John Mayer's Born and Raised World Tour Relies on Harman's Martin Viper Lighting Fixtures

As John Mayer travels the world on his four-continent Born and Raised tour, lighting designer Nathan Alves ensures the lavish set is deployed quickly and easily to wow fans beyond Mayer's renowned guitar playing. Supplied by Upstaging, 50 Harman Martin Professional MAC Vipers and 18 MAC III Quadrays light up the stage for the nine-month tour.

"We chose Viper because of its size and weight. It's really the only full-feature light that will stand up to our video backgrounds and the wide variety of other beam-driven graphics on stage. Viper's crisp beam and flat field really impressed me," Alves says. "I have eight instrumentalists on stage at every venue, and I require a light that will hold up to everything from the bright spots to the ware and tear of international travel."

The Quadrays were originally slated as MAC III Arifx fixtures, but after a demo, Alves was content with the change. The versatility and dynamic shift the fixtures provided, from a frosted, even wash on a performer to its four-beam explosion of light in multiple directions, left his options open to keep up with the high energy of Mayer's performance.

"We never know which way John is going to turn next on this tour, so it's almost an exercise in clairvoyance," Alves continued. "I needed to design a system that could go in almost any direction creatively at any moment. Between the speed of the fixtures and the attention Martin paid to the demand of lightweight fixtures, I can do twice as much with half the fixtures, fewer trucks, fewer stagehands, and smaller vendor costs."

The Born and Raised tour began in summer 2013 and runs through April 2014.

See Harman's Martin at PLASA Focus: Nashville, February 18 - 19, 2014.