Bandit Brings the Light for Rascal FlattsRascal Flatts may have only just wrapped their hit Las Vegas residency earlier this month, but the ACM "Vocal Group of the Year" nominees are already back on the road carrying a lighting package provided by long time vendor Bandit Lites. By using more than 180 GRNLite LED PARs, Philips Vari-Lite VL 3000 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, Atomic Strobes and Moles, lighting designer Andy Knighton and production manager Jay Schwartz focused on keeping the rig for the spring run of one-offs modest and affordable, while still infusing the entire space with light. "It is awesome to use LED PARs as a 180K PAR rig because the dexterity you get with the instantaneous response versus the leak of an incandescent," said Knighton. "Also, the color dexterity is amazing!" Both down stage right and stage left feature 7' x 7' square pods loaded with Bandit's GRNLite LED PARs, covering the stage in a bath of color and light. "The video team (Mike Drew and Zach Henderson, video editor and video director Dave Bergfeld) loves these pods," explained Knighton. "They give out the perfect wash and just bathe the performers in light!" Following the conclusion of the spring leg, Rascal Flatts will be kicking off their Rhythms and Roots tour with special guests Kelsea Ballerini and Chris Lane June 17th in Charlotte, North Carolina. "It's really important to us that each year our shows are fresh and exciting for our fans," said Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus in a press release. "We put a lot of thought into how to do that this year and mixing it up in Vegas was really fun so we decided to continue with this new change of pace out on the road this summer. We are so pumped because no-one has ever seen Rascal Flatts like this before and we're really excited to have such great support this year with Kelsea and Chris too, it's going to be a blast!" 
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