4Wall Entertainment Welcomes Trey Kerr as VP of Music Production

Trey Kerr, longtime broadcast and video director for Phish and recent CEO of Gateway Production Services and Studios, has joined 4Wall as VP of Music Production.  Kerr's addition continues 4Wall's progression as a high level provider of video and lighting equipment and services to the music industry.

Trey Kerr's career in live music started in a parking lot, getting handcuffed.

In 2002, he was an eighteen-year-old Phish fan outside Deer Creek Amphitheater, selling bootleg t-shirts to pay for tour while donatinga part of the money to the band's charitable arm, the WaterWheel Foundation. Security stopped him. Once the money's destination was confirmed, the standoff turned into a conversation. The conversation turned into a volunteer shift at the WaterWheel table, and the shift turned into a job offer from the band he loved. He has been part of the Phish organization ever since, nearly a quarter century and counting, today serving as the band's live broadcast and video director.

Like many in the live events industry, Kerr gained experience through many different roles and disciplines. Early in his career, a veteran production manager told him that in an industry built on freelancers, the surest path was to learn every job around him. He listened and took that to heart. Before video became his focus, Kerr worked as a lighting tech, backline tech, carpenter, merch seller, tour manager, stage manager, production manager, and nearly every video position a tour can offer.

"That advice became my DNA," Kerr said. "If you understand what every department does, and able to work at a high level with them, you never have to look for work. Video crews are usually the last ones in, the first ones out, and can be the department giving everyone else headaches. I made it my job to be the opposite, the video guy the other departments enjoy working with."

That reputation is a large part of why artists stay with him. When Kerr left a major production vendor to launch his own video company, 201 Productions, Phish came with him. The startup took a chance by focusing on 4K concert broadcasts and, by Kerr's account, became the first company to deliver them in 4K HDR. That broadcast expertise made 201 one of the few shops equipped for the pandemic and the abrupt halt in touring. Kerr's direction of The Beacon Jams, Trey Anastasio's eight-week residency at an empty Beacon Theatre, drew one of the largest livestream audiences of that era and earned a Pollstar Award. His live broadcast work with Greensky Bluegrass during the same period brought home an Emmy.

"Phish has always operated one way: they want the best," Kerr said. "The best crew, the best gear, the best partners, whatever it takes. Those are the people I learned from, the cloth I'm cut from. When a band trusts you with their show year after year, it's not about equipment. It's about being their guy. You show up for people, you do it right, and the rest follows."

The list of artists who have trusted Kerr with their shows runs across genres and decades. Some of his touring and broadcast credits include Drake, Maroon 5, Vampire Weekend, Billy Strings, Florida Georgia Line, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Thomas Rhett, Greensky Bluegrass, Oysterhead, Goose, Romeo Santos, My Morning Jacket and the Grateful Dead's historic Fare Thee Well shows, along with main stage video direction at Bonnaroo. The venues run from clubs and theaters to the most ambitious room in live music. In 2024, Kerr directed Phish: Live at Sphere, the first live broadcasts ever produced inside the Las Vegas venue, delivered to fans worldwide in 4K HDR. He continues to direct the band's live broadcasts, which are unique in the touring world: every show is different, and every show is broadcast.

Kerr arrived at 4Wall from Gateway Studios & Production Services, where he served as CEO the last 5 years. He championed Missouri's Entertainment Industry Jobs Act, a state legislation modeled on the incentives behind Pennsylvania's Rock Lititz campus. The legislation passed and Kerr considers it one of his proudest achievements precisely because it belongs to not one company.

"That legislation benefits the artists, the vendors, the whole industry," he said. "And that's the point. We're not all out here to fight each other. A rising tide lifts all boats. The industry is better when we grow it together."

That conviction is also the story of why he chose 4Wall. Kerr first met CEO Wes Bailey and members of the leadership team spontaneously during a business trip to Las Vegas. The meetups that followed revealed two leaders of the same generation with the same read on where live events are heading.

"Wes and I are about the same age, and we see this industry the same way," Kerr said. "It's still young, still a little bit of the Wild West, and there's a changing of the guard happening. The next generation of leaders is coming up, and we both feel a responsibility to build something better, together, instead of against each other."

When Kerr decided it was time for his next chapter, the call took seconds.

"Before I could finish the sentence, Wes said, 'You're hired,'" Kerr said. "That's who he is. He builds great teams. It's about the people, and the culture at 4Wall is everything I tried to build at my own companies. Everyone I meet here loves working here. I plan to be at 4Wall for the rest of my career."

As 4Wall's VP of Music Production, Kerr will focus on the music and touring business, applying his expertise to how the company serves artists and crews on the road. He will also continue in his role as Phish's live broadcast and video director, a relationship now in its third decade. The band's 2026 Summer Tour kicks off July 7, with 4Wall supporting the run.

"Trey has spent his whole career earning the trust of his clients and partners show by show, department by department," said Wes Bailey, CEO of 4Wall Entertainment. "He understands artists, crews, technology, and the economics of the music business from every angle.  Most importantly though, he brings a positive, infectious attitude to every conversation he's a part of. We couldn't be happier to have him join the 4Wall team."