Earlier this year I had the opportunity to head up a talented team of programmers for a major music festival making its USA debut, Rock in Rio. Having worked in concert touring throughout my career, I am no stranger to music festivals; however, I had never been the “go to” person for a main stage at a festival, so I eagerly took on the challenge and began preparing myself.
A music festival with the reputation of Rock in Rio is no small festival. With multiple unique performance areas, the control needs for each area can vary widely from the simple to complex. The performance areas at Rock in Rio USA included:
• World (Main) Stage
• Mercedes Benz Evolution (Sunset) Stage
• Electronica Stage
• VIP Tent
• Chapel Area
• Zipline Area
• Brazil Street area
• USA Street area
• UK Street area
Pre-show Prep (Offsite)
As lead programmer for the festival, I took on the responsibility to do as much as I could before arriving on show site to minimize last minute surprises. Some of those tasks included:
• Communication with the LD about his expectations for each area in the festival
• Communicate with the Master Electrician about crew schedule
• Work with account executive to determine FOH gear list including consoles to be used at each FOH on festival site
• Choose and confirm fixtures modes for each stage with festival LD and guest LDs
• Gather console personalities needed for each kind of console if not included in console library
• Create initial show patch for each stage
• Create initial patch paperwork for each area based on plots for each area
• Contact LDs to find out if they were bringing in their own console or if they were using the house console
• Lay out initial FOH system design for control network on each stage
• Communicate information about the house rig to all incoming LDs and programmers
• Communicate with programming team about schedule, equipment, and details for each area as they became available
On-Site Prep
Once I arrived onsite, my role began to shift away from the general oversight of all performance areas toward the more specific duties of the Main Stage. My first task was to work with LD Terry Cook to program the three-minute pyro/lighting show that played nightly before the headline act. Since the pre-viz suite was not set up for the first few nights I was onsite, I worked overnight hours in the middle of the field in front of the stage; just the impressive metallic façade and me, vis-à-vis. (Okay, I was not completely alone: I got a kick out of watching the tenants in a nearby condo building hanging out over their balconies to watch the lighting while I was programming!)
Once the pre-viz suite was ready and the pyro/lighting show was complete enough that Terry and I could work on stamping timecode onto the cues in the suite, we worked in the afternoon hours and I would stay afterwards to clean up notes and continue to prepare FOH for the arrival of guest LDs and programmers. The preparation necessary included:
• Accommodate LD/programmer requests for time on the lighting console and rig during their bands’ load in and sound check
• Create punt page for myself and guest LDs to use if needed
• Program generic lighting looks on mainstage façade
• Program generic lighting with lighting on audience towers
• Set up Art-Net offsets for LDs on guest console to allow me to be able to use house console to operate façade and/or audience tower lighting during performances when needed
• Establish timecode connection between FOH console and stage left location
• Establish Art-Net connection from FOH console to stage for connecting guest scenic pieces and media servers located on stage
During the Festival
Once the festival opened, my role shifted yet again into that of a facilitator, welcoming the guest LDs to FOH, accommodating any last minute requests, and providing the necessary space and equipment for them to operate their shows. My role also included:
• Operation of nightly pre-headliner pyro and lighting show
• Overall liaison for FOH
• Operate lighting for bands with no LDs
• Facilitate fast changeovers between bands on FOH consoles
• Monitor the s400 system, fiber switches, s400 Nodes, and MA2 NPUs being used
• Stand by during performances to handle any FOH issue that may occur and ensure fast switchover to backup consoles if needed (During No Doubt, timecode communication was lost between stage and FOH, and during Bruno Mars, both the Main FOH console and backup console froze during the performance due to a networking issue.)
• Operate lighting on mainstage façade when needed
• Operate lighting on audience towers when needed
Overall, the role of FOH system tech and programmer for Rock in Rio was a great experience that allowed me the chance to work with top LDs and programmers in the industry, and it was definitely one in which I learned many tips and tricks from the different styles and approaches that the other programmers and LDs brought with them. While not an easy task (the hours over the two weekends were very long, and there were many challenges that arose that needed solutions), the time I spent on this festival was extremely rewarding and worth every minute. Now, my big challenge is to organize all of these great MA2 macros that I’ve collected…
