Marking her much-anticipated return to the UK and Europe, the introspective indie star took to the stage at OVO Arena Wembley in November 2024 with a grungier and darker production than fans have ever witnessed from the artist – aiming to bring the audience closer to the action with an intimate staging design. Before the doors opened to thousands of NIKI fans, TPi went behind the scenes to reveal the hard work that goes into staging the Buzz World Tour, which sees the artist and her team visit varying-sized venues with a dynamic production.
Welcoming TPi at the production entrance was a familiar face to TPi readers, Jack Dunnett – who was assuming the role of Production Manager for the first time in his career. “Stepping into this role is interesting,” Dunnett said. “I’ve been fortunate to do some large-scale stage management jobs; I’ll never move to production managing completely, but because this experience has been so enjoyable, I’d be open to the prospect again.”
Brought in to the NIKI camp by Tour Director, Matthew Walt and Tour Manager, CJ Harrison, Dunnett has taken learnings from stage management into this project. “Everyone needs to be treated differently,” he commented. “Some people need a gentle push, whereas others need an arm around their shoulder and it’s important to us that our office door is always open. It’s a very open production office so people can come in and divulge anything without any fear of reprimand.”
When going from department to department, there was a notable gender split among the production team, something Dunnett was keen to point out when he sat down with TPi. The Production Manager emphasised diversity as a crucial factor when looking at staffing a tour: “I like to have a lot of women around on a tour because it can take away toxic masculinity and it is nice to walk around and see a balanced crew,” Dunnett explained. “I strive for diversity in a crew, but sometimes that’s not possible. Importantly, I want people to be kind to each other and a pleasure to be around.”
Harrison joined the conversation: “Tour managing is something I hold dear; when I was younger that was all I wanted to do. This tour is amazing as we have a lot of different cultures and diverse individuals on the road, and everyone brings themselves into it which is just beautiful. You don’t see many tours like that. I want the tours I head up to be family orientated and have a diverse and queer-friendly atmosphere, but it’s hard especially with vendors only sometimes having limited access to people at a certain level of touring. I have been doing this for 20 years and it’s changing slowly, but very slowly.”
Ruminating on the tour as it reaches the end of the UK run, Harrison reflected on her friendship with Dunnett. “Jack and I have worked together for a long time on many projects, so when we were looking for a new PM, I knew he was the right person, not just because of his passion for his work but also how he advocates for women in the industry.”
Having worn many hats within the industry – from merchandise manager to photographer and sustainability coordinator with REVERB – Courtney Kiara Boyer was experiencing her first tour as a Production Coordinator and supported Dunnett with the day-to-day.
“There has been a lot of learning involved, but getting to help people is something I love to do, and, in this role, it couldn’t be more appropriate,” Boyer commented. “A key to this job is being welcoming, kind and inquisitive, and making sure the crew feel like they can come to me with any problems.”
Following a steady increase in women working in the production industry, Boyer highlighted the importance of setting an example to women who may want to join the industry. She elaborated: “To set an example backstage where nearly half of the crew is women is so cool. People can tend to think that femininity is inherently bad in this space, but that’s just because women haven’t been welcomed in these spaces for a long time.”
To meet the demands of the production, Dunnett called upon Clair Global for audio, TAIT for staging, Colour Sound Experiment for lighting, Fly By Nite for trucking, Beat The Street for crew travel and Eat to the Beat for catering. “Clair Global has been great and supported us very well. Sean Sturge and Jonathan Dunlop have looked after us on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said, going on the cite the influence of the wider supplier roster. “I’m very lucky to have a very good relationship with all of our suppliers, they have been fantastic, and I can’t fault them.”
Adam ‘Bullet’ Bettley, Business Development Director at TAIT, added: “It was nice to be back working with Jack, but it was also exciting for us to branch out and support a newer artist like NIKI.”
The production camp approached TAIT with a ready-made design, which made the hand over simple. “We replicated what they had created with another vendor in the US and retrofitted everything to fit some pre-existing fascias,” he explained. “It was seamless for us to tap into our global reconfigurable inventory to help lower costs and quickly provide the right package for the production.”
Working on the logistical side of the run was Fly By Nite, who took over the trucking responsibilities for the run. “Working across the UK and EU run of NIKI’s tour has been wonderful,” Fly By Nite’s Rob Stockwell, commented. “I’ve worked with CJ and Jack across other projects so it’s been great to be reunited with them on this one. The whole crew were fantastic at their jobs, which made the tour so much more enjoyable.”
Beat The Street handled transport for the tour. “NIKI’s Buzz World Tour was an absolute pleasure to deal with,” commented the company’s Lee Rees, reflecting on the project. “Our drivers had a great time touring with them and we hope to work again with them many times into the future.”
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Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: Natt Lim (@nattografi)
