A record-tying 300,000 filled Grant Park to see the hottest EDM acts, legends and the music industry's hottest chart toppers. "When collaborating with Bandit on these large scale projects they have two secret weapons: Dizzy Gosnell and Shawn Lear," said Jackson.
"These projects have millions of tiny details, lots of paperwork, lots of follow-up, and a lot engineering requirements. Dizzy's ability to organize everything coming from the shop, with everything changing constantly, and with all I send his way is quite remarkable. This, of course, then falls in the same time window as Shawn sorting the equipment and building the system. These two have been such support for me in keeping all of this organized, efficient, and keeping communication flowing."
Bandit provided the support lighting for the main stage, where headliners Paul McCartney, Metallica, Sam Smith and Florence and the Machine performed. Lycian M2 2.5kW long throw spots illuminated the 50ft by 6ft iconic Lollapalooza banner on the stage while FOH's VL 3500 Spots fixtures shutters framed the top.
"At FOH were fully networked MA 2 Full desks," said Bandit's project manager, Shawn Lear. "We opted to run everything through two NPU's for the system providing enough universes for touring acts to add-on their lighting package."
In addition to the main stage, Bandit also supplied the root festival system for the Bud Light Stage, where four 45' sections of Tyler Truss were expertly prepped, wired and ready to roll on stage. With 28 motors and a different headlining act each night, Bandit's crew changed the system at the end of every evening to meet the next artist's specifications. "This required an additional 47 motors to be pre-rigging on the first day of load in," explained Lear. "This is a time saver for these overnights and allows touring LDs access to the programming much earlier. The Bandit crew did a great job dealing with the stage rigging layout, and getting the motors pickled up and out of the way while managing 47 motors worth of cable."
Equipment for the stage included Lycian M2 2.5kW Long Throw FOH Spots, VL3500 Washes, VL3000 Spots, VL3500 Spots, Syncrolite Arena Colors, Clay Paky Sharpys, Martin Atomic Strobes with Atomic Color, and ETC 72-way 2.4kW dimming.
In addition to the stages, Bandit also provided extensive lighting for the dock and loading areas for the overnight change-overs as well as site lighting throughout the park. Examples include truss support and lighting for signage (crucial in events of this magnitude), building portal entrances to various areas of the park, as well as highlighting the park's natural landscape in vibrant colours including Buckingham Fountain, the centrepiece of Grant Park where Syncrolight SXL Xenon Skylight provided large colour effects on the water and nice beams panning the sky.
And in true testament to Bandit's attention to detail, Bandit created colourful looks behind the scenes in The Artist Village, lounge and catering areas.
(Jim Evans)
