Definitely Robe for AJR’s Maybe Man tour
AJR – Adam, Jack & Ryan Met – are singer-songwriters known collectively as a tuneful, quirky, intelligent and highly entertaining band with witty lyrics, massive energy and skyrocketing popularity! They are a joy to work with for lighting designer Ezra Donellan of Moon Bolt Designs, who considers himself very lucky.
For the current “Maybe Man” campaign which started at the end of 2023 and continues throughout this year, Ezra specified over 200 Robe moving lights, including 83 x FORTES, 88 x Tetra2s, 44 x Tetra1s and 32 x Spiiders, all delivered by Gateway Studios & Production Services (GSPS).
AJR comes with a fully realized visual concept and production design created by Mitchell Schellenger of Station Six, which is a combination of his and the band’s ideas – they are constantly buzzing with these. So, while having great clarity on what they want to see and how it should be achieved, beyond that, it’s up to all the creative talent heading up each technical department to make it happen. “It’s a very invigorating way to work,” comments Ezra on the collaborative nature of the design process. “There are challenges, and we all enjoy dealing with these and finding the best solutions.” On tour, there’s a prominent curved video screen upstage, and a downstage ‘vanish’ screen divided into 6 sections, each independently moveable via a TAIT control system, which also forms a rounded edge and moves into different formations to keep the scenography very dynamic.
Robe FORTES are right at the essence of the lighting plot. On the previous tour, these had been ESPRITES, but as they moved up to the larger venues, Ezra changed up to the larger and even brighter FORTE, currently Robe’s most powerful LED moving light. “It was the logical choice and perfect for its greater firepower but using the same excellent color and optical systems as the ESPRITE,” noted Ezra, adding that “punch” was extremely important with so many LED screens in the production design. The FORTES are mainly positioned on two curved upstage trusses that match the curved video walls. Over 100 Tetras are positioned mainly upstage above the FORTES, and ‘yoked out’ around the rear video screen to give extra orientation and more jauntiness in the angle.
He is running a 3-way RoboSpot system on the principal artists which is connected to 8 of the FORTES giving a back and a front light on Adam and Ryan and two FORTES front and back for Jack.
The Maybe Man tour is the first time he’s worked with Gateway Studios & Production Services as an equipment vendor (lighting and video), and they have been “fantastic,” he reports. His GSPS team includes David Haskell, president of business development, project manager Adam Ellis and lighting crew chief on the road, Jeffrey Metter.
Photo © Austin Roa
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