CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Lollapalooza returned to Grant’s Park for its annual four-day music festival complete with performances from artists across a wide swath of genres, including rock, pop, alternative, blues, country, hip hop and EDM. Bandit Lites worked with C3 Presents to provide a lighting package of nearly 400 lighting fixtures for Perry’s Stage as well as site lighting across the festival where an estimated 400,000 music fans turned out for the festival’s 25th year.
“The Perry’s Stage is basically a festival within the festival,” explained Brandon Sossamon, C3 Productions Director. “It has to be unique I leaned heavily on Chris Lisle Lighting Design (CLLD) to come up with a fresh look. My goals were to load in and out safely and economically without compromising the level of production that stage has hosted in the past. The production needed to be versatile and light with a big impact. CLLD delivered on every front using our preferred vendors.”
With the design and visuals for the stage a key part of the EDM experience for the audience, Chris Lisle of CLLD first tackled the LED screen design. Once the video concept was locked in, Lisle then looked to choose lighting fixtures that would fill the remaining voids with light.
“One of the primary fixtures that I used for this is the Solo Batten from Chauvet,” explained Lisle. “This is such a great, bright light that it helped to bridge between light and video with ease.
With plenty of guest lighting directors stepping up to run the rig, Lisle chose fixtures that would provide the opportunity to clone their existing show files over.
“It really impressed me how each LD had their own spin on how they used/programmed the rig,” Lisle said. “Some of these EDM LD’s are very talented and have some great programming skills.”
Bandit Lites provided Elation Paladins as the strobe fixture, its IP rating holding firm in the face of the very real possibility of rain in Chicago. Meanwhile, more than one hundred Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids supplied the all-important beams.
“I am also old school enough that I wanted some tungsten in there as well, so we mixed some WW2 and traditional 4-lite moles in the rig as well,” said Lisle.
HES SolaFrame 3000 worked as the stage’s front light and stage wash, a fixture that Lisle said really impressed him for its brightness for an LED. With VL 6000 supplying aerial beams among a host of haze and smoke, it was an overwhelming set up that wowed the crowd.
“The Solo Batten and SolaFrame 3000 were incredible to get to play with on this rig, and I will be spec-ing them some more in the future for sure,” said Lisle. “Both are great, bright products with some amazing feature sets.”
In addition to the Perry Stage, Bandit Lites also provided the site lighting for nearly a dozen areas of the festival including cocktail bars, guest lounges, the fountain space, VIP areas, Kid Zone and the Merch Palace.
“Site light and directional information has become a very big part of what goes into the subliminal expression at Grant Park for Lollapalooza,” explained Lear. “We provide trussing of all sizes and shape to create arches, goal post and twenty-foot towers showing location, directional and general information. No matter where you stand in the park, informational signage ensures you’re heading in the right direction. The site lighting aspect is fun for our crews as they set up areas for those looking to get off the beaten path and recharge in areas illuminated with six thousand feet of festoon and LED rich fixtures.”
Sossamon shared that even with the massive logistics of lighting a festival with 100,000 people attending each day, everything went according to plan.
“Working with Bandit is always a pleasure,” he said. “I have worked alongside Terese Fensler for five years and absolutely love her work. I’ve never been met with a “no” or “I can’t…” when I approach her with requests. The staff at Bandit always goes above and beyond and treats all of the festival staff with respect. They give it 110% all day and show up the next morning after a long night.”
“As always, Bandit took great care of all details on this project, with an immaculate prep to making sure the rig stayed at 100% on site,” Lisle added. “They did an amazing job. The on-site crew was fantastic as well, and as a treat for their hard work I treated them to Dim Sum and made them eat chicken feet.”
“We are once again honored to been involved working with C3 Presents at Lollapalooza 2019,” said Lear. “It was a bonus to work with longtime friends of Bandit Chris Lisle and Erik Parker; their concept for the EDM experience was incredible. With lighting and video spanning one hundred feet, this behemoth stage was stunning even from several blocks away. The logistic seemed effortless thanks to the planning and execution of Stage Manager Jeff Goodin. Our crews were all well information and knew exactly what their roll would be for any given day. I also want to thank Brandon Sossaman and Kira McCabe for their leadership moving through the production details.”
“Erik Parker was the on-site lead from our end of things as I had to tend to the T-Mobile stage,” finished Lisle. “Justin Casey was the programmer and did an amazing job. Thanks to Brandon Sossamon with C3 for the support and opportunity, and Jeff Goodin (Stage Manager) for helping pull this off logistically. Also a huge thanks to Reed Rigging, Ecto Productions, and GoVision - as this design was a VERY collaborative effort in terms of all departments needing to work together to make sure it went up and down in time.”
Perry’s-
Jeff Goodin- Stage Manager- Perry’s Stage
Gene Brian- Project Manager
Mark Scherer- Crew Chief
Terese Fensler- FOH/ Tech
Aaron Swetland- FOH/ Tech- Overnights
Chuck Hastings- Dimmers/ Tech
Site Lighting-
Tyler Crain- Production Manager
PJ Herrington- Creative Production Manager
Shawn Worlow- The Production Collective
Waylon Gautier- Logistics
Jimmy Hatten- Project Manager
Scot Sepe- Crew Chief
Dave Langford- Tech
Jonathan Cousineau- Tech
Elliot Martin- Tech
Tanner Peterson -Tech
Corey Hutchinson- Tech
Chris Lisle & Erik Parker – Chris Lisle Lighting Design
Jeff Goodin – The Production Collective (Stage Manager)
Bobby Clay – Talent Buyer
DJ Mel – Artist Integration
Reed Rigging – Rigging
ECTO Productions – Audio
PGP – Staging
ANC – LED
Local 2 IATSE
Local 727 Teamsters
About Bandit Lites, Inc.
Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. Bandit’s global presence will ensure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you. More information available at www.BanditLites.com