Promoter Floats CSN&Y; Tour

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band may have company on the reunion circuit this summer. A proposal has been made for a tour putting Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on the road--which would mark Neil Young’s first tour with his erstwhile folk-rock supergroup mates since 1974. Promoter Michael Cohl is said to have made an offer guaranteeing the foursome more than $500,000 per show, about double the standard fee for a name act at the arena level.

Gerry Tolman, manager of Crosby, Stills & Nash, says that Young--whose on-again, off-again partnership with David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash began shortly after the release of the trio’s 1969 debut album--will be guesting on a couple of songs on an upcoming CSN album, but “beyond that we have made no other plans.� Young’s management declined to comment on the reports.

Still, word of the proposal is spreading among promoters, who haven’t forgotten the reunion successes in recent years of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.

“I think it would do phenomenal business,� says John Sher, president of New York-based Metropolitan Entertainment. “We have a baby boomer generation that never stopped going to concerts--they might not go as often as they used to, but they go. That was proven by the wildly successful Fleetwood Mac tour. When you bring something back in its original form, they want to see it, plus it’s an opportunity for a younger generation to see something they’ve heard about.�

Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of concert business monthly Pollstar, says he doubts that CSN&Y; would be as big as the Mac’s tour, which averaged more than $900,000 per show and was 1997’s third-biggest tour, behind the Rolling Stones’ and U2’s stadium ventures.

“It’s hard to judge because there’s been a Crosby, Stills & Nash out in the marketplace regularly through the years,� he says. “But it could be a very solid amphitheater show.�

There had previously been talk of a CSN 30th anniversary tour in 1999 that would have touched on the group’s roots by bringing along Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn, who were in the Byrds with Crosby, and perhaps Alan Clarke, who was with Nash in the Hollies. Though it’s not clear whether a tour including Young would still feature the other pre-CSN colleagues, he and Stills would be a tie to their previous band, Buffalo Springfield.

Young remains the wild card. He’s been historically reluctant to re-form CSN&Y;, having only teamed for occasional shows and for a 1988 album, “American Dream.� Young is planning his own solo acoustic tour for the spring.

*

JACKPOT: The gamble on rock in Las Vegas is paying off for a Southern California firm. Goldenvoice, the concert promoter known for its alternative-rock shows here, has signed to book the House of Blues that is opening at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino complex on the Vegas Strip. Set for the March 2 opening night is Bob Dylan, with Sheryl Crow (March 13), OutKast, Shania Twain and House of Blues co-owner Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers also being planned for early events inaugurating the 1,800-capacity facility, which joins the 3-year-old Joint at the Hard Rock Cafe as a name-brand rock attraction in Sin City.

Goldenvoice already had a foot in Vegas, overseeing the small Huntridge Theatre and, on occasion, booking shows at the 12,000-seat Thomas & Mack Arena. It also is promoting the Beck show at the Tropicana, which is being rescheduled in April after being postponed due to an illness in the band.

“In Vegas, we had the small club and the big arena, and once in a while an artist would jump from one to the other, like Nine Inch Nails,� says Goldenvoice co-owner Paul Tollette. “But we never had anything in between that’s right for most acts as they grow up from the club level.�

Goldenvoice will work with Kevin Morrow, who books the L.A. House of Blues, and Sonny Schneidau, who books the New Orleans club.

“I’ve wanted to work with Paul for a long time,� says Morrow. “And this works perfectly, Paul needing a room like this in Vegas, and us needing a partner to help bring in younger acts.�

Expect stiff competition between the House of Blues and the Joint, which is booked by Southern California promoters Bill Silva and Andy Hewitt. Upcoming shows there include a Feb. 12-14 stand by Santana and dates from Natalie Merchant, Ringo Starr, Bryan Adams, Sugar Ray and Everlast.

“Dylan and Crow are great acts,� says Hewitt, adding a good-natured dig at the competitor. “In fact, Sheryl Crow was the opening-night act at the Joint and has already played for us several times.�

*

GUNS N’ PALOOZA: Reports of Guns N’ Roses--now pretty much the Axl Rose band--being offered the top slot on Lollapalooza’s comeback tour after taking off 1998 were incorrect. Lollapalooza co-director Ted Gardner says that no offers have been made to any acts yet, and that while the intriguing prospect of a GNR presence has been discussed, as of now it seems unlikely that the act would even be ready to make the trek. The album Rose has been working on for a long time is said to be far from completion.

Lollapalooza speculation also continues to center on No Doubt, though there’s still plenty of doubt about that band’s readiness as well. The group is yet to start recording its next album, having just selected Glen Ballard (of Alanis Morissette fame) to produce, in place of Michael Beinhorn (Marilyn Manson, Hole), who had to withdraw due to a conflicting commitment.