PRG is continuing its conversation series celebrating the partnerships that power live entertainment. Each installment pairs a PRG team member with a creative partner to share their journey, lessons learned and behind-the-scenes stories from the road.

In this installment, we bring together designer Lee Duck of Duck Lights and PRG Account Executive Grace Hutson for a peer-to-peer exchange rooted in collaboration, curiosity and shared experience on the road.

Together, Duck Lights and PRG have spent years working closely with developing artists and next-generation touring teams, helping translate early creative ideas into scalable, tour-ready designs. Along the way, they’ve built resources to support artists and managers navigate their first club and theater tours.

This conversation reflects a shared commitment: meeting artists where they are, and building creative, practical solutions that can grow alongside them.

Duck is a touring lighting designer, programmer, and the founder of Duck Lights. He’s recognized for helping artists build distinct visual identities early, often with scalable lighting packages that can evolve as tours grow.

Hutson is a PRG Account Executive who specializes in touring support. She’s known for bringing the right people together, connecting artists and teams with the expertise, gear and problem-solving needed to keep shows moving.

Lee Duck (Duck Lights): How did you get started in production? Where did that come from?

Grace Hutson (PRG): My dad is a total legend in the touring industry. He got on a tour bus when he was 17 years old and left very rural Illinois. He’s an audio engineer and worked with James Taylor, Prince, Peter Gabriel—he was at Live Aid in Philadelphia and the list could go on.

When I was living in Texas and he was getting off the road, he started a sound design company called Hutson Sound Design. I grew up in and around that place—driving golf carts around the property, meeting all different kinds of people renting audio gear from him.

I went to college for hospitality management with a focus on business and sales because the school I chose really didn’t offer a music or production industry degree. During college, I started interning at PRG. I worked in the shop, learning cable, prep, and different departments. That hands-on experience really shaped me, and now here I am as an Account Executive.

LD: Something I really like about working with you is that you truly understand touring.
GH: I think my strength is that I really understand people. Touring is a lot about the people—understanding their needs, emotions, and stress.

LD: What are some misconceptions people have about your role as an Account Executive?

GH: That I know every single piece of gear that’s in our shop. I don’t. What’s great about working for PRG is that I have a full team of specialists behind me. Everyone has different skill sets—lighting, audio, and video. I’m a connector and fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together. My job is to bring the right people together to come up with the best solution for my client. LD: Being able to connect the right people is usually what gets results.

GH: I love that part of my job: the community. People come to me needing a lighting tech in two days, and I can deliver. I’ve met so many people in shops, preps, and shows—including you! Which brings me to my first question for you.

GH: You’re a designer. How did you first get into touring?

LD: I went to school for electrical engineering, then started a band, Sky Eats Airplane, that took off on MySpace around 2005. We did Warped Tour and other metal tours. I wanted a very technical, musical light show, so I taught myself MIDI and DMX.

Eventually, other artists wanted what I was doing, and I started programming full-time. I loved seeing how different artist camps work—every tour is like its own small business.

GH: Something a lot of bands don’t realize when they are starting out is that club and theater tours can be harder than arenas.

LD: Totally. In clubs, everything changes every day. Arena tours are more consistent. Working in clubs really sharpens your craft—you learn how to do more with less. And artists are growing faster than ever now.

GH: That’s one of the biggest changes since 2020. Artists go from clubs to arenas in a year. Budgets are tighter, crews are smaller, and people are wearing multiple hats. Burnout is very real.

GH: You have so much experience designing for acts who may be on their first club tour. What does your ideal design process look like?

LD: It starts with conversations with key creatives. That might be the artist, a creative director, or close collaborators. I want to understand the story—what inspired the album, not just the artwork.

From there, I try to create something visually unique that becomes a signature for the artist—something recognizable in a photo or video.

GH: That’s what you’re great at: bringing ideas to life while keeping budget and logistics in mind.

LD: It’s a balancing act, being creative, practical, and safe. It’s a lot of “yes, and.”

That’s why PRG and Duck Lights work so well together. PRG provides the infrastructure while still allowing us to operate like a boutique creative team. It lets us scale quickly when artists grow.

GH: Can you tell me a bit about the lighting packages you’ve built?

LD: Artists were intimidated by the process of building a show and the budget conversations. Packages show what’s possible while keeping things compact, affordable, and scalable. They let artists start building a visual identity early. We wanted to help—not create more problems on the road.

GH: Exactly. Plug-and-play systems let artists really spend more time in pre-production instead of adding the extra crew, and those systems allow the package to grow with the artist.

LD: What’s one thing artists should know before rehearsals?

GH: Know your crew! Meet everyone. Touring is truly about unity. When artists take the time to introduce themselves and get to know their crew, it changes the entire dynamic. Everyone that is out on tour plays a very important role in making the show happen. Without them, there wouldn’t be a show!

GH: What advice would you give to people who want to get into touring?

LD: Don’t drink until the show is over. A lot of issues I see on tour come from that. Touring can be unsafe if people aren’t focused.

GH: So true. I’ve seen a big shift towards prioritizing health—working out, mental wellness, booking hotels with gyms. People are realizing they need to take care of themselves to survive long tours.

GH: Are there any misconceptions about your role as a designer?

LD: Sometimes clients expect me to be their production manager. I’ll help where I can, but setting clear boundaries is important so that my team can focus on the emotional impact of the show instead of logistics. That clarity helps everyone succeed.

Working with next-gen artists is a balance of finding what makes them special and designing within constraints.

GH: I totally agree. It’s really all about guiding and supporting, but also knowing where to create boundaries for yourself!

Interested in a design package? Reach out to Lee lee@ducklights.com.
Have questions about going on tour or want to kick off a quote? Contact Grace at ghutson@prg.com.