Country music has experienced a rapid uptick in the UK in recent years, and it’s fair to say that Luke Combs has played a significant role in that rise in popularity. Almost a decade on from his UK debut, the singer became the first solo country artist to headline Wembley Stadium, bringing the My Kinda Saturday Night tour to London for a total audience of more than 220,000 people spread across three nights.
Production Manager, Jerry Slone; Production Coordinator, R.J. Estrella; and Tour Manager, Ethan Strunk, welcomed TPi under the venue’s iconic arch for the final show of the three-night run. The team enlisted the support of Concert Stuff Group and Special Event Services (audio and staging), ATL Special Effects (SFX), Adlib (lighting and video), Moo TV (cameras, video control and media servers) and McGuinness (trucking).
“I often joke that Luke could sell tickets on the Moon, if I could figure out how to get him up there,” Slone laughed. “We first met Luke when he was a support act on a different tour we were working on, and he has grown from there. We’re very lucky to have the team we do – and that includes suppliers. Every vendor is invested in the people and the project.”
In the US, the tour included seven in-the-round shows with the rest of the dates featuring a traditional end-stage configuration. “We did all of this without a rehearsal in between,” Slone revealed. “We utilised Gateway Studios and Production Services in St. Louis, who at that time were a halfway point for us to flip everything in time for us to continue. The crew were excited and are always up for a challenge. I am blessed to have such a great team of people.”
Estrella echoed the sentiment, going on to mention that his role is geared towards ensuring the crew of the My Kinda Saturday Night tour are made as comfortable as possible out on the road, no matter the turnaround. “We as a team try to get the logistics as tight as possible and do it in the most comfortable way possible to keep morale high. Things on the road can grow so quickly and exponentially, so taking care of everyone is important.”
The record-breaking Wembley shows were a source of pride for the entire crew, but especially so for Strunk, who has a long history with the singer, filling a variety of roles, from tuning guitars to driving splitter vans. “Looking back at the journey we’ve been on to this, it doesn’t get much bigger than 220,000 people over a weekend in London,” Strunk commented, adding that while some stadiums across the Atlantic have been bigger, no city has reached the volume of people that the Wembley stint did. “To break that record has been incredible.”
After meandering the hallways, Stage Manager Matthew Hornbeck led TPi out to the X-shaped thrust where fans were already filling the stadium bowl, in eager anticipation of Combs’ arrival. “We have had a whirlwind year, from in-the-round shows to end on staging, and it has been nothing but a sprint for the entire crew who have come together as a team, day after day to put on a great show for the audience,” Hornbeck said, providing an example of when the team came together in the middle of a storm, against all odds. “It was our luck that this day came when we were next into Gateway Studios, ready to flip the production into something new – it wouldn’t have happened if not for the dedication of our team.”
This mentality, Hornbeck said, stems from the top down. “It’s a family atmosphere; we are growing as people collectively as part of an ever-changing production.” For Slone, this atmosphere is crucial to the success of the tour. “It’s important to me to have people I can call, who know the ins and outs of everything to do with the tour, whether that is Tom Edwards from Adlib, Travis Walker from Moo TV or Michael Brammer at CSG; they are all crucial to the smooth running of this thing, and we’re grateful to have them on board,” he added.
For Michael Brammer, Chief Strategy Officer of Concert Stuff Group (CSG), the feeling is mutual. “It is a huge honour to continue to be trusted to deliver Luke’s world-class production. We have been a part of this for a decade this year, and we are looking forward to the next 10 years,” Brammer said, going on to praise Slone. “Jerry is as good as it gets as a production manager; he is a fantastic leader and a great friend to boot. His ‘people first’ attitude helps get the job done with excellence and no drama. I couldn’t think of a better person to work with.”
Brammer also thanked the wider CSG team, and the crew on the road, for pulling off the configuration change without a hitch. “It took a lot of coordination before the tour even left the warehouse to make sure we could change the configuration in the middle of the tour without any hiccups, and then, when it came down to it, it went smoothly,” he said.
When asked if he could describe the tour in five words, Brammer smiled as he offered: “Never the same night twice.”
McGuinness’s Cian McGuinness is proud to have been a part of such a pivotal show for Combs, he commented: “The environment on the tour has been cultivated from the top down, and as Production Manager, Jerry Slone is central to its creation. Jerry is exacting, but the high standards he sets and expects are matched by the levels of trust and support he offers those around him. We always feel like genuine partners working alongside the production team. We strive to create that same feeling in our own people,” he said, going on to praise the company’s drivers. “We are grateful to have a group of skilled, diligent, and committed drivers. They are top-class people and the soul of the operation, making these massive shows happen. By the end of the tour, we are always left with happy drivers who are already looking forward to the next run with Jerry and his team.”
Read the full story in TPi Magazine #296.
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: David Bergman and TPi
