Bandit Lights Up Billy Strings Halloween Party with Roger Gant

	"We were able to really dial in how we wanted the lighting to pay homage to the movie and be a really accurate representation of what they did for the film," says Bryson. Photo: Jesse Faatz

Acclaimed bluegrass musician Billy Strings channeled the Coen Brothers' cult classic film O Brother, Where Art Thou? for his epic Halloween show at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. Entitled O Billy, Where Art Thou? the night featured a theatrical stage production illuminated by Bandit Lites. Strings was joined by special guests Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Duane Trucks, Lindsay Lou, and more.

Starring George Clooney, the 2000 film follows three escaped convicts in the deep south searching for hidden treasure while a sheriff relentlessly pursues them. Lighting designer Roger Gant evoked the rural 1937 film setting by utilizing tungsten additions to the Fresnels and festoons.

"There is some really interesting information out there about this movie being the first ever major motion picture to be completely color-graded and manipulated digitally," explains production manager Charlie Bryson. "Because of this, we were able to get much more insight than you might normally have done on any other movie about how the Coen Brothers and their director of photography wanted this movie to look. As a result, we were able to really dial in how we wanted the lighting to pay homage to the movie and be a really accurate representation of what they did for the film."

"Obviously, the movie was the main inspiration, but within that the filmmakers used a method of color toning on the film to desaturate colors and give off a very dusty, Depression-era vibe," explains Gant. "I even adjusted all my usual color presets to reduce saturation and make those colors less bold. I tried to make everything very cinematic and theatrical as we moved through the show, and I thought it ended up looking pretty great!"

"Since the Baltimore shows were right in the middle of Billy's regular tour schedule, Charlie and Roger's brief for the show equipment-wise was to use as much of the tour system as possible, but hung with a much more theatrical/television/film look than a rock show to fit in with the vibe," explains Bandit Lites VP of production, Dizzy Gosnell. "In addition to the tour equipment spec, they chose LED Fresnels by Elation and Dracast as well as some ETC Source Four pars all with barn doors. It made total sense for their output and look, but the dark-horse, king-daddy units are the big old tungsten Mole 2K Fresnels that Bandit's Jake Tickle was offered before they hit the dumpster.Jake modified [each] with an Astera bulb inside, a total blend of new and old (which have no right to look as good as they do), but they really rock. They also were looking for non-moving pantographs for hanging heads, not easy to find for rent, so I suggested some 'faux' pantos from the scenic shop using sections of trellis painted black and clamped on either side of the drop pipe that actually held the lamp in place."

Bandit Lites supplied 332' of Tyler Truss, ETC Source Four PARs with barn doors, Dracast 1K LEDs with barn doors, Dracast 2K LEDs with barn doors, 2K "Mole" Astera LEDs with barn doors, Elation Fresnel KL 8FCs with barn doors, tungsten festoons, Ayrton Khamsin-S units, Ayrton Mistral S units, CHAUVET Professional onAir Panel Min IPs, CHAUVET STRIKE Array 2s, ACME Lighting GeminiS, Ayrton Khamsin FS units, a Follow-Me system, and three grandMA 3 full consoles for control.

"I loved, loved, loved the Astera bulbs in the old beat-up Fresnel," Gant says. "It looked amazing."

With such precise lighting, those in attendance were transported to 1930s Mississippi as Billy Strings staged a dozen songs from the film with appearances from a staggering 11 high-profile special guests.

"Roger had to build the show from scratch in almost zero time as the set list was a total one-off and would run to a specific theatrical schedule," says Gosnell. "Using a good chunk of the tour system just hung very differently gave him the leg up on programming that he needed. Throw in a few hundred feet of festoons and the whole thing really came to life with Roger's masterful operating."

"As always, my experience with Bandit has been impeccable," says Gant. "It's great to work with Dizzy, who totally gets the art as well as the technical details. My crew is amazing: John Lucksinger is now one of my favorite people ever. Huge props to the Bandit team."

"I have said this before, but Dizzy is really such a great asset to have on our side," says Bryson. "His CAD skills, wealth of knowledge, and his years of experience really help get projects from napkin drawing ideas to actionable, riggable show designs that I can deliver to venues."