Elation Smarty Hybrid on Kane Brown tour
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“I was at a demo and it really caught my eye - how wide it filled the room and the crisp gobo projection,” the designer says. “When I looked to see what light was making the effects, I was surprised to see a fixture whose footprint was so small. I knew I needed a small fixture for Kane Brown so decided to take a closer look.”
Brown is a breakout success story who came to fame on YouTube several years ago and has seen his popularity grow ever since. Live Forever, which kicked off in Duluth, Georgia on 10 January, is the artist’s first headlining arena tour and his first collaboration with Ahlstrand, who serves as production and lighting designer.
Ahlstrand worked with lighting and video vendor DCR Nashville to secure the Smarty Hybrid fixture, which he uses in an impactful lighting design. “We use 20 Smarty Hybrids in the design and they fit nicely in the setup,” he says, noting that “Live Forever is Kane Brown’s biggest production to date. “They make up the bulk of the floor package and the output to size ratio of the fixture is excellent. We get a variety of looks out of them.”
Twelve Smarty Hybrid units, positioned on a ramp at the backside of the set with a further eight located behind a wall of strobes, give an array of creative possibilities as an integral part of a larger lighting package. “They’re competing with big lights and hold up well, even against some large strobes,” Ahlstrand says.
Full service event production company DCR Nashville is supplying the lighting and video package for the tour.
(Jim Evans)
