The Pro Production Sessions Slate of Speakers will Illuminate, Educate and Entertain

ANAHEIM, CA – If you are attending NAMM, please be sure to check out the amazing slate of top industry names presenting at The Pro Production Sessions! It is an extraordinary opportunity to learn directly from the leading creative minds in the entertainment technology industry. The top production, lighting, and video designers along with leading touring/production managers will share their experiences and expertise of navigating and rising in the production side of the entertainment world.

All Pro Production Sessions will be at the Anaheim Hilton Level 4 – Room A5

Chris Adamson

Adamson is the 2019 Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient. He has worked as tour manager/director and/or production manager for some of the greatest acts in the music industry including The Byrds, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Pink Floyd, through to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Aerosmith, and John Mayer/Dead and Company. He has a well-deserved reputation as a consummate industry pro with an affable gregarious nature. Adamson has previously won three Parnelli Awards for his work.

Sat. Jan. 26, 1 p.m. In Conversation with Chris Adamson

Sat. Jan. 26, 2:30 p.m. Getting the Show on the Road w/Top Production & Tour Managers

Butch Allen

Allen is renowned production and lighting designer, and creative director/producer. Among the very top designers and creative talents globally, he is known for truly ground-breaking, boundary-erasing designs that create unrivaled audience experiences. Winner of a Parnelli Award, his unmatched wizardry appears in his creations for concert tours, corporate events and for broadcast spectacles. The bands he’s designed for include Christina Aguilera, Black Sabbath, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, The Eagles, Garbage, Hole, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony, Ricky Martin, Ozzy, Paramore, Seal, Gwen Stefani, Van Halen and Yes, to name but a few.

Fri. Jan. 25, 11:30 a.m. In Conversation with Butch Allen

Sat. Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m. The Creative Vision-Realizing the Production Design

Stefaan “Smasher” Desmedt

Smasher is a Parnelli Award winning video director and video visionary who has come off the road and is now working with PRG on developing new video technologies. For 25 years, Smasher was as a long-time member of the U2 creative team where he’s served as Video Director, as well as Technical Director and programmer on U2 tours including Vertigo, 360˚ Tour, iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE, and The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. He’s also served as Video Director for Madonna’s MDMA tour, Robbie Williams’ Take the Crown tour, Prince’s Welcome 2 tour, and The Rolling Stones’ 14 on Fire tour.

Fri. Jan. 25, 2:30 p.m. In Conversation with Stefaan “Smasher” Desmedt

Bryan Hartley

Hartley, a Parnelli winning production and lighting designer, is know for his incredible hard rock designs that visually immerse the audience in the music. His designs for almost two decades with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) have become iconic. His designs consistently push the creative and technology boundaries advancing what is possible on a touring stage. He has designed for KISS, Aerosmith, Megadeth, Meat Loaf, Poison, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Savatage, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and Trisha Yearwood, among the many names he has worked with during his career.

Sat. Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m. The Creative Vision – Realizing the Production Design

Sat. Jan. 26, 4 p.m. Twenty Years of Evolving Design with TSO

Kevin Lyman

Lyman is the highly esteemed Founder/Producer of The Warped Tour and CEO/Founder of 4Fini. He is noted for having helped shape youth culture for over three decades with his award-winning expertise in the music and entertainment industry as well as business and philanthropic ventures. Lyman has been recognized as the Billboard Touring Awards Humanitarian of the Year (2009), and an honoree at the Grammy/MusiCares MAP Fund gala (2011 and 2014).

Fri. Jan. 25, 10 a.m. Keynote with Kevin Lyman

Peter Morse

Morse’s career spans over 35 years, during which the Emmy & Parnelli winning designer has worked with some of the world’s best performers creating astonishing productions. His credits include Michael Jackson, Madonna, Barbara Streisand, Prince, Usher, Bette Midler, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Andrea Bocelli, The Eagles, Sean Combs, Dolly Parton, Reba, and many more. Morse has always appreciated the expression of design as a sampling of art and culture, and has found inspiration in many entertainment mediums, illuminating numerous productions for film and video as well.

Sat. Jan. 26, 10 a.m. In conversation with Peter Morse

Sat. Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m. The Creative Vision – Realizing the Production Design

Elliot Saltzman

Saltzman, principal of Night Castle Management, has been a long-time tour manager for concert touring. Saltzman, who has had a long relationship working with Joan Jett and the Black Hearts—he even went to Broadway with them—has overseen the yearly tradition tours of Trans Siberian Orchestra, which he has been the director of touring & production with the band for 19 years as well and has put together every tour except the first five show run. TSO is so large that it has two complete tours of 20 trucks on each coast and 120 people to pull off one of the highest grossing tours that’s only on the road for two and half months. More people have seen TSO than the Rolling Stones in America.

Sat. Jan. 26, 2:30 p.m. Getting the Show on the Road w/Top Production & Tour Managers

Sat. Jan. 26, 4 p.m. Twenty Years of Evolving Design with TSO

Marc Brickman

A world-renowned visual artist of lighting and production design, his credits include concert tours for such diverse artists as Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Blue Man Group, Blackeyed Peas, Keith Urban, Chris Botti with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, John Mayer, and Cirque du Soleil (Viva Elvis). Recognized as an innovator in the industry, his awards and accolades include Emmy Award and Cable Ace Award nominations for production design and Best Director, and Lighting Designer of the Year. He created the lighting for the 1998 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies in Nagano, and the 1992 Summer Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Barcelona. He also designed a large-scale multimedia and digital installation at the Salzburg Festpiel and the 2012 re-lighting of the Empire State Building. His numerous works for film and television include Steven Spielberg’s AI and Minority Report, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

Fri. Jan. 25, 1 p.m. In Conversation with Marc Brickman

Sat. Jan. 26, 11:30 a.m. The Creative Vision – Realizing the Production Design

Also Join us on Jan. 25^th at 4:00pm for the Taking the Stage—The Rising Lighting Designers

This panel session will spotlight the up and coming designers making a name for themselves as they work with some of the hottest new and indie acts hitting the stages. Our guests will include designers Bobby Grey, Lauren Sego, Michael Smalley, and Nico Riot

Bringing together the very best in the business, the Pro Production sessions are free to all registered NAMM attendees.