Bandit Lites Brings The Beams To Bonnaroo

posted:

01/07/2019

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival wrapped its seventeenth weekend at The Farm, a 700-acre field that grows to be the state’s fifth largest city every summer. This year’s festivities sold out as 80,000 attendees clamored to see a line up that included Cardi B, GRiZ, Phish, Solange, Kasey Musgraves, The Lonely Island, The National and Post Malone.

Bandit Lites worked with Hadden Hippsley of Lambda Productions to outfit the weekend with more than 350 fixtures. Bandit Lites Production Manager Dizzy Gosnell designed Bonnaroo’s second stage, The Which Stage, to stand out both among the venue’s various music spaces, and from years’ past.

With most headliners on both stages arriving with their own floor packages, and occasionally flown elements, Gosnell designed the Which Stage to allow for seamless integration while still attracting attention on its own with striking, wavy trusses draped over the stage.

“I had the idea for the shape of the trusses from a wooden coat hanger: organic looking but simple and interesting when you look face on,” explained Gosnell. “They were basically three straight trusses to rig in plain view. When you hang the lamps on each truss to follow the contours of the shape and space the lamps out evenly, it makes all three trusses a cohesive whole from the audience’s viewpoint.”

The Which Stage featured HES SolaFrame 3000, GLP X4, Chauvet Nexus AW 7x7, Elation ACL 360 bars, Elation SixPar 100 IP65, Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes, Chauvet Mythos 2 and two grandMA 2 Full consoles for control.

Bandit also provided follow spots and the blinders and wing lights for the What Stage, Bonnaroo’s main stage. Gosnell trimmed them high to the eaves of the permanent stage roof, following the angle of the roof, so that when they were on, they reinforced the massive size of the stage, but disappeared when not used.

“I mounted all the 4 lite DWE’s inside the four 30’ x 12” trusses for tidiness, speed of rigging and exact lamp spacing,” said Gosnell. “The trusses were angled down at 45 degrees to hit the crowd as they needed to be able to act as security lights too in case of weather evacuations.”

Support for the festival came from Bandit Project Manager, Gene Brian, along with techs Ty Veneziano, Terese Fensler, Jonathan Cousineau, Vanessa Tuttoilmondo, Aaron Swetland and Chase Strickland.

About Bandit Lites, Inc. Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. Bandit’s global presence will insure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.