Live Nation “Oneness Tour” Featuring Santana and Counting Crows Draws Thousands To Muckleshoot Reservation (Saturday, 24 August 2024)
Photo booth offered to all those who attended Live Nation's Oneness Tour on Saturday, 24 August, 2024.
I had to drive up to Seattle from Portland on Saturday, 24 August, for a day of work. While puddling around in the rain, I learned that Live Nation had brought “The Oneness Tour” to the White River Amphitheater that same day. The Muckleshoot Reservation was built on the White River Amphitheater and opened up around 2002. I grew up driving between Seattle and Portland, and the reservation is right off the I-5, just on the south side of Seattle. I had heard good tidings about Muckleshoot so, around 5pm, I decided to haul over there to see what they got.
Three generations (not all in the photograph) and their birthday girl gathered together for a day of family and music during the "Oneness Tour".
The White River Amphitheater sits in the south portion of the Muckleshoot Reservation. If you’re interested in finding it on the map, the Muckleshoot Reservation is located not far away from Auburn, Washington. It’s close to Lake Tapps. And, yes, the amphitheater provides more than ample FREE PARKING, plus inexpensive tickets in the lawn area at the upper back of the stadium.
Fans of music by both Counting Crows and Carlos Santana enjoy wine and antipasto treats before the show.
On my way to the amphitheater’s gates, I walked amongst thousands of arriving cars. Across the parking lot there were tailgate parties of every kind, and grills loaded with hotdogs, and wine being poured next to antipasto plastic serving trays set upon the ground. An RV parking area offered further FREE amenities to anyone with general admission tickets.
“The Oneness Tour” features musical acts Counting Crows and Santana. Counting Crows will forever be my favorite go-to for remorseless self-esteem quantitation. And Santana captivates my mind as one of the acts of the original Woodstock music festival, the one put together in upstate New York all the way back in August of 1969. Those performers are each one a treasure to see live, but few of the 1969 Woodstock alumni are still performing today.
This year I self-published my book, Twenty-Seven: The Human Right the Music Industry Forgot. Chapter Eight of my book is entitled Woodstock’s Recordings. By all means, read it here: https://corinnedevinsullivan.com/blog/woodstocks-recordings. I wrote the book after spending some time on the road working alongside Woodstock alumnus Melanie (Safka Schekeryk). A lot of inspiration came to me from hearing about Melanie’s struggle during those days, way back then, in the music industry.
Live Nation/Ticketmaster didn’t exist back in 1969, but it sure does today! I am thankful for events such as “The Oneness Tour” held tonight. It is poshly put. Some areas tout real precision on the part of Live Nation/Ticketmaster. However, I don’t know if anyone would ever be ever permitted to ever hold Woodstock again at all, given the conniving nature of business tactics held in place by Live Nation/Ticketmaster.
I have a theory that bad news is contagious.
The United States Department of Justice announced that they have sued Live Nation/Ticketmaster, as a combined unit, for operating with monopolistic tyranny in the live music performance arena of American business. Happened in May of this year, says I, to one and all who will listen. For more information, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYUHvtwI2f0
It very much should concern all America that one particular man or woman, plus his or her downline, can take over any singular aspect within American commerce.
Generally speaking, a monopoly inside any industry can be traced by slavery, mysterious deaths of feel-good types as well as adversaries, and blatant lying to government officials. Safety, in the United States, is dependent upon fair treatment by all government officials and a good justice team who can’t be fooled by false reports.
Sadly, most folks choose not to look squarely at the devil. That’s one reason the details inside one monopoly can get murkified. But, luckily, the United States Department of Justice still goes for the gold when it comes to investigating cold, hard lines and protecting regular people.
On the optimistic side of life, I could write about how each bad thing in this society could mean a new well-paying line of jobs—the kind of work that would mean that social reform is not all that far away from the United States, I think.
I believe that if only one of these TERRIBLE problems can be bestowed upon by a magician’s hand a most magical solution for the ages to repeat, then perhaps the dismal swivel chair be now turned towards a fresh start across the American continent! Forsooth! Since everyone argues loudly about anything, I guess, why not start with the music industry?
It was Saturday, and I wandered into the pre-event space, oh, about 6pm’ish.
John and Tobi Halliday tend the Tobi's Turquoise booth inside the White River Amphitheater.
I spotted Tobi Halliday (TobisNativeTreasures on Etsy) who greeted me with a friendly smile. Thankfully, her booth was covered in case it might rain that night. Several securely locked jewelry cases showcased her exceptional craftsmanship for sale. She made her unique work available to all the concert go’ers which I felt was sublime because I truly do love authentically made native jewelry. Here’s the link to Tobi’s Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TobisNativeTreasures?ref=search_shop_redirect.
People were stacked in little lines. Tobi dealt with each hand-made, turquoise item herself, and removed it from under the protective glass to be tried by each customer. Tobi’s favorite person (who is also her husband), John Halliday, politely stood by to help her.
Tobi’s work can be viewed on Instagram at @tobisturquoiseandco. She primarily features turquoise jewelry for sale but also deals in Navajo red coral. Tobi’s work is made with the level of perfection one primarily expects to find inside a jeweler’s store, or inside a private gallery along the West Coast.
I chatted with John Halliday who has a stunning reputation. His priority is education for tribal communities everywhere. He believes a better hand is needed and wants to help people so they can help themselves. He aims to change forever the trend on Indian Reservations of a fifty percent unemployment rate and the lowest life expectancy of any ethnic group in the United States.
I don’t think Halliday’s mission is possible until human rights is made more important than “survival of the fittest”. That’s the hard fact facing major actors in the music industry today. If we don’t educate one and all that humanity takes precedence over acquiring stolen wealth, we don’t stand much of a chance when it comes to fair treatment of the American Songwriter.
“Economic development is vital to lifting ourselves up,” Halliday tells me squarely.
The White River Amphitheater (circa 2001) as it was being built.
With a Master’s Degree in Administration, Halliday led the development of the White River Amphitheater which began as a dream of his in college. It was his first product as a graduate of the University of Montana, located in Missoula.
He began getting his needed approvals for the amphitheater in the late 1990’s. He ensured tribal wetlands were able to remain preserved. They are situated almost next door to the complex.
During the approval period, Halliday was indeed effective at handling uncalled for interference on tribal land by the City of Seattle and King County. The entire facility was meant to be funded solely by the Muckleshoot tribe and indeed it was. This gave the tribe the biggest return and allowed the Muckleshoot Reservation to have the final say concerning the control of their property.
Halliday was present, also, when contracts were made with Bill Graham Presents who, back in those days, managed the concert traffic for several leading industry acts. Everything was contracted directly with Bill Graham Presents which could be said to be the primary forerunner and previous business model for the Live Nation company, back when Live Nation got its first big tries in major league dealings with some of music’s leading industry names.
The amphitheater held its grand opening in 2002. The first act to perform at the location was female troupers of heart and soul, Heart.
As everyone waited for Counting Crows to play first during the Live Nation “Oneness Tour”, I fell in love immediately with Tobi Halliday’s work. She was busy with people swarming the cases. I asked John Halliday about such a lovely booth. For me, it was unusual to view anything representing a small community inside the gates of a Live Nation event.
Halliday told me, “I was there when we were negotiating the contract with Bill Graham Presents which is now Live Nation. And I specifically said that tribal members who sell native-made stuff should be able to vend. Thirty years later, after I’m retired from being the CEO of Muckleshoot, and after working in the federal government as the Deputy Regional Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Navajo Region, I find that none of us had ever taken advantage of it, since this was built in 2002. I told them to take a look at the contract because we should be able to be here. They looked and they told me I was right. And so that’s why we’re here today. We have come full circle.”
Halliday has a long list of good deeds, including public speaking about tribal history and his own work as a top-ranking government official. He helped his tribe acquire Emerald Downs, a Thoroughbred racing track in Auburn, Washington. He built a seafood company for the tribe called Muckleshoot Seafood Products. He helped build the first tribal gas station. He ran a program helping tribal members dispute things that should be reported on loans and it helped innocent people repair scary debtor situations.
John Halliday spearheaded the White River Amphitheater project. Later, he assumed a leadership role at the level of the federal government.
The White River Amphitheater is very historic and should be regarded with care. It was built upon a rare parcel of land within the Muckleshoot Reservation. For nearly twenty-five years it has beautifully brought the fun by accommodating a massive amphitheater with acres of free parking.
To complete this portion of the blog, I will say this: The Muckleshoot Tribe runs similar problems to most of the American working class when it comes to industry takeover tactics. But I don’t feel comfortable with either of these terms: reservation or working class—though I grew up next door to the Grande Ronde reservation and I am a part of America’s working class. From this perspective that is shared by so many people, something more could be devised to celebrate life itself—rather than ownership and class distinctions made around our country these days.
Halliday and I discussed an ailment he dealt with as a result of poor (and probably illegal, says me) medical treatment. He had a reaction to prescribed medication through an out-patient surgery. It nearly cost Halliday his life and, in fact, he was dead very briefly which leaves him today legally blind. I had worked for the Church of Scientology for 22 years so I mentioned Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard wherein a victim can deal with his mental or even physical trauma straight out of a $20 book. I also relayed that L. Ron Hubbard (Founder of the Scientology religion) was a blood brother of the medicine man for an ancient tribe located in Montana, in 1915, back when L. Ron Hubbard spent part of his childhood in Helena, Montana. Halliday thought deeply. He said something sweet and telling about his recovery which capped with: “We are made of Life.”
Halliday works today as a professional artist (www.coyoteinsightart.com). Last year, Halliday made himself known in Denmark by painting a forty-foot killer whale on the side of Thomas Dambo’s house. Dambo is the highly-regarded Recycle Artist. Dambo’s giant Troll sculptures brought recyclables back to life in more than one hundred sculptures around the world. They can be found dotting places like Bainbridge Island, Vashon Island, and Ballard located in the greater Seattle area.
That night, the whole place was made unusually comfortable. I was grateful for that experience seated snugly inside the final parcels of the Muckleshoot tribe’s trust lands. Sadly, I could stay just a single hour. I didn’t have much free time. I wasn’t able to experience the entire show. However, I knew “The Oneness Tour” stopped next in Portland, Oregon. I promised myself to take in the full event the following night, on Sunday, 25 August.
Counting Crows played first.
I damn well couldn’t believe how incredibly perfect Counting Crows sounded, song after song. Still a heart-ripping experience, even after all this time.
Santana played next.
I didn’t see anything more mind-blowing than the first rhythmic, pounding song by Santana. Wordy descriptions fail the momentum coming from Santana live. Just a few moments watching Santana changed my perspective on what could be, what will be, and what has been.
One of the Live Nation merchandise booths all located squarely inside the event facility itself.
Leaving for the night, my last look was at the sales booths dotted by signs promoting Live Nation. And I strolled past a merchandise booth that didn’t have any poster made for the special night or even mentioning the White River Amphitheater. I think the night deserved a specially designed commemorative poster.
I start to think how all of us might need to foster our pride, and maybe toughen up our skins, if we want to do justice to Tobi Halliday’s style of jewelry which boasts strong appeal for its shock-worth and stand-out bold lines. It made me feel sad as I walked away towards my car, seeing her steadfast but manning the lone booth in an area actually accommodated for many other tribal members, as well.
Hey, and buy a copy of my book, Twenty-Seven: The Human Right the Music Industry Forgot here: https://corinnedevinsullivan.com/shop.
See you tomorrow night!
Written by Corinne Devin Sullivan
Photographs by Corinne Devin Sullivan