Farm Aid 2019 unleashes its bounty of musicians onstage Sept. 21 at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI. Music producer Ron Stern tells us his team includes production manager/production designer Charlie Hernandez, lighting designer Jason Robinson and video director Danny O’Bryen. This marks the 34th year for the fund-raising event, which helps keep our nation’s family farmers on the land — and it has raised more than $57 million since. There’s more to the story behind this year’s production and the challenges of fitting in the multi-act show and organic food festival within the venue’s space limitations. View a two-minute backstage Farm Aid video with Stern and Hernandez talking about their working relationship and the gratification they get in making this show go on. Go to plsn.me/FarmAidBackstage.
The Cour Design creatives have a couple of tours out there. Kacey Musgraves set out on her “Oh, What a World” tour, with dates through March 2020. Kai Colucci programmed lighting and video, with laser programmer Nicha Ramnath and video content by Mike Kluge and Cour Design. Colucci also programmed Lord Huron, currently out with lighting director Alex Picard.
Tony Caporale was in his previz office at Infinitus Vox preparing show files for Billie Eilish’s European festival/arena tour supported by Cour Design/Fireplay. The “When We All Fall Asleep” tour ends in the U.S. in early October. Then he hits the road with Finneas, who collaborates with Eilish and is now launching his solo career. “He’s not just Billie’s brother, but a chart-topping producer and songwriter,” Caporale explains. “This is such a talented family to be working with, and I’m proud of the impact they are making in the music world.”
What did LD Bryan Hartley do during his summer vacation? He transformed his tropical backyard with outdoor lighting fixtures, sharing it with us as his “latest design” (see photo, this page). The Las Vegas resident is preparing for rehearsals in October for this annual Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour, whose two identical and simultaneous productions will brighten the East and West Coast through the holidays. “And I have Judas Priest next year!”
Meanwhile, LD Dan Reed is scaring up some frightening ideas for Halloween by designing the lighting and audio/visual for a new Field of Screams attraction in Lancaster, PA. “Shade Cryo is a Zombie-haunted hayride that travels through an exploding cryonics lab,” he explains. The park’s scream season starts terrifying in the early twilight hours of Sept. 13. Meanwhile, Reed bounces to and from Los Angeles for extended shoot days for “First Responders Live” on FOX, wrapping Sept. 3.
Quick Cues
LD Max Conwell of Naked Eye Lighting Ltd. is out on tour with Morrissey, with Interpol supporting from September through October in sheds and arenas in North America.
LD Don Weeks is out as lighting director with Kidz Bop. Chris Gratton designed the production and Bobby Grey of Sightline Design programmed the show. Their 2019 world tour has been entertaining families since this spring, hitting sheds until mid-September, theaters in November and continuing into 2020.
Emily Bornt has filled her fall, signing on for U.S. and European tours with Melanie Martinez, indie songwriter featured on TV’s The Voice. Rehearsals run in October. “It is a Butch Allen production design, with Mark Butts and Cat West programming,” she says. “I’ll be the lighting director, and I’m helping draft the lighting plot.” (For a Q&A with Emily, check out “1000 Words,” this issue, page 60).
Lighting director Ethan Weber emailed in to say he’s “just finishing up directing the Stones’ ‘No Filter’ North American tour. After 25 years, (it’s) still a great joy to be out here.”
LD Jack Davis says his design got the stamp of approval for Sleater-Kinney’s fall tour, slated for a Sept. 5 start in the U.S.
LD Landon Bloss wrapped up his last outing with The Mavericks and just kicked off lighting director duties with country artist Billy Currington. “Pretty exciting change, and many benefits that come with the change,” he notes. “The last LD designed the rig — and I’ll be designing a new rig for next year’s tour.”
LD Michael Keller has been traveling with Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul’s “Summer of Sorcery” tour. After a European run, the band plays North America in September.
LD Nico Riot says, “After a busy summer dividing time between Marilyn Manson and The Strokes, I’ll have little time off and a nice show with the Strokes headlining the Ohana Festival (Sept. 27-29) in California. I’m still working with Pierre Claude on that one — both of us designers and directors.”
LD Tess Falcone tells us, “After jumping off of the Jimmy Eat World summer tour — where Ali Blue took over for two weeks and absolutely crushed it — I did a short run with Ben Folds and Violent Femmes. I currently have two weeks off before going back out with Ben on another co-headliner, but this time with the band Cake. Yay, touring forever!”
Scare up some news for Debi’s October column in PLSN. Send email to dmoen@plsn.com.
