Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists: Michael Strickland Of Bandit Lites


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Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists


Michael Strickland, founder of Bandit Lites  

Panel: What I Did on my Summer Vacation: How the Production Biz Stood Tall in the Pandemic (Production Live!)
Date/Time: Tuesday, June 15 at 11 a.m. 

Other Panelists: Maria Brunner, owner of Insight Management & founder of Musically Fed; Joey Gallagher of Gallagher Staging; Robin Shaw of Upstaging, Inc.;  and Debbie Taylor; production coordinator for AC/DC, U2, Black Sabbath, Guns ‘N Roses and The Rolling Stones.

In addition to running a lighting business and serving on the board of directors of a local hospital network, Michael Strickland became something of a Congress whisperer during the pandemic, educating legislators about the devastation wreaked on the live events industry that most clearly didn’t understand.

His efforts, along with those of many others, helped secure passage of the CARES Act, enhanced unemployment and PPP funding, as well as Save Our Stages and Shuttered Venue Operator Grants to support those in dire financial straits thanks to the shutdown of the entire industry.

Once the stimulus package and legislation was secured, Strickland turned his attention to the COVID vaccine rollout, knowing money alone wouldn’t prevent the collapse of the live business as long as the virus continued to spread unabated. He working with Michael Rapino, Coran Capshaw, Wayne Forte, Jay Marciano, Charlie Walker and Dayna Frank on what would become COV-AID.

Strickland was honored as one of “The Engagers” on the Pollstar 2021 Impact 50 list. 

This year’s Pollstar Live! conference will revive live as the concert business is gearing up and the return to normalcy appears well under way. With some of the best talent and minds in the business gathering once more in Los Angeles June 15-17, you won’t want to miss the networking opportunities, insightful discussion and, of course, the Pollstar Awards honoring the best from the live entertainment world. 

Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features insightful panels and discussions from industry professionals on all topics related to staging live events including lighting, video, staging and stage management, sound technique, concert production, video, regulations, security and more.

Click here for the Production Live! schedule and here for the Pollstar Live! schedule. 

 

Proudest Moment In Your Career?
Michael Strickland:  In 2014 Bandit had the opportunity to produce the annual Medal of Honor Convention. It is a collection of living Medal of Honor Recipients. Those gentlemen are the REAL heroes in America. It is humbling and I shall never forget those gentelmen.

Why Everyone Must Go To This Panel? 
To gain insight into the need for our industry to form a single organization to represent us in DC!

The Story You Will Tell?

The extraordinary journey that is working with Congress to gaining funding for a completely shuttered industry!
  
The Story You Won’t Tell? 
You can ask me anything!

What May Cause Tempers To Flare? 

Almost everything about the SVOG process!

The Question You Hope Is Asked? 

How does the live event industry unite as one in DC?

What Do You Dread Most About Going Back To Shows? 
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!