NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — AC Entertainment, co-creator of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has acquired Nashville-based concert promotion company Great Big Shows. This new relationship will strengthen AC Entertainment's presence in Music City and expand its resources for event creation, management and production nationwide.
Great Big Shows will continue to operate under its original name and former owner Rick Whetsel will remain at the helm, Billboard reported.
The relationship between the two entertainment companies began when Rick Whetsel, owner of Great Big Shows, approached AC Ent. president Ashley Capps about booking a major event for him in Washington D.C., Live on Penn. In turn, Capps enlisted Great Big Shows to handle production management for one of his events, Sundown in the City, since then the two companies have collaborated on both big and small events.
"This is an exciting step for our company," says Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment. "Our business is continuing to grow, and this move positions us for the next phase as we develop new event concepts and grow the management side of our business."
"After over a decade of working with AC Entertainment, I'm really looking forward to enhancing the relationship between our two companies," says Whetsel. "By taking advantage of the strengths and assets created by working together, we'll be able to expand our capabilities as both concert promoters and event producers."
The first major Nashville event to be announced under the new venture is a co-headliner concert featuring the Allman Brothers Band and Widespread Panic at Riverfront Park on October 14, 2009. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
