“The Parnelli Awards always contain three elements: Surprise, emotion, and camaraderie,” says Executive Producer Terry Lowe. “Our 20th gala will have all of those elements, and more. Because of where we are as an industry, and what we’ve come out of, it’ll be more intimate, more meaningful, and more memorable. And the best part will be something we’ll never take for granted again: that we’re simply able to gather in person and talk to friends—old and new—face to face.”
A Parnelli Show in June
Last fall, when NAMM, a Parnelli Awards partner, temporarily moved the show from January to June due to the Covid surge, Lowe and the Parnelli Board of Directors supported the decision as the right thing to do. However, the team behind the industry’s most prestigious event had a prediction: That factors like vaccines and treatments would allow for concert touring to be in full swing and out on the road in June. Fortunately, that has proved right—which means those lighting directors, audio engineers, and all the live event professionals we usually honor and celebrate are indeed out on the road making audiences happy as we head towards our June Parnelli evening. So, the decision was made that individual “… of the year” awards will be postponed until 2023. However, if you aren’t out on a gig, we still hope all of you incredible people who are the core of this live entertainment industry join us to celebrate our industry and its robust return.
Though things will be a bit different for this year’s Parnelli gala, one thing remains certain, the heart of the evening will be all of us in the industry coming together to celebrate our three Parnelli honorees for career achievement: David Bernstein (Lifetime Achievement Award); Sam Berkow (Audio Innovator Award); and Peter Morse (Visionary Award).
The Parnelli Awards production team also realized that there was one thing the pandemic could not postpone: the inventiveness and ingenuity of the manufacturing sector of our business. So, this 20th Parnelli Awards will still be awarding the Indispensable Technology (IT) Awards honoring best product innovations in Lighting, Audio, Video, and Staging. The IT Awards ballot includes six products in each category nominated by the Parnelli board of advisors and voted on by the live entertainment technology community. The Indispensable Technology ballot is now open for voting online at parnelliawards.com/vote. Voting will take place through May 13 at 12 p.m. (PDT).
The “NextGen” of newer talent will also be awarded since you can’t stop or delay the future. Through the pandemic, PLSN and FRONT of HOUSE magazines continued to scout out those well on their way to being the next generation of industry movers and shakers. Those being considered for the Parnelli NextGen Award at this year’s ceremony include: Road and Tour Manager Aaron Adams; Lighting Director/Designer Jason Baeri, Production Designer Andrew Cass; Lighting Designer Jennifer Fok; Lighting Designer Matt Guminski; Lighting Designer/Entrepreneur Ryan Kasko; Lighting Director/Programmer Alyssa Milione; Audio Engineer Zionya Nolan; Lighting Director/Designer Daniel Rehbein; Audio Engineer Arica Rust; and Lighting Designer Ross Tyler Blitz.
Lowe further points out, “The June timing this year is allowing us to do something that’s never been possible before—we’ll be announcing the 21st honorees of the Lifetime, Audio Innovator, and Visionary for the 2023 Parnelli Awards from the stage live at this year’s event. Other surprises are in store as well.”
Industry Leaders Step Up
Once again, Lowe expresses gratitude for those in the industry who are sponsoring the annual gala. “The magnanimous generosity of those industry leaders who have stepped up to support this year’s show with sponsorships has been inspiring. They are the ones who make the Parnelli Awards possible.”
The list of official sponsors for the 20th Parnelli Awards starts with the returning Platinum sponsor, Group One Ltd. (DiGiCo). Gold Sponsors include 4Wall Entertainment, All Access Staging & Productions, Bandit Lites, Elation Professional, G2 Structures, Gallagher Staging, Harman Professional, MEGA-Lite, Meyer Sound, NAMM, NovaStar, Pyrotek Special Effects, Robe, Rock-It Global, Screenworks/NEP Live Events, Solotech, Sound Image, Special Event Services (SES), Stageline and StrictlyFX. Silver sponsors include Advanced Entertainment Services, Brown Note Productions, Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, INFiLED, On Tour Logistics, See Factor and Ultratec Special Effects. Cocktail sponsors include Chauvet Professional, Shockwave Cargo and Tyler Truss. Production partners include Access Event Solutions, Atomic and Technical Productions Inc. (TPI).
This can’t miss event, unless you are on a gig, will be held June 3rd at the Hilton Anaheim Convention Center in the Pacific Ballroom. It will be hosted by comedian and musician Jammin’ Jay Lamont. The much missed and sure to be welcomed back Parnelli cocktail party starts at 6 p.m., with the dinner and awards show to follow. To make your reservations today, go to parnelliawards.com/reservations. The Parnelli Awards sell out and we anticipate this year’s demand for tickets to be high so be sure to make those reservations early. There’s also a block of hotel rooms set aside for Parnelli Awards guests, so book your room at www.parnelliawards.com/hotel.
We look forward to seeing you all and hope you join us in raising a glass to acknowledge our three incredible lifetime honorees at the 20th Parnelli Awards this June.
The Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Honoree
In 1974, David Bernstein, a recent high school grad, received a call from his older brother Joel who happened to be the touring photographer out with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The band had shown up at Newark airport with more gear than could fit on the plane and needed someone to somehow get all the gear to London. Thus, the teen began a career in the rock and roll freight forwarding business and built one of the most profound, revolutionary live event companies this industry has ever seen.
In the early days, the company was called All Cargo Services (ACS). By the mid-80s, the international touring business began to grow dramatically. Chris Wright, a UK-based live event freight logistics specialist, had created Rock-it Cargo, and was building up a rock ‘n’ roll clientele. In 1986, Wright partnered with Bernstein, who acquired Rock-it Cargo and Rock-it Cargo USA was born. Then in 2007 Rock-it Cargo USA and Rock-it Cargo UK merged. As President and CEO, Bernstein grew the organization from $15 million in sales to over $250 million and a dominant position in the live event forwarding space.
The Parnelli Visionary Honoree
Peter Morse was a singer/songwriter who sang with the New Christy Minstrels in the 1960s and released a few albums of his own. Meanwhile, he worked part-time for a college concert booking agency where he met several future stars including Mac Davis. Davis would hire him as a tour manager, and one day he told Morse to hire a lighting designer for $500 a week. Being nobody’s fool, Morse immediately piped up that he could do the job when in fact he had “never even paid attention to lights.” He quickly taught himself well and would go on to work with other acts, including Loretta Lynn. Lynn hired him to design her Las Vegas residency, and he was one of the first to reject the house lights to bring in a much more dynamic system which would raise the bar for future Las Vegas residencies.
Morse has worked with Tina Turner, Carrie Underwood, Michael Bolton, Lionel Richie, Kim Carnes, Bette Midler, Prince, Andrea Bocelli, the Eagles, Usher, and Barbra Streisand. His work with Madonna included four of her groundbreaking tours including Blonde Ambition, which is still talked about today as being one of the greatest tours of all time. Michael Jackson’s record-shattering Dangerous world tour followed. Today Morse is still raising the bar as he continues to light international acts. [Read a full spotlight on Morse on page 36.]
The Parnelli Audio Innovator Honoree
“I believe music has the ability to transcend the ordinary, to transport people to a new place, to change perspectives, and bring people together,” Sam Berkow says. “Great music can create moments that defy time and space, creating memories that can last a lifetime.” Berkow’s passion for sound measurement and acoustical design is deep and wide. His first professional mixing gig was for blues great Willie Dixon, and he would continue to handle sound for various groups through college and beyond. However, he became more interested in building studios and halls that were acoustically sound so after earning a degree in physics, and then a Master’s degree in acoustics, he went to work for Artec Consultants, an acoustics design and theater planning firm. He developed much of his skills there working on projects like the Birmingham Symphony Hall in England. He went on to work for the Joiner Rose Group before striking out on his own working on audio-related software.
In 1995 he invented SMAART software, which today remains the standard and found on the laptop of nearly every touring FOH and systems engineer in the world. SMAART (Sound Measurement Acoustical Analysis Real-time Tool) tests software for real-time sound system measurements and is critical for performance venues and facilities of all kinds.
During Berkow’s career he designed some of the most revered concert halls in the country including the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco, and the Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz in St. Louis, as well as renovation work for the Hollywood Bowl and the Grand Ole Opry.
