The show must go on

Junior Andrew Landau’s goals for the future might seem unrealistic at first.\n“I hope to be able to have John Mayer sing at my son’s bar mitzvah,” Landau said.\nSince starting his own concert promoting business called Innovative Entertainment Concepts, Landau might be one step closer to his dream. After Ben Folds came to campus to perform at a sold out concert last fall, Landau began figuring out ways he could put a similar show together himself. With his partner Evan Bregman, a junior at the University of Southern California, Landau made a list of his favorite artists and began calling agents.\nIt wasn’t until Landau called Dave Kubiakat the Bluebird, that he got the opportunity to promote his first IEC event.\n“This guy gave me an unbelievable chance,” Landau said. “I had no experience promoting a show and he just said here are the keys to the bar for the night and do the best you can.”\nThough Landau’s business ventures are somewhat new, his experience with music is deeply rooted. At age 6, he started performing at his synagogue and eventually became a singer and business manager for the IU a cappella group Straight No Chaser. He is also responsible for founding HooShir, a Jewish a cappella group that sang at the White House during \nwinter break.\n“There’s no doubt that the confidence and creativity I have is from my success with Straight No Chaser and from booking the White House trip this year,” Landau said. “Afterward, I thought maybe I should be doing this for a living.”\nMusician Ryan Ahlwardt, who has known Landau since high school and will be the headliner at IEC’s first event, said he is certain of Landau’s talent.\n“Just the fact that he is starting now is promising,” Ahlwardt said. “He’s very independent, has a good vision and is goal-oriented.”\nAlready aware of his talent, Landau was ready for the next step in his musical career. Since January, Landau has been busy finding the talent for his shows, designing and posting fliers, sending notices on Facebook and establishing a budget. Landau and Bregman pay for publicity and all other costs entirely from their own pockets.\n“It’s risky, to be sure, but it makes us even more committed to making sure this works,” Bregman said.\nFor Landau, who is a gambler and poker player, the $1,000 budget for his first event does not cause too much concern.\n“It makes it so exciting and that’s why, when I wake up in the morning, I say this is what I want to do the rest of my life,” Landau said.\nFor now, Landau is trying to balance the pressures of his academics with his new career. But with his first event coming up Feb. 27, Landau is focusing his attention on the business. Besides posting fliers in restaurants all around Bloomington, he has his friends acting as representatives and selling pre-sale tickets. With Luke Mechling as the master of ceremonies, Corey Frye and Owen Stevenson performing with True Story and the Ryan Ahlwardt Trio headlining, Landau has high hopes for the show.\n“This first show is so huge for the company,” Landau said. “There is so much riding on this one show. I’m living and breathing it.”\nWhether the event is a success or not, Landau has high hopes for the future. He would like to promote and produce shows around the country for some of his favorite big-name artists.\n“I’ve learned a lot about the business world and what I’m capable of doing,” Landau said. “I was told ‘no’ over and over again from all these agents. You just have to be able to get through the rejections and be patient with it.” \nIn the meantime, Landau and Ahlwardt stay busy brainstorming for future events.\n“February 27th will be a trial run and we’ll go from there,” Ahlwardt said. “Like me, Andrew has big goals for himself.”