The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Originally from Nashville, Chris Lisle has over 31 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He has worked in a variety of roles including Production Designer, Lighting Designer, Production Manager and Show Producer.

Some of Lisle’s present and past clients include: Alice Cooper, Robert Plant, Brooks and Dunn, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Parker McCollum, Judah and the Lion, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, The NFL Draft, Miranda Lambert, One Republic, Dave Koz, Danny Gokey, Sugarland, Billy Currington, Peter Frampton, Nick Carter, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Chris Young, Jennifer Nettles, Lee Brice, Kip Moore, Chase Rice, Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, IEBA, Sara Evans, Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Phil Vassar, The Recording Academy and many others.

Lisle is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Touring Career Workshop, a nonprofit that serves as “human resources for touring production professionals.” Lisle is a former adjunct instructor at Belmont University, teaching classes on Production Design and Tour/Production Management.

Lisle is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Music, and is a member of the CMA, ACM and the ESA (Event Safety Alliance). He currently serves as a board member for both the CMA and ACM and serves as Vice-Chair of the ACM Events Committee.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I’m a fifth-generation Nashvillian. I grew up right here at Harding and Nolensville Road. My dad still lives in the house I grew up in.

Were you into music growing up?

I was a music fan, but I didn’t perform. It’s one of my regrets. I wish I’d tried playing guitar or something growing up, but no, I discovered music on my own and was a fan of it. Then I just kind of fell into the industry as I got out of high school.

What did you think you were going to do when you were a kid?

I don’t know that I had a definitive answer in high school. I went to MTSU for a very brief stint, planning to major in advertising. My college career at MTSU lasted three and a half months, and we were rowdy. Then I kicked off my career in this industry.

How did that happen?

I dropped out of college quickly. I found fraternities far more interesting than going to class. At the same time, I was working for a company in town called Steak Out. It was like a pizza delivery company, but they delivered steaks and cheeseburgers. I was working there, and two other delivery drivers were musicians.

Through hanging out with them, I started getting to know people in the live music scene here in town, and eventually started running lights at some of these clubs that don’t even exist anymore, like the 328 Performance Hall. One of the guys put together a little band and asked me to go on the road to do lights. So I hit the road in spring of 1991 and didn’t look back.

How did you learn how to do lights on the fly?

At that time, there wasn’t really a school or class you could take. Lighting is an art form, as cheesy as that sounds, because you’re trying to paint this picture behind an artist’s performance. I found a local lighting company, Delta Stage Lighting, and spent time in their shop working for free. It was like my college—learning what fixtures did what, why colors work for some songs and ultimately learning timing and keeping up with the tempo and beat of a song. It was a lot of hands-on, getting your hands dirty and doing some really crappy, low-paying gigs early in my career.

It was definitely intimidating coming up because it was all overwhelming. I came into the industry during a technology shift where we were coming out of ’70s and ’80s touring, which was very much conventional light sources. Suddenly, there were moving lights and things that were computer-controlled. It was intimidating because I was trying to learn both the old-school methodology and the new technology at the same time. The first few years were tough.

Was there anybody that helped you in the beginning?

Mentors are a big part of my story. The owner of Delta Stage Lighting, Tim Ransom, took me under his wing and taught me. I met some lighting designers like Jim Bauman, who was Alan Jackson‘s LD, who he helped me understand programming skills. Beyond that, there were mentors from the business side who taught me about tour etiquette, presenting yourself well, how to handle road life and treating yourself as a business.

What are some of your first memories of shows you worked on?

My first foray into lighting was with small bands that are all special to me because those moments defined what would become my career. I did some shows as a crew person with artists like Delbert McClinton and Louise Mandrell in the early ’90s.

In 1995, I caught a big break and went on the “Walmart Country Music Tour.” That tour was amazing because every Monday, two new bands came out—typically baby acts. We played Walmart parking lots seven days a week, I did 181 shows in a row. Some bands on the tour included Kenny Chesney, Brian White, Charlie Daniels, Joe Diffie and Mark Chesnutt. It was a great opportunity for networking, and I met key people on their teams.

That’s an amazing idea for a tour.

Yeah, it was unique. It was one of the easiest things I’ve done in my career in some ways, but tough because it was seven days a week. It was a very routine-driven tour, which taught me about touring logistics and networking in the business side of the industry.

What was next for you?

I did the Walmart tour for a few years, then I worked for a production company here in town for a guy named Will Bird, who was the production manager for what was then called Fan Fair [now CMA Fest] at the Fairgrounds. He also produced TV shows, radio shows and live events. I joined as a production assistant and started learning about putting the whole show together. I realized I liked doing both touring and production management. I stayed with Will until early 2001, when I got an opportunity to tour with Lee Ann Womack. I drove the box truck, handled lights at first, and then became her production manager and lighting designer in 2002.

In 2003, I toured with LeAnn Rimes as her lighting designer. When we went to Australia, Keith Urban was her opening act, so I connected with his team. Later that year, I became Keith’s lighting designer where I stayed until early 2007. That was such a great time. During that time, I learned the importance of taking care of the opening acts because you never know who’s going to make it big next. I made connections with people like Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town. When Miranda broke out with “Kerosene,” I got the call to be her designer. It was this snowball affect where I kept getting calls to do design work.

By 2007, my son was born, and I wanted to pull back from the road, so I focused more on touring design work. I still did gigs with artists like Peter Frampton, Robert Plant, Babyface, Quincy Jones and Sara Evans. In the meantime, I got to know the people at the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp and they brought me on to production manage the July 4th celebration.

What was next?

In 2014, my son was seven, and I decided it was time to come off the road. I was touring with Robert Plant and thought, “Who better to end my touring career with?” My last show as a touring LD was with Robert Plant at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley in 2014. From then to 2017, I did a lot of design work for artists like OneRepublic, Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, Jason Aldean and Sugarland. At the same time we launched Nashville’s New Year’s Eve show. My company started growing, and we began hiring employees.

In 2017 or 2018, I started working in the festival world. I really enjoyed it, because I was missing traveling. Festivals have become a large part of my work, both in the design side and production management. I recently took over the downtown side of CMA Fest. Coming out of the pandemic, these have been the busiest years of my career. I don’t do as much touring work as I used to, but I’ve [recently worked with] Parker McCollum, Chris Young, Brooks & Dunn and Sara Evans. The festivals keep me busy.

Do you have shows, tours or festivals that you’re most proud of?

There are several that stand out. Miranda’s “Platinum Tour” was special because it was a big moment in both of our lives, and it was very collaborative. Jason Aldean’s tours hit me during a time I needed a boost. Lighting the portion of the inauguration that I did will always be special to me. I’m not a political guy, but it was my first gig coming out of the pandemic and it was special.

You started the Touring Career Workshop over a decade ago to bring touring personnel together. Tell me about that.

Touring Career Workshop (TCW) is something I’m really proud of and will probably be my legacy more than anything I’ve done production-wise. We started it in 2011, and this is our 13th year. Erik Parker, a former student of mine at Belmont, has this huge heart for serving others. We saw a need in our community for information on basic human resource topics. People were constantly asking about things like quarterly tax filings, retirement and health insurance. Eric and I brainstormed the idea of a mini-workshop with guest speakers on these topics.

We did the first TCW in the fall of 2011 at Belmont with about 50 attendees, and it was clear we had something special. Over the next year, we created an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit, began soliciting sponsorships and brought the event over to Soundcheck Annex.

Now, we draw 350-400 attendees each year. It’s free, with amazing sponsors. Every year we do programs on setting up your business/tax planning, retirement planning and health insurance—those are the big three—but we also dig into how to make your relationship work on the road, how to stay mentally balanced while touring, how to buy your first home and all these other topics that touch us as gig workers.

In 2014, we launched the All Access Program, which pays for four counseling sessions per year for people in live entertainment, as well as their spouses and partners. Last year, we started All Access On Site where we bring counselors on-site to festivals. This year saw us at nine different festivals and a golf tournament, and we will be at the CMA Awards in a few weeks. That program has taken off to the point where the mental health side of what we do has taken the forefront to anything else.

It seems like you really value networking and community. Why is that important to you?

Because I wouldn’t be sitting here without it. I have a paper resume, but almost everything in my career came through relationships and networking. Growing up in Nashville, my friends are here, but the people I’ve spent time on a tour bus or show site with are the ones I love the most. We become like a family. It’s a close-knit community, and we network to know who needs a tour manager, production manager or fill-in. Early in my career, I learned it’s a small industry and word gets around. I’d much rather be known as a lighthearted, easygoing person than someone difficult to work with.

What is a moment that you’ve had where your teenage self would think is so cool?

Touring with Robert Plant was a highlight. We did the “Band of Joy” tour with Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and Darrell Scott, and he performed Zeppelin songs in an Americana style. I traveled all over the world with him—South America, Russia, Europe, Australia, Singapore—and he treated me so well.

Another highlight is working on the Nashville July 4th event. I’ve done it for 15 or 16 years now. My dad took me to see the fireworks downtown as a kid, and now I’m the production manager for the event, so it’s very special to me. My youngest even works on the beverage crew delivering ice and water, so it’s special to have him there, too.

What would you tell a student or someone dreaming of working on the road? How can they get started?

This can be one of the most rewarding careers. It’s not for everybody—there’s a lot of sacrifice. You’ll miss countless birthdays, weddings, funerals and graduations. But you’ll get paid to see the world, and you’ll work with amazing people who become like family.

This is also a great time to enter the industry because artists need touring to make money now more than ever. Great shows require talented people behind the scenes, and there’s still a need for people, especially since we haven’t caught up with the workforce we lost during the pandemic. But they have to understand it’s often 18-hour days, two or three in a row, with bad catering and cold showers. It’s either in your blood or it’s not—and that’s okay.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

Reprimand in private, praise in public. I try to follow that in my leadership.

Another was to be diligent and see things through. When I taught at Belmont, I left my students with an acronym I loved: A-C-E-D. A is for attitude: maintain a great attitude, even on hard days, because people remember it. C is communication: respond and provide information in a timely manner. E is experience: never think you know everything; always gain experience. D is diligence: see each project through to completion.