring performer. Click here to view a recap of student tour experience from Summer 2012.
“Only at Belmont do students get such a unique opportunity to experience the world of tour management, live production and what life on the road looks like before embarking on their career paths. I’m excited to teach them what I know outside a normal classroom space and to see what I’ll learn from them. Inevitably, their energy will add to the tour experience for the performers as well,” says Turtles founding member and Curb College Assistant Professor of Entertainment Industry Studies Mark Volman.
Amanda Mae Renkel, a senior from Phillipsburg, New Jersey who is majoring in music business, said, “I knew this [tour] was an opportunity I had to seize. I’m excited to get the chance to learn what life is like on the road—beyond the classroom, the campus and the textbooks. I am so looking forward to getting the hands-on experience while building lasting friendships.”
The “Happy Together Tour” unites several pop/rock artists of the ‘60s all together on stage, starring: The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie, Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Gary Lewis & The Playboys and Mark Lindsay (former lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders). Students will work a dozen shows on the tour:
June 14 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
June 15 Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, FL
June 16 James K. Polk Theater Nashville, TN
June 18 Lebanon Opera House Lebanon, NH
June 19 Keswick Theater Glenside, PA
June 20 New Jersey State Theatre New Brunswick, NJ
June 21 NYCB Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY
June 22 The Tarrytown Music Hall Tarrytown, NY
June 23 Wolf Trap Filene Center Vienna, VA
June 25 The Hanover Theatre Worcester, MA
June 26 Cain Park – Evans Amphitheater Cleveland Heights, OH
June 27 Penn’s Peak Jim Thorpe, PA
June 28 Hampton Beach Casino Hampton Beach, NH
June 29 North Shore Music Theater Beverly, MA
June 30 American Music Theater Lancaster, PA
The touring classroom joins a long line of experiential learning opportunities offered to students in Belmont’s Curb College of Music Business and Entertainment. In addition to an ongoing annual showcase series that features student production and performances, for the last two years, the Curb College has sent students to class at SXSW (also known as “South by Southwest”), one of the world’s leading music industry events, to allow them to network with leading executives, learn about industry trends and discover emerging artists. This summer also marks the third year for the University to host the Pipeline project, a student think tank dedicated to entertainment industry solutions.
About the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business
The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business strives to combine academic experience with real world applications and seeks to achieve its mission by implementing innovative courses of study in the entertainment and music industries. A quiet world leader that has been featured in Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Business Week, CEMB offers three degrees and four majors—a BBA in Music Business and a BA or BS in Audio Engineering Technology, Entertainment Industry Studies, and Songwriting—and provides invaluable experiential learning opportunities like the Belmont East (New York City) and Belmont West (Los Angeles) programs, through which students expand their cultural experiences and career opportunities as they reside, learn, work, and network in NYC or LA. Coupled with entertainment internship opportunities available on and around Music Row, these programs augment students’ chances for entrepreneurial endeavors and career advancement.
