Hawthorn at the double at Norfolk Showground
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Hawthorn supplied the Main Stage flown lighting system, including rigging, drapes, FOH control systems and followspots. On top of this, the company also provided a custom designed lighting package for Saturday’s headline act Craig David and another for Pendulum, who brought the festival to a spectacular close on the Sunday night.
Hawthorn’s head of concert touring, Mick Freer, led the project and consulted with the lighting designers for this year’s headline and supporting acts to produce a design that brought together all their precise requirements.
“The LDs provided a festival/touring plot in their rider and from this I picked out the key fixtures they wanted; in this case these were Martin Mac Viper Profile, Clay Paky Sharpy and Atomic Strobes” said Freer. “Once I’d pinpointed these, I then incorporated them into my design for the flown rig. The key with this was to ensure that any floor lighting packages the acts were touring with could seamlessly merge together with the flown rig to achieve the best possible visual effect for both artists and festival goers.’’
Following several weeks of discussions and meticulous planning, the final drawings were then submitted to the Sundown production team and staging company for their structural engineers to sign off.
With a line-up featuring a rich mix of grime, dance and rap artists, Saturday evening’s celebrations ended with an impressive performance from Craig David. Following performances from the likes of Kurupt FM, Wiley and Rag’n’Bone Man, the pumped-up crowd weren’t left disappointed. Supplementing the house rig, Hawthorn supplied a custom package for the pop-garage star, consisting of a front truss of Sharpy Washes and Mac Viper Profiles and a back truss with more Viper Profiles and Atomic Strobes.
Drum and bass duo Pendulum wowed the crowd as they brought the festival to a close on Sunday night. To support their mighty performance, Hawthorn supplied a custom designed lighting set-up, including an extensive floor package. This included thirty-two Clay Paky Sharpy, thirty Mac Viper Profiles, thirty-four Atomic Strobes, nineteen Mac Aura XB and ten SGM P-5s.
Usually the last festival of the summer, Sundown was this year followed by Reload Festival. Embracing dancefloor fillers from classic eras of pop, disco and soul, the two-day festival was held the weekend after Sundown, with Hawthorn’s flown lighting rig staying in place to light acts such as Soul II Soul, Blue, Billy Ocean and Level 42.
Roy Trickett, Sundown Festival promotor, said: “I always know that the production for the festival will be flawless and this year was no different. I have an excellent relationship with Hawthorn and have worked with Mick [Freer] in the industry for many years now. Not only does he really know his stuff, he always brings along a highly-skilled crew and the product is always spot-on. With two festivals at the Norfolk Showground this year, it was more important than ever to get trusted and reliable suppliers on board and once again Hawthorn really delivered.”
(Jim Evans)
