MANCHESTER, Tenn. — As the 2023 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival finished up Sunday, June 18, several Middle Tennessee State University graduates, following the work by this year’s student live production crew on social media, shared how their experiences at The Farm helped them get set in their careers.

They offered up recollections in e-mails with Bob Gordon, an associate professor of media arts in the College of Media and Entertainment. As coordinator of the Live Production degree program, he oversees “The Truck,” the almost $2 million Mobile Production Lab from which students will have produced 31 live Bonnaroo concerts this year for the Hulu streaming service.

Gordon, along with audio engineering professor Michael Fleming, teach graduate and undergraduate college courses over the summer based on the work at Bonnaroo. That makes MTSU the only university offering real-world experience and college credit at The Farm.

“What students learn in the live production major in general, and in the Bonnaroo class in particular, catapult them into the professional world upon graduation and sometimes before,” said Gordon, a 46-year veteran of the live television industry.

Zac Leonard (Class of 2018)

Leonard has video directed and engineered tours for Imagine Dragons, Tyler the Creator, Dan and Shay, and Post Malone. He is freelance video director for tours.

 “The Bonnaroo experience, with the truck, is the time that I really solidified what I wanted my career to be. We were able to shoot back-to-back artists of all different genres. It’s a dream come true.

“Now when I show up for a festival to work for an artist, I hope I get the equipment and a truck as nice as the MTSU truck at Bonnaroo.”

Jo Litzenberger (Class of 2020)

After graduating, Litzenberger went on the K-Pop groups GOT7’s “Keep Spinning” Tour and TWICE’s “LIGHTS” tour, then joined the Justin Bieber’s “Justice” World Tour (Video Utility / Cam Op / Engineer). She then joined the Carrie Underwood’s “Denim & Rhinestones” Tour (Engineer) and is now with Beyonce’s “RENAISSANCE” World Tour.

“Bonnaroo set me on my path. It was there that I realized that video for live music is what I wanted to pursue as a career. I fell in love with working in this environment, and also was able to experience what it takes to work an event like this… and I can honestly say that it’s what propelled me to get to where I find myself today!”

Erin Moore (Class of 2018)

Moore worked on tours for Fall Out Boy, Luke Bryan, Dustin Lynch and John Pardi. As production coordinator for High End TV, she now does video work for clients such as Amazon, Google, Disney+ and Netflix.

“Working on the truck at Bonnaroo gave me hands-on experience in event production especially since I was in a production assistant role. I learned how to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment, coordinate crew, how to collaborate with industry professionals and it taught me the importance of effective communication when it comes to problem solving.

“Having real hands-on experience absolutely helped me after graduation as I transferred into a freelance career touring as a camera operator and LED technician. Today, as a production coordinator/crewer for High End TV, I still get to work with some of the same crew from Bonnaroo: Minh Phan, Jessica Rigsby and Robert Bagwell to name a few.

“I often draw upon the lessons learned and the connections made during my time at Bonnaroo, leveraging them to ensure the seamless execution of video projects and to deliver exceptional results for our clients.”

Nate Parris (Class of 2021)

Parris, a freelance LED service and video engineer, is on tour with Luke Combs for his U.S. and Canada run of the Luke Combs World Tour as an LED technician and camera/robo operator.

“Having the opportunity to attend Bonnaroo in 2019 with MTSU as a student was the beginning to where I am at now. Before attending the festival, I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to end up in the field I was studying.

“However, by being on The Farm, and getting to direct and run camera for live music performances for the first time, I quickly found out that my love of live music, and the degree I was perusing, could be achieved by working in the live entertainment industry. 

“Since graduating from MTSU in the Spring of 2021, I have worked for MooTV, and have continued to work and grow in the field I love. Getting to work both locally and out on the road, I have been on the crew for the Music City Grand Prix as well providing LED services for the Nashville Predators to use for their media day shoot. Along with that, I have had the pleasure of working for artists such as Toby Keith, Chris Stapleton, Garth Brooks and CAAMP.

“The experiences I had at MTSU and Bonnaroo have allowed me to succeed on the road and allowed me to feel prepared as I go to work each day.”

Brea Robbins (Class of 2021)

Robbins is a freelance tour video director and engineer. She has engineered for Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Post Malone, NCT Dream and Zach Bryan and directed for Joan Jett and The Judds.

“Bonnaroo was a decision maker for me. It was there that I got to direct live music for the first time and also where I fell in love with it. I knew from that point forward that live music was the path I wanted to pursue for the rest of my time at MTSU and beyond.

“I am now a touring director and video engineer. I absolutely love what I do, and I wouldn’t be here without the hands-on experience and knowledge I got from my time at MTSU.”

Ryan Tyler (Class of 2021)

Tyler is a production associate for the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

“Bonnaroo was such an amazing experience as an MTSU student. The ability to get real-world experience with live bands really prepared me to flourish in the live television world. In the weeks leading up to Bonnaroo I spent countless hours listening to the artist and bands I was directing the performances of.

“Some of their performances were exactly as their album, others were nowhere close. That is the beauty of live production. Prepare for a million scenarios, execute one of them!

“This prepared me for my current job at Trinity Broadcasting Network. I have had the ability at TBN to direct several live musical performances of award-winning artist and bands and direct variety and talk shows. I am in charge of all live graphics integrations for show-building the Xpression package and coordinating operators.

“My biggest project yet is what I am currently working on. We at TBN are opening a new state-of-the art production facility in Dallas, Texas — a 250,000-square-foot facility started from complete scratch. I have been put in charge of all the LED for the project as well as content for all those LED walls. Along with this, I have been put in charge of the systems integration for the LED part of the project. Coming up with the equipment and execution for all live graphics integration in the whole facility.”

Gordon said he keeps in touch with many of his former students — and repeatedly tells his current students that they demonstrate the potential of MTSU’s live production graduates.

“I am immensely proud of these alumni,” Gordon said. “I am grateful to have had them as students. Each of them were impressive and great — even before they graduated.”MTSU has partnered with Bonnaroo since 2014 to provide real-world experience for students in all areas of the Media and Entertainment college: Journalism and Strategic Media, Media Arts and Recording Industry.

— Andrew Oppmann (Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu)