PROFILE
Madisson Luhowy
By Manus Hopkins
Growing up , Madisson Luhowy always wanted to see a big concert , but going to shows wasn ’ t at all a regular part of her upbringing , since she didn ’ t live in or even near any city where artists would actually stop on tour .
“ I thought it would be so cool to live in a city where you could go see major bands and artists often ,” she tells Professional Sound . “ So , I think I was just always fascinated with large productions because it felt like such a treat to attend .”
Luhowy , who is now Jessie Reyez ’ s monitor engineer , grew up on a farm in the rural Manitoba town of Rossburn . You ’ d be forgiven for not recognizing it by name — even we had to look it up to see just how rural we ’ re talking . At a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Winnipeg , it makes sense that being able to go see a show wasn ’ t always a possibility . Aside from her fascination with large-scale , grandiose stage productions , Luhowy spent her time playing soccer , doing 4-H , taking dance lessons , participating in drama club , and helping out on the farm . “ I took piano lessons but wasn ’ t really into it ,” she adds .
Eventually , Luhowy did move to Winnipeg for university , only she studied kinesiology , not audio . She started going to a lot of shows , however , and realized live music was the field she wanted to work in , but she didn ’ t quite know in what capacity just yet .
“ I would always look at FOH and be amazed that someone understood how all that stuff worked ,” she remembers . “ I figured there must be places that teach you how to do that . Eventually I found the Metalworks program that taught live audio , so I ended up dropping out of university and moving to Mississauga to learn about audio .”
Luhowy did a two-year program at Metalworks and ended up getting a job at Winnipeg production company Sound Art shortly after graduating . She worked at Sound Art full time for almost nine years .
“ I learned a lot and worked my way up to larger scale shows ,” she says . “ Eventually I had some local bands ask me to start travelling to festivals with them as their audio tech . I also started touring with a local company , Koba Entertainment , that produced theatre shows for children . I ’ ve also done some larger touring through another local Winnipeg company , Red Rover Entertainment . I love to travel so touring is a good fit for me at the moment .”
When on tour with Jessie Reyez , a typical week for Luhowy consists of four to six show days and a few travel days . On days off on the road , Luhowy tries to find a healthy balance of exploring the area and resting up . When she ’ s off the road , she ’ ll pick up local gigs , take IA calls , and do some corporate AV work .
The past year has been a busy one for Luhowy on tour with Reyez , but their most recent tour is what Luhowy considers her biggest career highlight so far .
“ I spent a lot of time as a house tech at a theatre in Winnipeg watching numerous tours come through and although I enjoyed it , it ’ s been really fun to be on the other side of that ,” Luhowy says . “ We opened up for Billie Eilish during her Happier Than Ever Tour earlier this year in Europe and the UK and it was the first time I ’ ve been overseas with an act . That was really cool . Also just seeing Billie ’ s level of production and being able to interact with her crew was awesome . I didn ’ t think I ’ d ever be a part of a show that big , so it was quite a surreal feeling .”
While she ’ s certainly at a good spot in her career now , Luhowy admits that going freelance after having a steady job for so many years was initially a very daunting task .
“ It ’ s always a bit scary to “ level up ” and take the next step onto something bigger ,” she says . “ I get a lot of anxiety and deal with imposter syndrome sometimes which isn ’ t fun , but I ’ m getting better at managing it .”
Luhowy lives by herself in Winnipeg , and her leisure time is spent hanging out with friends , travelling , reading , doing yoga , and snowboarding . She ’ s also into camping and hiking and tries to get out to the mountains at least once a year in her Sprinter van , which she ’ s converted to a camper .
Now that she ’ s operating fully as a freelancer , Luhowy is looking forward to being able to say yes to new opportunities without having to ask if she can take time off . She ’ s hoping to start working with some new artists and continuing to travel in the foreseeable future .
“ Honestly , I ’ ve been fortunate to work with some amazing people ,” says Luhowy . “ I feel like I ’ ve found my community . I absolutely love the whole team we have right now . I feel proud to have a part in making Jessie ’ s shows a success .”
20 PROFESSIONAL SOUND