NASHVILLE — After dominating the country music charts with 35 number ones, more than 60 career singles and a dedicated fan base, Alan Jackson has chosen Nashville-based Elite Multimedia Productions (EMP) to handle all lighting, video and LED for his 25th anniversary tour.
More details from Elite Multimedia Productions (www.elitemultimedia.com):
With more than 40 tour dates throughout North America, Jackson’s production needs vary with the vast amount of different types of venues. Lighting and video play a huge role in the country legend’s production so that audiences feel the camaraderie that is driven home through Jackson’s songs. Lighting gear from Vari-Lite, Martin, Clay Paky and PixelFLEX LED curtains are all serviced through EMP and help to creatively deliver those goals put in place by Nathan Baugh, tour/production manager, and Craig Rutherford, lighting designer.
“Alan is a unique artist in the sense that he wants his music videos played with every song,” Baugh said. “We had to find a unique way of presenting that without appearing like we were doing the same thing over and over.”
2014 marks Rutherford’s first tour with Alan Jackson, and has worked to freshen and breathe new life into the lighting design. Through bold colors and beamy looks, Rutherford gets the most out of the gear, including Vari*Lite VL300s and a MA Lighting grandMA lighting console.
Because of the packaging of both LED and lighting, production for Jackson’s 2014 was able to implement more efficient strategies.
“PixelFLEX was my main reason for coming over in terms of truck space,” Baugh said. “This product has revolutionized our touring in terms of load out times and truck space.”
EMP is a one-stop shop for production services, and has excelled in providing services to popular recording artists including Luke Bryan, Casting Crowns and Dream Theatre, as well as for special events across the U.S.
“Adding Alan Jackson to our Elite family is a special moment for us as a production company,” said Peter Streiff, EMP account manager. “It felt right working with Nathan and the entire production team, and as a Nashville-based company, it’s a proud moment to be able to continue working with country legends like Alan — especially when they came to us with space and budget constraints we knew we could overcome.”
“The most surprising part about working with Elite has been the amount of support I’ve gotten from Peter and Jason, the head of lighting,” Rutherford said. “They’re available anytime something comes up or I have any kind of problem on the road, and they worked incredibly hard during prep and building to make sure I had everything I needed.”
