Lighting designer, author, and industry expert Jeff Ravitz talks to Live Design about almost 40 years of designing for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, outlining the upgrades in the tools he uses and the design process he has to keep the looks fresh and relevant. Ravitz describes why, despite advances in intelligent fixtures, rigs are not getting any smaller, and how you can never have too much time to previz and program.
Being a lighting designer is one of those left brain/right brain jobs: It requires a lot of creativity and the ability to interpret music and other artforms, while also relying heavily on technical project management skills to support both the performer and the audience on their journey. Ravitz says that part of his job working with an artist over the long term is to take advantage of new technology, but use it in a way that’s in keeping with the show’s unique aesthetic.
He discusses this balancing act, saying, "our audiences—younger and older—have been exposed to all the most contemporary lighting when they go to concerts or watch big TV music shows. I felt it was vital to find a way to walk that line between lighting that is both classic and at the same time speaks the language of today’s audience."
Read his conversation with Live Design below.
RELATED: Lighting plots, crew lists, and gear info here.
Live Design: You have been designing for Springsteen since his Born In The USA tour. How have the changes in technology affected your designs?
Jeff Ravitz: You’re right…I’ve been designing Bruce’s tours since 1984. We had hundreds of PAR 64s for that show, twelve or so aircraft landing lights, and a healthy handful of Altman ellipsoidals. There were legitimate reasons for loading up the trusses as much as we did. In order to do a full stage color wash that had some impact, it could easily take twelve to eighteen fixtures—perhaps eight from far upstage, and six to eight midstage. If we wanted six color washes, we’d need to multiply those quantities by six. Add various specials for the band, audience lights, and the ellipsoidals for a gobo wash or two, and the total gets pretty high. We did have twelve GAM ColorMax gel scrollers, which gave us a little more variety.
Also, it was an all-conventional rig, so we had one focus, period. For a show that, in those days, was over four hours and, frequently, almost five hours including an intermission, there could be a lot of repetition. The challenge was to hold back on certain lighting looks so there might be something new to reveal somewhere around the three-hour mark.
Once moving lights and color-changing lights became available, you might think we could decrease the totals because one light could produce multiple colors. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the overall quantities stayed fairly close to the old numbers, and we just had bigger, more powerful looks. We also had the ability to create infinite focus variations, sweeps, and multiple gobo looks to keep things fresh throughout the show.
We’ve had to recognize that 2023 audiences are exposed to much more in the way of eye-candy lighting: fixtures that are facing the audience either as blinders or as scenic or effect elements. They see it on all the large television concerts and music competition shows, as well as at live performances. This wasn’t an approach that felt appropriate for Bruce’s aesthetic in earlier days. But in the last ten years, audiences have become accustomed to seeing large swaths of small and large LEDs outlining the scenery and forming animated walls of light in a way that wasn’t quite as practical with traditional sources. As a result, in an effort to move this production forward, we’ve taken a few steps toward incorporating those elements, but in a way that endeavors to not trample the band’s raw rock ‘n' roll persona.
LD: Are you using any tungsten or all LEDs?
JR: We’ve been moving more towards using only LED fixtures for a few tours now. Currently, we have twelve discharge lamps for some beamy fixtures, but the rest of the system is all LED.
LD: Is there a video component in this show?
JR: This artist categorically steers clear of any use of video other than as IMAG. There was a time—when video was becoming more of a ubiquitous element—that we tried to create some content for the show. Each time, Bruce called it off as being either too literal a depiction of the stories he tells with his songs—he’d rather make people imagine those images—or too abstract, and therefore, what’s the point?
For the stadium show, where there can be no audience seated behind the stage, we do put up a full cross-stage screen upstage of the band like a giant backdrop. It’s used for IMAG, but also shows some pretty cool audience shots of high-energy fans.
LD: Are you using any automated tech in place of, or to reinforce, followspot operators? How do you feel about it?
JR: I’m all for it!! For the 2016 River anniversary tour, we were early adopters of the PRG Ground Control remote spots. This time around, we’re using the Robe RoboSpot fixtures. We’ve been using the BMFL spots during the indoor arena tour, and we’re now changing those for the iForte Follow Spot units, which are IP 65 rated for the outdoor stadium shows.
We have quite a lot of follow spots on this production. We’re lucky to be able to fly a spot bridge thirty feet downstage of the mic line. The six spots on that truss are our primary front spots, so we are not reliant on the house spots that can be in various stages of disrepair, or are in positions more suited to an ice show or hockey game player intros. Then we have three back spots so Bruce and the other featured downstage band always have great backlight wherever they go onstage. We also have some side truss spots for special pickups.
The front truss spots are over the audience, and all the others are over the band or crew, so there were immediate advantages to changing to remote spots. They also reduce the overall weight of the rig and the space needed for a spot chair. But one of the real bonuses has been to allow a number of the most experienced spot operators, who no longer are keen to climb a wire truss ladder and perch up there for three hours, to get back into the game and give us the benefit of their skills. So, I’m a huge fan of remote spots and I can only ask, what took so long?
LD: Historically, you used a lot of Morpheus Lighting fixtures that "grew up" with Springsteen tours as innovations became available. What fixtures form the backbone of your design these days?
JR: Morpheus was a pioneer in concert lighting technology, and we used everything they offered, beginning in 1988 with their PanCommand system, which allowed for full trusses of automated and color-mixing wash and spot fixtures to be very efficiently programmed. Over the years, we continued to benefit from the new fixtures they developed.
For this tour, we’re using lights from across the spectrum of today’s best manufacturers. This show’s style is based on the use of a foundation look of color, with patterns and textures overlaid over, or through, that base, plus dedicated specials on each band member. For the broad color washes, we’re using the Martin Mac Aura PXL. It produces beautiful color, with a really versatile 1:8 zoom. It also looks great in the rig.
The Ayrton Khamsin is used for our gobo and texture layer. Its optics are terrific, and with high output, the darker colors and denser gobos read beautifully.
For band specials, I’m using the Acme Lyra positioned throughout the system. It’s a compact, punchy light with a smooth, even field, and excellent color mixing.
Six Ayrton Wildsun S25 fixtures hang below the rig on extension pipes, to strengthen the washes and to pull the eye away from the overhead rig. They’re an over-sized wash fixture with a powerful wide or tight beam.
Those four lights are the backbone of the system, but every light in the show gets a thorough workout.
Any light that might be exposed to the weather during our stadium tour is IP 65 rated. That was critical, and a mandatory feature before a light was even considered.
We’re using grandMA3 consoles—two full-size, and one Lite. We upgraded the show file from last tour’s MA2 platform, which, of course, was the logical move for 2023.
LD: A few years ago you talked to Live Design about Springsteen's influence on the design, did he have any visual references for you to interpret?
JR: Bruce was pretty absorbed in several demanding projects during the pre-production phase of this tour, so he and I had less contact and idea swapping. The show developed after several brainstorming sessions with the tour director, George Travis, who basically encouraged me to explore a fresh and “quasi-contemporary” look (whatever that means) that stayed within the bounds of Bruce’s well-known roots in the soil of straightforward rock ‘n' roll. We did look at many of the shows that were touring throughout 2021 and 2022, but ultimately didn’t take any design influence from them. It’s just good to know what else is out there, either to avoid inadvertent copying, or to know what we don’t want to do.
Over the course of a month or so, I created several design ideas and finally landed on the one we’re using, which—as these things tend to go—instantly felt right as soon as I saw it. George presented it to Bruce, who gave it a thumbs up. Once in awhile it’s just that simple!
LD: The artist has an expansive playlist, do you program for any eventuality, or have you chosen a board that allows the operator to "busk" if something completely out of the blue happens?
JR: Each tour starts off with a few versions of a set list. It changes right up until opening night and then settles into a show that is perhaps sixty percent consistent. That’s not a great consistency score when a lighting team is attempting to create flow and a sense of “build” throughout the show. But Bruce does it his way to offer a wider sampling of his song catalog, and also to adjust the energy of the show to whatever his instincts tell him the audience needs. It’s one of his many genius talents.
We have programmed over a hundred songs, at least, and despite the sheer volume of material that reaches around three hundred—no joke—there is rarely a song played that we haven’t seen and heard at some point over the years or at soundcheck. All the songs have cue sheets that break down each musical moment of the song with the corresponding board and follow spot cues. The cue sheets used to be organized alphabetically in two four-inch binders. Now they’re on two iPads. If a song that’s different from that show’s set list is played, the LD (Todd Ricci) and second board operator (Brad Brown) go to a macro list and choose that song’s cue list.
If the song hasn’t been programmed—yet—we have an extensive assortment of busking cue lists that Todd can choose from. He’ll select one that is most appropriate for that song and pull up the written cue sheet as a guide to “what happens when” in the song, musically and cue-wise.
LD: In the past you seem to have consciously stayed away from some trends, including theatrical looks, gimmicky lighting, and pyro. Are there any influences in this show that we might recognize from others?
JR: It’s somewhat true…there was a time when this artist had an aversion to typical concert lighting conventions—visible beams and gobos, for example. And haze. But we always embraced a “theatrical” and dramatic approach. That forced me to really concentrate on how the lighting worked on faces and bodies, and how color and timing can heighten the message of any musical part of a song.
But this show needed to move into 2023 because our audiences—younger and older— have been exposed to all the most contemporary lighting when they go to concerts or watch big TV music shows. I felt it was vital to find a way to walk that line between lighting that is both classic and at the same time speaks the language of today’s audience. Our intention is for the lighting to follow the flow of the music, throw focus, transform it into color, and reinforce hits and accents. The way we achieve this might be different and newer than it was ten or thirty years ago, and it should be.
I’d like to think we’ve done it and have remained true to Bruce’s style and musical soul while injecting the show with a fresh look.
LD: In previous shows you have used subtle cues to help the audience into the right frame of mind, for example, a touch of electric blue to evoke an old-fashioned diner. Are there any cues you can point to in this tour that help set the mood for the journey the audience is on?
JR: We are using several new fixtures with multiple cells, with each cell individually controllable for color and intensity. This allows us to create many cues that convey the flow and rhythms of the music and lyrics, whether it’s fast and bumpy or slow and smooth. We also have integrated lighting into the stage and band risers to outline them and to wash the front facias. This adds dimension and depth that echos the overall base color of overhead washes, or sometimes as a contrast to them. These have really provided an effective tool for setting a mood. The opening of Because The Night is a great example of this.
LD: What is your process for that? When you sit down and listen to a new album, rather than interpreting the song lyrics literally, how do you create the mood so that each audience member can see their own vision?
JR: I listen to the music first, and try to get a feel for the tempo, instrumentation, vocal approach, and overall volume level. I try to determine if the song is in any sort of recognizable style that we should pay homage to. I think it’s the music that connects to the brain first, and it’s what stimulates images of color, movement, and cue structure. Often, the music stays in my head and the next day—usually in the shower, for some reason, or when my wife is trying to tell me something important— I suddenly see the full-blown movie of a certain cue that was eluding me.
I’m sure all designers and programmers do much the same.
Then, of course, I study the lyrics. But I really try not to be too literal. A rock concert is not played in a realistic context, and being too stuck on trying to depict the words can create problems. I love the abstract interpretations that we can indulge in for this art form. That’s what really lets the audience infer whatever they personally feel the music and lyrics mean to them instead of me trying to force that on them. We just get them into the general mood and frame of reference, and they take it from there!
LD: There are always certain songs that the audience expects the band to play. Can you talk a little bit about your process for keeping these fresh?
JR: Yes, there are songs that have been played at every Bruce and the E Street Band show since I’ve been involved. A short list includes Promised Land, Badlands, and Backstreets. And for the most part, those songs are played today exactly as they were back then. Same words, music, solos, and moves. We are always exploring new and better ways to light these songs but the underlying structure remains intact. Verses, choruses and solos, etc., maintain their core color and tempo from previous shows—just as a starting place—and get updated from there. We use our new and advanced fixtures to make the songs look different and to discover new ways to reveal and punctuate a musical moment.
Bear in mind, Bruce has an immense catalog to draw from. Our rehearsal and programming period is, more or less, enough to get one show finished. But we really have five or six shows worth of material to handle. We must begin with the new songs, which have no prior programming. Once we finish those, we begin to review as many of the old songs as possible, in order of their likelihood of being performed. For this reason, we need to start with the bones of the old cues, which have been honed and refined over the years. We could use the old cuing “as is” if we had to, but we always want to find time to add in the newer lights to take full advantage of their ability to give the old songs a new look.
LD: Is having a history and rapport with the artist a blessing or a curse?
JR: Yes and yes.
I do think the long-term relationship helps. The beginning skeleton of each new design has the “essentials” — the lights that I know are vital to the look Bruce is most at home with, at the positions and angles that achieve those purposes. After that, I proceed to work on moving the design forward. I think I have a duty to suggest new elements that might be unfamiliar but are new and contemporary tools. Often, there is resistance just because those elements are ubiquitous on TV and at other concerts, and there’s a concern our show will just be copying them. It’s my job to explain how the use of those lights will take advantage of the power that new technology affords, and that it will be used in a way that’s in keeping with our show’s unique aesthetic.
LD: How long did you have to work on this design?
JR: This design process began formally in mid 2021, and the bid packages went out about a year later—if you don’t count the thinking that automatically begins as soon as the previous tour ends. For us, this was an unusually long pre-production period. The previous tour, in 2016, had a month of design time, which included the shop’s prep week and the Christmas/New Year slowdown. So, the actual design process was two weeks, if I’m being generous.
Once the vendor was selected for this tour, there were still several months of refining and follow-through. This tour’s design had to include both the arena and stadium plots released simultaneously in order to get quotations on the full package. That was unusual as our usual work flow typically allowed for the arena tour to get underway before the stadium design began.
LD: Are there fixtures you are using for the first time on this tour?
JR: Almost every light on this plot is brand new to our show.
In addition to the fixtures I mentioned before, we’re using some laser products on the stadium production—the Claypaky Xtylos Aqua. It resembles a typical lighting fixture but uses a lower powered laser source with a super tight, bright beam. This is definitely something new for us and gives the show another layer of texture.
We also have devoted a lot of thought, time, and resources to lighting the scenic backgrounds, which, for us, are simple, and consist of the band risers, their facias, and the stage edges. This creates dimension by cleanly separating the people onstage from their surroundings. To do this, I’m using Clear Lighting’s FlexGlo LED tape and ChromaQ’s Color Span2 wall washer.
I was looking for a specialty light to install directly into the facia of the mainstage to give it some extra visual presence. Martin’s VDO Dotron was a great option. It’s an RGB LED puck light that takes a DMX and/or video signal and is bright, even in direct sunlight. It’s part of our arsenal of lights that give the stage some sparkle during our daylight starts in stadiums during the European summertime. That idea evolved and extended to outlining the lower runway edges for even more shimmer.
As I mentioned, we’re using a number of multi-cell striplights, audience blasters and hybrid strobe/washes. Those add tons of variety to the show and are great for accents on musical hits, as well as to create animation for both uptempo and slower moments.
The strip is the Ayrton Magic Blade FX, with seven cells and continuous pan and tilt. Its mate on another part of the set is the GLP FR10 strip, a ten-cell RGBW light that has motorized panning. We use them in a vertical orientation.
The audience blaster is Elation’s Cuepix 16 IP, a sixteen cell RGBA fixture that kicks out enough light to help cover a large audience or bump and flash to the music using one or all of its cells. As its name implies, it is IP 65 rated for our stadium tour.
Our strobe/wash is the Chauvet Color Strike M, which has a very bright white strobe bar surrounded by a color mixing face that allows for pixel animation. It has motorized tilt, and is also IP 65 rated.
We’re getting great responses to our use of the MegaLite CircaScoop XL. It looks like an over-sized beam projector, and is fitted with several different clusters of LEDs to produce a variety of beautiful looks.
For intense beam effects, we chose the Elation Proteus Hybrid beam/spot, and Proteus Rayzor 1960 wash. Those lights, both IP 65, create a veritable wall of beams that cut through, even in front of bright video screens.
All of these fixtures offer so many options and combinations of looks, we are able to create backgrounds made of lighting that can be super subtle and beautiful, or brash and powerful. We need the full gamut of tools to get through the dynamics of a three-hour show full of rock, R&B, epic anthems, and even a little hint of jazz.
LD: What was the most challenging thing about this tour?
JR: My biggest worry, always, is programming time. With the extensive volume of material we have to cover, and the considerable number of new lights I added, the workload feels insurmountable—even with having my super talented team. We had more time than ever to previz and program this tour and still, on opening night, I think we all felt we had miles to go.
LD: What is your favorite part of the design?
JR: A couple of things come to mind.
As I mentioned, I’ve been looking for ways to create backgrounds…something to help generate a feeling of three-dimensionality. For our arena shows, we seat audience behind the stage, so there is nothing upstage that would block sight lines. So, other than band risers and instruments like drums and various keyboards, there’s not a lot of opportunity to build an environment that makes for a fuller look of foreground and background.
With this production, we’ve come closer than ever with all the built-in facia lighting. Now the stage edges, platforms, and even the upstage guardrail, have become objects in the surroundings to offset against the band. Those objects also factor into the cuing to make the overall show look that much larger.
Another element I think turned out well is the more interesting shape to the over-stage trussing that makes them more of an architectural frame, in an asymmetrical, less predictable way.
Finally, I’m loving what my team and I have been able to do with all our new, state-of-the-art equipment. It’s given an outstanding concert a great new coat of paint and helps with our goal of always supporting the music and helping the performance reach all the way to the furthest seats.