#levitt shell

My time with the Levitt Shell was an influential and also very educational experience for me. From the moment I was selected to participate in the apprenticeship, I knew that I was going to gain a lot of knowledge from working there for the summer. I have always loved watching the concerts, so being able to see how it is put together behind the scenes was a truly and utterly amazing sight to witness. From the moment that the lights went up and the speakers are turned on to the moment where everything was broken down was thoroughly informative. 

Upon orientation, we received schedules that showed us what position we had and who will be supervising us. I was placed in audio. That was important to me because of my desire to know more about how the audio side of things works. I can recall our first day there: Observation Day. It was the first concert of the season. I felt like just another audience member, which was a good thing, of course! I was ten times as excited to get ready to work as I was before. My supervisors' names were Dawn Hopkins and Matt Brown. They both were very patient with the all the interns in audio. Matt helped out a lot with making us a binder full of quick notes and diagrams containing audio-related things. I got to practice a stage layout. Dawn was more hands on about the way she taught, especially cables and making a visual representation of the way that sound travels.

This experience was personally important to me because of my future. I plan on majoring in journalism once I'm in college, so learning more about the technical part was a plus. I imagine myself starting from the bottom up, therefore all that I learned will stick with me and make the process even faster than before. Working at Levitt Shell has also given me a great work experience. This internship teaches you a lot about your presence and attitude in the workplace. It was even healthy for me because I became more active and began to drink more water than I used too. (I also got this really cool tan.)

North Mississippi Allstars, The Levitt Shell, Memphis, TN, 2013

To me, Memphis had always been a city full of question marks. I had never even considered exploring the depths of it considering the fact that I never had the chance.  Being a part of the Levitt Shell Next Generation Apprenticeship gave me this opportunity.

I wasn’t exactly looking for it, but I don’t regret accepting it. Broadcasting and film work has been my expertise for a few years now. With that being said, when my broadcasting teacher introduced me to this opportunity, I seized it almost immediately because I knew it wouldn’t hurt to try. When reading the application, all I received were reasons to join. Not only would I have something to look back on, but I would spend a summer involved in a program that would capture my interests. Considering that I had background in video work, I expressed interest in a video-related job when asked what my interests were. So far, I still had no idea what the Levitt Shell looked like, nor did I know what I would be doing; all I knew of the Shell were the written words in front of me.

I submitted the application fairly quickly after receiving it not only because the deadline was dangerously close, but because I wanted to make sure it was received. It didn’t take long to receive a response. Before I knew it, I had gotten accepted into the program. I was excited because I had gotten accepted into a program I wanted to be in and this was one of the biggest accomplishments I have made since moving to Memphis. It had taken me a while, but I had soon realized that I had many more opportunities as a growing teenager here in Memphis than back at home in Detroit.

I remembered to bring a smile with me on the first day; that way, I’d make a good impression even if I was disappointed. Fortunately, I wasn’t disappointed. I was met with smiling faces almost immediately. Orientation was just a preview of what I’d be experiencing for the next ten weeks. I was able to get to know my co-workers and get to know exactly what this program was about. A bit after, I was given the opportunity to take a look at the Levitt Shell rather than just hearing about it.

For the first week of the program, I was an auditor, which got me excited and prepared me for what was to come. At the Levitt Shell, I was selected as an intern for lighting. Because of my desire to work with video, I admit I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I was put in this category. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I learned the routine the workers there created and all the things that were done to make each and every show a success. My job was to place the lights in their correct position and place down the synchronizing cables at the beginning of the day. On other days, I would break down the equipment at the end of a show. It was a lengthy process, but it soon became an easy task. When I wasn’t moving the equipment, I was getting hands on experience with working the lights. Bearing with the scorching hot sun each and every day was something I wasn’t particularly fond of, but I stayed in my position and completed it until the very end. Starting things and not finishing it is something that I refuse to do. I entered this program because I knew I would learn lessons to help my future. I wasn’t going to quit because not only would I regret it, but it wouldn’t look good. Times did get tough, but I never gave up.

The Blues Society – Augusta Palmer

The Memphis Country Blues Festival (as it came to be known in succeeding years) had a shoestring start, organized by the Memphis Country Blues Society, an ad hoc group consisting of counterculture figures, musicians, and fans, including Robert Palmer, who would go on to write the seminal book Deep Blues and become the first pop music critic for the New York Times. His daughter, Augusta Palmer, a…