Giggs Podcast

We're bringing back one of the most practical conversations from the Giggs archive. Nikki Sanz sits down with Rachael Bronstein, founder of Life's Jam — a financial coaching service built specifically for the touring and live events community.
70% of music industry professionals are freelancers. Just under half report feeling financially anxious or stressed. Rachael has spent the last few years building the resources most of this industry never had — coaching tour managers, road crew, and music professionals through the unique financial chaos of feast-and-famine income, 1099 tax surprises, and the lack of a safety net most W2 jobs come with.
This episode gets into the actual mechanics: how to handle 1099 tax planning, when to set up an LLC (and when not to), how to build an emergency fund big enough to handle the off-season, what order to put your money in (debt, retirement, brokerage), and why mental health and financial health are more interlaced than most people realize.
What you'll learn:
Why financial coaching is different from financial advising — and why most touring pros need the coach first
How to plan for taxes when you're paid as a 1099 freelancer
The pyramid approach to where your next dollar should go
Why MusiCares now subsidizes coaching for industry pros who qualify
How to use credit cards strategically (and when to cut them up)
Why "spend less than you make" is still the simplest financial wisdom there is
How to build a plan that handles both the tour high and the off-season low
Sponsor: MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Recorded live at Rock Lititz, Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald is back by popular demand after his previous episode (#19) became one of the most-DM'd conversations we've ever put out. One year later, Fitz comes back with a year on the road that includes Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, Post Malone's world tour, Playboi Carti, and a set up in New Orleans during the city's biggest snowstorm in 55 years.
Fitz gets into what it was like joining a Beyoncé rigging team full of legends he watched as a 19-year-old stagehand, the mental upheaval of jumping camps tour after tour, and why sometimes the job means people stressed out crying in the corner 20 minutes before showtime but knowing you made it happen.
He also gets technical in a way that's accessible: snow load, dynamic load, why a 101,653-pound show isn't always a 101,653-pound show, and why riggers carry legal liability most fans never think about.
What you'll learn:
What it's like to logistically pull off Cowboy Carter
Why mentor relationships are the currency of a rigging career
How dynamic load and snow load can quietly threaten a show
The real mental health cost of going from camp to camp without a break
Why riggers are "the bad guys" — and why that's a good thing
The two golden rules of rigging (and which one matters more)
How memorizing your rig changes everything about how you problem-solve under pressure
Sponsor:
MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.
Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald bio:
Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald is a tour rigger from Washington, DC, with deep roots in IATSE Local 22 and a foundation built across stagehand work, permanent installs, counterweight rigging, Vectorworks drafting, and the full breadth of touring production. Over the last year, he's worked as a production rigger for Playboi Carti, Post Malone, and Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour — joining a rigging team led by industry legends he watched as a 19-year-old stagehand. He's also crossed into creative production and one-off events, including a high-profile New Orleans gig that ran headfirst into the city's biggest snowstorm in 55 years. Fitz is a vocal advocate for mentorship, safety culture, and giving credit to the local rigging crews who keep this industry standing — literally.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

We're bringing back one of the most popular conversations from the Giggs archive. Nikki Sanz sits down with Marty Hom — a true legend of the touring world with 40+ years of experience tour managing The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Fleetwood Mac, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Nicks, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Van Halen, Olivia Rodrigo, Lionel Richie, and more.
Marty started with Bill Withers in 1985 as one of the only Asian Americans in the industry. Four decades later, he's the guy making $150,000 calls in a control room during a Beyoncé stadium evacuation, canceling a sold-out Shakira show over a buckled stage roof, and staffing Olivia Rodrigo's world tour with a 49% female crew. This one is full of stories, hard-won wisdom, and real talk about what it takes to build a career, and a life, on the road.
What you'll learn:
How Marty got his first tour management gig with Bill Withers — and how his early mentor Howard Kaufman shaped his whole philosophy
The Beyoncé Renaissance Tour evacuation and the $150K decision made in a control room
Why he canceled a 60,000-person Shakira show in Romania over a buckled stage
How touring has changed from pay phones and binders to today's massive productions
The real challenge of work-life balance in a 40-year touring career
Why work ethic and attitude beat experience every time when hiring crew
How the industry is (slowly) becoming more diverse — and why representation on tour matters
Marty's push for healthcare access for touring professionals
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Recorded live at Rock Lititz, Nikki Sanz sits down with Doug Wilson — long-time tour manager and Director of Touring — for a grounded, honest look at what 20 years on the road teaches you.
Doug's path started with a chance encounter with a tour manager in catering in Glasgow, Scotland. He bought a Sprinter van, converted it with his dad, and four months later was on his first US tour. From there: bus tours, arenas, eight years with Half Moon Run, world tours with Fletcher, and a final show that ended on March 11, 2020 — one day before the world shut down.
Then he talks about his transition off the road, in LA, running touring and production for Black Ink Presents, a Sony Music Masterworks company that builds IP-based concert experiences (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beauty and the Beast, Ghostbusters, La La Land, Batman). This one gets real about perfectionism, the pressure of being the person who says no, the "off-ramp" problem for tour managers, and why getting off the road feels a little like kicking an addiction.
What you'll learn:
How to break in when you don't have a technical discipline (audio, lights, etc.)
Why chasing perfection is the biggest mistake new TMs make
How to grow with an artist from clubs to arenas — and what separates the crew that makes it from the crew that gets replaced
The hidden financial tradeoffs tour managers navigate when artists level up
Why lack of understanding of other people's jobs causes more tour drama than anything else
What the tour director role actually looks like — and why more management companies are building it in-house
How to plan an off-ramp from touring before the window closes
Listen, follow, and leave a review if this one hits.
Episode Sponsor: RoadCase has given Giggs listeners a free month of RoadCase Pro. Head over to https://roadcase.app/giggs for an exclusive discount.
Doug Wilson Bio:
Doug Wilson is a highly respected music industry professional with extensive experience in touring, concert production, and artist management. Having spent nearly 20 years on the road as a Tour Manager, Doug then transitioned to Director of Touring and Production at Black Ink Presents, a Sony Music Masterworks live event production company. Originally from Scotland, Doug now lives and works in Los Angeles, but still spends time on the road traveling to oversee events and check in on touring productions.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Recorded in Nashville, TN, this special docuseries episode of The Giggs Podcast steps inside Kingfisher Production Studio, the new virtual production offering from LEO Events. Nikki Sanz walks through the space and talks with the team behind it to see how virtual worlds are built, lit, filmed, and finished.
This episode is worth your time if you work in production, post, creative, live events, or brand storytelling and want to understand what virtual production actually takes. The team breaks down how Unreal Engine, motion tracking, lighting, editorial planning, and post all work together to create worlds that feel real on camera.
You’ll also hear why this kind of studio can open new options for corporate shoots, music content, branded storytelling, and location-based concepts without the same travel, permitting, and logistics challenges of a traditional shoot.

We highly recommend watching this one on video on either Spotify or YouTube for the full episode experience.
What you’ll learn:
How Kingfisher uses virtual production to build believable environments
Why lighting and motion tracking matter as much as the digital world itself
How Unreal Engine fits into the production pipeline
What post-production teams receive after a virtual shoot
Why pre-production planning still matters in a “limitless” environment
How this workflow can save time, travel, and location costs
What kinds of skills help people thrive in studio, animation, and editorial roles
About Kingfisher:
Kingfisher by LEO Events is a virtual production studio based in Nashville, Tennessee, built to help brands, creators, and clients tell stories in flexible digital environments. 
In this episode, Nikki Sanz talks with members of the team behind the space, including Stacey Ladd, Sr. Director of Media Production, Brett Clark, Director of Studio & Editorial, Tyler Montanino, Video Production Specialist, Matt Dimodica, Senior Media Animator, and Josh Ickes, Senior Editor. Together, they walk through how Kingfisher blends creative development, lighting, motion tracking, Unreal Engine, and post-production to turn ideas into polished visual stories.
To learn more about the Kingfisher Production Studio and LEO Events, visit https://leoevents.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kingfisher.made and https://www.instagram.com/leoevents/
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz