Photo credit - MJ Kim

Production and lighting designer extraordinaire LeRoy Bennett (left) with Paul McCartney on the Out There Tour 2013

The top grossing tours thus far in 2017 include Guns ‘N’ Roses, U2 and Metallica. But the MVP of the 2017 touring season isn’t found in any of those bands. It is LeRoy Bennett. LeRoy Bennett may not be a household name, but he is one of the most trusted people in the entertainment business by the superstars.

How is this for a resume? The production and or lighting director for the current Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga tours. That justifies a damn. He also worked with Prince from 1980 to 1994, so he was the man during Prince’s Purple Rain tour. He has been with Nine Inch Nails for the last 18 years. He’s worked with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Deadmau5, the Weeknd, Madonna, Sade and countless more.

As you can imagine then, Bennett is a treasure chest of incredible stories from working up and close with so many of the biggest names in music. I sat down with him recently for an hour of stories about Prince, McCartney, Bruno and more as well as how Bennett got his start and the common traits all of these great artists share.

Steve Baltin: How do you balance all three of these tours on the road at the same time?

LeRoy Bennett: Once the show is up and running it is pretty much automatic because I do have my directors out there that maintain the shows and run the shows every day. So for the most part I can step away, but there are still things to do. I’m used to juggling, I’ve done it for so long now that it’s kind of second nature.

Read full interview here:

https://www.forbes.com/si...1a989f7ed8