THE PARSONS COMPANY, INC.

She soon learned that most individual talent buyers then were labeled and limited as either college buyers, fair buyers, club bookers, etc.  Phyllis didn't want to be defined to one sector of the industry, so she pursued them all. 

 The Parsons Company became a business that represented all size venues from universities, to "in house" buildings, fairs as well as International Facilities and promoters. Phyllis wanted to use her company to help all talent buyers, all size venues, all markets to secure and properly produce live entertainment. 

This was not the industry standard at the time. With her innovative approach to the business, Phyllis changed contracting practices and brought a new view of  the "middleman" or the talent broker.

In its 44 year history, The Parsons Company, Inc. has provided the highest quality entertainment for numerous stadiums, buildings, and theatres across the country. Because of its unique position in the entertainment industry in its early years, The Parsons Company, Inc. had the ability to route tours through several different venues and markets over multiple days or weeks. 

The opportunity to work with so many different aspects of the industry proved to be a great education for Phyllis, who quickly learned how to seek out and place talent appropriate for all different markets and situations. Within the first two years, she secured a large contract on the East Coast that brought her company industry attention. 

Two and a half years later, Phyllis accepted that she would be working years more and finally purchased an antique desk. She let go of other job opportunities that she had side lined while working close to home. One such opportunity came from the Pacific Stock Exchange as the first female stockbroker for Dean Witter. 

Phyllis, worked nationwide, waking early to cater to East Coast buyers and remaining late at her desk to accommodate West Coast buyers. As her family grew, her ability to work such long hours became more difficult. Her client base continued to grow to include becoming the original in-house, exclusive agent for the premier season at the Concord Pavilion. With a multi-year contract, the Parsons Company secured the premier performances of the Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson, Barry Manilow, Marshall Tucker, Lily Tomlin, among dozens of others.

The late 1980s also saw The Parsons Company, Inc. represent numerous fairs across the American West, pioneering the introduction of contemporary rock and pop artists along with the traditional fair culture of MOR and country music. This direction translated into debut fair performances by several artists including Sting, Kenny Loggins, Chicago, Hall & Oats, Styx , Charlie Daniels Band, Nils Lofgrin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, among others.

The Parsons Company, Inc. continued to bring Headline Talent to fairs nationwide. From Alabama to Crosby, Stills  & Nash, Reba McEntire, the artists filled the grandstands and broke standing attendance records.

From 1991 to 1993, the Parsons Company consulted and secured talent for the Acapulco Festival/Televisa for the American talent that performed at the televised events. The Acapulco Festival featured performances by artists such as the Beach Boys, Julio Iglesias, Miami Sound Machine, Englebert Humperdink, Chicago and Jon Sedeca.

The Parsons Company, Inc. was contracted as the exclusive talent buyer for the Konocti Harbor Resort. Konocti--located at Clear Lake in Northern California-- featured a 600 seat showroom in 1993. Phyllis Parsons urged the GM to consider and outdoor facility and the amphithearter was built with a 5000 seat capacity. The GM also expanded the inside showroom to a 1,000 seat capacity. Konocti's programming was honored with a  Performance Magazine's #1 Grossing Small Venue of the Year in the United States for 1994 and 1995. Phyllis Parsons was responsible for scheduling a calendar of over 100 headline shows per year.  A partial list of Headline talent secured for the Konocti Harbor Resort includes: Lynyrd Skynyrd , BB King, George Carlin, Billy Ray Cyrus,  Ray Charles, Earth, Wind & Fire,  Pat Benetar, Dana Carvey, Joe Cocker, Victor Borge, Howie Mandel, Motely Crue, Tim McGraw, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, REO Speedwagon, Chicago, Little Texas, Heart, ZZ Top, Toby Keith, Hall and Oates, Tower of Power, Bill Cosby,  George Jones,  Wayne Newton, Gladys Knight, Styx, The Beach Boys, and many others.

When Phyllis started working with the Konocti Harbor Resort, the only venue was the indoor showroom with a 600-seat capacity. Her work with the management helped to create and develop the popular amphitheater  to its current 5,000-seat capacity and to build a calendar of concerts that drew thousands year-round.

In 1994, the Parsons Company, Inc. was also contracted with the Visalia Concert/Convention Center to impact the Visalia/Fresno market and provide entertainment to all sections of the community. 

The Parsons Company, Inc. was also involved in one of the fastest growing markets in the United States in the early to mid-1990s: Boise, Idaho. The 12,000-seat BSU Pavillion, with the assistance of the Parsons Company, Inc., established itself as the major talent buyer of the state. 

1997 marked the premier of the Parsons Company, Inc. representation of the Festival at Sandpoint. This festival was in turmoil. The Parsons Company, Inc. was recommended to set up a mutliple entertaiment program without much advance notice. Phyllis completed the daunting task in mere weeks. That year, advance sales broke all previous records. 

In the year 2000, however, Phyllis planned to retire her successful business quietly. She had a few outstanding retainer contracts that she would allow to time out and that would be the end of the Parsons Company, Inc. At this time, she enrolled at UC Berkeley and became a Certified Financial Planner. Her decision to slow down was well- founded as family matters and emergencies called Phyllis away.

Yet, in the midst of "semi-retirement," Phyllis began to receive referrals and requests to represent authors and speakers. Despite her hesitation, Phyllis' long love of books was the gentle persuasion that kept her office doors open. This was reinforced by Phyllis' inspiration to be involved with speakers who hoped to incite social change by their life experiences that filled the pages of their books. 

Phyllis decided to fill her roster ONLY with authors and speakers that had survived a life-altering incident... and whose story of recovery became the mode by which they sought social change. Since 2005, the Parsons Company represents authors who engage in contemporary social issues, such as suicide prevention, PTSD, returning vets, domestic violence, and victim's assistance.  To view the Parsons Company roster of authors and speakers, click HERE.

The authors managed by The Parsons Company all have important messages to share and we are honored to help these voices get heard.

THE FIRST BOOK of it's kind. Authored  by Judge Jinger Lerner-Wren, while sitting on the bench of the FIRST MENTAL health court since 1997. This book shares the journey of America's first mental health court, dedicated to decriminalization (treatment over incarceration) and the promotion access to community-based mental health care and recovery. Book is due to be released early 2018

Through the years, Phyllis has been awarded for her contributions to the music industry. She received the AB award for promoting Michael Jackson's largest sold-out shows in 1993. 

In 2008, she was awarded the Women's Achievement in Lifetime of Excellence from Central Washington University. 

Also, she has received numerous acknowledgments (please visit our testimonial page HERE.)

Today, it seems that Phyllis works harder than ever to due to our recessionary times, but she is still challenged everyday and grateful to be a part of a business-- and an industry-- that is so exceptionally rewarding.

When her third child was born, Phyllis stopped working with East coast theatres, events and fairs, and concentrated her business to buyers west of the Mississippi. Her client base grew to include Canto Nuevo, as their exclusive American buyer/consultant. Canto Nuevo was the premier Mexican promoter, covering multiple Mexican markets. Over the next 12 years, they would work together to bring major talents to  Mexico City, Guadalajara, Acapulco and Monterrey. 

At the Aztec Stadium, The Parsons Company, Inc. booked back-to-back sold-out shows for the 90,000-seat capacity space. In 1992, Phyllis assisted the booking of Elton John at the venue for performances that would prove to be groundbreaking. This series produced the first outdoor musical concert in Mexico City as well as the sixth highest grossing concert in the world for 1992.

In the following year, The Parsons Company, Inc. again helped to bring Michael Jackson to the Stadium. The Michael Jackson shows were awarded the #1 top Boxscore of the world by Amusement Business that year, grossing over 12.5 million. 

Major U.S. promoters fought to be involved with the Chicago’s triumphant return, after the band's 16-year absence. The Parsons Company won the bid for Canto Nuevo against fierce competition and also booked Chicago at Mexico City's National Auditorium. It proved to be one of the most successful events of the year. Chicago's previous appearance required the presenters to "pipe" the sound into the parking lot to satisfy the thousands of people outside the Auditorium, unable to get inside. Chicago presented a total of six sold-out shows in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterey. The Mexico City shows were later rated in the top twenty of all international performances of 1993.

Chicago's presence at the then-newly restored National Auditorium in Mexico City boasted four sold-out to the tune of $1,386,003 gross. Amusement Boxscore Magazine reported in its October 14, 1991 edition: "The group last played the venue 16 years ago to overflow crowds and became legends," said Phyllis. "Canto Nuevo--whom Phyllis represented in the U.S.--had been in the concert business for years, but these concerts were their first American talent.

The Parsons Company, Inc. has also fundraised for various social causes, such as Suicide Prevention. In 2009, the office booked a fundraising tour with the band Friends of Emmet (F.O.E.). The purpose of the tour was to raise awareness and erase the stigma associated with suicide. 

The title track of this album, "Coming Apart" was written about author and speaker Kevin Hines, who miraculously survived jumping off the Golden Gate bridge in an attempt to end his life. The song conveys a young man's story of survival and hope, one that greatly inspired the band.