Needless to say, 2020 was a tough year for so many people, including musicians. With little to no live music and most venues closed down from coast to coast, there were a lot of hardships. Live music is more than just the singer or the band... there's an entire road crew, a production crew, so many people behind the scenes, not to mention the people on a local level that work at the venues as bartenders, security, ushers, etc.
A lot of great stories have surfaced of Country artists pledging to pay their band and crew, regardless of no work in 2020. Kenny Chesney was one of the first to announce that the more than 100 people on his payroll would continue to be paid. There was a story that came out a few month ago about Jimmie Allen taking out a loan to pay his people. In tough times, it really makes a person's heart smile to see so many Country artists stepping up and providing for their people.
The other day, Luke Combs posted a video on social media where thanking fans for helping him to be able to support his band and crew. The video then turned to the people on his payroll and they talked about how much Luke's fans mean to them. For every song you bought, for every album you downloaded, for every t-shirt you mail ordered... that's all money that helped Luke be able to pay his band and crew, and this touching video shows just how grateful they all are.
- Shoutout to Luke's guys featured in the video:
Ethan, Tour Manager - Todd, Audio Engineer
- Tyler, Band Member
- JD, Guitar Tech
- Matthew, Stage Manager
- Dustin, Band Member
- Delaney, Band Member
- Ed, Guitar Tech
- Ken, Security
- Jake, Band Member
- Dan, Audio Tech
- Trevor, Camera Operator
- Rob, Band Member
- Evan, Guitar Tech
- Jerry, Production Manager
- Zues, Monitor Engineer
- RJ, Production Assistant
- Tyler, Security
- David, Photographer
- Andrew, VIB Coordinator
- Neil, Band Member