Showco Belongs in the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The company behind the sound.
The family behind the music.
The Company That Helped Shape Live Entertainment
Founded in Dallas in 1970, Showco revolutionized the way audiences experienced live entertainment. From groundbreaking sound reinforcement systems and innovative stage production to lighting, rigging, and touring logistics, Showco helped establish many of the standards still used throughout the industry today.
Behind countless unforgettable productions stood a team of engineers, technicians, designers, production managers, truck drivers, carpenters, electricians, and road crew whose work made each event possible.
Their innovations influenced generations of live production professionals and helped shape concerts, festivals, conventions, rodeos, pageants, corporate events, television productions, and countless other live productions around the world.
Genesis stage build, Open Air Festival, Germany (1978)
Showco alumni Craig Schertz, Johnny "JW" Roberts, and fellow crew members prepare the Genesis production before the audience arrives. Courtesy of the Showco Archives.
A Historic Opportunity
If recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame through the Ahmet Ertegun Award for Non-Performers, Showco would become one of the first live sound and production companies honored for its behind-the-scenes impact on the growth of rock & roll and modern live entertainment.
The Rock Hall describes the Ahmet Ertegun Award as recognizing non-performing industry professionals who have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock & roll and music that has impacted culture.
For Showco, that recognition would honor more than a company name. It would honor the engineers, system designers, lighting innovators, monitor mixers, production managers, riggers, truck drivers, office staff, road crews, and alumni whose work helped make thousands of legendary performances possible.
It would also provide a rare opportunity to celebrate the pioneers who transformed the live entertainment industry while several of Showco’s earliest innovators are still with us — including co-founders Rusty Brutsche and Angus Wynne III, along with Jim Bornhorst, whose work helped pioneer Vari-Lite and forever changed concert lighting.
A Legacy at a Glance
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1965
The Story Begins.
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1970–2000
The Sound Company Era.
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Global Reach
Supporting productions across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and beyond.
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Innovation
Advancing sound reinforcement, staging, lighting, rigging, touring logistics, and production technology.
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People First
Hundreds of engineers, technicians, designers, production managers, truck drivers, carpenters, electricians, riggers, and crew members whose work made every production possible.
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Enduring Influence
Showco’s innovations, training, and alumni continue to shape the live production industry today.
The Areas Showco Helped Transform
Showco did not simply support live productions — it helped redefine how they were designed, built, lit, heard, moved, managed, and experienced.
Its influence can be seen across multiple areas of modern live entertainment:
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Engineering
Designing groundbreaking systems and technologies that changed how live productions were built.
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Sound
Pioneering professional sound reinforcement and monitor systems for modern touring.
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Lighting
Advancing concert lighting into a creative and technical art form that transformed live productions.
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Vari-Lite
Showco alumni helped pioneer Vari-Lite, the moving-light technology that revolutionized concert lighting.
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Touring Production
Pioneering large-scale touring systems, staging, rigging, logistics, and production management for live entertainment.
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People
Developing generations of engineers, lighting designers, technicians, production managers, riggers, and industry leaders.
The Showco Legacy Across Live Entertainment
For more than three decades, Showco and its alumni helped shape an extraordinary range of artists, productions, festivals, conventions, rodeos, pageants, television productions, corporate events, and historic moments.
Some represent complete Showco productions. Others reflect performances and events where Showco alumni contributed their expertise in sound, lighting, staging, production, engineering, logistics, and touring support throughout their careers.
Together, they illustrate the remarkable reach and lasting influence of the Showco family across the live entertainment industry.
Explore Showco's history through chronological archive collections spanning 1965 to today.
1978 Genesis - Open Air Festival Germany
1979 Bee Gees Stage Build
1988 Van Halen Light Plot
Showco Superboard @ Texas Broadcast Museum
Farm Aid II Crew Laminate/Pass
James Taylor on Showco Road Case
KISS Mic Chart/Stage-plot written by Doc Gans
Pyramid Cabinets
Genesis Crew
1976 Lynyrd Skynyrd Itinerary
US Festival assignments
A Legacy Reflected in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ⭐
Although the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum opened in Cleveland in 1995, the Hall began inducting artists in 1986. Showco’s documented history intersects with Rock Hall-recognized artists from the very beginning of the induction era through the present day.
Since its founding as a professional sound company in 1970, Showco and its alumni have contributed to productions involving at least 78 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted artists, bands, and performers.
From pioneering arena tours and festival productions to one-off performances, special events, and decades-long touring relationships, Showco’s influence can be found throughout the history celebrated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Showco’s Rock Hall Connections: 78 and Counting
Aerosmith
Alice Cooper
The Allman Brothers Band
B.B. King
Bad Company
The Band
The Beach Boys
The Bee Gees
Billy Preston
Black Sabbath
Bob Dylan
Bob Seger
Bon Jovi
Bonnie Raitt
Carole King
Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam
Chaka Khan
Chicago
The Clash
David Bowie
The following Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees appear within Showco’s documented touring, festival, production, sound, lighting, engineering, and alumni-connected history. This current cross-check covers Rock Hall inductees from 1986 through 2026.
Deep Purple
Dionne Warwick
The Doobie Brothers
Eagles
Electric Light Orchestra / ELO
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Faces / Small Faces
Fleetwood Mac
Frank Zappa
Freddie King
Genesis
George Michael
Hall & Oates
Jackson Browne
James Taylor
Jeff Beck
Jefferson Airplane
Joe Cocker
John Mayall
Judas Priest
KISS
Kool & the Gang
Led Zeppelin
Leon Russell
Linda Ronstadt
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Marvin Gaye
Miles Davis
The Moody Blues
Neil Young
The O’Jays
Ozzy Osbourne
Parliament-Funkadelic
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Paul McCartney
Peter Gabriel
Phil Collins
The Police
Prince
R.E.M.
Ray Charles
Rod Stewart
The Rolling Stones
Santana
Steely Dan
Steve Miller
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Stevie Wonder
T. Rex
The Kinks
Todd Rundgren
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Van Halen
Van Morrison
The Who
Willie Nelson
ZZ Top
Additional member-connected relationships may also apply, including artists whose Showco connections relate to inducted groups, such as The Jackson 5 / The Jacksons / Michael Jackson, Diana Ross / The Supremes, Don Henley and Joe Walsh / Eagles, Iggy Pop / The Stooges, Ginger Baker / Cream, Stephen Stills / Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Eric Burdon / The Animals.
1987 Boston Crew
1976 David Bowie Crew
1979 Bee Gees Crew
Genesis Crew
Genesis Crew meeting Princess Diana
Genesis Crew meeting Princess Diana
The Who Crew
Phil Collins Crew Japan 1987?
1979 Havana Jam Crew
Little Feat Crew
PHIL COLLINS 1985 CREW PIC NO JACKET REQUIRED
Genesis Crew
Led Zeppelin Crew
Genesis Crew
Wings 1976 Crew
ZZ Top Crew
The Family Behind the Music
While audiences remember the artists on stage, every production depended on the dedication of the people behind the scenes.
Showco’s legacy was built by engineers, lighting designers, technicians, production managers, riggers, carpenters, electricians, truck drivers, office staff, and countless others whose work made each production possible.
Many went on to shape the live entertainment industry for decades, carrying Showco’s standards of innovation, professionalism, and mentorship throughout the world.
Today, the Showco Archives proudly preserves and shares the stories of the family behind the music.
Showco did more than support live entertainment — it helped redefine it.
From professional concert sound reinforcement to concert lighting, moving-light technology, touring systems, production logistics, and the mentorship of generations of live production professionals, Showco’s influence extends far beyond any single artist or performance.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exists to honor those whose contributions fundamentally changed music and live performance.
By preserving Showco’s history — and recognizing the extraordinary people behind it — the Hall would honor not only a company, but an entire generation whose work helped shape modern live entertainment.
Because every legendary performance depended on someone behind the scenes.
And for countless productions around the world...
That someone was Showco.
Why Showco Belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
This page represents an ongoing historical project. The Showco Archives continues to preserve and document the stories, artifacts, innovations, and people who helped shape live entertainment from 1965 to the present. New material is added regularly through contributions from alumni, families, collectors, and supporters around the world.
Add to Showco’s Rock Hall Story
Were you part of a Showco tour, festival, production, or event connected to a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist?
Showco’s legacy is built from the people who were there — the engineers, monitor mixers, lighting crews, riggers, truck drivers, production managers, office staff, vendors, families, and friends who helped make the shows happen.
If you have a memory, photo, pass, itinerary, crew list, stage plot, or correction to add, please contribute to the archive and help document the story behind the music.