In what has quickly become a concrete date in our annual calendar at TPi Magazine, THE Conference: Live at Lititz, now in its fourth year, presents an opportunity for those in the live touring community to gather for one last time before the Christmas break. This year, 1,300 attendees descended on the Rock Lititz campus to enjoy a schedule of 150 different sessions along with plenty of networking opportunities throughout the three-day event.
“We have really seen this scale to a global audience with people coming from all over the world,” commented Emily Cassidy, Director of Conferences and Partnerships, Rock Lititz. “While there is a larger demand from industry companies and vendors than we have tickets for, we work to keep the balance split between our corporate and production voices.”
With all attendees armed with the event’s app, people were able to create their own personal conference programming, signing up to specific panels as well as tours of some of the supporting businesses, including Clair Global, TAIT and ATOMIC.
The panel conversations ranged widely from discussions which looked to highlight some of the biggest challenges facing the live touring sector, to those hoping to give attendees practical skills that they could take with them out on the road.
A change that THE Conference team made this year was with the ‘Journeys’ incentive. Although all panels were open to every attendee, the organisers created three specific categorisations – Foundation, Progress and Legacy – to ensure attendees got the most out of their experience by directing them to content most relevant to them. While Foundation sessions were geared towards those looking to discover more about the world of live events, Progress looked at those who were already deeply involved of the sector, exploring new approaches and better solutions for positive change. Then, Legacy content was geared at industry leaders and how teams could aid the next generation coming through.
“We wanted to help people navigate their experience with us in a thoughtful way,” commented Cassidy. “We are looking forward to hearing feedback from our attendees, but overall, people seemed grateful to have the ability to focus their time at THE Conference.”
A particularly interesting session, overseen by Marty Hom, was Bigger Show, Bigger Stakes, which saw Live Nation’s Vice President of Production, Chirs Weathers and Senior Vice President Global Touring Operations, Tres Thomas speaking to Production Manager, Malcome Weldon, Silent House’s Cory FitzGerald and Raw Cereal’s Cort Lawrence. The discussed was centred on the changing nature of touring, with today’s show becoming increasinlgy large. Among many interesting anecdotes, a recurring theme was the need for effective communication between touring production and promoter reps.
There were also several sessions that were more case study-based – notably with the team at ER Productions giving a practical demonstration of some of the effects that are currently being offered to the market.
Aside from the panel sessions, this year, even more space was dedicated to companies based at Rock Lititz to open their doors, as well as new organisations making a real difference within the industry.
A standout this year was found in Live Nation’s Accessibility Lounge. In the space, the team behind AAA (Audio Accessibility Alliance), which, in partnership with DiGiCo, was showcasing a beta version of software that enables blind and partially sighted engineers immediate audio feedback when users touch a control – telling the value of the gain or the position of the fader. In a demo on DiGiCo’s new Quantum 112, users could get a first-hand example of how the DigiVoice software, which is open source and available for any other manufacturer to use, worked in real-time applications.
Several members of the AAA were present, including Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia, Ritchell Lim, David Helberg, Jason Vrobel, Rick Roman, Charlie Hernandez Jr and Jon Lemon. The formation of the AAA came from THE Conference when Gracia attended in 2024 and outlined the plight of blind engineers, such as herself. DiGiCo’s R&D team then took up the challenge to try to tackle this issue, and in 10 months had a product to showcase.
Cassidy give some of her other highlights from the event. “PIXERA and Fuse worked with the Academy of Live Technology to have students projection map the outside of Studio 1. Sunbelt offered several batteries throughout the outside activations that allowed us to stick to our sustainability goals and avoid diesel generators.”
With another successful conference, the team at Rock Lititz are turning their attention to the brand-new base in Nashville, which is opening its doors in January this year. Meanwhile, the organisers were pleased to announce that Rock Lititz will be returning next year from 8 to 10 December 2026.
“This year had so many big highlights, and that is largely due to the incredible work from the Rock Lititz team,” commented Cassidy. “I was out this summer on maternity leave, and the team flexed and filled every gap.”
One of these hardworking team members was Rachel Pfennig Hales, lead for brand and content at Rock Lititz. “Every year, it’s amazing to see the industry showing up in such an authentic way,” she said. “Everyone is committed to building a strong industry. THE Conference: Live at Lititz and Rock Lititz are committed to creating a space to allow those connections to happen.”
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Paige Durborow
