The Music Never Stops

A friendly, enjoyable ramble through live music history as seen from an amiable insider. --Booklist An entertaining insider's tour of the concert business from a likable guide. --Kirkus I've given Peter 11th-hour surprises, like, 'How about a practice Usher show?' or 'Can we organize a quickie Elvis Costello performance?' Anyone else would have riddled me with bullets for taking such a grand idea and tossing it to him with seconds left to spare. But, with him it's always, 'Oh man, I can't wait to get to it.' And it's always magic. --Questlove, The Roots, author of Creative Quest The Music Never Stops, like everything Peter Shapiro, inspires and ignites all of our senses-- even those we didn't know we had. Peter is a brilliant architect of communities, cultures, and dreams. This book is where you come to grow and for your deal to go down--and if you look at it right--you'll find the next rainbow, at just the right time. --Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer I met Pete in the late '90s when he opened his first club. His boundless energy and enthusiasm are infectious. He is so passionate about all that he does and is ready to dive in at the deep end. He has great taste and is a perfect combination of the creative collaborator who has his eye on the business side of things, which is quite a rare quality but so important. One Love. --Chris Blackwell, Founder Island Records I met Pete in 1996. Since then, I've told anyone who will listen that he is the Bill Graham of our generation. He kept my word. --Greg Scholl, Executive Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center In an industry filled with hucksters and charlatans, Peter Shapiro is a music promoter with a heart and a soul. He produces music with all the best parts of the good old days and none of the bad. He is a real, live Unicorn. --Roger McNamee, Co-Founder Elevation Partners, Moonalice It's a special person, a magician of the tallest order, who simply figures it out. A person filled with passion for the blessing, the reason we all wake up day after day with a glimmer of optimism and hope: the music. Pete's story is one of dedication, persistence, success, and some failure too. It's an inspiring journey. He always has multiple irons in the fire and dozens of balls in the air. He is an idea person who is on a crusade for the music, with the talent, knowledge and drive to bring the vision to life. This book could easily be called Whatever It Takes. --Ben Jaffe, Creative Director, Preservation Hall Jazz Band Pete is the rarest of personalities in the music industry. He explodes into the room, swinging for the fences, full of unbridled enthusiasm, and joy, with huge energy and huge ideas. For Pete, the dream is still alive--the power of live music--and I love him for that. --Trey Anastasio, Phish Pete Shapiro has borne witness to the inner workings of the most important cultural events of the last quarter century. Impresario, Innovator and Beloved Instigator... the stories in his book will blow your mind! --Don Was, President Blue Note Records Peter has said, 'I try to think obsessively about the future, and you have to be ready for multiple different paths.' One of those paths has been to make millions of concertgoers more aware of our global environmental movement, while encouraging environmental awareness and commitment by the music industry. He is always collaborative, he dissolves differences and he makes it happen. He's that kind of guy. --Kathleen Rogers, President Earth Day Network Peter is the reincarnation of the '60's and '70's entrepreneurs. He's as close as we have to Bill Graham. --Stevie Van Zandt, E Street Band, Little Steven's Underground Garage, The Sopranos, author of Unrequited Infatuations Peter thinks like a musician. He understands the spirit of the music I'm trying to make because he wants to create situations for that music that enhance the experience on many levels. --Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead, author of Searching for the Sound Peter Shapiro is a unicorn. He has a magical / mythical quality to him. We met back in the days of Wetlands, which you'll read about in this book. You never knew who you were going to see there--some nights it could be Dave Matthews Band, the next night Toots and the Maytals, another night it's Pearl Jam. I don't know any venue that existed that could pull that off. I remember wondering who was behind this, who could make these nights happen--and that was Shapiro. --Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show The most important concert producer of his day. --Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle