John Peters, CEO of MassConcerts and one of the largest independent promoters in the northeast, has purchased the 1,250-capacity Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT, after family ownership of more than 70 years. The sale price was not disclosed.
Peters, who began booking the rock club in early February, told TicketNews that he made a deal to buy the venue in January. “I received a call from [owner] Justine out of the blue asking if I was interested in buying it. It took about six to eight weeks to get all the paperwork done.” The purchase also includes the 250-capacity adjoining room, Webster Underground.
“Both Webster Theatre and the Underground can run simultaneously and can be booked independently,” Peters continued. “The Underground is great for developing acts. Believing in the artist early and having that history with them is most essential element to being a successful concert promoter.”
While basically taking over a “fully functioning and profitable club that is already going strong, the plan is to bring even more concerts to Hartford and keep the ticket prices at an affordable level for everyone,” he added.
Upcoming shows include Black Label Society, Taking Back Sunday and Cake.
“It’s a very stressful business, and it’s time for me to go back to being a wife, a mother and a grandmother,” owner Justine Robertson told the Hartford Courant. “I loved the business, but it seemed to me like it was the time to do it.”
Formed in 1994, MassConcerts has promoted over 2,500 concerts throughout New England for more the 2 million people in venues ranging from clubs to arenas. MassConcerts has promoted acts from the Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Prince to Metallica, the Vans Warped Tour, Linkin Park, Slipknot, The Killers, Green Day, Black Eyed Peas and many more.
MassConcerts, nominated numerous times by industry trade Pollstar for Independent Promoter, has also worked closely with rooms like the Middle East and Roxy in Boston, and has booked exclusively and managed many other clubs including Pearl Street in Northampton. Since 2000 MassConcerts has managed the 2,160-capacity Palladium in Worcester, MA.
