The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular returned for its bi-coastal celebration of positivity and spreading the Gospel with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. This year’s lineup included Crowder, two-time 2024 Grammy-award winner Lecrae, CAIN, Katy Nichole, Seventh Day Slumber, Newsong, and more.
“Each year I lean towards putting most of my budget into the flown rig,” said longtime Production Manager Jerry Holcomb. “The tour usually has artists that bring some sort of ground package, so I leave room for that. Additionally, I have to be conscience of truck space and set up time. Winter Jam doors are early compared to most tours considering we have up to 10 artists and speakers each night; so, a rig that is efficient enough to fit into a truck and a half yet still look big enough for an arena is my goal.”
Holcomb sought Bandit Client Rep Allen Deneau’s recommendation on fixtures to compete with the large LED surface that takes up the entirety of the upstage. His answer? HES SolaPix 37. “I’ve been real happy with their output and performance so far,” said Holcomb. “They also suggested using the BMFL Wash Beam for its output.”
Winter Jam also required a large quantity of fixtures to line out the thrust and B Stage area. Bandit supplied Elation CuePix WW2 blinders, which connected the looks of the WW2s that are flown in each truss section. In total, Bandit Lites provided 240’ of Tyler Truss and eight Ladder Towers as well as nearly 200 fixtures including CHAUVET Color STRIKE M, Elation CuePix WW2, HES SolaPix, and ROBE BMFL Wash Beams as well as a grandMA3 for control.
“Working with Jerry, and the entire WJ team, has been absolutely amazing,” said Bandit Lites Client Representative Allen Deneau. “Jerry knows what he needs and leaves room for discussion on what’s going to accomplish those tasks perfectly. The Solapix and their tremendous output paired with the BMFL WashBeams deliver a ton of firepower and a very robust feature set.”
Kurtis Wheat, Holcomb’s design partner of eight years and Winter Jam’s tour LD came off the road to pursue his woodworking company and Chris “Snooch” Lighthall replaced him as tour LD. “He’s a great asset to the tour and I look forward to having him involved in future Winter Jam designs,” said Holcomb.
While Bandit may have been partnering with Holcomb on the lighting for Winter Jam for years, the team never rests on ensuring each that each system meets and exceeds expectations. “We used a portion of the rig for a conference a week prior to the start of Winter Jam,” finished Holcomb. “The rig was well prepped and had no issues, but during the week it got re-prepped again, adding chain guides and other suggestions from the Bandit lead Cody Cheatham. His changes, along with (Project Manager) Matt Dean at Bandit really made the rig set up a lot more efficient.”
“Jerry has a great line up and incredible fans and we wanted to be sure they got to see an impressive show,” said Deneau. “I’m super proud of the work our Bandit team put into making WJ 24 a very good show and very easy to load in and out and transport. This is a team effort, and this team has once again killed it. I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Jerry and his team to continue delivering great lighting rigs toa fantastic tour.” Winter Jam continues its current run into March 2024.
Further information from Bandit Lites, Inc.: www.BanditLites.com
