When the bass drops at Coachella or the cameras roll at the MLB draft, Matrix Visual’s LED video displays are there to elevate the audience’s unforgettable experiences. As a live events company bringing creative visions to life with LED panels, Matrix Visual partners with Shaker to move their valuable equipment to the exciting events they support.
We caught up with Andi Perez, a project manager at Matrix Visual, to talk about the unique transportation needs of a live events company, and how an experienced logistics partner has made all the difference for Matrix’s transportation.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Based out of California with warehouses in Nashville and Las Vegas, Matrix Visual is the fastest-growing LED company in the United States. Matrix’s high-end LED panels have been used in trade shows, commercials, music videos, sporting events, and major music festivals.
“We do a lot of cool work for some high-visibility events,” said Andi. “It’s important to us that we have a responsible logistics partner who can handle the pressure of these kinds of shipments.”
Between the high value of the LED panels and the prestige of the events Matrix supports, each shipment requires a hands-on, all-in approach to ensure successful delivery.
Logistics Right on Cue
The hard work of setting up for an event can’t begin until the equipment gets delivered to the site. Labor teams and design crews in charge of staging are often paid by the hour, and labor rates can add up quickly if a truck is even an hour late. The later a truck is, the less time event organizers will have to perfectly set up their staging area for the event.
On-time pickup is critical after an event ends, too. Andi painted a picture of what could happen if trucks are late to collect equipment after a show:
“If a concert ends at three in the morning, a late truck might keep laborers waiting until six in the morning. After these delays, the crew might miss their flights home, and our successful support of the event is overshadowed by all this hassle. It can turn into a mess quickly if the carrier doesn’t get there when we need them.”
To keep Matrix’s clients happy and on schedule, Shaker’s team created a thorough operating procedure for open communication and on-time performance on all event shipments.
Our team always verbally confirms the delivery or pickup time and location with drivers directly over the phone to eliminate the chance of miscommunication. To track the progress of each load, we have real-time tracking on all event trucks, which is monitored both by our team and the Matrix project managers.
Keeping Freight Secured for the Spotlight
LED panels can be costly to repair, and on-site fixes just add more moving pieces to a high-activity environment. Matrix’s heavy LED panels are mounted on wheels and must be thoroughly secured to avoid damage during shipping.
“Lower quality carriers show up without the right equipment, and we turn them away because that’s a risk we can’t take,” said Andi. “It could be dangerous if our gear isn’t loaded properly, so we really need our partner to understand the industry and what we do.”
After working with events shippers for over 30 years, Shaker has expert knowledge of the equipment necessary to secure sensitive freight. Our team confirms that each truck is equipped with straps and bars before pickup by having drivers send pictures of the inside of the trailer. This way, all loads can be picked up without delays and the panels arrive undamaged.
Quality Carriers Cleared for the Main Stage
Truckloads full of electronics and high-tech video panels can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, making live events companies a lucrative target for industry fraudsters. Although double brokering and cargo theft pose a threat to these shippers, trustworthy 3PLs like Shaker continue to develop new ways of combating fraud.
Shaker’s carrier service team ensures that only the most reputable carriers can move our customers’ freight. Using a strict carrier vetting process, the team curated a network of specific event carrier partners with elevated insurance levels, a proven record of on-time performance, and exceptional safety scores.
Our leadership met with the Matrix team at their HQ in California to talk about Shaker’s vetting process and share tips on how to spot fraudulent carriers.
“Because of Shaker, we’ve started vetting trucks, so we know who is actually showing up to pick up our freight,” said Andi. “But it’s nice to use Shaker because we don’t have to do any of that ourselves. Their team handles all the legwork and makes sure our carriers are reputable.”
Staying Compliant in a Shifting Landscape
In June of 2025, DOT officials began enforcing an executive order from the White House stating that CDL drivers who can’t demonstrate a working ability to speak and understand English must be put out of service. When this happens, the truck and the freight it’s carrying is seized by the DOT for an unspecified amount of time. Andi said Matrix was already seeing the impact of this just a month after enforcement began:
“When a company sends us a driver who doesn’t speak English, we can’t load the truck. We can’t risk a shipment being potentially confiscated by authorities if the driver is put out of service at a roadside inspection.”
To prevent our customers’ freight from being seized, Shaker’s carrier services team calls new drivers directly to screen them for language proficiency before we assign them to a load. Whenever possible, Shaker uses carriers who are already part of our network, and all of them have proven English language proficiency.
Logistics Backstage for VIP Clients
In the live events industry, the show must go on no matter what. Shaker’s team works tirelessly behind the scenes to help Matrix deliver for its clients, communicating quickly and adapting to any changes that occur.
Three years in a row, Matrix has been supplying its LED displays for the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans. This year, they entrusted Shaker to handle the moves both to and from the festival.
When Shaker’s trucks picked up at the Matrix facility in Nashville, project managers realized they needed an additional truck to accommodate all of the gear. Acting quickly, our team reached out to our pool of specialized event partner carriers to arrange an immediate pickup. Because of the strong relationships we’ve built with our event carriers over the years, we had an extra truck on site within two hours of Matrix’s request.
“We’ve loved working with Shaker; the whole team is great,” said Andi. “We love that they give us tracking links for the trucks, which saves us the time of making phone calls trying to figure out when the truck is on-site. We revamped our whole shipping process when we added Shaker as our high-end carrier.”
Looking ahead, Matrix Visual is planning to open a location in Florida, where it will continue to light up events in the Southeast. Shaker looks forward to supporting Matrix’s growth by providing quality logistics and a reliable partnership.
Expert Event Logistics for Concerts, Festivals & Live Productions
Shaker has no hesitation recommending Matrix Visual to anyone needing to make a bold impact at a music festival, tradeshow, or business event. We know first-hand that they meticulously and quickly deliver quality displays — because we’re often the ones arranging transportation for their gorgeous LED panels! Reach out to us today for more insights on event logistics and to get started.