INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Butler University’s Clowes Hall ranked 94th of all theaters worldwide, based on the number of tickets sold in 2021. The rankings were recently released by Pollstar, a company that provides data for the worldwide concert industry.
This is the third consecutive year that Clowes Hall has cracked the Top 200 in Pollstar’s list. In 2020, Clowes Hall ranked 55th before the pandemic effectively ended live performances for the year. Clowes Hall ranked 139th in 2019, the first time the venue was listed in the Pollstar rankings.
“It’s very exciting to see Clowes Hall back in the spotlight again,” Aaron Hurt, Executive Director for Butler Arts and Events Center, said. “This is a direct result of our strategy to make Clowes Hall relevant again as an arts and entertainment destination in Central Indiana.”
Top selling performances of 2021 included A-List artists Bill Burr, Bianca Del Rio, Jeff Foxworthy, Jo Koy, Heather McMahan, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Opened in 1963, the 2,200-seat Clowes Hall has hosted many of the world’s top musical artists, comedians, and Broadway productions over the years. In 2021, Butler University completed $1.5 million in upgrades to the venue, thanks in large part to a $1 million donation from the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation. Among the renovations are an expanded entryway, new 6.5-foot-tall lobby screens, and a second-floor Marquee Room that can be used for private VIP experiences.
In 2022, Clowes Hall has already hosted performances by Sal Vulcano, Nate Bargatze, and a week-long broadway run of Jesus Christ Superstar. A sampling of what the venue has still scheduled to perform this year includes Alton Brown, Los Tigres del Norte, Il Volo, Fran Lebowitz, Peppa Pig’s Adventure, and The Masked Singer National Tour.
“I take great pride in that we’re now able to consistently bring in bigger names on a more regular basis than ever before,” Hurt said. “This benefits not just Butler, but Indianapolis and Central Indiana, too, by having a more dynamic arts and entertainment scene with Clowes Hall as a leader. It gives us an opportunity to showcase the campus, and the city, to new patrons from across the state and region.”
To see a complete list of shows scheduled for Clowes Hall this year, please visit ButlerArtsCenter.org.
Media Contact:
Joanna Hodges
jhodges@butler.edu
317-940-6411
About Butler University
Butler University is a nationally recognized comprehensive university encompassing six colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Pharmacy & Health Sciences. Approximately 4,500 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students are enrolled at Butler, representing 46 states and 22 countries. More than 75 percent of Butler students will participate in some form of internship, and Butler students have had significant success after graduation, as demonstrated by the University’s 97 percent placement rate within one year of graduation. The University was recently listed as the No. 1 regional university in the Midwest, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings, in addition to being included in The Princeton Review’s annual “best colleges” guidebook.