tommyfabjams
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer Monitor Engineer · Production Management event planning & marketing talent buying recording mixer/engineer Travel & logistics
25+ years of live production across the world's most iconic stages, festivals, and broadcast platforms.
Interests
tommyfabjams
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer Monitor Engineer · Production Management event planning & marketing talent buying recording mixer/engineer Travel & logistics
Profile
Tom Fabjance is a touring and live-production & event professional with more than 25 years of experience working with nationally and internationally recognized artists across a wide range of genres.
Northern Wisconsin-based production leader with 25+ years across touring, venues, and festivals. Hands-on experience as talent buyer, FOH and monitor engineer, tour manager, and production manager — from intimate clubs to Red Rocks, Bonnaroo, and Newport Folk Festival. Skilled at negotiating artist agreements, managing crews, and turning artistic vision into safe, well-run events.
Rock · Folk · Americana · Jazz · World · Electronic · Classical
Signature Credits
Red Rocks Amphitheatre · Farm Aid · Saturday Night Live · Bonnaroo Music Festival · BottleRock Napa Valley · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · MerleFest · Newport Folk Festival · Hardly Strictly Bluegrass · Life Is Beautiful ·Late Show With David Letterman · MTV Music Awards ·KROC Christmas
Core Competencies
Selected Touring Experience
Trampled by Turtles
2010–PresentDuluth, MN
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer · Monitor Engineer
Long-running relationship with one of Americana's most celebrated touring acts. Managed all aspects of touring logistics while mixing front-of-house and monitors at venues ranging from intimate clubs to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and festival main stages.
Emel Mathlouthi
2015–PresentTunis, Tunisia
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer
Toured internationally with the Tunisian singer-songwriter whose performance at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony brought her global recognition. Managed production across Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
The Jayhawks
2011–PresentMinneapolis, MN
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer
Worked with the seminal alt-country band across North American and European tours, handling both front-of-house mixing and full tour management responsibilities.
Hippo Campus
2016–2018St. Paul, MN
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer
Supported the indie rock band's rapid rise, managing tours across North America and Europe as they graduated from clubs to theaters and festival stages.
The Manhattan Transfer
2008–2012New York, NY
Front-of-House Engineer · Monitor Engineer
Mixed front-of-house and monitors for the Grammy Award-winning vocal jazz group across domestic and international engagements.
Smashing Pumpkins
1988–1994Chicago, IL
Monitor Engineer
Served as monitor engineer during the band's formative years in Chicago, working club and theater dates as they built toward mainstream breakthrough.
Tracy Chapman
1995Monitor Engineer
Served as monitor engineer on the New Beginnings Tour for the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, in support of her fifth studio album.
Catherine Wheel
1992–1993Great Yarmouth, England
Front-of-House Engineer
Mixed front-of-house for the British indie shoegaze band during their North American touring, supporting their rise on the alternative rock scene.
Low
2004–2016Duluth, MN
Front-of-House Engineer
Mixed front-of-house for the influential Duluth slowcore trio across more than a decade of touring, working venues and festivals throughout North America and Europe.
Ike Reilly Assassination
2000–2003Lake Bluff, IL
Tour Manager · Front-of-House Engineer
Served as tour manager and front-of-house engineer for the Chicago-area rock band, managing touring logistics and mixing live sound across club and theater dates throughout North America.
Additional Artist Experience
Astrud Gilberto - Tito Puente - Mazzy Star - The Screaming Treas - TAD - George Clinton- The Pixies - George Benson - Charlie Parker - Freddie Hubbard - David Gray
Select Festival Experience
Bonnaroo Music Festival · BottleRock Napa Valley · DelFest · Farm Aid · Hardly Strictly Bluegrass · Homegrown Music Festival · Isthmus Jazz Festival · Life Is Beautiful · Lollapalooza · Lowell Folk Festival · Luck Reunion · Mariposa Folk Festival · MerleFest · Milwaukee Summerfest · Minnesota State Fair · Moondance Jam · Newport Folk Festival · Northside Festival · Okeechobee Music Festival · Pickathon · Red Wing Roots · Roots N Blues N BBQ · Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival · Solid Sound Festival · Stagecoach Festival · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Thunder Bay Blues Festival · Tucson Folk Festival · Twin Cities Jazz Festival · Waterfront Blues Festival · Winnipeg Folk Festival · XPoNential Music Festival · and many more
Venue Experience
Big Top Chautauqua
2006–2014Bayfield, WI
Production Manager · Front-of-House Engineer · Monitor Engineer
Managed production for a 2,000-capacity outdoor concert venue. Responsibilities included crew hiring and management, advancing, scheduling, hospitality, catering, stagehands, audio and lighting, guest lists, security, settlements, merchandise, sponsor functions, and meet-and-greets.
Double Door
1992Wicker Park, Chicago, IL
Front-of-House Engineer
Served as front-of-house engineer at one of Chicago's premier rock venues, located in the heart of Wicker Park. The Double Door hosted national and local artists across rock, alternative, and indie genres until its closure in 2017.
China Club
1992–1994Chicago, IL
Production Manager · Front-of-House Engineer · Monitor Engineer
Worked with national and international artists including Stanley Clarke, Stanley Jordan, Darryl Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Astrud Gilberto, Tito Puente, Toots & the Maytals, George Clinton, and Yellowman.
Cabaret Metro
1988–1994Chicago, IL
Front-of-House Engineer · Monitor Engineer
Worked with artists including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Black Crowes, Screaming Trees, Lenny Kravitz, Nine Inch Nails, Peter Murphy, Soundgarden and more.
Events Coordination & Marketing
Earth Rider Brewery & The Cedar Lounge Taproom
Superior, WI
Entertainment Coordinator & Talent Buyer · Technical Director · Sound Engineer · Marketing Coordinator
Booked and programmed the live entertainment calendar, negotiating directly with artists, agents, and managers to secure talent and finalize performance terms. Managed artist settlements and band payouts, and oversaw live-event technical operations and sound production for all bookings. Developed crowd-control and event risk-management plans; coordinated logistics with venue staff, vendors, and event personnel. Drove event marketing, audience communications, and program promotion to build attendance and grow the venue's live-music brand.
Old Rittenhouse Inn
Bayfield, WI
Marketing Director & HOSPITALITY
Historic Queen Anne inn and fine-dining destination on the shores of Lake Superior. Directed marketing, guest communications, and event programming; developed staff training materials, employee handbooks, and standard operating procedures Creation & Coordination of weekend beer & wine tastings, murder mysteries and special events & promotions.
Hotel Chequamegon
Ashland, WI
Hospitality · Marketing · Public Relations · Special Events
65 guestrooms and suites in the heart of Ashland, Wisconsin. Managed hospitality operations alongside a full scope of marketing and communications work — writing newsletters, deploying website updates, managing mailing lists, producing graphics, and coordinating promotions and special events for one of the region's landmark lodging properties.
Television, Radio, Broadcast & recording studio
SELECT Broadcast Credits
Late Night with David Letterman · Saturday Night Live · MTV Music Awards · BBC John Peel Sessions · World Cafe · Al Jazeera Radio
Tent Show Radio
2009–2019Producer · Mixing Engineer · Editing Engineer
Negotiated recording agreements, scheduled artists, developed show concepts, and managed multitrack mixing, editing, podcast production, and streaming for a 26-episode seasonal broadcast distributed by Wisconsin Public Radio and independent stations throughout the United States.
Sacred Heart Recording Studio
2001–PresentCo-Owner & Studio Manager
Duluth, MN
Manage all aspects of a professional recording facility, including scheduling, staffing, budgeting, marketing, and client and community relations.
Technical Proficiencies
Consoles
Avid VENUE | S6L, Avid Profile, Avid SC48, DiGiCo SD5, SD7, SD9, SD10, SD11, SD12, Midas Heritage, Midas PRO Series, Yamaha CL/QL Series, Yamaha PM5D, SSL Live, Soundcraft Vi Series, Allen & Heath dLive, Behringer X32/M32
Wireless
Shure Axient Digital, Shure UHF-R, Shure PSM 1000/900/300, Sennheiser 6000/9000 Series, Lectrosonics, Audio-Technica 5000 Series
Software & Systems
Avid Pro Tools, Waves MultiRack, Lake Controller, Rational Acoustics Smaart, Meyer Sound Galileo, BSS Soundweb, Dante/AES67 networking, QLab
Additional
RF coordination and spectrum management, system optimization and tuning, multitrack recording, broadcast integration, intercom systems (RTS, Clear-Com), video/audio matrix routing
Community Leadership & Governance
Bayfield Chamber of Commerce
President, Board of Directors
Bayfield, WI
Improved the organization's financial position from an annual loss of approximately $50,000 to a surplus exceeding $50,000 in the first year of leadership. Increased annual meeting attendance by more than 300% through a targeted membership-engagement campaign; led board and committee meetings under Robert's Rules of Order. Renegotiated the Apple Festival and Chamber contract with the city of Bayfield, reducing event expenses and eliminating unnecessary municipal spending; recruited and helped select a new executive director.
Gallery
Contact
Cool people, doing cool things, with other cool people
Duluth | Minneapolis | Worldwide