''DiCesare Engler Productions'' was a
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
-based
concert promotion firm.
The company was formed in late 1973 when
Pat DiCesare, who was the dominant concert promoter in the region,
chose Pittsburgh native Rich Engler to form a new partnership.
Engler was a drummer in a band and ran his own promotion company 'Go Attractions'. The firm promoted most of the major
rock concerts
A rock concert is a performance of rock music.
During the 1950s, several American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and swing genre to produce the earliest examples of "rock and roll." The co ...
and festivals in the Pittsburgh tri-state area (
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, and
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
) where the words 'Produced by DiCesare-Engler' became a familiar
tagline
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
in radio and television ads.
In 1977 the firm purchased
The Stanley Theatre in downtown Pittsburgh. The venue was named the number one mid-size concert auditorium in the United States by
''Billboard'' magazine in 1978. That same year, DiCesare Engler Productions was named as the number two production team.
Bill Graham Presents was number one.
The theatre remained number one for several years until it was announced in November 1983 that the
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, w ...
had purchased it for 12.1 million dollars.
DiCesare Engler also owned or operated other national top grossing venues in the 1980s and 1990s including the
Syria Mosque
Syria Mosque was a 3,700-seat performance venue located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1911 and dedicated on October 26, 1916, the building was originally built as a "mystical" shrine for the Ancient A ...
,
AJ Palumbo Center, and the
IC Light Amphitheatre,
as well as co-promoting concerts at the
Star Lake Amphitheater in
Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
Burgettstown is a borough in northwestern Washington County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,424 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
History
Burgettstown was laid out in 1795 by Sebastian Burgett, and ...
.
In July 1998 DiCesare Engler was sold to SFX Entertainment and became known as DiCesare Engler Productions/SFX.
DiCesare Engler/SFX promoted the last concert at
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Buil ...
and the first concert at
Heinz Field
Acrisure Stadium is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panth ...
–
'N SYNC
NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to Europea ...
.
They also promoted a pay-per-view concert
known as the
Rolling Rock Town Fair which averaged 90,000 in attendance.
The company became known as
Clear Channel Entertainment
Live Nation was a former American events promoter and venue operator based in Beverly Hills, California. Founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, the company's business was built around consolidating concert promoters int ...
Pittsburgh by the time Rich Engler parted ways with the company in 2004.
It is now under name
Live Nation.
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
DiCesare-Engler Concerts sitePittsburgh Concert History site
Music promoters
Companies based in Pittsburgh