Messina Touring Group at 25: How The Promotion Company Behind Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran Was ‘Built on Trust and Vision’
Categoria: Musica
Louis Messina says that “every artist we work for, we believe in.”
Por Billboard | 10/11/2026
It started with just five acts. Messina Touring Group (MTG) traces its roots to PACE Concerts, the Houston company that Louis Messina co-founded in 1975 with partner Allen Becker . They were rock’n’roll promoters, known for creating events like OzzFest alongside Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne . But in the sweeping independent promoter buyouts of the 1990s that reshaped the modern touring business, PACE was acquired by Robert F.X. Sillerman ’s SFX Entertainment. When Sillerman sold SFX to Clear Channel Communications, and then Clear Channel’s entertainment division evolved into mega-promoter Live Nation, Messina chose to jump off that corporate merry-go-round. He was left with a noncompete agreement and just five artists: George Strait , Kenny Chesney , Tim McGraw , Faith Hill and The Chicks . Once his two-year noncompete agreement was over, Messina entered a partnership with AEG Presents. In the 25 years since, MTG has grown to be one of the most enduring promotion companies within live music. Related Touring Power Players: Billboard’s 2026 List Revealed Meet the ‘Unflappable’ Exec Bringing Superstars To Madison Square Garden and Sphere Michael Sanft, Attorney Who Represented Keffe D in 2Pac Murder Trial, Dies at 54 Perhaps the team’s most notable accomplishment in recent years is Taylor Swift ’s The Eras Tour, which spanned two years (2023-24) across five continents. Messina first met Swift while she was still a teenager, staying with the artist throughout her touring career. The two were introduced by Strait, much like how most of Messina’s company was built. “My company’s built on six degrees of George Strait,” Messina says. Strait had also led to Messina meeting Chesney and Eric Church . Through Swift, he met Ed Sheeran , Shawn Mendes and MTG’s latest signing, Phoebe Bridgers . “ The Lumineers are one of the only acts we work for that wasn’t associated with a tour we were already doing,” he adds. Messina Courtesy of Messina Touring Following the wrap of The Eras Tour, MTG continued its high-grossing years: Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour grossed $214.5 million in 2025, landing at No. 9 on Billboard ’s year-end Top Tours chart. Across the trek’s entire run from its launch in 2022, the tour grossed $875.7 million, selling 8.8 million tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. (Sheeran’s most recent outing faced controversy. On Sept. 4 and 5, at Sheeran’s Loop Tour show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, opening act Macklemore criticized Israel for its war in the Gaza Strip and declared “Free Palestine” during his set. On Sept. 14, MTG announced: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing o