By: Kostadena Hartley

In mid-January, David Hartley and his son Peter Hartley decided to take on a big job; The Super Bowl LIX Halftime show. Traveling down to New Orleans, Louisiana, they began a new chapter of hard work and high-stress responsibility.

With a plethora of tasks to complete, both David and Peter Hartley took to the field and began their work.

David Hartley’s responsibilities also included unloading trucks, unloading equipment, and finding the best course of action for many tasks. With a crew of 20+ people, David Hartley made light work of the responsibilities he was assigned and was assigning to other people. His main job, however, was being the stage cart coordinator for various setups throughout Kendrick Lamar’s set, specifically the circle platform. That relatively small stage took a crew of 20+ with David Hartley as the head of that crew, pointing to people where to go in a safe and controlled manner.

But that wasn’t David Hartley’s only responsibility, he jumped from department to department, leading young union members and teaching them how to work together to get the job done. If you haven’t unloaded a 50ft truck of light, sound, or stage equipment before, just know it’s hard work. You need a small army of people to be able to unload one of those trucks efficiently, and if someone isn’t carrying their own weight, the team gets slowed down. Which you cannot have on a high stake’s operation such as the Superbowl. David Hartley jumped right in with his ability to lead the rest of his crew to efficiently unload the trucks and place the equipment where it needed to go. So, then Peter Hartley’s group could rig the equipment in the air and hook it up.

Peter Hartley had the job of illuminating Kendrick Lamar, Sza, and Samuel L. Jackson. He was the center stage spotlight at the 50-yard line. Peter Hartley also lit up the NFL pre-show and the National Anthem.

Before the show, Peter Hartley had the responsibility of unloading trucks, moving lights and equipment, dangling 200ft in the air on the main truss, running 2,000ft to 5,000ft data cable, and Saco cable as well as hanging up/setting up lights. The whole procedure took about a month from when Peter and David Hartley Joined.

David Hartley says, “I’m proud of my team and especially my son for jumping in and working as hard as they have, it’s been a wonderful experience, and I cannot be prouder of my family.” Peter says, “I’m incredibly grateful for the amazing opportunity to be able to have work on the Superbowl with my father.” Peter Hartley continued with, “I feel incredibly honored to have been able to jump in and get right to work on the Super Bowl. I’ve learned a lot and cannot wait to continue in this field with my father teaching me his expertise”.

Photo from David Hartley