The founding of Premier Global Production dates back a generation, originating in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. At that time, current President and CEO Troy Vollhoffer’s parents worked at a soft-seat theatre. Troy, as a young man, would deliver and set-up followspots the family owned and rented.
Kevin Blevins, a childhood friend, worked with Vollhoffer while the two grew up. After college graduation, Blevins mounted a 20-year journalism career while Troy pursued a hockey career and assumed the reins of the family business. In 2011, Troy offered Blevins the position of General Manager. “I was well aware of the details of PGP’s clients and growth because we’d remained close over the years,” he says.
In the late 1990s, Premier Global acquired the lighting contract for the worldwide Backstreet Boys Tour, prompting a permanent move to the USA. “Troy chose Nashville because it was and still is, the center of the music business,” says Blevins. The city itself also made a favorable impression on Vollhoffer, now a U.S. citizen, during his stint with the professional hockey team, the Nashville Knights, he adds.
Other landmark tours followed, spurring the company’s quiet, steady forward growth. Long-term clients Tim McGraw and Rush started with PGP in the late 90’s. In the early 2000’s, The Red Hot Chili Peppers joined PGP’s client list. Another loyal client, Metallica is performing in San Francisco the night before Super Bowl 2016 with a huge lighting system from Premier Global.
Vollhoffer kept growing the staging side of PGP, too. Starting with a handful of country festivals and state fairs, PGP now services Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Music Midtown in Atlanta and many Live Nation events. Vollhoffer owns three country music festivals, Country Thunder in Wisconsin, Arizona and Alberta, Calgary. A fourth, the Craven Country Jamboree, takes place near Craven, Saskatchewan, a village with fewer than 250 year-round residents. PGP provides staging and lights for all these events.
“Every year has been a step forward by the staging division,” says Blevins. “They continuously amaze me. We have five fully modular steel systems and it still is not enough.” This division also provides fencing and field floor covering.
PGP established new company headquarters in 2015. Vollhoffer purchased a former Lowes Hardware building located in Madison, 20 minutes north of downtown Nashville. “We had outgrown our previous space,” says Blevins.” Troy did not want to lease anymore so we looked for a building to purchase, one that perfectly suited our needs.” The search took 18 months.
“I received and followed some great advice from an industry veteran during the transition,” Blevins recalls. “He told me to use the building to change everything at Premier Global I needed to change.”
Months of renovations included all new power, HVACs and a 10,000 square foot production rehearsal studio. The climate-controlled soundproof space has 1600 amps of three-phase power available. A 30,000-pound show can hang in the room.
Word has gotten around about the facility, which Blevins believes to be unique in Nashville. Bookings have included The Band Perry, Thomas Rhett, Brett Aldridge and Randy Houser. Lee Brice launched his 2016 tour, and Iron Maiden will rehearse their upcoming USA tour at the facility. “We offer a steep discount on the space when production is taking our lights on their tour,” says Blevins.
The new headquarters offers one of the largest pre-visualization suites in Nashville according to Blevins. The 20×30 room provides an 80-inch HD flat screen along with Capture and ESP Vision software.
President and CEO Troy Vollhoffer’s philosophy of, “If the designer asks for a Coke, don’t give him a Pepsi,” guides inventory acquisition. For this reason, fixtures include Vari-Lites, Martin, Clay Paky and GLP gear, with grandMA and Hog consoles for control.
Blevins points out, “We have a very stable senior management staff ranging from 15 to 30 years with PGP. Our company is large and experienced enough to provide crews and inventory to take on the big tours, but still small enough to emphasize and deliver great service. Troy and I are a phone call away, 24/7. We can support tours with 300 plus moving lights and still react immediately to critical requests.”
“With the new building so close to downtown, in a city that is booming we are laying claim to our spot in this production world and making a statement that we are here to stay for a long time,” he says.
For more info, please visit www.premierglobalproduction.com
