When production designer Bruce Rodgers first worked with country music superstar Dierks Bentley for the singer’s performance at the 2011 Country Music Awards, it was the beginning of a collaborative and fruitful relationship. This year, with a 2012 design under his belt for Bentley’s part of the co-headlining Locked And ReLoaded Tour with Miranda Lambert, Rodgers took on Bentley’s Riser Tour. “That initial touring project gave me a chance to get to know Dierks, his band, and touring team, and the design process was very creative,” says Rodgers. “Here two years later, I was thrilled to get the call to help again, especially as this was Dierks’ first-ever headliner tour.”
As with most designers, Rodgers’ design process necessarily starts with learning as much about the artists as possible. “I study their background influences and ‘life soundtracks’ that helped mold them,” he says. “I have fun drawing imaginary connections between them and similar artists from the past, and finding similar vibes with other regular and famous people, and styles from the past and present. I hone in on the audience or, as I like to call them, ‘the tribe’ that follows the artist.”
Rodgers adds that he spends a great deal of time with the artist “discussing differences and similarities that clashed or matched his style so I could be as clear as possible in my understanding of him and his music,” he says. “We studied the exact feelings and attitudes that his music creates, and we answered questions that could relate to color and form and function. Because Dierks is a wordsmith, it was cool hearing him describe and define and think out loud even before I started the sketching phase.”
Rodgers worked closely with Bentley, as well as lighting designer/programmer/director Chris Reade and screens producer Molly Gray of Tantrum, to bring the production to life.
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