Director of Music & Comedy

Starlight is Kansas City’s oldest and largest outdoor performing arts venue, stewarding a $20M+ annual budget and a year-round staff of 45+ full-time employees alongside hundreds of seasonal team members and volunteers. As a civic treasure and cultural destination, Starlight presents Broadway musicals, concerts, special events and community programming that collectively reach hundreds of thousands of guests each year through approximately 100 events annually.

Overview

The Director of Music & Comedy is responsible for the planning and delivery of music and comedy programming at Starlight, including touring concerts, comedy shows, festivals, local presentations, and special engagements. This strategic and creative leader ensures that Starlight’s offerings remain competitive, financially sustainable, and artistically vibrant. By cultivating relationships with artists, agents, promoters, performers, and the national touring circuit, the Director delivers innovative programming that attracts new audiences, deepens community engagement, and advances Starlight’s high-quality, mission-aligned music and comedy experiences.

• Lead the execution of Starlight’s year-round music and comedy programming strategy.
• Deliver a balanced season of music and comedy events that align with audience demand, artistic quality, organizational mission, and revenue goals.
• Negotiate contracts, relevant agreements, and settlements, and maintain relationships with artists, agents, promoters, and booking partners to secure competitive touring performances.
• Recommend pricing strategies in partnership with revenue, finance, and guest services teams.
• Develop and manage music and comedy programming budgets.
• Champion the creation and implementation of innovative concepts, formats, and partnerships to expand Starlight’s music and comedy programming beyond traditional offerings and engage new audiences.
• Collaborate with the programming team to maximize year-round calendar utilization.
• Monitor the effectiveness of music and comedy projects, with special emphasis on revenue, artistic standards, accessibility, audience feedback, and relevance.
• Oversee on-site execution of music and comedy events, coordinating with production, guest services, and artist teams to ensure seamless performances, audience satisfaction, and adherence to contractual and safety requirements.
• Work closely with marketing, guest experience, philanthropy, and finance to maximize impact and visibility of music and comedy programming.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing music and comedy programming team. Support professional growth opportunities and ensure collaboration across departments.
• Build strong networks with industry leaders and represent Starlight in national music and comedy booking conversations.
• Identify and pursue external partnerships and co-presenting opportunities with promoters, venues, arts organizations, artists, and community groups to develop collaborative programming and expand Starlight’s reach.
• Analyze industry trends related to touring concerts, comedy circuits, festivals, sales, funding, and audience feedback to inform programming.
• The above listing is not all-inclusive; other duties may be assigned to meet the evolving needs of the organization.

• Strong understanding of music and comedy touring networks, festival circuits, and booking practices.
• Proven track record of curating successful seasons balancing artistic and financial goals.
• Excellent negotiation, budgeting, and contract management skills.
• Collaborative leader with experience managing teams.
• Ability to maintain Starlight’s ticketing system (Tessitura) and oversee management and maintenance of key functions for performances related to programming.
• Strong project management skills, including financial analysis.
• Effective communication skills to support initiative implementation.

• BA in arts administration, entertainment management, live events, or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in music, comedy, live entertainment, festivals, or related booking and producing roles.
• Experience working with Tessitura…