COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 15, 2026--
Venu ® Holding Corporation ("VENU" or the "Company") (NYSE AMERICAN: VENU), an owner, operator, and developer of premium live entertainment destinations, today announced that multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Dwight Yoakam will headline the Company’s Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Friday, October 9. In addition, the acclaimed venue will host legendary funk and soul group The Commodores & The Spinners on Friday, September 25. These announcements follow those of Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd with 38 Special, and Grammy Award-winning singer Lauren Daigle, to the venue's 2026 season lineup. The additions extend a season that continues to draw marquee talent to the Company's flagship venue.
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Singer, songwriter, and actor Dwight Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide. His signature blend of Bakersfield country, honky-tonk, and rockabilly has produced iconic hits including "Guitars, Cadillacs," "Fast as You," and "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere."
The Commodores, Grammy Award-winning pioneers of funk and soul, are known for hits including "Brick House," "Easy," and "Three Times a Lady." They'll share the stage with fellow soul legends The Spinners for a night of classic hits.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special, two of Southern rock's most iconic acts, will bring decades of classic hits to Ford Amphitheater on September 19, while Lauren Daigle, known for her powerful vocals and chart-topping contemporary hits, will perform on August 15.
"It's been a great season so far at Ford Amphitheater," said Will Hodgson, President of VENU. "We're thrilled to welcome these incredible artists and performers to this year's lineup, with more still ahead."
Upcoming shows on the 2026 Ford Amphitheater lineup to date include:
Previous 2026 performances include John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, Turnpike Troubadours, Avery Anna, Rattlesnake Milk, Alex Warren, Yo-Yo Ma with the Colorado Symphony, O.A.R. with Gavin DeGraw and Phantom Planet, AJR, and Dierks Bentley with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and Cole Goodwin.
Additional 2026 performances are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets and more information can be found at FORDAMPHITHEATER.LIVE.
About Venu Holding Corporation
Venu ® Holding Corporation ("VENU") (NYSE American: VENU) is a premier owner, developer, and operator of luxury, experience-driven entertainment destinations. Founded by Colorado Springs entrepreneur J.W. Roth, VENU has a portfolio of premium brands that includes Ford Amphitheater, Sunset Amphitheaters, Phil Long Music Hall, The Hall at Bourbon Brothers, Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern, Aikman Owners Clubs, and Roth’s Sea & Steak. With venues operating and in development across Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas and a nationwide expansion underway, VENU is setting a new standard for live entertainment.
VENU has been recognized nationally by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Billboard, VenuesNow, and Variety for its innovative and disruptive approach to live entertainment. Through strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as AEG Presents, NFL Hall of Famer and Founder of EIGHT Elite Light Beer Troy Aikman, Billboard, Aramark Sports + Entertainment, Tixr, Boston Common Golf, Niall Horan, and Dierks Bentley, VENU continues to shape the future of the entertainment landscape. For more information, visit VENU’s website, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X.
About Ford Amphitheater
Ford Amphitheater officially opened in August 2024 as a premium outdoor venue in Colorado Springs, purpose built for world class entertainment. Nominated as Best New Concert Venue of the Year by Pollstar Magazine in 2024 and named Billboard's Top West Coast Amphitheater on the publication's prestigious 2026 Top Music Venues list, the amphitheater pairs thoughtful architecture with elevated guest amenities, including Luxe FireSuites ® and on-site premium dining experiences such as Roth’s Sea & Steak and Brohan’s elevated cocktail lounge.
The venue hosts a wide range of programming, from major national touring acts to community-driven events, serving as a gathering place for live music, civic celebrations, and cultural connection across the Pikes Peak region and beyond. Owned by Venu ® Holding Corporation (“VENU”), Ford Amphitheater is booked and operated in partnership with AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, VENU, and the VENU Arts & Culture Foundation (VACF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and patronage of events at the amphitheater supports the Foundation's mission and grant-making efforts.
Learn more at fordamphitheater.live.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “aim,” “should,” “will” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the sections titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, on file with the SEC, as well as in reports subsequently filed by the Company with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.
VENU Announces Dwight Yoakam, The Commodores & The Spinners, Lynyrd Skynyrd with 38 Special, and Lauren Daigle at Ford Amphitheater
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Rain had turned the dirt road into thick mud, but Mabel Djoumessi kept walking with her 9-month-old son, Kenfack, strapped to her back. His malaria vaccination appointment at a clinic in central Cameroon was too important to miss.
For decades, millions of children across Africa have fallen sick from malaria, one of the continent's deadliest diseases for the young. But Kenfack has never had it, a feat his mother attributes to the recent arrival of a malaria vaccine.
“My other children who have never taken the vaccine frequently fall ill,” Djoumessi said later, sitting with other women cradling babies at Soa District Hospital.
More than two years after Cameroon became the first country to incorporate the RTS,S malaria vaccine into its routine immunization program, health workers say it is reducing severe illness.
But they worry that too few children return for the fourth and final shot, or booster dose, that the World Health Organization says is essential to prolong immunity, as it is given months after the other doses.
The challenge reflects a wider problem with multidose vaccines across Africa. Malaria kills one child younger than 5 nearly every minute globally, the vast majority in Africa, according to the WHO and the United Nations children's agency.
In a malaria vaccine pilot program across 158 districts in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, coverage, or the share of children eligible for each dose, reached about 80% for the first shot, given at around six months of age. But it dropped to 46% for the fourth dose, administered between 22 and 24 months, according to a study published last year in the peer-reviewed Malaria Journal.
“When my son turns 2, I will make sure I come for the fourth dose,” Djoumessi said. “I don’t want him to suffer like the others.”
Malaria remains the leading cause of hospital consultations and admissions in Cameroon, one of 11 countries accounting for about 70% of the global malaria burden, according to the WHO. The country recorded an estimated 7.6 million malaria cases and 11,700 deaths in 2024.
Data from Cameroon's National Malaria Control Program shows health facilities recorded a drop in cases in 2025, with 33,000 fewer than in 2024.
However, some have cautioned against attributing the decline solely to the vaccine.
“Isolating the specific impact of malaria interventions requires modeling, and we do not yet have a model to quantify the vaccine’s sole contribution,” said Dr. Bomba Amougou, head of prevention at the National Malaria Control Program. “Therefore, it is accurate to say that the vaccine has contributed to the reduction in cases and deaths, rather than being the exclusive cause.”
The WHO recommended the RTS,S vaccine for wider use in 2021 after the pilot studies in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi found it reduced deaths among eligible children by 13%. In separate clinical trials in several African countries, both RTS,S and the newer R21 vaccine reduced clinical malaria cases by more than 50% during the first year after three doses.
Over 52 million doses have since reached 25 high-risk African countries with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. However, the organization has said the rollout faces a “stark constraint” after sweeping foreign aid cuts by the Trump administration and others. Gavi says it is guaranteeing the supply of vaccines to cover up to 70% of eligible children in the lowest-income countries.
At Soa District Hospital, nurses said they can see the vaccine's impact.
“Our pediatric wards have become empty,” said Alice Tchuenmegne, a senior nurse in charge of vaccinations.
After introducing the vaccine in 42 high-burden districts, Cameroonian authorities say coverage has improved among infants eligible for the first three doses given at six, seven and nine months. First-dose coverage, rose from 66% to 68% from 2024 to 2025, second-dose coverage from 53% to 58% and third-dose coverage from 48% to 59%, according to Amougou.
But many children never receive the fourth dose, administered around their second birthday. Coverage for the fourth dose stood at 25% as of 2025, Cameroonian figures showed.
“Parents and even health workers sometimes forget the fourth dose, particularly as it is administered long after the third, and because this is a relatively new vaccine,” Amougou said.
Receiving all four “makes the protection more potent,” he said, adding that vaccination must complement bed nets, prompt treatment and good sanitation.
Those studying the early rollout in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi found that parents overwhelmingly accepted the malaria vaccine. But children missed later doses largely because of transport costs, lack of reminders, poor follow-up and competing work or childcare responsibilities.
The lower vaccination rates are “initial teething problems that I don’t think should take the spotlight away from the value of this vaccine,” Gavi Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sania Nishtar said in an interview.
She also noted the malaria vaccine faces the least hesitancy from parents, and attributed that to their desperation to save their children from malaria deaths. As a result, there is “huge demand” from governments and communities.
Cameroon and other African countries have since launched “Big Catch-up” campaigns encouraging parents and health staff to prioritize children's vaccination.
Despite the challenges with completing the malaria vaccine doses, Gavi said Wednesday that lower-income countries vaccinated more children in 2025 — 73 million — with Gavi-supported vaccines than any year in history.
Nishtar said research efforts continue toward a single-dose malaria vaccine. “The fewer the doses of a vaccine to be administered, the higher the uptake and the easier the administration,” she said.
For many families, preventing malaria also means avoiding crushing medical bills.
Georgette Caroline Mengbwa, a mother of three waiting for her youngest daughter’s third dose, said her two older children were born before the vaccine became available.
"They fall ill every two or three months, and I have to spend between $53 and $107 each time one or all of them fall ill,” she said. “It’s a lot of money.”
Such costs are substantial in a country where the monthly minimum wage is about $76 and nearly 40% of the population live in poverty, according to official figures.
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
A baby receives a malaria vaccine at the Soa District Hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Angel Ngwe)
Mothers with their babies attend the malaria vaccination rollout at the Soa District Hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Angel Ngwe)
The malaria vaccines are display on a table at the Soa District Hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Angel Ngwe)
Mothers with their babies attend the malaria vaccination rollout at the Soa District Hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Angel Ngwe)
A woman leaves after attending a malaria vaccination rollout session at the Soa District Hospital in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Angel Ngwe)
