Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Gaines.
Dan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I like to joke that I don’t know a musical note from a doctor’s note — which is fitting, because I’ve actually been both. What I do know is how deeply I love live music: the energy, the connection, the way a great performance can make a crowd of thousands feel like a family reunion.
Back when I was studying Biology and Anthropology at UC Irvine, I stumbled across a help-wanted ad in the student paper. The Bren Events Center was looking for ticket sellers. I applied, got the job, and unknowingly stepped onto a path that would shape the rest of my career. The Bren was primarily a sports venue, but every now and then a concert would roll through, and I was hooked.
Not long after, the Pacific Amphitheatre, just a few miles from campus, began calling the Bren Box Office looking for extra help. It paid a union wage and, more importantly, was all live music. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. That’s where I met my first mentors, Dave Borst-Smith and John Valenzuela, who patiently taught me the ropes. Something about the business just clicked for me.
Even while I was in chiropractic college, I kept finding my way back to the Amphitheatre each summer. After finishing my doctorate, I returned to UCI to complete my undergraduate work and began coaching swimming and water polo at Woodbridge High School. But I couldn’t shake the live-event bug. I kept working shows at the Bren, at the Pac Amp, and later at legendary venues like The Greek Theatre and the Universal Amphitheatre. I was funding my education, sure, but I was also getting a masterclass in the live-music business.
Eventually I practiced chiropractic, but I missed the thrill of a show day; the soundchecks, the lights, the collective heartbeat of a great crowd. I started taking part-time gigs at venues like Blockbuster Pavilion, Coors Amphitheatre in San Diego, and The Sun Theatre (now The Grove of Anaheim). The more I worked, the more I realized that live music was where I truly belonged.
Then came a call that changed everything. Steve Beazley, a then-Vice President (and eventual CEO) at the OC Fair & Event Center, reached out. The Pacific Amphitheatre had been closed for years due to neighborhood noise issues, and they were preparing to reopen it. He said my name had come up as someone who could help get the venue back on its feet. I jumped at the opportunity.
What began as a box-office management role evolved into something much larger. First, Director of Entertainment for the OC Fair & Event Center and the Pacific Amphitheatre, then General Manager of the Pacific Amphitheatre. That was twenty-five years ago. I’ve been here ever since, still chasing the same feeling I had that first night I sold tickets to a live show: that electric moment when the lights go down, the crowd roars, and you know you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but honestly, I think the bumps are where most of the good stories live. At least in retrospect.
Early on, the biggest challenge was financial. A lot of the venues I worked for were seasonal, which meant there were stretches when the lights went dark, the phones stopped ringing, and I was left hoping the next gig would come soon enough to cover the mortgage. I had just bought my first home, and there were months when I was juggling bills and patience in equal measure.
At the same time, I was coaching swimming and water polo. Work I absolutely loved and took great pride in. My teams thrived, and I found real joy in mentoring those athletes. But it was a labor of love, not a living. I even started thinking seriously about going back to get my teaching credential, figuring I could teach during the day and keep coaching on the side. It felt like the practical path forward.
But then the music world kept calling. Sometimes faintly, sometimes loudly, but always persistently. One opportunity would lead to another, and each one reminded me why I fell in love with live events in the first place. Eventually, I stopped fighting it and leaned all the way in.
It wasn’t easy. There were plenty of moments of doubt and more than a few sleepless nights, but following that pull toward entertainment turned out to be the best decision I ever made. The struggle gave me grit, the uncertainty taught me gratitude, and the journey gave me a career that still excites me every single day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work lives somewhere between art and anthropology; part creative expression, part study of human connection.
Programming concerts, festivals, and events is as much about instinct as it is about analytics. You can’t just look at numbers. You have to feel the pulse, what artists will resonate with a particular community, what pairing will ignite a crowd, what experience will make someone say, “That was one of the best nights of my life.” It’s a little bit like composing without an instrument, building an emotional arc from the first opening note to the final encore.
But at its heart, what I do is about people. Every show is a living, breathing gathering of shared emotion: strangers singing together, friends reconnecting, families creating memories. That human element is what drives me. My education in anthropology taught me that culture isn’t built in museums or textbooks; it’s built in moments. And for me, those moments happen under the stage lights, between an artist and an audience, when something magical and unplanned connects them both.
That’s the space I love most, where art, emotion, and community all meet.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love most about Southern California, whether you call it Los Angeles or Orange County, is the sheer abundance of things to do. If you can’t find something that excites you here, you’re not looking hard enough. There’s world-class entertainment, incredible food, and endless ways to spend a perfect day.
As a surfer, I love that I can be in the water catching waves at sunrise, drive a couple of hours to be skiing before lunch, and still make it back in time for a great concert or dinner by the beach. The variety, the creativity, and the weather is unbeatable.
What I like least, ironically, comes from the same abundance. Traffic and overcrowding On the roads and in the water). It’s the price we pay for living in a place everyone wants to experience. But even on the worst traffic days, I remind myself: there’s nowhere else I’d rather be stuck in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pacamp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pacificamphitheatre
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pacificamphitheatre/
- Other: https://pacamp.com/oc-fair-radio/
Image Credits
Miguel Vasconcellos for all.
