Precision-engineered
for live performance.
Proven in the field.

When troubleshooting AV gear remotely, getting files to a support contact quickly is genuinely difficult. Email attachments are too small. Dropbox requires accounts, throws up permission walls, and imposes storage limits that make sending large log exports or 4K test recordings impractical. QuickBox exists to remove all of that friction.

The Problem

Support workflows regularly involve large files — firmware packages, reference recordings, and high-resolution video captures used to demonstrate video over IP issues in the field. Standard file sharing tools either cap file sizes well below what's needed or require the recipient to navigate account creation and permission requests before they can access anything. The result is delays during what is already a frustrating situation for the end user.

The Solution

QuickBox is a clean, browser-based upload interface that generates a shareable link the moment a file is ready. Engineers upload the file internally and hand the direct URL to a support contact — no login required on their end, no account, no confusion. Files up to 6 GB are accepted and links remain active for 30 days, long enough to be useful across extended support cases without accumulating storage indefinitely. The entire project was designed and built in a single day.

The Zach Williams tour was built around a production design that leaned hard into the artist's faith-driven identity. The rig included an extensive linen curtain system and a set of custom LED stained glass windows that filled the back of the stage — a distinctive visual that set the show apart from anything else on the Christian touring circuit. As Lighting Crew Chief, I was responsible for the full lighting department: load-in, focus, fixture maintenance and repair, and ensuring everything was show-ready every night. I also had the opportunity to operate the rig for Cain's opening set each night, taking the board for a full headlining-caliber support act.

The Rig

The production featured a full touring lighting package built around the visual identity of the show. The custom LED stained glass windows were the centerpiece — fabricated to evoke the feel of a cathedral while holding up to the rigors of daily touring. The linen drape system framed the stage and softened the light in a way that reinforced the atmosphere of the music. The fixture package included Robe Spiders for aerial movement and gobo work, Clay Paky Mythos for long-throw beam and effects, Colorforce 72 cyc lights washing the scenic elements, and 4-eye blinders for crowd-facing energy moments. Managing these elements alongside daily fixture maintenance required careful coordination with the rest of the crew on every load-in.

Dallas — The Last Show

The tour came to an abrupt end in Dallas, Texas, in March 2020. We had finished load-in and were ready to open doors when the call came — COVID-19 had shut down live events, and we needed to pack up and go home. Rather than let the work disappear without an audience, the team made the decision to film the full production before striking the rig. The show was later livestreamed to fans, giving them a look at what the tour had become and a moment of connection at a time when live music had gone quiet everywhere.

Jimmie Allen was one of the fastest-rising names in country music during his run at the top of the charts, and the touring production behind him reflected that momentum. Over the course of a year on the road, I handled all monitor world responsibilities — from daily wireless coordination and stage plot execution to mix duties across amphitheatres, honky-tonks, rodeos, theatres, and festival stages nationwide.

The Run

The year covered a wide range of formats and scales. We spent a significant stretch opening for Brad Paisley on an amphitheatre run, which meant adapting quickly to large outdoor production environments and tight changeover windows on shared stages. We headlined our own countrywide tour through smaller and mid-size rooms — honky-tonks, rodeos, and theatre shows — where monitor world demanded more hands-on setup and less infrastructure to lean on. Festival dates rounded out the calendar, each with their own unique constraints and timelines.

Wireless & IEM Coordination

Daily wireless coordination was a core part of the role. Each day I scanned the RF environment, assigned frequencies, and pinned the stage — laying out the stage plot and working with the backline team to set positions for the day. The Axient Digital system gave us the tools to handle dense RF environments reliably, and the PSM900 IEM transmitters held up across the full range of venue types we encountered. Artists and bandmembers relied on 64 Audio in-ear monitors, and dialing those mixes nightly to suit the room and the energy of the show was the work I looked forward to most.

Consoles

The role evolved alongside the production. I started the run on the Avid VENUE SC48, a road-proven platform well suited to the mid-size rooms we were working early on. As the production scaled up, I transitioned to the Yamaha QL5, then ultimately to the Allen & Heath dLive S5000 — a console that matched the ambition of the shows we were doing and gave me the tools to push the mixes further.

The Washington National Cathedral stands as a beautiful example of Gothic architecture and engineering excellence. Every stone arch across the over 500-foot nave was meticulously crafted over nearly a century of construction. When asked to bring amplified sound into a National Historic Landmark like that, the first question is not what speakers to use — it is whether you can do it without leaving a mark.

Invisible Infrastructure

The most labor-intensive portion of the project had nothing to do with audio. To get signal to each of our 67 discrete speaker locations throughout the nave, we needed to run cabling through the walls. At the Cathedral, that meant working directly with the building's full-time stone masons to carefully cut grout between limestone blocks, creating cable raceways to each individual location by hand. Once the cables were pulled, the masons grouted over them — permanently sealing the infrastructure into the structure of the building. No exposed runs. No surface-mounted hardware. Just stone, the same as it has always been.

Speakers or Stone

The distributed sound reinforcement system uses the L-Acoustics Soka column loudspeaker — an ultra-shallow enclosure that fits naturally into the curvature of the stone columns and provides excellent coverage with almost no visual footprint. After carefully working through the available RAL color options, we selected a color that closely matches the Indiana limestone surfaces where each speaker is mounted. Between the shallow enclosure and the color match, most visitors walk right past them. They are looking at the sprawling stone columns, not the speakers mounted to them.

The Main Arrays

The front-of-nave arrays presented an entirely different challenge. L-Acoustics Kiva II arrays paired with KS21 subwoofers provide the primary source and full-range energy for musical programs. The arrays were then enclosed in carefully shaped column structures and wrapped with color-matched, acoustically transparent fabric. Standing anywhere in the nave, what you see looks like part of the building.

The launch viewing stage at Blue Origin's rocket facility in Cape Canaveral needed to look the part. Whether the room was hosting a live launch event, an executive presentation, or a broadcast-facing production, the lighting needed to shift from subtle and professional to dramatic on command. The challenge was designing a system intuitive enough for facility operators to run without dedicated production support on-site.

Working inside the secured rocket factory was an experience I won't forget. Due to the security requirements of the facility and an NDA, photography inside the secured area was not permitted — the photos here were taken from outside the perimeter. You'll have to take my word for it: the inside is incredible.

Show Programming

The ETC ColorSource 20 AV console serves as the lighting brain for the space. Fixtures were mapped to the console in a logical geographic layout so the room's physical layout maps directly to the desk. Rosco stationary wash fixtures provide the foundation layer of coverage across the stage, focused to maximize coverage and minimize light bleed onto projector screens. Chauvet RX2 moving spot fixtures carry the accent work and add movement and color to live launch events.

Four main looks are stored into cues 1 through 4 and triggered automatically by the venue's Q-SYS system via preset recall, allowing the room to shift states without a dedicated operator at the lighting console.

Custom Gobos

To reinforce Blue Origin's brand identity on stage, two custom gobos were designed and commissioned for the Chauvet RX2 fixtures: the Blue Origin wordmark and their signature feather logo. Four feather gobos were installed across the moving fixtures, giving the production team the ability to project the company's mark across the stage during high-visibility events and launches.

Operator Training

The final phase was a full day of console training with Blue Origin's production team. The session covered the complete ETC ColorSource 20 AV workflow: file structure, fixture library, creating and storing looks, building effect sequences, and calling presets through Q-SYS. By the end of the day, both operators could build a new look from scratch, store it into a playback, and trigger it through the venue control system independently.