Chad Stanley, 44, is the brains behind the barrage. Photo: Gregory Castillo/Axios
The man behind the biggest fireworks show in Texas doesn't get to "ooh" and "aah" at the fiery spectacle he orchestrates. It's too stressful to enjoy.
Why it matters: Addison's Kaboom Town is 24 minutes of an all-out fireworks assault. It's a massive undertaking to perfectly time the detonation of more than 4,000 shells.
More than a third of the shells are ignited in the last two minutes of the show.
The big picture: More than 500,000 people will watch tonight's display in the relatively small town of Addison.
The setlist includes everything from Metallica to Lee Greenwood.
Zoom in: Chad Stanley, 44, is the brains behind the barrage. He's calm and level-headed. He doesn't seem like the sort of person who wants to blow up tons of explosives.
Stanley, the vice president of Pyro Shows of Texas, is working on his 11th Kaboom Town.
The intrigue: Behind the calm facade, Stanley is a bit of a showman. He was a flare bartender in college — think Tom Cruise in "Cocktail" — which led him to seek bigger spectacles in pyrotechnics.
If you go: A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate for the main party at Addison Circle Park. The event is from 5-11pm.
General admission is $10.
The bottom line: Spectators get to enjoy a rainbow of colors in the sky, but behind the scenes, it's a dangerous and serious business.
"My favorite firework of any show is the last one," Stanley tells Axios.
Worthy of your time: Axios Texas social host Greg Castillo's Instagram interview with the mayor of Kaboom Town.
