Meet the Parnelli NextGen Class of ’24

Parnelli NextGen Class of ‘24

It was longtime PLSN Editor’s Nook Schoenfeld’s idea to shine a light on those up-and-coming talents in the form of this honor. It was far from Schoenfeld’s (1957-2022) only good idea, but it might be his most enduring. For the sixth time, we present you with these young professionals who are already making a mark in this industry. These are abbreviated summaries of these exceptional people, so check out their full articles in PLSN and FOH.

Victoria Butash

Victoria Butash is a monitor engineer who has already supported notable acts including Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit as well as Sylvan Esso. She grew up in rural Ohio where her dad played in bands and got her first paying audio gig in college at the age of 19. Butash later worked at California University Monterey Bay as an audio tech in their summer arts program. She most recently was out with Sleater-Kinney, Wilco, and Remi Wolf, and has been mixing monitors for ALVVAYS and Courtney Barnett. Her priorities never waver though: “My favorite part of my day is to get up early and find a good coffee shop to have coffee at.”

Kat Cody

Kat Cody is making a living as a freelance production coordinator/event manager for AEG, Live Nation, and Goldenvoice, and keeps busy with a variety of projects from Orville Peck’s Rodeo and Ohana Festival to Her Universe Fashion Show. Originally from the Ann Arbor area, as a teen she became “obsessed” with the Vans Warped Tour and pursued that until she got to work on it with founder Kevin Lyman. She has worked some big shows, including the six Madonna did at the Kia Forum and the Acrisure Arena this year. Drake, Post Malone, Sam Smith, Chris Stapleton, and other sold-out LA-area shows are on her resume as well.

Ben Czenze

Ben Czenze was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in an arts-centric family. At age seven he volunteered at the annual Halifax Jazz Festival and by 12 was a working crew member. He noticed a demand for video work, and proceeded to study manuals and watch YouTube tutorials, teaching himself all aspects of video work including PTZ operation, camera directing, graphic switching, LED technician, and graphics. Most recently, Czenze was technical producer for the televised East Coast Music Awards directing a nationally broadcast TV award show. Today he’s a busy freelancer working for several Canadian companies including Encore Global and Tour Tech East.

Jamie Fadden

Jamie Fadden was studying video production at the Art Institute Pittsburgh when she got a job running lights at the Diesel Club Lounge. Soon she was lighting five different Pennsylvania venues. She first toured with Foxy Shazam in 2014, and in 2016 started working for a variety of production houses. While working with Kenny Mason supporting a Scotty McCreery tour, Fadden caught the eye of production manager Alistair Watson and was tapped to do lighting design and directing work with Joe Satriani. Most recently she designed and directed Sammy Hagar’s “Best of All Worlds” tour, where she also did video work. In 2025 she’ll be out with Weird Al Yankovich.

Kate Hsuan headshot

Yi Hsuan “Kate” Lee toured with LCD Soundsystem this past year as an audio tech— a remarkable journey that had its start in Taiwan and included learning English as well as audio production. During college in Taipei, she saw the behind-the-scenes work of concerts and wanted to be part of it. She made her way to LA and studied at Musician’s Institute, embracing all things audio. Lee then met SoundGirl.org co-founder Karrie Keyes and attended some of her workshops, including some hosted at Rat Sound. She was hired at Rat, and her first tour was with Vampire Weekend. As well as festival work, including Coachella.

Katie Murphy Khulusi

Katie Murphy Khulusi is the director of loudspeaker development at Meyer Sound, the youngest director at the company. She started out as a test engineer in 2017, but since has acquired “many hats” at Meyer. Katie grew up in Chicago, playing in orchestras in high school before heading to University of Southern California where she majored in electrical engineering and minored in music recording. One of the school venues had a Meyer Sound Galileo Galaxy system, and she was trained on operating it. You’ll see her working festivals and trade shows for Meyer (including this one). Today she is also a guest lecturer and is on several advisory boards.

Sarah Kufel

Sarah Kufel grew up in Toledo, OH, where she realized she had a love for live entertainment early on, but took a detour (earning a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering). At night she started helping bands sell T-shirts at a punk club named Bogart’s. In 2015, she went out with the teen comedy duo the Dolan Twins as a merchandise manager. In 2017, she was production assistant, merch manager, and VIP coordinator for O.A.R. doing the similar work for other acts. In 2019, she went out with Jon Bellion on a world tour. Chelsea Cutler followed in 2020. She has since been Tour Manager for Lolo Zouai, Palace, and Jessie Murph.