As lighting designer for the Juno Award-winning James Barker Band, Andrew Dawson gets ample opportunities to engage in “illuminated storytelling,” thanks to the rich narratives chronicled in the Canadian quartet’s tunes. “I often look at song lyrics for any references to colors or environments when beginning a design,” said Dawson. “Hopefully, the emotions that these references give rise to are reflected in the mood of my lighting.”
Dawson channeled this storytelling process during the James Barker Band’s recent 20-city tour, relying on the Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm 1 Spot and COLORado Q40 to create a deep matrix of looks that expanded, contracted, and changed colors in sync with the emotional tenor of the song’s music and lyrics. This was especially evident when they played their hit “Keep It Simple,” which starts off with some classic country solo moments, before leading into a pre-chorus, and then opening up with some purely passionate passages that celebrate a couple’s love.
“I really enjoyed lighting ‘Keep It Simple’ because of how it unfolds like a story,” said Dawson. “At the start of the song, I relied heavily on the Storm 1 Spots as a backlight to silhouette the band for those subtle moments. Then before the song kicked up into the chorus, we created some awesome pixel effects with the Q40s to match its energy. We also had some impactful intensity sweeps across the lighting rig.”
Like any good storyteller, Dawson was careful to build up his lighting narrative as the show progressed. He also repurposed fixtures during the show to create a broader array of looks. For example, there are some moments in the set where the COLORado Q40s are used strictly for accent hits, and some where they are treated as a secondary wash fixture.
The flown lighting rig—with its pyramid-shaped matrix design that was created by George Gorton, the lighting designer for headliner Dallas Smith—opened opportunities for Dawson to add layers of depth to his looks. “George truly knocked it out of the park with the rig design,” said Dawson. “It allowed me to create layers of light within which the band lived. It also let me break apart the layers for moments too in addition to providing me with some unique angled positions. This tour was special for me for many reasons, including working with our Tour Manager Bill Gridwood. I’m grateful to the band for giving me this opportunity.”
Dawson had 10 Maverick Storm 1 Spot fixtures spread throughout his rolling lighting risers, and on the floor just in front of the risers to create a tiered look. Describing these fixtures a “the workhorses of the floor package,” he used them to create layered looks between the gobo wheels, which allowed him to get some impressive texture definition.
The COLORado Q40 fixtures were also spread throughout the lighting risers, as well as on the floor in front of them. “We were able to create an impressive layer of light spread throughout our floor package with the COLORados,” said Dawson. “I loved the capabilities they provided in max channel mode.”
The floor package, supplied by Frontier Sound and Light, and the flown rig, supplied by Premier Global Production, included 24 STRIKE Saber fixtures to outline the pyramid structure. From this, Dawson was able to serve up looks that never repeated themselves throughout the 45-minute set. “I wanted to keep things fresh from start to finish,” he said.
