Meet Thomas LaPenna of Marquee Theatre/ Lucky Man Concerts in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas LaPenna.

Thomas, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was a music junkie in middle school and high school. I never played any instruments but always loved music. I started going to concerts when I was 14 (The Eagles- Hotel California Tour), in Los Angeles at the Forum. After that, I was hooked and went to every show I could attend (Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Queen, Genesis, Bad Company, Ian Hunter, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Styx, ELP, ELP). In college at San Diego State University, I worked for TBA Media doing marketing internship for 2 years. I also met a friend whose father allowed me the opportunity upon graduation to interview at the William Morris Agency and Triad Artists in Los Angeles. Shortly after, I started in the mailroom at Triad. I worked there for 5 years (mailroom, assistant, agent), until WME bought them out in 1991. In 1992, I moved to Phoenix and worked for Evening Star Productions for 10 years. When ESP sold to SFX Entertainment in 2001, I left and began a partnership in Phoenix and Royal Oak, MI with Nobody in Particular Presents. That lasted 3 years and I began Lucky Man Concerts in 2004. I have owned the Marquee Theatre and Lucky Man Concerts for the last 14 years. Marquee Theatre has promoted over 5,000 bands in 14 years. We promote in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. My entire staff are first music fans and love to bring music to Arizona. We have also worked on music festivals since 2006 and currently am promoting the 4th annual Pot of Gold Music Festival in March, 2018.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Many obstacles and challenges… making the choice to not follow my degree in marketing and choose music was a big argument with my parents at that time.

Getting let go by Triad when WME bought them out, was very tough. Taking the risk of leaving ESP and going out on my own was a huge decision. Daily, there are struggles of being an independent promoter competing against larger companies. We do our best and work with acts we have built relationships with and hopefully in the end, we will succeed.

Please tell us about Marquee Theatre/ Lucky Man Concerts.
We own and operate the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ. We promote about 130 concerts per year of all types of genres from rock, rap, alternative, folk, jam band, etc. We pride ourselves on artist development and finding new talent and growing the audience. I would like to think being an independent promoter sets us apart. We do not have the corporate and sponsorship backing that larger companies have so that sometimes hurts us. But, at the end of the day, we love music. We do our best everyday with the band that put their trust in us.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Listening to music on the family turntable. Going to the record stores when new records came out by Led Zep, Rolling Stones and others. Also, just spending time with my family and friends. Concerts, concerts, concerts!!!

Contact Info:

• Address: 730 North Mill Ave.
• Website: www.luckymanonline.com
• Phone: 4802426564
• Email: tom@luckymanonline.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luckymanshows/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuckymanConcerts/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/luckymanshows?lang=en

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