Lindsey Stirling, 26, combines violin performances with dance and performance art, with live shows picking up the momentum generated by her YouTube channel (lindseystomp.com) and her appearances during the 2010 season of America’s Got Talent as the “Hip Hop Violinist.” Along with hip hop, Stirling performs genres ranging from classical music to dubstep. A major goal for LD Joel Reiff, who worked with lighting director Allison Siegel, was to meet the visual expectations set by the artist’s music video performances, seen online since lindseystomp.com got underway in 2007.
Joel Reiff
(Lighting Designer)
“I was introduced to Lindsey Stirling by another LD friend of mine, Joel Wojcik, who’s also from the Denver area. He was busy with Alison Krauss, so he forwarded me info about [Stirling]. I called Lindsey’s manager, and we got the ball rolling.
“The first thing you notice about Lindsey when you start to research her and the music is how visual she is. All that comes from her. The videos she has put together are amazing. The first time I saw “Shadows,” I was blown away — ‘Crystallize’ as well. I knew we had to have video behind her to feature some of the images people already associated with her music and to provide some new looks.
“Lindsey was very involved with both the lighting and the video content, and suggested certain color combinations or requested certain video treatments. For example, the content from ‘Moon Trance’ came directly from Lindsey. It was a shoot where Gavi and Drew (live band members Jason Gaviati and Drew Steen) as well as others dressed as zombies and ‘attacked’ her in a graveyard. It was so cool we had to use it. Some content was shot by Mason Johnson, our video LED tech. Mason documents the tour, and he and Lindsey put together most of what people see on Lindsey Time.
“The lighting and video company for the tour is Brown Note Productions. I’ve worked with Ryan Knutson, who owns Brown Note Productions, many times. They’re a great company. All the gear is pristine and comes beautifully prepped. I took out an LED screen and ArKaos server on Experience Hendrix [a U.S. tribute tour in March 2012] and it really brought that show to a new level. We’ve done festivals together as well (such as Bonnaroo), so I know I can trust them with both lighting and video.
“I designed and programmed the show and Allison Siegel is directing it. She came in mid-tour and didn’t miss a beat. We didn’t have much pre production time on this. We loaded into a club in Providence. Luckily, we had great local crew, because the first day was figuring out how and where everything would go. We only had one day of production, and Lindsey was so busy with other aspects of the show she didn’t really have a chance to dive into the presentation aspect. The show came together in that first week, and we all worked together to make it happen. There was input from Lindsey, the band, Rob (the sound man), our tour manager Erich Jackson and Mason. As I was the newbie on the tour and they knew her better, I relied on them to help me make the right decisions. Since I’m still around, I guess it worked.
“When I tell people I’m working with Lindsey Stirling, most give me a look of non-recognition. That’s going to change in the next year. The shows are off the hook. Just about every one of them sells out, and her fans are rabid and range in ages 4 to 64. I had no idea I was going to be blown away by dubstep violin, but the show is dynamic and she’s hard to take your eyes off of. I can’t wait to see what we come up with as the tour and her popularity expands.”
Allison Siegel
(Lighting Director)
“This was my first time working with Joel Reiff, and it’s been a pleasure. This is also my first show experience using the grandMA2 console. I had very limited previous experience with it from the shop, but it is my new board of choice now.
“The content of the show naturally evolved as I got more comfortable on the console and, as the tour progressed, Lindsey added new videos for me to include that included both footage taken on the tour by Mason Johnson and content that she had edited herself.
“I’ve been very happy with the tour. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with. Joel was a fantastic teacher, so it was a pretty smooth transition. Mason Johnson was an integral part of making sure our load-ins went smoothly, which ensured I had more time to program.
“I felt like it was a great rig overall, as it was easily adaptable for the various stages and venues we’ve been in and I especially enjoyed working with the MAC Auras, since they helped make our rig fill out the larger stages.”
More photos at www.plsn.me/StirlingExtras
Lindsey Stirling Tour 2013
Crew
Lighting/Video Co: Brown Note Productions
Lighting Designer/Programmer: Joel Reiff
Lighting Director: Allison Siegel
Tour Manager: Erich Jackson
Production Manager: Rob McWhorter
Brown Note Account Rep: Ryan Knutson
LED Video Tech: Mason Johnson
Gear
1 grandMA2 Lite console
6 Martin MAC 700 Spots
8 Martin MAC Auras
House-supplied PARs
35 LED video panels (15mm)
1 ArKaos Media Server
2 Snow machines
1 Bubble machine
1 Reel EFX Diffusion DF-50 hazer
