How TODAY’s Team Brings the Citi Concert Series to Life

Amanda Sidman, Senior Entertainment Producer: There is something really magical about sound check, which is something only the plaza crowd experiences (we do not air it on TV!). It takes place at 6AM and the artist is usually very stripped down with a smaller crowd watching. Its before hair and makeup and styling, and it’s a really cool, authentic way to see some amazing artists warm up live in person. I love that our plaza crowd gets that special moment with them! 

Jonas Einstein, Technical Director: Making Concerts is a nice break from the News.
 
Bailey Howell, Associate Music Booking Producer: The Citi Concert Series is such an amazing team effort from all departments that work across TODAY. It’s amazing to get to collaborate across the show to put on a concert that fans on the Plaza and at home enjoy.  

Matthew Rifino, Broadcast Music Mixer: Lady GaGa performing in the rain. Robert Plant performing in studio, Fleetwood Mac reunion on the Plaza.

Amanda: There’s almost too many to count. A few favorites include Coldplay in the pouring rain in 2016, Selena Gomez, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jon Batiste.   
 
Bailey: One of the most rewarding concerts I’ve ever worked on was Harry Styles’ Plaza concert in May 2022. He performed the day before his album “Harry’s House” came out. Ultimately, the record won the Grammy for Album of the Year and were able to kick off his album campaign and debut some of the songs on TODAY. It was one of the first concerts I worked on and definitely was one of the most fulfilling and memorable. 

Jonas: Nate Reuss Such a great Live performance

Adrian: My favorite artist has to be Keith Urban. Not being a Country music fan, he completely won me over with his energy, talent and appreciation for his fans. He stayed for an hour after the concert taking pictures with every fan who came to the plaza. 

Matthew: They're all great. I don’t think I could pick a favorite. 

Adrian: What excites me about working the Citi Concert Series is how staging, technical, production, and security all work together seamlessly to provide the plaza audience with a memorable experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. The fact that this tremendous undertaking happens 15 to 20 times a year is truly amazing.  
 
Bailey: The Citi Concert Series is one of TODAY’s tentpole events each year. Getting to work on something that our staff, crew, audiences, and partners alike look forward to is incredibly rewarding. Each concert is a heavy lift from a production perspective, so getting to experience the concert mornings make the process fulfilling. I really enjoy getting to bring audiences closer to their favorite artists, and help artists launch album/tour campaigns on the Plaza! 

Amanda: The most exciting part is “breaking” a new artist during the series and having the team at TODAY and the anchors trust us that we are going to bring a huge, enthusiastic crowd to the plaza. We were blown away by the number of fans who turned out for some artists who were just starting their (now huge!) careers, like Lizzo, Conan Gray, and Karol G.   

Tim: Every concert is different and hopefully we can give each show it’s own look and feel. 

Amanda: Since we are on the booking side, we work months in advance to lock in these acts and make sure we are finding the biggest names, diverse talent, and a good mix of music genres. The morning of the concert, the booking team is on the front lines with the artist and their team, and we are always problem solving, multitasking, and making sure everyone leaves the plaza as happy as possible!   
 
Bailey: Booking is the liaison between the show & artist teams. On concert mornings, I am coordinating with our TODAY team (Stage Management, Audio, Editorial Producers, Staging, Production Managers, and more) to ensure the morning runs smoothly. I am also the main point of contact for artist teams for any questions they have about the run of show. Throughout the morning, I am fielding questions from both crews and ensuring that the artists/bands are staying on schedule for all appearances.  

Tim: The week before the concert I sit and listen to the music and try to come up with a specific design for that artist.  Design the lighting rig, adjusting for budget, ordering the equipment and going through all of it with my programmer.  On show day, I arrive at 2 AM, see what the crew has accomplished since 10PM the previous day, and talk through any concerns the crew may have.  And then I get out of the way and let the crew take over. 

Matthew: My day begins early with a 1:00am arrival! We start with discussions on setup with the crew, answer emails, and place audio rental orders for upcoming performances. I then handle the setup of all the technical components needed for production. We record a 30-minute rehearsal with the artist and then work on the mixes that will go to air. Then it's showtime! The artist performs live, and we put together the master stereo versions of mixes for the TODAY website. I finish the day by answering any last emails and checking in with artists' crew for upcoming performances.  

Bailey: We typically begin booking our summer lineup at the beginning of the year. Once we have concerts locked, we start the larger production conversations with artist teams about their needs and song choices. This can happen anywhere from a few months out from a concert to a few weeks out from a concert!  

Amanda: This conversation starts pretty early on in the booking process. While we try to be as accommodating as possible, we also have strict protocols at the show in terms of sound check, schedules, and musical integrity that are in place to make the concerts as big of a success as possible.   
 
Matthew: Anywhere from a month up until the morning of the performance. Everything is always changing. 

Adrian: Over the past 10 years the camera and audio equipment has been updated, but the basic formula has remained the same. The show utilizes 3 handheld cameras, 1 steady cam, 1 jib camera, and 2 cameras on a scissor lift (1 tight and 1 wide) to shoot a typical concert. 

Tim: The LED technology has made the job of the lighting designer much easier.
 
Amanda: We have started to work very closely with our TODAY social and digital teams who have helped us bring the concert to viewers beyond their TV screens – to their phones and social media platforms so we can reach a whole new audience of fans! 
 
Bailey: This is my fourth summer working on the Citi Concert Series. I think we’ve continued to evolve our lineup to include a diverse roster of artists that appeal to our Plaza audiences and audiences at home. Our Design, Staging, Audio, and Camera teams are best in class and continue to make our Plaza concerts innovative and visually stunning. Our Sales, Marketing, and Press teams work tirelessly to build the “look” of the Citi Concert Series and maintain our TODAY Brand with each artist that performs. It’s so amazing to watch all the teams come together to put these shows on each week! 

Matthew: How much back and forth it can take between an artist’s crew and the TODAY crew to get everything set for a performance. Song choice, setup, staging, lighting, audio requirements, prompter, etc. There are a lot of moving parts and lots of crews that all must work together as a team to bring these performances to life.   

Amanda: That nothing is as simple or seamless as it looks on TV!  

Tim: Everything is about the music of each individual artist.  Every concert is unique.