What Happens in Vegas (Is Thanks to a Terp)

He and fellow Student Entertainment Events (SEE) members racedvacross the arena the moment the final buzzer sounded one November evening in 1998, removing courtside chairs and loading in equipment throughout the night for the next day’s sold-out show.

“You’re 21 years old and you’re setting up for two legends,” says Greenfeig. “It was really cool.”

Today, he’s booking Grammy award-winner Adele for a months-long stop at Caesars Palace and K-pop superstars BTS at Allegiant Stadium as Live Nation’s senior vice president of concerts in Las Vegas. Business is booming as consumers shift their spending to experiences and more artists turn to live shows—particularly convenient residencies—to make money in the streaming age.

Wu-Tang Clan performs at Ritchie Coliseum in Oct. 1997; below: Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell united for a sold-out show at Cole Field House in Nov. 1998; both were thanks to Greenfeig’s work with SEE. (Photo courtesy of University Archives/The Eclipse)

“My favorite moment of every show is before the artist takes the stage, when it’s completely dark and the crowd just goes ballistic—just knowing that I had a part in this moment for everyone in the room,” he says.

As a finance major at UMD, Greenfeig had never considered an entertainment career until friend Jared Paul ’99 asked him to help with a SEE show. After getting his first taste of backstage access, Greenfeig joined the club to book major acts, starting with the Wu-Tang Clan.

“It was one of the scariest nights at the beginning,” he says, due to a miscommunication about payment, which he and Paul quickly sorted out. Once the hip-hop group got onstage, it got the crowd so pumped up—Method Man even hung from the rafters—that students damaged the newly renovated Ritchie Coliseum and got SEE banned from the facility for a few years.

Undeterred, he and Paul teamed up again shortly after graduation, this time overseeing entertainment at the new MCI Arena in Washington, D.C.

“People would see two kids, and they’d try to take advantage and call us every name there was,” he says. “But that’s where we cut our teeth.”

His work for Madison Square Garden, MGM Resorts and now Live Nation has taken him from south Florida to Los Angeles to Philadelphia. Las Vegas’ unusual venues, including the recently opened Sphere with its unique audio and visual capabilities, make it an essential stop for performers, he says. He oversees marketing, ticket sales and logistics, juggling multiple shows at once.

Not having a traditional 9-to-5 has been tough at times as he and wife Amy Herr Greenfeig ’00 grew their family. Overseeing concerts can keep him out until 2 a.m., and a call about a last-minute snafu could pull him from the sidelines of a soccer game. But these days, his three kids (especially the 15-year-old) have caught on that Dad has the connections to get them into the hottest shows, such as the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

He credits UMD with steering him on the path to success, Greenfeig says, especially Stamp Student Union Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, who put her trust in “a couple of idiots” when he and Paul, now an entertainment manager, led SEE.

“She gave me a huge opportunity,” Greenfeig says. “Now, I’ve created a career and lifestyle, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Greenfeig Raves About His All-time Faves

• PERRY FARRELL, WAR and ADAM LEVINE in the Viper Room (~2015). “It’s a really small room, maybe 600 people,” he says. Seeing artists from such different genres collaborating up close blew his mind. “I remember Perry Farrell singing ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ with War, and I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?’”

• JAY-Z and EMINEM at Yankee Stadium (2010). “I grew up a Yankees fan, so when I saw they were playing there, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go.’ I ... realized as I was trying to find my seats that I’m on the field, getting closer and closer. I’d already been in the business for 15 years, but it was still amazing.”

• THE KILLERS at T-Mobile Arena (2022). “I was brought on when the building was just starting to be constructed, so we wanted to do a big opening show. I had this vision: We should do something for the locals, brand it, so we got the Killers, who are from Las Vegas. It was a whole journey, opening the venue, booking something, creating something out of that.”