Bandit Lites once again worked with C3 Presents to provide the festival lighting package for both the Samsung and Bud Light Stages, along with site lighting. Lighting designer Seth Jackson created the festival lighting rig, reaching out to the headliners to assess their production needs, and once he acquired all their information, he evaluated efficiencies.
"Seth's strongest tool is knowing the Bandit inventory," said C3 production manager Brandon Sossamon. "He applies that knowledge to the advance and keeps everything streamlined by cross referencing artist needs with Bandit inventory and building it into the festival rig."
To help streamline the designs, Bandit Lites client representative Shawn Lear worked closely with Jackson and the artists to find solutions that would both meet their needs and fit in both time and roof constraints.
"Each day the stage had to transform and adapt to the headliners lighting plot and video positions," explained Lear. "Bandit crews were working overnight along with Reed Rigging to move truss, re-hang motors and clear the deck to both accommodate the headliner loading in, and update positions and programming."
"The stages are so flexible due to artist needs that you pretty much fly by the seat of your pants," added Sossamon. "You might have the perfect five truss rig drawn in the plot on Monday, and by Thursday, it's nothing more than a few cable bridges and a downstage truss."
For the Samsung Stage and Bud Light Stages, Bandit Lites provided nearly 300 fixtures to work around the headlining acts, while still giving the daytime artists high impact looks. To accomplish this, the stages utilized VL 3500 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, VL 3000 Spots, Clay Paky Sharpys, Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes, GRNLite Par 64s, Lycian M2 Long Spot Throws, ETC Source Four Pars, 8 Lite Fixtures and Grand MA 2 Full consoles.
"Bandit has been an exceptional company to work with," said Sossamon. "Shawn keeps everything organized and straight between our countless orders. Not only does he field the orders for the many site lighting areas and festival lighting rig, he also interacts with all of the artists on our two main stages to facilitate their rentals."
In addition to the main stage lighting, Bandit also provided two truckloads of lighting support for the festival's site lighting across the 115 acres of Grant Park, where Bandit's team had to coordinate safety, directional and beautification concerns.
"Hap Prater and his team really knock it out of the park," said Sossamon. "They have to take direction from so many parties in a lot of different areas. This is their third year to handle site lighting for Lollapalooza, and it has been a smooth running machine. I can't speak to numbers but they up light trees, build truss posts for signage and build truss arches for exit demarcation. They really cover the gamut and get it done."
Bandit also lit vendor activation tents with Bandit's exclusive LED GRNLite fixtures, brightened Da Beers Garden with strings of festoon lighting giving a tranquil setting to festival goers and finally, illuminated the centre piece of Grant Park: Buckingham Fountain.
"The fountain is surrounded and spectacularly lit by eight 7Kw SXL Xenon Syncrolites that splash brightly with colour against the fountain, and times, beams pan the skies, giving stunning looks that can be viewed from all parts of the city," Lear said. "Around Buckingham Fountain is the official Lolla Store where Bandit supplied eight trusses of lighting to accentuate the product areas on the floor and highlight T-shirt and poster displays on each end of the structure."
Bandit crew for the event included Chas Albea, Gabe Hodge, Jim 'Rosie' Greenawalt, Greg Ogne, Andy French, Brent Maxon, Chas Bosworth, Sarah Eucker, Hap Prater, Charles Smith, Kameron Finley, Chelsea Opdyke and project manager Jimmy Hatten and Justin Schwartz.
(Jim Evans)
