LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 23, 2026--
AEG Presents, a global leader in live entertainment, announced today that Chris Hammond will take on the role of Senior Vice President of the Pacific Northwest. Hammond, most recently a VP of Talent at the promoter’s Las Vegas office, will now oversee booking and operational strategy for AEG Presents’ growing portfolio of Pacific Northwest venues. He will be based in Seattle and report to President of North American Regional Offices, Brent Fedrizzi.
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“I’m really excited for what lies ahead,” commented Hammond. “The Pacific Northwest’s music scene speaks for itself…it’s globally recognized. And the live business is a critical part of that ecosystem. Add to that a new venue coming online in Portland next year and it’s shaping up to be quite an exciting time for us. I can’t wait to dig in with the team and get to work.”
“Chris has demonstrated that he is ready to take this next step with the company,” said Fedrizzi. “Over the past eight years in Las Vegas, his results have consistently spoken for themselves, and he has shown an exceptional ability to cultivate strong artist relationships while helping to drive the business’s financial performance. I look forward to seeing the impact he will make in this expanded role.”
Hammond began his professional career in Major League Baseball, serving as General Manager of the West Palm Beach Expos, the Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos. At just 22 years old, he was the youngest active general manager in professional baseball.
In 2003, Hammond founded Rock ’n Roll Wine®, blending his passions for music and wine into one of the industry’s most innovative lifestyle brands. Over the next decade and a half, the company produced more than 600 wine and live music events across six states, helping pioneer a new experiential format for wine culture. In 2007, Hammond was recognized as one of Las Vegas’ “40 Under 40” business leaders by In Business Magazine.
Since joining AEG Presents’ Las Vegas team in 2018, Hammond has played a key role in elevating the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas into one of the most successful boutique theaters in the world. He most recently led the AEG Presents Las Vegas booking team as the regional Vice President of Talent, helping shape the programming alongside managing the agent and artist relationships that drive one of the world’s most competitive entertainment destinations.
About AEG Presents
Combining the power of the live event with a focus on true artist development, AEG Presents is a world leader in the music and entertainment industries. Operating across five continents, the company has an unparalleled commitment to artistry, creativity, and community. Its tentpole festivals and multi-day music events — which include the iconic Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and the legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival alongside British Summer Time at Hyde Park, Stagecoach, Electric Forest, Rock En Seine and All Points East — continue to set the bar for the live music experience. AEG Presents promotes global tours for artists such as ATEEZ, Justin Bieber, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Celine Dion, ENHYPEN, Elton John, Carin León, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and Tyler, The Creator, in addition to — through its network of clubs, theatres, arenas, stadiums and renowned partner brands such as Auguri Productions, The Bowery Presents, Cárdenas Marketing Network, Concerts West, Creativeman Productions, Frontier Touring, Goldenvoice, Greenhouse Talent, Marshall Arts, MCT Agentur, Messina Touring Group, Outback Presents, PromoWest Productions, and Zero Mile Presents — creating and developing an unmatched infrastructure for artist development and audience reach. More information can be found at www.aegpresents.com.
AEG Presents Names Chris Hammond Senior Vice President of the Pacific Northwest
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Trump says he ordered the Justice Department lawsuit over Alaska's US Senate race: 'I'm the one that said do it.'
THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot, kicking off what many fear could become a lengthy battle between the government and states over certifying an election where the president's party is struggling.
Many members of both major political parties believe the fight over control of the Senate could come down to Alaska, where Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. Also on the Alaska ballot is a Daniel J. Sullivan from the tiny fishing community of Petersburg. He has said he decided to run on his own, but Republicans have contended he is a Democratic plant to siphon votes away from their candidate.
The lawsuit Thursday by Republican President Donald Trump's Department of Justice in federal court in Alaska demands that the state be blocked from certifying a Peltola win if Daniel J. Sullivan remains on the ballot. “The United States accordingly brings this lawsuit to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska,” the lawsuit says, contending that federal law requires states to protect the integrity of federal elections.
The legal challenge came 11 days before the Nov. 3 election and months after the final ballot was set.
The Alaska Supreme Court rejected a previous Republican effort to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot, and the state's Republican officials made the decisions about how to list him on the ballot. He will appear without a party designation next to his name, while the senator will be listed as the Republican incumbent. Alaska's ranked choice voting system also will allow voters to select both of the men if confused.
The senator received more than 68,000 votes in the August primary, while the challenging Sullivan got 4,107, about 2% of the total vote. Peltola, who had previously served one term in the House, was the top vote-getter in the nonpartisan primary. Both parties expect that whoever wins in November will do so by a tight margin in a state of 738,000 people.
The campaign for Sen. Dan Sullivan did not address whether the senator supports the Department of Justice's intervention. “We'll let the DOJ complaint run its course,” campaign spokesman Nate Adams said in a text message. “Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan's strong record of delivering for Alaska.”
Daniel J. Sullivan, whose presence on the ballot is at issue in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Donald Trump knows that Dan Sullivan is going to lose the election, so now his Department of Justice is filing a sham lawsuit to overturn the will of Alaska voters and steal an election when he loses,” said Devan Barber, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The Department of Justice has increasingly been used to bolster the president's political operation, targeting his enemies and suing Democratic-controlled states before the election. Democrats and many voting rights advocates have long feared that the administration will try to block certification of elections that Trump's party loses, much as he unsuccessfully tried to do when he lost the White House race to Democrat Joe Biden.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that was unlikely outside of extreme circumstances. “It is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process," he told reporters Thursday in Virginia before the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit was signed by Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants before becoming one of the top appointees at the department.
Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said the lawsuit would likely only kick in if Republicans narrowly lost the Alaska Senate race and that it probably would not survive long. “The statute simply doesn't let the Department of Justice enjoin certification,” Muller said. “The lawsuit could well be mooted by a wide Democratic victory or a narrow Republican one, and if not, the court will likely dismiss it next month.”
The U.S. Constitution grants states the power to run their own elections. Elections for federal office like the Senate must comply with standards set by Congress. That division of power has frustrated Trump, who repeatedly has tried to seize control of election procedures through executive orders that courts have blocked.
The final step for a state election is formally certifying the winner, the act that the administration's lawsuit seeks to prevent, it requests, “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for. Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan."
The process in Alaska is complicated by the state's ranked choice voting system, which Trump opposes, and many expect it to take weeks before a winner is known. Also on the state's ballot is an initiative to repeal that system.
Trump has complained about Daniel J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot, making reference to it during a rally in Alaska this month and in repeated social media posts, including one this week where he called it “CHEATING.”
“We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot, and holding the Democrats accountable for their Election Interference, in the pursuit of Justice and Fairness,” the president wrote on Wednesday.
Clogging a ballot with third party candidates to siphon off votes from the other major party is a long-standing tactic in the country's two-party system. Republicans have been linked to an effort to persuade Ohio voters to support a socialist in that state's Senate race, which could help Republican Sen. Jon Husted fend off a challenge from former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump greets Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In this photo shot with a smart phone, Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan poses ahead of a debate with Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
