Carl Golembeski: Emerging from a humble punk youth culture to much sought after globe-trotting sound technician

He is in South Africa conducting training workshops with students at South African Roadies Association and has toured the world with mega stars Beyonce, Madonna and Shakira among others.

By Edward Tsumele, Winner of NHC Heritage Journalism Award for 2026
Main Picture: Carl Golembeski with SARA students 

Today, he is a leading global technologist, creating and programming sound for global superstars to enhance their performance on stage. Creating magic out of a live show on stage that enthrals audience as they take in the performance of these music super stars.

Carl has worked and continues to tour with these big names of music, from Mary J Blige to Madonna, Shakira to Bruno Mars as the keyboard tech that they trust with their performances, handling everything to do with sound while they are in concert.

And quite notably, he is gracious towards young people interested in learning about the technical production of a live show, and therefore, in between touring with these global stars, he squeezes in time to teach others the game.

The South African Roadies Association (SARA) in Newtown, the Non-Profit training school that skills young South Africansin producing live events, such as sound technicians, stage managers, riggers  and lighting technicians, has a long association with Carl, as he frequently flies into South Africa to hold workshops with students, whenever his tight touring schedule permits.

This time around, he flew into Johannesburg’s Or Tambo Airport on Monday, 26 October 2026, booked in a guest house and unpacked his bags, after which, he headed to SARA House in Newtown, where he is yet again holding sound  workshopswith the students.

CITYLIFE/ARTS was curious about this sound technician, trusted by mega music stars to handle their sound when they are on a tour, to find out his passion designing sound for live shows around the world, as well his love for sharing with students his experiences and expertise in South Africa. I met him at SARA House in Newtown on Tuesday, October 27, where he was preparing for his workshops with the students.

We were curious to find out who is this man who is small in physical stature but blessed with a big heart for sharing his knowledge with students, majority of whom come from the townships of South Africa, enrolled at SARA’s accredited training programme for live events as technicians (South African Qualification Authority).

“I have flown to South Africa from Spain where I was on a tour with Shakira. The idea was that I would fly in and hold workshops with students at SARA, after which, I would then fly to Egypt, where I would join the touring team with Shakira for her show there.

However, the show has been postponed, and therefore, as a result, I will spend more time with students, holding workshopsand creating a learning lab with them. I want to share with the students how and why I havecreated a special sound speaker while I was in my hotel room in Spain while on tour, using AI tools,” he revealed the reason why I found him in high spirits as he was preparing to share with the students the steps of creating a Special sound speaker using AI tools.

Carl, whose association with SARA started in 2007 when he toured South Africa with Mary J Blige, explained that of course, music promotions companies these days also have their own training programmes for technicians, which is important for the sector.

“However, the ideal situation is to have independent training institutions for live events technicians, a role that SARA in South Africa, and other international specialist academies, are the ideal institutions to offer professional training for live events technicians. This is because in as much as being trained by live events companies and equipment supply companies offer opportunities of their own, such as employment within such organisations, that at the same time however,  limits one’s learning scope.

“This is because independent institutions offering training in technical production skills, open opportunities for critical thinking, creativity and freedom to innovate. These skills are needed, especially in growing the technical and live events sector globally,” he said.

Perhaps a good example of the freedom to innovate as an independent critical thinker is when he was commissioned to lead a team that created the much-talked about designer speaker for American mega superstar Beyonce. It is called the Beyonce Special Effect Vocals.

“Beyonce asked me and the team to create a sound system that would sound exactly like her studio recording while she is performing live. We managed to do that,” he said.

Another example of innovation that comes with independent thinking is the experimentation that he carried out, which resulted in the Special Speaker system that he created in his hotel room in Spain, while on a tour with Shakira. Currently that skill transfer is happening at SARA House,where he is holding workshops with the students for the students to create the very system using AI, with his assistance.

“The thing is, speakers of this capacity are expensive and can cost as much as 2000 bucks, whereas using AI tools, I was able to create this system for around 200 bucks. We are not producing these speakers for commercial purposes, as that is done by equipment companies who invest a lot of resources, time and research in that process. However, by the time such equipment come to the market they are either expensive or technology has evolved. This sound system is for educational purposes, enabling students to explore with their creativity the latest technological innovation skills,” Carl told CITYLIFE/ARTS in an interview.

Yes, today, he is a top sound man touring with superstars, such as Madonna, Beyonce, Shakira and Bruno Mars among others, sharing the limelight and moments of creativity with these stars as he plots how they will sound on stage.

However, his background is far from that world of glamour, light and sound that he is associated with in his now solid career.

“When I first came to know about SARA and what the organisation is doing to equip young people with skills for live events technical production, I was inspired and therefore, decided to be involved by sharing my knowledge, experience and skills with the students.

“I was born in a small conservative town, located between Pennsylvania and New York. It is a statelocated in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States, where my mates’ and my ’s parents were employed in coal factories. It is a poor community, where, as children, at the time, it was illegal even to skate board.

“However, a culture of DIY (Do It Yourself) developed among the youth. Besides our misbehaviour of experimenting with substances, something profound happened in our culture. It was a time of punk, rave and electronic music explosion. My friends and I became involved as DJs, sound people and everything elsethat promoted music. We learned everything we needed to know to put up shows in the community.

“I was eleven years at the time, but then in my teens, I started a Youth Social Club, which became an entertainment centre for the youth. Some helped with tickets sales, while some of us became DJs and sound people.

“We did not have money to buy the expensive equipment, and therefore, I must confess that some of the equipment we had, were not acquired legally. We actually stole it from equipment shops,” Carl said as he laughed. 

This is as he reflected on his past of youth rebellion, delinquency, but also the desire to create music and make a career out of live events and come out of poverty that defined  communal life in his town.

Having dropped out of school at the age of 17, and being brought up by a single mother whom he said had problems of her own, such as alcoholism, Carl however, created a career out of partly the love for music, and partly, to survive in an environment of poverty and working class community with the only employment opportunities being to work in factories.

“We hated working in factories. Even as sometimes we would be forced to work in factories to earn a living, we had to work hard on the music scene in order to earn some money with something we really loved passionately.”

It was a matter of time though, that he learned of an opportunity to acquire technical production skills formally.

“’I came to know about a college offering these skills and enrolled in their course, after which, I got a job at a company in New York, selling equipment for live events as a repair man, skills I had learned at college. It is while there that I met the management team of Mary J Blige, who invited me to join their crew for a show she was doing in New York.  I was then aged 28. I invited my mother to come to the show, having organised her a weekend pass,” he said.

It was after that show, that Carl got an opportunity to be part of the crew that toured with Mary J Blige, including touring South Africa in 2007. He has not looked back.

The single child raised by a single mom, and who never got to know his father, has since become a much-sought after sound tech, innovator and teacher, sharing what he has learned with others, particularly young people, yearning to have skills in the live events sector, including students from SARA benefitting from his knowledge right now.