FEVO Fest 2026: Building What’s Next, Together

FEVO Fest 2026 brought FEVO clients, partners, industry leaders, and the FEVO team together in Las Vegas for two days of conversations, product innovation, shared ideas, and plenty of memorable moments.

This year’s event centered on where live events are headed and how organizations can keep pace with the way fans discover, experience, and share them. From AI and the future of ticketing to creator culture, fan engagement, and the evolving revenue funnel, FEVO Fest brought together perspectives from across the industry to explore what’s next.

At the center of it all was a simple idea: people don’t experience live events alone.

"People don’t go to events alone. They buy experiences with people they care about. Nobody’s first instinct is to sit in a stadium by themselves. The first instinct is figuring out who they’re bringing. So our job is to take that instinct, make it effortless, and give everyone in this room the tools to do the same." — Betty Tran-Rennon, President, FEVO

Reimagining How Fans Discover and Experience Events

Betty's opening keynote explored three major shifts happening across the live event industry: how fans discover events, how they engage with the brands they love, and the new data signals created by those interactions.

Fans are discovering events in more places than ever, from TikTok and Instagram to creators, group chats, marketplaces, and brand partnerships. Search is no longer the only front door. FEVO is expanding its role as a discovery engine, creating more ways for organizations to put their Offers in front of fans wherever they already spend their time.

The keynote also highlighted the value of understanding the relationships behind every transaction. Traditional ticketing data can show what someone purchased, but FEVO’s social graph can reveal how fans are connected, which voices carry influence within a community, and who organizations should reach next.

Examples from the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Bonnaroo demonstrated what can happen when organizations build around those connections, from social lift and influenced revenue to hundreds of groups forming around shared experiences.

From FEVO 1.0 to FEVO 2.0

Those shifts reflect how far FEVO has evolved since its beginnings in group sales.

What started as a group sales platform now supports hospitality, premium, bundles, merchandise, and ambassador programs under one umbrella. The next chapter is focused on helping organizations do more across three areas: improving operations, expanding reach, and creating new ways to engage fans.

That evolution was evident throughout the event, with sessions focused not only on driving transactions, but on creating better experiences and stronger connections before, during, and after the purchase.

FEVO 2.0 is being built with our FEVO Champions at the center. These are our closest partners, power users, and loudest advocates: the people who challenge us, share feedback, test what we build, and help shape what comes next. Their ideas have directly influenced the platform, and FEVO is committed to giving Champions an even greater voice through early access to the roadmap, opportunities to share their stories, and a seat at the table as the product continue to evolve.

FEVO is also taking that commitment on the road. The FEVO Roadshow is coming to cities across the country, bringing the team closer to our partners for face-to-face conversations, feedback, and collaboration. It’s another way we’re closing the distance, meeting our Champions where they are, and building the future of FEVO together.

Meet Gibson: FEVO’s Next Chapter in AI

One of the biggest moments of FEVO Fest was the introduction of Gibson, FEVO’s AI agent.

During the product roadmap presentation, EVP of Product Matt Mastrangelo and VP of Product Jeff Mather demonstrated how Gibson can help teams create, edit, and understand their Offers using natural language.

The goal is simple: give teams time back.

Gibson can handle complex workflows from a single prompt, help teams make changes across Offers, answer questions about performance, and eliminate repetitive work. The product roadmap also showcased a redesigned purchase experience, Centralized Add-ons, and the newly rebuilt FEVO Go check-in and point-of-sale experience.

"How do you give time back without giving anything up? That’s Gibson." — Jeff Mather, VP of Product, FEVO

But Gibson’s introduction was about more than technology.

Betty shared the story behind the name and the FEVO team member Gibson who inspired it. Gibson was remembered as someone who understood what live events are really about: spending time with people you care about and creating memories together. With his family’s blessing, FEVO named the AI agent in his honor.

It was a fitting reminder that technology is ultimately a means to an end: giving people more time to focus on their teams, their fans, and the experiences they create.

Conversations That Looked Beyond the Transaction

The day’s panels brought together leaders from sports, live events, music, creators, and technology to explore how organizations can build stronger relationships with fans.

A conversation on AI looked at how organizations can use technology to automate repetitive work, improve efficiency, and reclaim time. The takeaway was practical: teams don’t need to become AI experts overnight. Start small, experiment, and identify opportunities where technology can take routine work off your plate.

Other sessions explored the modern revenue funnel, the evolving checkout experience, and the importance of creating a seamless path from discovery through post-transaction engagement.

The Culture Collision panel brought together sports, music, and creator perspectives to discuss how brands can use creator partnerships to reach new audiences. Panelists emphasized the importance of understanding a creator’s audience, identifying the right communities, and building memorable experiences rather than simply transactional campaigns.

"Instead of first looking at who the creators are and kind of what their brand is, dial it back a bit and look at who their audience is and who you’re looking to connect with. It might be obvious to go after the person who’s exactly in line with your brand, but if you’re trying to sell more tickets, you probably have to reach outside of that scope and find a new audience." — Emily Young, Sr. Manager, Marketing, C3 Presents

The conversation around next-generation fan engagement offered another example of what that can look like in practice. The Philadelphia Flyers shared how their Fourth Wing-themed experience transformed a game night into an immersive fan experience, incorporating themed food and drinks, interactive activations, VIP experiences, and more.

Across the conversations, the message was clear: the future of live events belongs to organizations that understand their audiences, create experiences worth sharing, and continue building relationships beyond the transaction.

Celebrating the FEVO Community

FEVO Fest also gave us a chance to recognize the clients and partners pushing the platform forward.

This year’s FEVO Fest Awards celebrated organizations and individuals making an impact across the FEVO ecosystem:

• Rookie of the Year: Transportation Management Services (TMS)
• Network Effect: C3 Presents
• Top Growth Partner: Charlotte FC
• Most Innovative Offer: New York Red Bulls
• FEVO MVP: Seattle Mariners
• FEVO Power User: Brandon Harkins, Orlando City SC

The awards highlighted the creativity and ambition happening across the FEVO community, from Charlotte FC’s 4,000% year-over-year growth on FEVO to C3 Presents generating more than $470,000 in influenced revenue through social sharing.

The Future of FEVO Is Built Together

More than anything, FEVO Fest 2026 was about community.

FEVO's clients and partners aren’t simply users of the platform. They are helping shape what comes next. Their feedback has influenced product development, from landing pages and bundling to integrations and the broader roadmap.

That spirit carried throughout FEVO Fest, from the sessions on stage to the conversations between sessions and the celebrations that brought everyone together after the content day.

"I think the best teams and brands in the next decade, they’re not going to be transactional. They’re going to want to create memories and experiences for their fans to continue to come back to, and then how do those creators continue to engage with those experiences, showcase what might be new or creative, and then just continue that ecosystem, that cycle and revenue stream." — Amanda Fleming, Sr. Director, Revenue & Experience Growth, Vegas Golden Knights

That's what FEVO Fest 2026 was all about: looking ahead while staying grounded in the people who make live events matter.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Las Vegas, shared your ideas, challenged us, celebrated with us, and continues to build the future of live events alongside FEVO.

We're excited for what's next.

Check out more FEVO Fest photos.