Concert promoter Mitch Slater, a key player in the building of the first national concert-promotion company, SFX Entertainment, died on 7/21 after an extended illness. He was 59.

After a stint as Director of Booking at Madison Square Garden, he partnered with New York concert king Ron Delsener to form Delsener/Slater Presents in 1988. It became the largest regional concert promoter in the country—in 1994 alone, according to a New York Times report, they promoted 300 shows in the New York City area.

Robert Sillerman’s building of SFX Entertainment began in 1996 with the purchase of Delsener/Slater Presents, and with the two principals heading its concert division, he snatched up dozens of regional promoters across the country within three years. Rising to EVP, Slater stayed with Sillerman in his artist management company FXM after SFX was sold to Clear Channel Entertainment, the precursor company to Live Nation.

He created his own a private investment company, Slater Entertainment, and in March 2002 acquired the indie promoter Metropolitan Entertainment Group from Covanta Energy Corp. In December 2002, Slater sold Metropolitan to Clear Channel.

Slater served as board president of LIFEbeat, the entertainment industry nonprofit created to battle the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. He established the Slater Family Scholarship at Muhlenberg College, which is awarded yearly to a qualifying student who has financial need. He was also an avid Mets fan.

“To most people, he was one of the architects of the modern concert era, but to me he was my baby brother,” said veteran manager and former Capitol Records CEO Andrew Slater. “When he started in music, I said if you’re half as good at business as you are as a brother, you’ll be a great success. He far exceeded that mark.

“Our father taught us that our word had to be honored. Anyone who knew Mitch knew that he lived by that.

“Our bond was as strong as it gets. A piece of me is gone. A piece of anyone who knew him is gone. Rest in peace, little brother.”

Slater is survived by his wife Pamela, daughters Lana, Amelia and Julia, brother Andrew and mother Rita.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to Backyard Sports Cares.