The Music Never Stops

What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic

By: Peter Shapiro, Dean Budnick

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Peter Shapiro

An engrossing and insightful memoir by Peter Shapiro, the best known and most influential concert promoter of his generation

Peter Shapiro is perhaps the most notable independent concert promoter since Bill Graham. He owned the legendary Wetlands in Tribeca and has gone onto much bigger things, including Brooklyn Bowl (NYC, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Nashville), the Capitol Theatre in Portchester, producing U2 3D, and promoting the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary tour ("Fare Thee Well") featuring the Core Four and Trey Anastasio... and so much more.

In The Music Never Stops, Shapiro shares the inside story of how he became a tremendous powerhouse in the music industry--an island in an increasingly consolidated landscape of venues, ticketing and touring--through the lens of 50 of his most iconic concerts. Along the way, readers gain insight into what it was like to work with some of the most celebrated bands in modern music, including not just the Grateful Dead and U2, but also Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Al Green, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jason Isbell, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Roots, Robert Plant, and many more.

Featuring never-before-published back-stage anecdotes, insights, and photographs of the biggest bands in the business and the concerts that later became legendary, The Music Never Stops is a perfect guide for anyone who wants to understand the modern entertainment industry.

The music may stop but it always comes back

One of my favorite industry books, it’s especially awesome if you have any love for the jame band space. K

great stories about producing concerts!!

so good. really puts you in the shoes of all these amazing wonderful magical concerts. Just fantastic!

Fantastic retailing of several years promoting some of the best music in the world!

Super interesting to hear the stories… The ups, and the downs! From my perspective as a business owner, I wanted to listen to this book to get a better sense of how you approach business. I loved the book! I loved the stories! I loved the observations of how you build relationships as a critical component of how you run your business! I had no idea when I visited wetlands so many years ago what it would all become! Jam on!

What a fantastic journey

Pete’s journey is well worth taking. A great listen. I can’t wait to visit his venues!

Jam and fan must

I was Always was curious how the businesses side of the jam and scene operated. Great insiders info.