On Friday, January 26 the ProProduction Sessions at NAMM presented by PLSN & FOH took place at the NAMM 2024 show. There were five great sessions with top names from the Live Entertainment Production industry speaking on a range of topics. Over the course of the day, hundreds of attendees got to see and hear all about the work of these industry leaders. Here’s a look back on these sessions. We’re already in the planning stages for ProProduction 2025.
ProProduction Insights with Kevin Lyman
Kevin Lyman, founder and producer of the Vans Warped Tour, returned to NAMM offering a true master class session on the music business by sharing his hard earned life lessons from his 37+ years of experience. For the past five years, Lyman has been a professor at the University of Southern California, sharing his hard-earned knowledge and experience with the NAMM Show attendees.
Touring means taking into consideration a lot of details as a band or a live production professional. Musicians and crew must all work with the tour manager, production manager, promotor and tour accountant to ensure that things run smoothly, cost effectively and profitably. This session covered the myriad of conversations and decisions that make or break a tour, often before it even hits the road. This was a packed, standing room only session with musicians and tour managers learned how to work, and tour, with these important team members from four of the best in the business: Production Manager Malcolm Weldon (P!NK), Promoter Chris Weathers (Live Nation), Tour Manager / Accountant David ‘5-1’ Norman (Tour Forensics) and Tour Manager / Accountant Stuart Ross (Tom Waits).
Inside the Snake Pit: The Creative Team Behind Metallica’s Tour Designs
With another packed, standing room crowd, the attendees got to learn more about the design and production technology on Metallica’s M72 Tour, which is in support of their newest album, 72 Seasons. Performing two-night, no-repeat shows at each stop of the tour on a truly massive ring-shaped stage—with the band’s legendary Snake Pit in the center—the group is redefining the meaning of playing stadiums in the round. For the elegant circular design—complete with surrounding immense production towers—Metallica’s longtime talked about going big while paradoxically creating an intimate stadium environment that perfectly showcased the iconic hard rockers. The creative team was joined by a number of their vendors that made up “Team Metallica” including David Hunkins from 4Wall (Video), Butch Allen from Tait (Scenic), James Volhoffer from Premier Global Production (Lighting), and Reid Derne from Pyrotek (SFX).
Hot Acts with Top Designs
This session dug into some current tours with engaging designs. Attendees heard from the designers of these shows about how designers need to be cost-effective but innovative, creating designs that adapt to various venues while always supporting and reflecting the experience that an artist wants to share with their fans. Designers Darien Koop (Sam Hunt), Eric Wade (Janet Jackson) and Kevin Northrup (Luke Combs) have each brought compelling design solutions to the stages of arenas and stadiums. This session discussed how designers, and the acts they work with, can connect to ensure their audiences are immersed in the live environment they create.
A Q&A with Conceptual Designer Tobias G. Rylander
Attendees were able to learn from Lighting and Conceptual Designer, Tobias G. Rylander. Rylander’s ingenious vision of visual expression has gained him worldwide recognition as a highly innovative, daring, and accomplished lighting and live show conceptual designer. His extensive resume in live music includes designs for Miike Snow, FKA Twigs, Mark Ronson, Loreen, The 1975, and Beyoncé. In this insightful conversation, Rylander went over his eclectic design career, including his decade of designing for The 1975. Rylander creates visual experiences that don’t simply complement the music but translate the music viscerally. He spoke extensively on using video projection for lighting in his designs.
PLSN, FOH, and Timeless Communications would like to thank all of the speakers – designers, tour and production managers, vendors, and educators for sharing their time and expertise, as as well as the NAMM attendees for coming prepared with some great questions. We look forward to NAMM 2025 and next year’s ProProduction Sessions!
