NC-Based Event Company Undergoing “Generational Shift”
Michael Brammer, son of SES founder Jim Brammer, says that while he grew up being part of the shows, he didn’t think he wanted to be part of the industry. He’s a “proud college drop-out” and once flirted with going to culinary school. But summers working for SES led him to get involved more with their House of Worship clients. “I was doing some audio mixing at a church, and not only did I take an interest in the industry, I started to develop my own opinions about the [direction of] the company. I didn’t quite agree with some of the partners who were part of [Jim’s] exit strategy” in that they would take over if and when the senior Brammer stepped down. “Then one day I said to him, ‘Instead of letting them ruin your legacy, let me have a shot at it,’” he laughs.
There’s a lot of rich history with SES, but front and center is their long relationship with Hootie and the Blowfish, who have reunited after a 13-year hiatus to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of their Cracked Rear View debut album. (See related story, this issue, page 30). They started with them early on and when Hootie blew up on the charts, the band took SES (then called Southern Lites) with them. Their work for the house of worship market is sizable, and perhaps lesser known, is the many sister companies they founded along the way. Jim and wife Lynn would start their trucking company named SET, which today operates more than 70 trucks.
The network of production service companies under the sphere of influence that is SES also includes SET Trucking, Musical Coaches, Field Production Agency, Concert Chairs (which provides seating for stadium shows), Guardian Barrier Services and G2 Structures (see sidebar). “What links them is that Jim is a majority owner in all of them,” Michael says. “Right now, while our headquarters is in Winston-Salem, we have facilities in New York City, Nashville, San Diego, Boston, and Carlton, OR. Someday in the near future we hope to expand into Las Vegas.”
Today, SES’s business is about 50 percent HOW-related, and 50 percent secular. “We feel that is a good mix for us,” Michael says. “We don’t want to be a huge touring company. There are so many companies out there trying to fight the big guys that typically get those shows, that it all becomes a wash in a sea of mediocrity. We like to be in a league where we can provide premier service and value at the peak of our ability, which we can do at the size we’re at. When you’re a client of SES, and there’s a problem, or you just want to brainstorm some ideas, you get Jim or I on the phone. You go straight to the decision makers. We’re still a family business — we’re not backed by private equity; we don’t have any secret investors.”
Garage Beginnings
The history of Special Event Services begins typically enough — in Jim Brammer’s garage in 1986 working alongside his wife, Lynn. Perhaps inspired by the hit Glen Campbell song, Brammer originally called the company “Southern Lites.” Jeff Cranfill partnered with them, and quickly enough they found themselves in the production business. “By 1989, we were firmly entrenched in the Southeastern corporate theater market and doing several festivals,” Jim says. (In 1992, they changed the name to Special Event Services.) “We were growing at a modest pace, but then our big break came in 1994, when Hootie and the Blowfish became a client and we added another partner, Jason Farah.”
Jim says while it seemed at the time to be a pivotal time in the company’s history, it turned out to only be the beginning. Their production prowess combined with a deep committee to their faith made them a perfect fit for St. Louis-based evangelist Joyce Meyer. “Once we teamed up with her in 1998, things really took off. In 1994 we became the production company for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and in 2000 we toured with artists such as Coldplay and 3 Doors Down.”
In 1994, they started working with Rev. Billy Graham on his events. “We worked with him from then all the way until he retired in 2005, and every moment was an extreme privilege,” Michael says. In 2002, Graham told Jim that when he passed, he wanted him to produce his funeral service. Jim then told his family that when that sad day came, he would retire. “When Billy passed in 2018, my dad was bedridden with the flu, and I had to step in,” Michael says. Jim later said, “that must have been God’s sense of humor telling me I’m not ready to retire!”
For the last four years, SES has handled the John Hagee Christians United for Israel event in Washington, D.C. which, according to Mike, “is a big gathering that the Vice President always speaks at. We do a large-scale live video feed of the Wailing Wall [in Jerusalem, Israel] in high resolution LED. While we own and use a lot of the ROE CB5 video tiles, we rented their CB3 product for this event.” (After leaving that event, they headed straight to Atlanta for another large Joyce Meyer event.)
This year, SES also found itself in Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium for a Lutheran National Youth Gathering that brought in 30,000 kids for a week. Last year they launched a new creative division for HOW called SES Creative, headed by Dusty Beach, with the goal of going beyond the typical box-sale and install services currently on the market. The integration department is dedicated exclusively to the HOW market, and recent success stories include the handling the major update and renovation of Elevation Church in the Charlotte, NC area, including their broadcasting campus in the city’s Ballantyne district. Other big projects include the 7 Hills Church in Florence, KY, the Cove Church in Mooresville, NC, and the Freedom House Church in Charlotte.
The Next Generation
As noted, SES has long had a special bond with Hootie and the Blowfish. Michael’s father Jim formed a strong bond with the band when Michael was just three, and the Brammers were all there for the band’s mercurial rise. Back then, the parents packed Michael up and took out on tour when the band hit the road. “My dad was the original production manager from 1994-1997, when he passed off the reins to another team member and focused on the company. Now, with us working with the band again, it’s come full-circle.”
Starting around 2014 (when SES was honored as a best-in-region Hometown Hero finalist), there have been some indications that the torch is being passed. Michael makes it clear that his dad is still working, but Michael is right at Jim’s side, and starting that year, Michael took over the touring division as well as business development. “We are experiencing growth, and have a whole new staff that is very much a generational shift, with the average worker being 30 to 35 years old,” he says. “We have got some really great young, eager people wanting to put in the time and really make a difference.” Along the way, they have handled Billy Joel shows, Joe Bonamassa, Passenger, Dustin Lynch and Luke Combs, among others.
“When we got the Ed Sheeran tour, it was supposed to be just a nine-month tour, and that has turned into two-and-a-half years,” he said. They partnered with LCR of the U.K., handling lighting worldwide, and trucking as well in the States. Mark Cunniffe was the production and lighting designer of that one-man arena show that filled arenas for 60 dates. “We just did [One Direction alum] Niall Horan’s Flicker World Tour, have been out with the Avett Brothers for a couple of years, and been working with Zac Brown for 10 years. Zac recently took a new rig out designed by Bruce Rodgers that looks spectacular.”
Their inventory includes top brands including Vari-Lite, Martin, Claypaky and grandMA, along with a full roster of equally rider-friendly audio brands. Last winter, SES acquired new property just outside of Winston-Salem, and the company was expecting to break ground on a larger facility this month. The senior Brammer told Michael that it’s going to be his building, “and he told me to run with it. I finished up the design, signed the contract, and now we’re rolling.”
SES is “all about our people,” Jim says. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without the long hours, hard work, and dedication to success that our people have.”\
Focus on Staging:
SES Affiliate G2 Continues Steady Growth in Big Outdoor Staging Projects
Along with Special Event Services, founder Jim Brammer is involved with a variety of other entertainment production service entities including SET Trucking, Musical Coaches, Field Production Agency, Concert Chairs (which provides seating for stadium shows), Guardian Barrier Services and G2 Structures, a staging business that he co-owns with Greg Hareld and Nevin Kleege.
“G2 started in 2006, but really found its footing in 2014 with the Billy Joel tour,” notes Jim’s son Michael Brammer. “In addition to still working with Billy Joel, we are working with Paul McCartney, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Dead and Company, Phish, and the Kaaboo among others … and that’s just this year!”
In addition to the multiple large-scale roof systems, G2 also carries the largest fleet of Stageline SAM 555 and SAM 575 in the nation. Other gigs keeping them busy include NBA All-Star Weekend Concert, the Made in America Festival, Major League All Star Games, and other acts including Elton John, Kings of Leon and Florida Georgia Line.
“One of the things that makes G2 a success is the team really considers every aspect of a concert or event,” Jim Brammer says. “First and foremost, obviously, is safety. Our largest staging can hold more weight than a standard aluminum stage. And ours can withstand higher wind speeds than those standard aluminum stages also. Few can offer full weather protection, but that’s what we do.”
(DavidBergman.net)
