Michael Greer, the owner of Vault Entertainment, walks through a massive warehouse where switchboards and laser systems are packaged and an abundance of cords are wrapped and hanging on the walls.
Vault Entertainment may sound familiar because the company is the backbone of many Greek and main events around Oxford. Their labeled trailers can be found parked outside a majority of the big events university students attend.
Michael Greer started Vault Entertainment with his twin brother back in 2009. It originally started as a DJ service. Greer and his brother had the equipment for DJ shows for areas around Clinton.
After making a name for themselves in Clinton, Greer and his brother moved up to Oxford. They wanted to do something original in Oxford, and so the entertainment business was created.
“We decided that this is what we wanted to do as a job instead of as a bartender or something else in Oxford,” Greer said.
Their first collegiate event at Ole Miss was in 2011 where they began to take off. They built up assets and have zero debt when it comes to purchasing equipment because they buy it in bulk.
Now they own all of the elements for a musical performance, including microphones, switchboards, special effect lighting, trussing backdrops, even barricades for a crowd.
With all of their equipment, Greer said it’s his employees making Vault Entertainment operate so efficiently.
“The Vault team is the backbone of the company because without them we would not be able to do what we do,” Greer said. “We ran five events at one time, so without the team, that would not have been possible.”
The first team member was added in 2013, and now they have a full Vault Entertainment team who knows the ins and outs of setting up a show. This team is a compilation of 25 people, mostly guys with an itch for music.
“My boss [Greer] always reiterates that he wants Vault to feel like a family, and it really does,” team member Katherine Flannigan said.
Flannigan became part of the Vault Entertainment team in March. Her friend Jonas Powers, another team member, told her about it. Flannigan is a business major with a passion for music, Vault Entertainment was a perfect fit.
Flannigan is also the only girl on the team, but she says she is never shorted things to do. The team has fully embraced Flannigan.
“Every guy I work with is so great,” she said. “They are so much fun and nice and laid back, but really get to work when they need to. They have a lot of passion and pride for what they do, and I have loads of respect for them.”
Flannigan has learned how to set up an entire show, from the skeleton of a stage to sound production. Before working for Vault Entertainment, she had seen many stage setups, but was not aware how much work went into the process of creating what she was used to.
“Putting it all together is definitely not easy,” Flannigan said. “It’s about as time-consuming as it looks.”
An average workday for a member of the Vault team starts around 4 p.m. and will go to 2 a.m. They mainly work on the weekends too, so this means Fridays and Saturdays are consumed with setups. Flannigan said the take down process takes as long as the setup.
However, they do get to enjoy the show after they are done producing the creation that the act will perform on. They can go backstage, on balconies, or hang around the party as long as they are are paying attention to what is going on in case they need to jump into action. Acts they have helped set up and watched include Vanic and Lil Yachty.
“There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a production/stage setup and being able to say I helped put this together,” Flannigan said. “I love being a part of something like that.”
Vault Entertainment has put on over 200 events this past year. They plan to do even more as their Vault team grows and they take on more gigs. Their Facebook page can found under Vault Entertainment where high-quality videos of their productions are showcased.
Ward Ellis, a Mississippi State University student and childhood friend of Greer’s, produces all of their videos.
By Wade Johnson. Read more stories like this on Oxford Stories.
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