Country super star Maren Morris is out on her 2022 Humble Quest Tour with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. The 45-date production, named for her most recent album Humble Quest, launched March 8 and continues all the way through Dec. 2. Joining Morris on the tour are supporting acts, Brent Cobb, Ruston Kelly, Joy Oladokun, Natalie Hemby, Lone Bellow, and Brittney Spencer on select dates.
When designing the lighting for the tour, Silent House designer Alex Reardon dived into what this album meant to Morris, explaining, “She spoke about how this is a thoughtful and introspective album, and we agreed on a nature-based theme of ‘theater in the woods’.” Using trees and foliage around the stage inspires an ethereal, moody vibe of natural surroundings. The team still needed gear that could thrust through the calmness of the woods to give big and powerful lighting looks.
“All our looks spoke to that design premise; however, it’s important to leave yourself open enough to, where relevant, let the music dictate lighting,” said Reardon. “It’s always important to follow the rise and fall of the dynamics of a well put together show.”
“It is really cool running the show every night to go from a peaceful serene look to ‘BAM here comes the party!’” added Lighting Director Mark Scherer. One example is his favorite moment in the show: when the lighting transitions from the more pop sounding Party Light to RSVP, explaining, “Alex really took the opportunity to highlight the punchy drum hits and get playful with the rig, really making the whole show feel different,” he said.
Bandit Lites supplied nearly 200 fixtures including Ayrton Khamsin S, Robe BMFL Spots, Elation Color Chorus 12, Elation SEVEN Batten 72, Elation KL FRESNEL, Elation SIXPAR 200, TMB Solaris Mozart FLR and SL NITRO 510C.
Scherer names the Khamsin as the staple fixture, but it is the TMB Mozart FLR that managed to both melt into the set and pack a punch. “We were able to create some really cool effects with them and Joe and Alex are masters of utilizing them in ways I didn’t think were possible,” Scherer said.
“We managed to get a realistic flame effect out of them (well done Joe Cabrera!) as well as multiple ‘firefly’ looks,” added Reardon. “At one point the smoothness of the dimming curve was so good that Maren thought they were actually panning as they faded out; very impressive.”
The design was so compelling, even Reardon himself thought a photo posted to Morris’s Instagram account was from out in the woods. “She posted a look so believably ‘in the woods’ that even I had to do a double take to make sure it was from our show. Very rewarding,” he said.
With Morris performing at a wide range of different sized venues, the modular rig affords the lighting team a variety of configurations to produce a consistent look.
“From the moment I got the first call from Hanford Pittman, I knew this could be a fun project and I wasn’t surprised,” said Bandit Lites Vice President Mike Golden. “Working with Hanford has been a pleasure from the beginning, and we began working together to outfit the tour almost immediately.”
Even with his 35 years in the business, this was the first time Reardon crossed paths with Bandit, who described the experience as a pleasure, specifically with how Bandit really promotes a community feeling and sharing success. “I was really impressed that the young ‘first timers’ on the tour were being given good, clear, advice on how to do the work,” said Reardon. “How to use local stagehands, how to prioritize the work and how to collaborate with the designer to reach goals; honestly, it was a real pleasure.”
“It was a sincere honor and pleasure to finally meet Mr. Alex Reardon and Mr. Joe Cabrera,” echoed Golden. “I would jump at the chance to work with them again. Alex and Joe spent a week at our Venue One programming facility, so when the show moved into the Steel Mill for production rehearsals, the show was already well polished. It looks incredible and Maren sounds amazing. My hat’s off to the entire operation and we look forward to working with team for many years to come.”
“I think the entire LX crew here deserves an honorable mention,” added Scherer. “Considering it is their first tour, Chey, Tala, and George really stepped up and learned quickly. They adapt to our different modular rigs depending on the venue and really pay attention to the details to make this show look as clean as possible to uphold our ‘theatre in the woods’ concept.”
Maren Morris’s tour continues into winter of 2022.
More information is available at www.BanditLites.com
