When Don Smiley took over as the head of Summerfest, he identified an increase of national exposure as one of the festival’s biggest needs. Country Music Television came to Milwaukee last year to tape three concerts for later airing. The results were so good that CMT decided to come back again this year, with a complete production team from the network’s Nashville headquarters: three production semi-trailers, an elaborate stage set-up, 10 cameras, and additional lighting transformed the venerable Harley-Davidson Roadhouse into a top-notch entertainment venue for three nights.
Along with tapings of concerts by Sugarland, Sara Evans, and Big & Rich, CMT also brought its popular Top 20 Countdown program to the shore of Lake Michigan for a second year. Host Lance Smith and the CMT crew spent three days taping segments for the show, which premieres Thursday on CMT.
OnMilwaukee.com was able to get permission to follow the Top 20 Countdown crew around the grounds for a day as it wrapped up taping for the show and prepared for the Big & Rich concert later that night.
Enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at Country Music Television’s visit to the 40th Anniversary of Milwaukee Summerfest.
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Things get off to a somewhat late start for Top 20 Countdown today. Our “tour guide” of sorts, Associate Producer Kristi Boyd, explains that most remote tapings are done over the course of two days, but they took three to tape the segments for the three-hour Milwaukee show. That makes Sunday a little less frantic; but busy nonetheless.
OMC met up with Boyd and Smith near the Roadhouse around 4 p.m. The duo, along with their crew, spent much of the afternoon shooting some segments from around the grounds. A favorite spot for CMT has been the newly-opened Lakeshore State Park. On the footbridge linking the park to the Summerfest Grounds, Smith taped a segment where he talked about George Carlin’s infamous arrest after his “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” act in 1972, a piece of well-known Summerfest lore.
Boyd has spent weeks prepping for this show, which is mainly about the top 20 videos played on the network over the previous week, but also includes interviews with artists, trivia and game segments. In Milwaukee, Top 20 Countdown will include all of that, but also try to capture the essence of the World’s Largest Music Festival.
“We go around and try to really capture the atmosphere,” Boyd – who looks right at home in Milwaukee in a Miller High Life hat – explains. “We’ve gone around and shot segments out on (Lakeshore State Park) so we could get the lake and the festival, itself, in the background.”
Boyd says the Countdown team averages about a trip a month over the course of a year, but the timing can vary. There could be a number of remotes shot over a span of a few weeks, followed by a significant string of studio work. Travel – and the challenges of working on location – is a welcome challenge for Boyd.
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Back at the stage, preparations continue for the evening’s show. Many Big & Rich fans showed up at the Roadhouse within moments of the gates opening that day. They’ve sat through a number of acts and seem to be enjoying themselves.
Stage manager Bill Turner says to be wary of the crowd’s relaxed nature. The laid-back fans that took in the Sugarland and Sara Evans concerts the previous nights were a blend of folks from different musical genres, thanks to the growing mainstream presence of country music. Those crowds are hardly an indicator of tonight’s crowd. Big & Rich, Turner explains, are rockers. It’s going to be a party tonight.
Turner just has that country look to him. He’s dressed in black – not because of any fashion statement, but because it keeps him out of the view of the camera for the most part. He’s got a tough job ahead of him tonight; one of the most important of any of the crew. He speaks with just enough of a southern accent to suggest he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to music and a show.
He’s seen a lot of acts over the years, but none of those names were a big deal to him. He’s only, in fact, ever asked for one autograph, and it wasn’t even from a musician but former New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle.
“I see these guys every day,” Turner says with a quick wave towards the stage. “But oh man, that was Mickey Mantle. Just a few months before he died, I just had to do it.”
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While Cross County Junction rocks out onstage, preparations are going on around the site. Billy Broker is busy attaching a camera to one of the two booms set up on either side of the stage. Other cameras are being set up; three are located straight back from the stage in front of the sound tower. Another boom camera is on the north side of the stage, and a number of handheld cameras will be on stage and in front of it.
CMT sent nearly 70 people from Nashville to put together the production, and they’re all scurrying around. The clock is ticking to the 10 p.m. show which will also include opening act Cowboy Troy. While equipment is being put into place, Boyd and Smith head into the Summerfest Administration Building for the nightly script meeting.
Inside, they are joined by – among others – Tom Forrest, Executive Producer of Taillight TV (a third-party group helping with the broadcast), Taillight Associate Producer Koren Leamon, CMT Executive Producer Margaret Comeauz, director Ryan Polito, and Turner. Smith is given a script of thevarious tags he will record during the show. He takes a quick glance at the liners, and tries to decide between peanut or plain M&M’s. It’s by no means arrogance or indifference, Smith just is good like that.
“He can look at the script for two seconds, and be good to go,” Boyd explains to me later. She goes on to explain that they don’t bring a teleprompter along on remote shows.
She hands a script to Smith prior to a segment for him to peruse, and in a matter of moments, he’s talking into the cameras.
The discussion turns to tonight’s Big & Rich show. Turner notes that crowds the previous evenings may have been worn out by the numerous and often repetitive pre-show tapings.
While the show is taped in its entirety, the crew records introductions, teases, and other segments to be inserted during post-production prior to the show in order to notbreak into the action.
There’s no real way around it; the segments have to be taped no matter what. One liner is cut, and the production team hopes to get through the segments quickly.
“We always try to keep in mind that people are here to see music and not a television show,” Smith says. “We try to get those things taped beforehand so we don’t have to interrupt the performances.”
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It's time for a little break. Boyd is off to get a real quick snack; Smith heads off to get ready for the evening. After the quick hiatus, Smith will tape an interview with Big & Rich that will air on Countdown; it’s pretty much the last segment of the show that needs to be done.
Putting together a rundown for a three-day shoot can be a difficult task. In a studio, a show can be done in a controlled environment, but on the road – especially outdoors – planning needs to take weather and lighting into consideration. Segments have to be taped in order to maintain a sense of continuity in the show.
The interview segments are shot at somewhat staggered times, with Friday’s chat with Sugarland coming earlier in the evening, the Saturday interview with Sara Evans a bit later, and Big & Rich coming around 8:30 p.m.
As we wait, Summerfest Entertainment Director Bob Babisch strolls by with Vice President of Marketing John Boler. The two of them couldn’t be more pleased with the CMT experience and the exposure they have brought to the Big Gig.
“It’s great for Summerfest,” Boler says. “Over 82 million subscribers were able to see Milwaukee and Summerfest last year thanks to CMT. This is just great for us."
“Milwaukee, too,” adds Babisch.
Once Smith and Boyd return; it’s show time. Summerfest security finds a barricade and sets up a perimeter for Smith to work within. It’s a good thing, as fans don’t take long to realize who will soon be out there.
(The crowd, by the way, has grown. Local favorite Pat McCurdy is set to play from 8:30 until about 9 p.m. In the crowd is OnMilwaukee.com Senior Editor Drew Olson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Brewers beat writer Rick Braun and Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. )
Right as McCurdy gets into his groove, it’s time for Smith to get into his. Boyd and Sublett stand off to the side of the cameras, watching intently as things progress. Boyd consults her clipboard; not only does it has the show rundown and script, it’s also hooked up wirelessly to a time-code system which will come in handy during the editing process later.
Editing is going to be tricky for this show. The Fourth of July holiday comes a day before the show is set to air, so editors have to start the process early. The first batch of tapes has already been sent back to Nashville. Boyd and her team will fly back at 7:25 Monday morning and be in the office by 9 a.m. to help make sure the show is cut and edited by Tuesday night so it’s ready to air on Thursday.
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Smith is talking to John Rich and “Big Kenny” Alphin and there’s a big crowd watching. They’re full of energy, waiting for the show to begin in less than 90 minutes. Three cameras, a light crew, and an audio person are on hand; all under the watchful eyes of Sublett and Boyd. Once this wraps up, the Countdown taping is complete. Countdown is ready to be edited, and the team prepares to shift gears for the evening’s show.
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Setting up the physical aspects of Big & Rich’s show has been a long task. The first crew call was around 6:45 in the morning. While the previous nights’ CMT shows used the existing stage set-up, Big & Rich brought their own set. Crews worked from early morning to get things in place, and then worked between the day’s acts to fine-tune everything.
McCurdy finishes his set, and it’s time to get everything in place. Instruments are brought out, tuned, and checked. Lighting is tested, and the cameras and crew are all in place.
At about 9:20, Turner is on stage with Smith. Turner goes through what he calls “the legal mumbo-jumbo”; reading a standard release to the crowd that informs them that they will be taped for an upcoming broadcast and should they not wish to appear on television, they should leave now … nobody does. He also adds one other warning:
“If you’re here with somebody you shouldn’t be here with,” Turner says. “Now would be a good time to move.”
With that done, Smith explains that before the show can begin, they need to tape a few liners. Over the sound system comes the booming voice of the director, Polito. He explains the process of pre-show tapings and how he needs the crowd to act as if they are already in the middle of the show.
Smith is down in “the pit”, an area directly in front of the stage where randomly selected fans get to watch the concert. He’ll tape a couple of introductions that will air as part of the concert presentation next month. He repeats the process at a few more areas around the stage.
Next, it’s time to tape some crowd reaction shots. Turner is on stage, working the audience in a manner similar to Frank Sinatra worked The Sands: “pretend like Big & Rich are on stage now and go crazy!” he tells them. The crowd – which had producers worried earlier in the day – shows no sign of getting weary.
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Putting a television program isn’t always a smooth process. There’s a lot of “hurry up and waiting” that goes into the production. It’s one of the toughest parts of the day for Boyd.
“People think you make a list of 20 videos and it’s done,” she says. “But this is a constant thing; it’s a three-hour show that we work on all day, every day.”
Boyd and the Countdown crew are usually working on three shows at a time. They make sure they tie things up from the previous week’s episode, deal with the current show, and are constantly preparing for the following installment.
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Finally, almost as if on-cue, the show begins. Opening act Two-Foot Fred kicks things off and gives way to Cowboy Troy whose short, but intense set has an overflow crowd at the Roadhouse whipped into frenzy. Boyd and Smith have a little bit of downtime, and we head around the stage to catch part of Cowboy Troy’s act. Smith leans over and tells me to watch closely.
“When he plays ‘I play chicken with the train’, this place is going to go nuts,” Smith says. He’s right. The 2005 single wraps up Cowboy Troy’s set. It’s time for the main act.
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Big & Rich are wrapping up a meet-and-greet session with fans between their two tour buses. A canopy provides cover for what could double as a suburban patio setup. Loud – really loud – music is blaring from a sound system between the buses as the stage is readied for the headliners.
Turner is standing on the stairs next to the stage entrance. Boyd is there, too along with Kim Goodman, who is handling Smith’s makeup. He’s onstage right now, recording another introduction. It’s his favorite part of the job.
“I know it’s not me they’re coming to see,” Smith says of the fans. “But it’s cool to go up there and feel like I’m the one bringing them the music. It’s great; they recognize me and are great to me.”
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Finally, at 10:30 sharp, Big & Rich hit the Roadhouse stage. The crowd – some estimates placed it as large as 15,000 – is loving every minute of it.
Smith and Boyd have a few more segments to tape for the concert airings. They hit up various parts of the stage area, but save the best for last.
After a few moments of waiting near the stage entrance, a group of Red Shirts assemble to escort the three of us – along with camera and light crews – through the assembled masses. Funny how quickly you can navigate through a Summerfest crowd when you’re under the protection of the good folks in red.
After a quick walk, we make our way to the sound center, where we will take in the last few minutes of the concert. Smith, Boyd, and the crew hike up the ladder to get set up.
“Once we set up, there’ll be a few more songs before Lance goes on,” she explains. “You should really check it out.”
I make the trek up the ladder and get to see the command center. Monitors in the cramped quarters show the amazing, high-definition pictures that viewers will see when the shows premiere and it’s stunning. CMT made the Roadhouse area look huge; the production value was amazing. Everything about the view is just breath-taking.
After a couple of songs, it’s time to head back down so Smith can close the show.
“I can’t believe its over,” Smith tells the audience. Luckily, there’s still an encore coming.
Back down on the ground, Boyd is talking with another producer as Big & Rich play their best-known hit, “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”. The show is done. The job is done. It’s time to relax for a few moments.
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In Smith’s closing, he thanks the crowd for such a great time over the previous three days. It’s not lip-service, Smith means it. He’s lived in Los Angeles and traveled the country, but has a real affinity for Milwaukee.
“Honestly, I can say Milwaukee rocks,” Smith says at the end of the day.
Boyd echoes the sentiment. She’s thankful the travel demands of the job allow her to see places she never would have thought of visiting otherwise and is impressed with the passion of Milwaukeeans when it comes to music.
“The audience is very passionate about country music,” Boyd says. “It was awesome how they were packed in there. They got to the stage hours before anybody went on, just for their chance to be up close for the shows.”
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You may not be a fan of country music, but you have to appreciate the efforts made by the CMT crew to showcase Summerfest for an entire nation. They’re people who came to town not to promote themselves, but to show the rest of the country what Summerfest and Milwaukee are all about. Landing the CMT from Summerfest series these last two years is a major coup for Smiley and Babisch, and it is quickly turning into a Summerfest tradition as much as fried eggplant and table dancing.
Nashville and Milwaukee aren’t very different and are linked in many ways – especially in sports. The Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate is the Nashville Sounds and the Admirals are the AHL affiliate for the NHL’s Nashville Predators (who are owned by Racine’s Craig Leipold). The differences between the two communites are minimal. The people who put on the show truly appreciate the spirit and motives behind Summerfest.
CMT and Summerfest – though their relationship is but two years old – have turned out to be close to a perfect marriage.
