Blood Sweat and Tears

What Blood Sweat and Tears does

Blood Sweat & Tears is a privately held American touring jazz-rock band founded in 1967 by Bobby Colomby, with its base of operations in Ridgefield, United States, and listed at 1-10 employees. The band was built around the concept of integrating jazz improvisation, integrated horn arrangements, and spontaneous soloing into rock vocal music, distinguishing it from typical rock ensembles of its era. Its core product is live musical performance, delivered through a rotating lineup of session-grade musicians whose alumni have worked alongside artists such as Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, and Kool and the Gang.

The business operates an event-driven revenue model, monetizing performances at performing arts centers (e.g., Cerritos Center), jazz clubs (the Dakota, Seattle Jazz Alley), casino venues, theme parks (Busch Gardens Tampa), and cruise ships (Celebrity Cruises' Silhouette). National booking is handled through the TKO agency with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and London; international and private-show bookings are managed directly through the band's own management office. Tickets are distributed through venue box offices and third-party platforms such as Ticketmaster, with no publicly disclosed standardized pricing.

The band's peak commercial period was 1968-1975, anchored by three 1970 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year over the Beatles' Abbey Road, and a Woodstock-era brand legacy. Operations remain active under band leader Larry Dorr following the 2024 death of longtime lead vocalist David Clayton-Thomas. The band has expanded its content surface beyond live performance with the documentary 'What The Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?' (Critics Choice Documentary Award nominee) and continues to be represented in markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand based on touring history.

Name

Blood Sweat and Tears

Legal name

Blood Sweat & Tears

Website

https://bloodsweatandtears.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Privately held American touring jazz-rock band founded in 1967, performing at theaters, jazz clubs, casinos, theme parks, and cruise ships across North America and internationally. Revenue derives from live performances booked via the TKO national agency and direct management, combining integrated horn arrangements with jazz improvisation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Entertainment

NAICS

Record Production and Distribution (51225)

SIC

Phonograph Records & Prerecorded Audio Tapes & Disks (3652)

akta.pro primary industry

Recorded Music Retail & D2C Merch Bundles (MPAIAAAF)

Keywords

• Live music performances
• Jazz rock fusion
• Concert entertainment
• Touring band
• Festival performances

Headquarters

HQ city

Ridgefield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Live Performance Revenue: Revenue generated from touring, live concerts at venues, festivals, casinos, and special events. The band performs at various venues including theaters, jazz clubs, casino venues, and outdoor festivals across North America.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blood Sweat & Tears is a touring jazz-rock fusion band that generates revenue by performing live concert music at venues, festivals, casinos, and cruise ships across North America. Its performances feature fully integrated horn arrangements, improvised jazz solos, and a rotating lineup of world-class session musicians, anchored by classic hit songs such as 'You've Made Me So Very Happy' and 'Spinning Wheel'. The band books its performances through the TKO national booking agency and its own management office for international and private events.

Product overview

Blood Sweat & Tears is a touring jazz-rock band known for combining jazz sophistication with rock energy. The band offers live musical performances, featuring a lineup of original and touring musicians, and has recently been involved in a documentary film, 'What The Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?', which streams on various platforms. The core offering consists of live concert performances at venues, festivals, and special events worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Jazz-Rock Concert Performances Headline live jazz-rock fusion concert performances featuring integrated horn arrangements, improvised jazz solos, and classic hits such as 'You've Made Me So Very Happy' and 'Spinning Wheel', delivered for concert audiences at theaters, performing arts centers, jazz clubs, and festivals.
• Casino Venue Performances Booked live jazz-rock fusion performances at casino properties such as Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, delivered as casino showroom entertainment.
• Cruise Ship Entertainment Performances Special guest live music performances on cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises Silhouette, provided as part of onboard entertainment programming.
• Private Event and International Booking Performances Booked live jazz-rock performances for international engagements and private/corporate events, handled directly through the band's own management office.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TKO (Artist Agency)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTKO handles national booking for Blood Sweat & Tears across their offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and London. Contact: Jim Lenz at [email protected], 310-273-9200.
• TicketmasterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party ticketing platform used for selling tickets to BS&T performances at various venues.
• Busch GardensminorOthersTheme park venue hosting multiple BS&T shows in Tampa, FL in January 2026.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Earth, Wind & Fire: Earth, Wind & Fire is a Grammy-winning legacy touring act known for sophisticated horn arrangements, funk/soul/jazz fusion, and multi-decade live performance revenue — directly comparable to BS&T in genre-blending approach and touring longevity.
• Chase (the band): Chase was a 1970s horn-driven jazz-rock band contemporaneous with BS&T, sharing a similar brass-forward rock-fusion concept and touring-act business model from the same era.
• Tower of Power: Tower of Power is a horn-driven funk/soul/R&B band that has toured continuously for decades, sharing Blood Sweat & Tears' emphasis on integrated horn arrangements and a rotating cast of elite session musicians.
• Buddy Rich Big Band: The Buddy Rich Big Band is a legacy jazz touring act emphasizing world-class musicianship, similar in spirit to BS&T's positioning around elite live performance quality and jazz-rock fusion repertoire.
• The Ides of March: The Ides of March are contemporaries of Blood Sweat & Tears featuring horn-driven rock, sharing both the late-1960s origin era and the integrated brass-section approach to rock music.
• Maynard Ferguson Big Band: Maynard Ferguson's band was a high-energy legacy jazz touring act known for virtuoso musicianship and crossover jazz-rock repertoire, paralleling BS&T's emphasis on musical skill and live performance energy.
• Steely Dan: Steely Dan is a jazz-rock band from the same era that has continued as an active touring act featuring world-class session musicians, paralleling BS&T's model of blending jazz sophistication with rock vocal sensibilities.
• Chicago: Chicago is a horn-driven rock band from the same late-1960s era as Blood Sweat & Tears, similarly blending jazz elements with rock vocals. Both bands are legacy touring acts built around an iconic song catalog and ongoing live performance revenue.

Others

• Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster is a distribution partner used by BS&T to sell tickets for live performances, functioning as an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor. It is comparable as a stakeholder in the live music infrastructure the band depends on.

Broad incumbents

• Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: Herb Alpert is a Grammy-winning legacy act known for jazz-infused brass-driven music who continues to tour, sharing BS&T's profile as an established artist of similar vintage in the jazz-pop crossover category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bsandtband
• Facebookfacebook.com/BloodSweatAndTearsBand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blood-sweat-and-tears-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blood Sweat and Tears