Kenny Rogers bids farewell with Bandit Lites
- Details
In a recorded production to be televised at a later date, the music industry’s finest, including Kris Kristofferson, Chris Stapleton, Alison Krauss, Lady Antebellum, Wynonna and Naomi Judd, Lionel Richie, Idina Menzel, The Flaming Lips and Little Big Town performed the hits of Rogers, before the evening culminated in legendary duet partner Dolly Parton taking the stage with Rogers himself.
Lighting designer Mark Carver crafted a lighting look that would match the Gambler’s classic style while creating looks that would translate the feel of the live show to those who would eventually view the production at on television.
“The producers were looking for a contemporary yet classy look to go along with the feel of the evening,” Carver explained. “The creative team used a LED video wall to provide content and themes for each song. It was our job to be in sync with both our colour palette and attention to tempo.”
Carver utilised the B-EYE K20 fixtures for colour toning, with Viper providing texture and Sharpys giving the hard edge beam looks. “The Patt 2017 and Truss tower fixtures were used for video camera cross shot eye-candy,” said Carver. “The goal was to translate the audience experience of the event to the video product.”
Bandit Lites supplied Robe PATT 2017, Martin MAC Viper Profiles, VL 3500 Spots, GLP X4S fixtures, Clay Paky B-EYE K20, Clay Paky Sharpys, Robe Pointes, Martin MAC Auras, SunStrips along with Bandit’s exclusive GRNLite Moving Washes and both a grandMA2 Full and grandMA2 lite consoles for control.
“The Kenny Rogers Farwell has a special meaning to me, as Bandit and I personally started out with Kenny Rogers as a client when he moved into country music in 1976. Bandit was only eight years old then,” said Bandit chair and founder, Michael T. Strickland. “I met Kenny as he played a small showroom in Las Vegas, and he assured me he would go onto be a major star.
“The late Keith Fowler, the biggest country promoter in those days, also met Kenny and believed in him. Shortly thereafter Kenny was indeed the biggest artist in the world and Bandit and I were a proud part of his show. I travelled many years with Kenny and was his lighting director and provided his lighting, staging and trucking.
“Kenny has been a client over the last 41 years, and to be able to close out the book with Jeff Metter, his current and long-time LD, was a treat. Working with Mark Carver as the television lighting director was the final piece of the puzzle. Kenny was the first worldwide act Bandit worked with, and our history would have been very different without Kenny as a friend and a client.”
(Jim Evans)
