GREEN BAY, WI – Creativity never quits. Wherever it lands, it continues to reach out in search of a way to enhance itself even further. This is true in music – and in lighting design. Lighting designer Mitch Schellenger knows that, so too does Shinedown’s guitarist Zach Myers.
In addition to performing as part of the multi-platinum band, Meyers contributed ideas to Schellenger’s lighting and production design for the quartet’s 2025 Dance, Kid, Dance tour. The lighting was compelling on that tour, but when Meyers saw the CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL 12 at a Justin Timberlake show, he had an idea…
Impressed with how the pixel mappable motorized batten transformed the stage, he suggested that the fixture be added to the 2026 edition of the tour. Working with lighting Mitch Schellenger, they made it happen! Gateway Studios & Production supplied 10 PXL Curve 12s, for the Dance, Kid, Dance Act II tour, which kicked off May 13th at Resch Arena in Green Bay, and is scheduled to make 54 stops at 11 countries before concluding November 22 in Dublin.
Lighting director Michael Cooper, who is running the show based on Schellenger’s lighting and production design on this year’s extensive tour described what the PXL Curve 12 is adding to the production. “They create a nice frame for the stage,” he said. “The colors are saturated enough for the dark and moody songs, but they are also fast and bright enough to hang with the rest of the rig during the hard rockers.”
But the benefits offered by the PXL Curve 12 go far beyond the basics. “Mitch’s design for this show is very dynamic, with lots of negative space and powerful cues,” said Cooper. “Blocks of different fixture types are scattered around the rig. The original programming by Chris Smith landed perfectly, allowing PXL Curves to be added to bump buttons to match the existing flow of the songs. I also incorporated quite a few “light bending” guitar solo cues and big audience sweeps. The sheet of light we get from them is great for framing the B stage segment of the show.”
The PXL Curve 12 fixtures in the rig are arranged groups of five units, one on each side of the stage, providing visual framework for the design. The battens are butted up against one another to add to their impact.
“Gateway Studios and Production Services fabrication shop did a really great job making some custom ladders for the PXLs,” said Cooper. “They pin the fixtures together, so each unit is permanently bolted to the structure. Then, we just do the pins, and everything goes up.”
Configured this way, the PXL Curve 12s hang under the high side spot trusses, where they work with the other fixtures to deliver a wide range of special looks Evaluating the new additions impact on the show, Cooper declared, “these are way more than eye candy!”