NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini has taken to the road on The Unapologetically Tour with a lighting package designed by Sooner Routhier and provided by Bandit Lites. With her single Legends topping the charts in February, Ballerini now can boast four No. 1 songs, more than any other female artist since 2015.
More details from Bandit (www.BanditLites.com):
The touring rig consists of Bandit Lites supplied Phillips Nitro 510-C, Elation ACL 360i, Robe Pointes, Color Kinetics Color Blaze 72, two grand MA 2 lite consoles controls, with fixtures on set carts along with a collection of floor additions.
“We are using each venue’s flown rig, which can be unpredictable, so our touring gear really needed to work hard throughout each song,” said Michelle Saintey, the tour’s Board Op. “We’ve got some Robe Pointes on either side of the stage that provide a textured stage wash throughout most of the show, freeing up the fixtures on the set carts for a lot of visual effects.”
Routhier fashioned an audacious and dynamic production dominated by the striking heart piece center stage along with precisely placed mirrors.
“We’ve gotten to have a lot of fun playing with Robe Pointes reflecting off the mirror, which allows us to create some really interesting effects and nice, fat beams,” said Saintey.
Programming for the production was provided by Andre Petrus, who Saintey credits with a very organized console set up, allowing her to quickly step up to the desk and immediately run a show.
“All views are set up to follow along with the show, and it’s all very intuitive,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve actually changed his setup other than adding a few executors for days with par can rigs.”
With the timecode giving the show its nice, polished look along with video content being triggered from the console, Saintey can focus on calling followspots and keeping an eye out for any issues during the show.
One issue that Bandit’s team aided in solving was the lack of a dedicated video tech, with Bandit Lites tech Ryan Waldron stepping up to the plate.
“Ryan has been pulling double duty as our combined lighting and video technician,” said Saintey, “and he has done a stellar job of quickly learning the gear and making sure any issues are quickly resolved.”
“From the moment I saw the rehearsals for Kelsea Ballerini’s production, I knew it was an incredibly special tour,” said Bandit’s Business Development Officer, Brent Barrett. “(Production Manager) Chris Diener and (Tour Manager) Dustin De Rosier are both consummate professionals and I look forward to any endeavor with them and this team.”
Providing consistent, on the road care is an aspect of the Bandit Standard that the entire team at Bandit Lites strives towards, whether its gear or crew related.
“Bandit has been great about supporting this tour and supporting me as Kelsea’s LD,” finished Saintey. “Any time we’ve needed something, I’ve been able to hit up Brent Barrett or Project Manager Don Lockridge and we immediately have what we need.”
