This episode of Mitten Music was recorded on-location at GIG: The Art of Michigan Music, an event in Jackson, Michigan that celebrates the visual artists behind the music industry — photographers, videographers, and graphic designers. The hosts took the opportunity to sit down with Berkeley Tistle, a live sound engineer supporting the event, offering listeners a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most essential but often overlooked roles in live music.
Berkeley walks through his origin story — a high school kid who wandered into the theater program looking for something to do, spotted an old Yamaha mixing desk, and never looked back. What started as curiosity turned into a career he officially began around 2016, and nearly ten years later he's working shows across Michigan, with regular work at the Masonic Temple in Detroit as part of an audio production company.
The conversation covers the realities of the job: the irregular sleep schedule, the gear logistics, and the mental juggling act of running front-of-house sound while simultaneously managing stage monitors. Berkeley describes his show-night mindset as "anticipating everything to go wrong and nothing to go wrong at the same time" — a calm, process-driven approach that clearly serves him well in high-pressure moments.
The hosts also dig into what makes a great working relationship between engineers and musicians, with Berkeley pointing to communication as the biggest factor — specifically, artists who provide detailed advance information so the crew can prepare properly.
On the personal side, Berkeley talks about how years of working with artists across every genre has quietly expanded his musical taste — most notably a two-night New Year's run with EDM artist Excision that gave him a new appreciation for heavy electronic music, which he likens to the energy of a punk show.
The episode wraps with a look at how Berkeley gets hired, how his company budgets and supplies gear for events of all sizes, and a warm send-off as the hosts head in to hear how the night's show actually sounds. It's a fun, candid conversation that gives music fans a genuine appreciation for the craft happening just out of the spotlight.
