Ben Nadler is the director of BDEntertainment, a music entertainment production company that specializes in custom drumline, brass band, marching band, and flag performer entertainment experiences. It's the professional entertainment divison of BD Performing Arts, a nonprofit provider of the 20-time World Champion Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps. He's based in San Francisco.
BDEntertainment director Ben NadlerPhoto: Courtesy of BDEntertainment
"As a drumline entertainer, I performed for many years with just about every New York City-area professional sports team—New York Giants, Jets, Knicks, Rangers, NYCFC, New Jersey Devils—at major sporting events such as Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014 NBA All-Star Game, and 2016 U.S Open, and at large brand launches, media moments, and corporate productions around the country," Nadler says.
He held multiple jobs over the years to stay afloat, including as a drumline instructor and as a program director for a Brooklyn-based nonprofit called BKSteppers Marching Arts (where he also worked with Spike Lee to produce "Prince Drumline" for Lee's "Prince's Born Day Purple People Party"). In 2019, GEI was acquired by California-based nonprofit BD Performing Arts, which houses BDEntertainment.
"I was brought on to oversee the merger of the two brands and to scale BDE into the national presence that exists today," Nadler explains. "As of this year, I oversee three NFL drumlines for the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Indianapolis Colts, a brass band for the Golden State Warriors, and have built countless entertainment experiences for corporate productions and media events around the country. I would not be where I am now if it was not for the amazing people and communities that believed in me and gave me the chance to prove myself in New York City."
What sets his company apart: Nadler cites BDE's people and its connection to The Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps of Concord, Calif.—not to be confused with the blue devils in North Carolina. Nadler says it is "the winningest drum corps in history [with] 20 world championships in 65 years."
So why should the event production industry care? "The Blue Devils' success gives BDEntertainment unique advantages as a national entertainment brand," Nadler explains. "We speak 'production,' 'musician,' and 'marching band,' which translates to a seamless process from booking through execution—one less thing for the producer to worry about."
He adds that that brand recognition in music education "puts us one phone call away from every reputable music program in the country, allowing us to truly cast locally to any U.S. market—an event producer's favorite answer when staring at their entertainment budget."
BDE also employs more than 350 performers and creatives across the country. Nadler says many have gone on to design and perform for Disney, Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, and other similar caliber productions.
What innovation means to him: Nadler says BDEntertainment aims to remain forward-thinking to stay relevant. "Our ensemble offerings (drumlines, brass bands, marching bands, flag performers) and similar groups ebb and flow from social relevance over time," he says. "It just takes one poorly produced or 'corny' marching band performance to fall out of favor as a hype, new, relevant entertainment experience option to event producers. You see it every year with more and more college football bowl game halftime shows replacing marching band halftime shows with a celebrity music group."
For the Colts halftime performances, BDE leveraged Lucas Oil Stadium's upgraded lighting system for a custom lights show, and then synced the entire show to CUE audio so audience members could participate with their phones.Photo: Courtesy of BDEntertainment
That means BDE is always looking for ways to innovate. One example? Its series of collaborative drumline LED halftime shows with the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders. "Our most recent halftime show production for the Colts throwback game in December was a Back to the Future-inspired show with custom staging and music design, and dynamic LEDs integrated on the drums and performer costumes," Nadler says. "We then further elevated the performance by leveraging the upgraded Lucas Oil Stadium lighting system for a custom lights show and then synced the entire show to CUE audio so audience members could participate with their phones. While that performance wasn’t quite floating stages over the Super Bowl (shout out to Rihanna), it definitely pushed the boundaries on what one might expect for 'standard' NFL halftime show entertainment."
Nadler says he draws inspiration from the youth activity that BDE supports. "I have the privilege of working at the intersection of youth music education and professional music entertainment," he explains. "Seeing the young people in our organization push themselves to be the next generation of great entertainers does wonders for getting you inspired." (See for yourself here.)
To close out Phish's New Year's Eve shows in NYC last year, BDEntertainment provided a 15-piece marching band that partied its way through the crowd to the tune of "Jungle Boogie" and joined Phish on stage for the NYE ball drop.Photo: Courtesy of BDEntertainment
Memorable moments: Nadler first cites Salesforce's 2022 Dreamforce as a memorable recent project, which we previously covered here. One of his other favorite recent events was working with Phish on the band's New Year's Eve "gag" to close out its annual performances at Madison Square Garden. "To celebrate 40 years of Phish, the band wanted to go big with as many gags as they could fit on a stage," Nadler recalls. "We had the privilege of providing a 15-piece marching band that partied its way through the crowd to the tune of 'Jungle Boogie' and joined Phish on stage for the NYE ball drop. Working with the creatives behind Phish was a trip. It was wild. It was crazy. It was everything you expect from a band with such a rich history of innovative fun."
His biggest hope for the events industry: "Seeing what is happening today in the youth music education competitive scene gives me hope for the future of the event industry," Nadler says. "More and more young people from our activity are entering the industry as producers, creatives, and entertainers and bring with them diverse skillsets and a strong understanding of their culture, identity, and ideas. I believe their innovative excellence will continue to push our industry into new unexplored territories. I see my role in this as one who creates access and opportunity for the next generation of industry leaders."
This feature is sponsored by 6Connex, your all-in-one event technology to manage and host successful events at scale and in any format—in-person, hybrid, virtual, or webinars.
