Who is Adam Powell? 'DWTS' tour staffer surprised after getting fired following challenging 100-hour weeks and ‘low’ pay
BISHOP, CALIFORNIA: Adam Powell, a 'Dancing With the Stars' tour staffer, said in an exclusive interview with The US Sun that he was sacked after weeks of tough labor on the multi-city event for poor compensation. The 'DWTS' tour, Dancing With the Stars Live 2024, began on January 11 in Richmond, Virginia, with 64 events scheduled around the country.
Adam is a sound editor, designer, and post-production audio professional based in Bishop, California. He has almost 17 years of expertise as a freelance audio engineer, including dialogue editing, audio engineering, pro tools, audio post-production, and sound design.
Ten days into the tour, following the Verona, New York concert, music director and sound engineer Adam received the devastating news that they had decided to let him go. On January 21, at 11:30 pm, after packing up his gear, he was informed in person by a 'DWTS' tour production manager that he had been dismissed, and he alleges he was not given a legitimate reason.
Adam told The US Sun that one of the reasons he was so upset was that the production company [Faculty Inc.] never called him personally.
"They basically sent a message to our production manager on the road... and she didn't have a lot of details about why they fired me, but the only reason they actually gave was that there was feedback being given from the dancers about their sound on stage about how sometimes they couldn't hear certain songs or certain songs were too loud."
The Utah-based employee has worked with Faculty for 11 tours, seven of which were 'DWTS'. This was his second 'DWTS' tour, and he was able to accompany them the entire way.
Rehearsals lasted two weeks in December 2023, and everyone landed in Virginia on January 6 to start technical rehearsals. His responsibilities included editing all the music featured in the show, as well as overseeing the sound design and programming.
During each live event, he worked as the front-of-house sound engineer, mixing the sound for the crowd. Adam was one of 12 staff members who traveled to each destination via tour bus and was present at every stop.
He was paid weekly, and when he was let go, they had booked him a trip home. Without confirming his remuneration, he stated that it was "lower than the standard" for shows similar to 'DWTS'.
According to The US Sun, ticket costs might reach $1,500, depending on the venue. Adam went on to describe that they worked about 100-hour weeks and that everyone was "overworked."
"The crew is working much, much longer hours than normal." He added, "So we're talking about 19-hour days, six days in a row, and then sleeping on a bus for three, four hours and getting up and doing it all again. And almost the entire crew was working these types of hours."
Adam Powell calls 'DWTS' tour production company 'very cowardly'
Without naming the dancers who complained about the loudness, Adam stated that it was a "typical" incident that occurred following each concert. He went on, "The production company was saying that I was refusing to incorporate those notes and make changes to help the dancers hear better, which is ridiculous. It was just an excuse."
He further added, "It was kind of a toss-off thing. They didn't want to deal with it, but they actually really, for the most part, did not give the production manager a reason. They just said I was fired."
He argues it might have been for a "more personal" reason, but he still believes it was "very cowardly" on the Faculty's side to handle it the way they did given their lengthy working relationship. Faculty Inc. is not the same firm that works on 'DWTS'; rather, BBC Studios Los Angeles produces the ABC and Disney+ shows.
Sound engineer Adam Powell on 'DWTS' tour replaced by video editor
When questioned if he was "blindsided" by the sacking, he said that he was, but also noted some "tension" between him and the production business. "Going back to a week and a half before I actually got fired, there had been some tension," he said in the interview with The US Sun.
"... So it had crossed my mind: What if they get really upset, and they just fire me?"
"But I never thought it would happen because I was so integral to making the show run smoothly. I had actually kind of designed my job so that the show would just revolve around what I did."
Adam went on, "I just think I'm the best at doing this kind of thing, and I wanted it to be on me. It's a whole lot of responsibility. I didn't want it to be on anybody else who didn't care about the show as much as I did."
He went on to say, "And, so I was shocked because I just thought that there was no way they would think they could do it without me."
Adam claims that after he left, they recruited someone new, but he is mostly a video editor who "doesn't really know much about mixing sound for a live audience."
Will Adam Powell sue 'DWTS' tour production company?
Despite missing out on weeks of salary (the final performance is on March 27, 2024, in Los Angeles), Adam stated that he does not intend to sue the DWTS tour or Faculty. He stated, "I'm not going to bring any lawsuit."
However, he intends to raise awareness about his termination and how he was handled so that "fans would pay attention."
He stated, "I worked myself to the bone trying to make it better every moment of every day when I was on the job. And there were a lot of ideas that I had based on my professional experience that could make this tour better, a better production, more tightly run, and a better experience for the fan."
"And those are ideas that I was planning to bring out to them, but I didn't get the chance. So now maybe they'll listen if I bring them out in public."
View this post on Instagram
Following the unexpected news, Adam told his fans his side of the story in a series of Instagram videos.