Parnelli Awards Given Out in Anaheim for the First Time

	Bobby "Boomer" Thrasher receives the Lifetime Achievement honor at the 17th Annual Parnelli Awards. Photo courtesy Parnelli Awards

The Parnelli Awards, sponsored by Timeless Communications, were held on Friday, January 26, at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel, in conjunction with the NAMM Show. The crowded event seemed to look forward and backward at once. This was its first time at NAMM, to which it added an additional dose of glamour and buzz. At the same time, many of the award winners were tied to the final tour of rocker Tom Petty, who died in October. Nevertheless, the plan is to continue holding the Parnellis at the NAMM Show, which seems to provide an ideal setting.

And the winners are:

Video Director of the Year: Steve Fantone, Bruno Mars

Monitor Mixer of the Year: Greg Looper, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Set/Scenic Designer of the Year: Roy Bennett, Lady Gaga

Pyrotechnic Company of the Year: Strictly FX, Coldplay

Staging Company of the Year: Premier Global Production, Country Thunder Festival

Coach Company of the Year: Four Seasons Coach Leasing

Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year: Brown Note Productions

Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year: Special Event Services (SES)

Lighting Company of the Year: VER, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Sound Company of the Year: Sound Image, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Video Production Company of the Year: Moo TV, Jason Aldean

Audio System Tech of the Year: Vic Wagner, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Indispensable Technology -- Staging: Stageline Mobile Stage, for the SAM 750 Screen Support Package

Patrick Stansfield Tour Manager of the Year: Richard Fernandez, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Lighting Director of the Year: Andy Knighton, Rascal Flatts

Indispensable Technology -- Video: CreateLED, Three-Dimensional Lighting Display

Indispensable Technology -- Lighting: Philips Vari-Lite VL600 Beam

Rigging Company of the Year: Atlanta Rigging Systems, Garth Brooks

Trucking Company of the Year: Roadshow Services Freight Forwarding Company of the Year: Rock-It Cargo Indispensable Technology -- Audio: Sennhesier, Digital 6000 Wireless

Lighting Designer of the Year: Butch Allen, Paramore

Set Construction Company of the Year: Tait Towers, Lady Gaga

FOH Mixer of the Year: Robert Scovill, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Patrick Stansfield Production Manager of the Year Award: Chris Adamson, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award went to Bobby Thrasher, Billy Joel's longtime production manager, who has also had long relationship with Bruce Springsteen and other artists. "I don't think there's a person on the planet who dislikes Bobby," notes Max Loubiere, Joel's tour manager. "He's the best production manager there ever was."

The Parnelli Audio Innovator Award went to John Stadius, who over the course of 40 years at what was originally named Soundout Laboratories and later became Soundtracs and then DiGiCo, developed a series of hugely successful sound consoles, most notably the SD line, the most recent of which is the SD12.

The Parnelli Visionary Award went to the lighting designer Jonathan Smeeton, whose clients have ranged from Frank Zappa to the Thompson Twins, Peter Gabriel, Def Leppard, Dwight Yoakam, Taylor Swift, Sammy Hagar, Paul Simon, ELO, Keith Urban, Joe Satriani, Chris Isaak, and Marilyn Manson.

Timeless Communications is the publisher of PLSN, Front of House, Stage Directions, and Event Production Directory.