Bandit Lites once again worked with Chris Lisle Lighting Designs to provide lighting for the celebration. In the eight years he has been involved with the event, production manager Chris Lisle has seen the event grow to three active stages across six city blocks.
"This event has become a destination event for tourism, so we are excited for that growth," said Lisle. "Nashville is the "it" city right now and with that comes an increase in residents and tourist. It is our objective each year to out-do the last - whether that be size of shells used in the firework show to the headline entertainment."
This year's performances included Sheryl Crow, Maddie & Tae and Erin McCarley. Using a rig comprised of four truss circles of three differing sizes along with 12 additional sections of circular truss to create upstage forms, each of the four circles were intertwined with another circle of truss, all of which led to extra tight rigging.
"Each point had to be precise, because if it shifted the truss slightly, it would create issues with another section of truss on the other side of the stage," said lighting designer Erik Parker. "Also, we had to ensure other departments had the room they needed to be successful themselves, which was a bit of a science project. This was a challenging rig for sure, but everyone rocked it and made it happen!"
VL 3000 Spots were the work horses of the rig and provided the main source of lighting for the performers on stage, while Magic Panels and Legend Beams delivered dazzling eye candy looks.
"Bandit 5x5s on the downstage truss provided two purposes as well: to light the crowd and also to give texture to the stage from the highest points," Parker said. "They created the 'crown' of the circular rig, and because this was a design that focused heavily on the structure of trussing we toned it all with LED pars."
Bandit crew for the event included lighting director John Lucksinger, Steve Hoover, Nick Dotson, Jimmy Murray, Ryan Waldron, Dylan Gammon and Jason Giaffo. "They rocked!" expounded Parker. "With the challenges faced, everyone was hands-on in making sure it would load in and load out in an efficient and timely manner. Everyone worked together really well and kept a positive attitude while creating a great show."
(Jim Evans)
