How did your interest in live events develop?
“As a nerdy kid growing up in the South, I was completely obsessed with concerts. I’d load a Lego stage into a toy truck and ‘tour’ it around my bedroom, imagining different shows night after night. By the time I was 12, I was spending a lot of time in church learning the technical elements, running cameras, and learning my way around the audio console. In fact, we used that console to mix the cassette tapes sold in the church bookstore after services. To this day, music was always a driver. I originally wanted to be a classical musician and threw myself into choral music, theatre, and anything creative I could find. One of the biggest turning points came later when I took a job at a Nashville music store. Even though I mainly took the job to get a discount on gear for my band, being in that environment meant constantly meeting people who were looking for help at their shows, and I learned to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity and then would have to figure out how to deliver.”
Where would you say your first “big break” came from?
“I spent a few years switching between lighting, audio, and staging, but the turning point came when I was on tour as a lighting technician and the monitor engineer on my tour fell ill. I was in a fortunate place and was able to step in because I was familiar with the console. Soon after, I began freelancing for Clair Global and worked with them on the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Concert, which felt like a real milestone. It was the biggest show I’d worked on to that point, with hundreds of thousands in attendance. The Goo Goo Dolls played the event, and after I mixed their monitors, production asked if they could take me out on the road. I was only 20, and probably not as good as they thought, but being there and being willing and reliable is what mattered. Unfortunately, I was already slated to go onto another project and couldn’t hop on that bus. That period was when I realised I’d entered the professional world.”
Moving to the present day, what does your role at Concert Stuff Group involve?
“As Chief Operating Officer, my job is to take the vision set by our CEO, Jim Brammer, and make it operational across an a-typical organisational structure: one where we consolidate the back office and administrative needs of companies without changing their forward-facing identities. Every brand in the group continues to run as its singular entity while supported by a central services team. My daily mission is finding efficiencies without flattening the cultural differences between a trucking company and a staging company, or an audio, video lighting company, and a barrier company. It’s a balancing act of maintaining independence, encouraging collaboration, and creating a cohesive structure that still feels authentic to every individual business.”
Which services does CSG offer to the live events sector?
“CSG can deliver every major component of a live event. Our goal is to offer infrastructural, and every technical element needed for concerts, festivals, touring, and other live events. Special Event Services (SES) provides expert audio, lighting and LED; G2 Structures designs and delivers large-format staging solutions, while G2 Mobile Structures supplies truck/mobile stages; Loud and Clear specialises in festival production, from staging to full technical packages; 7 Cinematics offers Emmy Award-winning live video capture; Special Event Transportation (SET) provides trucking; Musical Coaches charters tour buses; 340 Productions, works directly with artists and promoters to design shows and select suppliers to deliver full show production – whether using companies inside or outside the group; Guardian Barrier Services deploys crowd control barriers, cable ramps, and VIP and ADA structures; Field Protection Agency (FPA) provides ground protection; Fabrineering builds our structures and barriers from the ground up. We even operate a storage and rehearsal facility in Las Vegas called S3.”
Beyond work, how do you like to spend your spare time?
“Most of my hobbies revolve around my kids, especially since their interests become yours. With my eldest daughter getting married next year, that is the entire conversation right now in our house. More selfishly, I have always loved travelling, especially now that I can do it without the usual touring rush. Going somewhere like Paris and actually spending quality time there is such a blessing. I’m also passionate about cooking. I’ve always enjoyed it, but COVID-19 really pushed me deeper into it and have spent a significant amount of time honing my skills.”
Looking ahead, what are the company’s short-, medium- and long-term goals?
“In the short term, we’re focused on process standardisation across the group with different aspects of workflow. In the medium term, several companies are exploring expansion into new territories, and we’re in active conversations with potential new partners, based largely on cultural fit and missing components within the group. Long term, the aim is to continue refining group-wide business processes. Considering all these brands were independent less than two years ago, building them into a cohesive whole is ongoing work. Across all timeframes, the core objective is preserving the identity of each partner company while using the power of the group to strengthen the offering of what each already does well.”
Which gig stands out as the most memorable?
“Two come to mind. The first was Jazz Fest in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina, when the city desperately needed a sense of joy. Lionel Richie stepped in last-minute for Dr John and headlined the final night. Wayne Trevisani was mixing it, and we both jumped on the console and spun it up as a true throw-and-go, and within minutes it felt incredible. The crowd, the band, and Lionel all understood the emotional weight of the moment, and 80,000 New Orleans locals having the time of their lives is something I’ll never forget. The second was Paul McCartney in 2012, during my last year touring, when we played a free show in Mexico City’s main square to half a million people. It was the perfect way to end my touring days and made me appreciate all the shows I had done before, but how do you top that last one?”
