NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Bandit Lites is thrilled to once again be out on the road with three-time and reigning ACM “Entertainer of the Year” Jason Aldean throughout his High Noon Neon Tour. The tour launched to capacity crowds and continues to roll through the biggest stadiums and amphitheaters in the United States featuring fan-favorites and new music off his recent No. One selling eighth studio album Rearview Town.
More details from Bandit (www.BanditLites.com):
Chris Lisle provided a lighting design for the HIGH NOON NEON TOUR that evoked forced perspective visuals, using truss to drive sightlines towards the center of the stage and mimicked the shape of the video screens.
“We also decided on this tour to go away from doing a lot (if any) automation and go with some big solid “rock” looks,” said Lisle. “This played a lot into fixture selection for sure.”
Bandit Lites supplied more than three hundred fixtures including GLP X4 Bar 20, Robe BMFLs, Robe Robin 1200 LED Washes, Showline Nitro 510C, Elation Paladins, Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, VL 3500 Spots and two grand MA 2 Full consoles for control.
After seeing the GLP X4 Bar 20 in action last year, Lisle decided to utilize them as one of the main effect fixtures on this year’s design along with Elation Paladins on the front of the truss in lieu of traditional audience blinders.
“We also brought back the Chauvet RH1 Hybrid for this tour as we loved them so much last year,” he added.
And while fixture choice focused on building that big, solid “rock” look, the logistics for the lighting came down to one crucial, but simple factor: space.
“We mainly had to make sure that the rig fit into the truck space that we had allotted,” said Lisle. “We are using a lot of Tyler GT truss on this, which is a huge help in the general speed that the rig goes up and down.”
Another aspect in getting the rig up and down each night is the crew, with Lisle calling the Bandit techs “second to none.” Bandits crew is comprised of Jon Houle, Scott Wesson, Trevor Drawdy, Michelle Saintey and Patrick Cowden.
“The crew did an amazing job on the prep and really took time to think out the best way to go about everything,” Lisle said. “Bandit always does such a great job with their attention to detail, from our Account Executive Mike Golden to Project Manager Don Lockridge, no detail goes missed.”
“I cannot say enough about the production and management teams for Jason Aldean,” said Mike Golden, Bandit’s Vice President. “It is an honor to work with Manager Chris Parr, Drew Brown, Keith Hoagland and the entire production staff. The design was completely thought through; Keith Hoagland continues to be a perfectionist at FOH and Drew Brown is all over every element of the show… and that really makes our job quite simple. I also want to compliment Crew Chief Jon Houle and the lighting crew for their dedication to providing a 100% lighting system each and every day.”
“The entire Jason Aldean camp is amazing to work with and put a lot of heart into what they do,” finished Lisle. “Drew Brown (PM) worked with me from the get go to make sure we had thought out every aspect of how the rig was coming together. Aaron Luke did the programming and did a great job. Matt Geasey assisted with video programming, and Keith Hoagland does a rocking job every night on the console.”
“Aldean has opted to not back down and continue working in the well-worn groove” (UPROXX) that has helped define the genre’s 21st century with his sure-footedness, which plays into more than 15 million total album sales, dozens of sold-out stadium shows and countless recognition from the GRAMMYs, ACMs, CMAs, BBMAs, People’s Choice Awards and more. Continuing that momentum, Aldean is only the second Country act in history to score four consecutive chart-toppers on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart with REARVIEW TOWN, with six of his previous LPs have achieved PLATINUM certification or better. The perennial live-show favorite for the format continues to entertain on his HIGH NOON NEON TOUR and “doesn’t waste any time ripping through 23 songs during his 95-minute set,” (Des Moines Register). For more information and for a full list of upcoming tour dates, www.jasonaldean.com