As a musician, Lighting Designer Kat Borderud is well versed in following grooves and breakdowns on drums. This helped her connect to hardcore punk masters Turnstile’s lead singer Brandon Yates when she began putting together ideas for the band’s global tour.
“When I first started the design process, I spent a lot of time talking with Brendan about a dramatic and memorable overall look for the tour,” she recalled. “For each song, we talked a lot about mood and color. He trusted me with the ability to make each song’s lighting dynamic, and blend with an overall aesthetic that reflected its core, while also tying into the overall mood of the concert.”
Yate’s confidence was very well founded. Relying on some distinctive side and back lighting angles Borderud conjures up some deeply evocative moods that wrap themselves neatly around the band’s portending sound. Accentuating passages of each song, she allows the music to sit in a supportive look without distracting with overdone design elements.
“There is no timecode on this show, all the songs are cue stacked that I am actively triggering with the band,” said Borderud. “I programmed the songs for the show back in January, and we took this show to the UK, to California for four shows, Coachella, and then for the full North American run of the TLC tour,” said Borderud.
Helping Borderud achieve her design vision on the U.S. tour are eight Chauvet Professional Rogue R3X Wash fixtures supplied by Squeek Lights. Positioned on the stage deck, the RGBW movers, which are powered by 37 25-watt LEDs, were used for the show’s all-important side and back lighting.
“Turnstile is a significant band in the hardcore/punk scene, so there are a lot of bodies moving, crowd surfing, and stage diving across the downstage,” said Borderud. “I wanted the lighting to illuminate and give freedom to this to continue on the select tour venues, where we did not have a crowd barricade.
“I try to use symmetrical effects and looks,” she continued. “However, I’m not afraid to do something unique for certain moments. The design worked incredibly well no matter what venue size we were in, with support from our management and crew James Vitalo, Jake Lang, and Jim Ash – plus our R3X floor package.”
Borderud is no stranger to the versatility of the R3X units. “I was actually one of the first LDs to use this fixtures from LDI at the Amex Unstaged Livestream for Lizzo down at Art Basel in December 2021. I really loved working with them. When Victor said he had those available for our tour from Squeek Lights I was very excited.”
Working with Turnstile was also exciting for Borderud. It is, as she noted “all about the music,” and when a band welcomes a designer into the creative process driving that music, magical things happen.
Photo Credit: Sarah Hess
