USA - ADJ Jolt Bar FX linear LED lighting fixtures and VS3 LED video panels created a vibrant and versatile backdrop for the first North American leg of Lawrence’s Family Business tour. The heavily themed shows utilised video content extensively, while the on-stage lighting was essential to the production design as well as for complementing the band’s high-energy musical performances.
Fronted by siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, who have been writing and performing together from an early age, Lawrence is an eight-piece soul-pop band comprised of musician friends from childhood and college. The band has gained a devoted following for its high-energy, keyboard-driven sound, which features tight, energetic horns and explosive lead vocals.
In support of the band’s fourth studio album, also called Family Business, the successful 32-date North American tour kicked off in Philadelphia, PA in mid-September and wrapped up in Boston, MA, in early November. It took in clubs and concert halls across 20+ US states as well as a handful of dates over the border in Canada.
Responsible for the tour’s production and lighting design, Emily Miller also served as the lighting director out on the road. Working to the artists’ clear vision for the tour, the stage design was intended to evoke a retro office building with the Jolt Bar FX fixtures serving a key role both in terms of lighting and the aesthetic design.
“We first used the Jolt Bar FX about a year and a half ago for Lawrence’s three-day Staycation festival in Brooklyn,” explains Miller. “The band wanted a different theme for each night and our lighting vendor, Squeek Lights, recommended the Jolts because of their versatility. I was really impressed by their brightness and also the pixel control, which is really important for Lawrence. They have so many nuanced elements to their music and often want certain things emphasized, which I can do visually on stage with this level of granular control.
“When I was designing this tour, I really wanted to make the Jolts a key part of the set. The stage design had a retro office look and the LED bars surrounding the two screens, as well as a pair of stage flats behind the drum riser, gave the impression of office cubicles and tied the whole set together very nicely.
“I used the Jolts almost continuously throughout the show,” adds Miller, “to create a wide variety of effects.”
Video content was also an essential component of the tour, which was the responsibility of video production designer, Nick Proctor, who has worked with Lawrence since 2022. They opted for a pair of screens, one on each side of the stage, which were angled slightly to ensure everyone had a great view even in some of the awkward-shaped clubs the tour visited.
Each screen comprised 24 of ADJ’s VS3 LED video panels in a 6 x 4 configuration. They were hung from ground-supported goal post trusses, which were also used to rig the Jolt Bars.
“I had literally no issues with the VS3 panels at any point during the tour,” states Proctor. “They were as simple as it gets to setup and use, very plug and play. It got to a point where everyone at load-in would want to do the video wall, because there was something therapeutic about slotting the panels together using the magnetic alignment system that makes it super easy to get the setup right every time.
“For the size of venues we were playing, they went above and beyond in terms of brightness. Wherever you were in the venue, you could clearly see the visuals even with Emily’s beautiful lighting blasting in your face! The resolution was also great, people could see even the smallest details in my content right from the back of the room.”
