Winter Jam Returns with Bandit Lites

	Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

Since its inception in 1995, the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular has offered an evening of live concerts with Christian artists, worship, and ministry. This year, the event held special Winter Jam weekends with a lineup that included NewSong, Riley Clemmons, KB, We The Kingdom, Colton Dixon, and headliner Crowder. Bandit Lites provided the lighting system for the production, where there was a limited capacity in each city due to social distancing measures.

Production manager Jerry Holcomb and lighting designer Kurtis Wheat crafted a three-truss design that would be versatile, quick, and efficient in the wide assortment of venues the tour would occupy.

"Because we played a lot of different type venues, we had to be able to move trusses and even vary lengths to accommodate size," explained Holcomb. "For example, we would go from an SL320 mobile stage to an arena, to an exhibition hall, to a convention center type, to a large mega church."

"Everything was different from day to day, including truss lengths and trim heights," said Wheat. "But every day this rig still looked great and had a big look to it, even though it was a lot smaller than our rigs in the past."

Bandit supplied Martin MAC III Profiles, Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes, Vari-Lite 3500 Washes, Elation Professional Chorus Line 16, Elation CuePix WW4, and Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Spots, which were chosen for their versatility.

"With this year's constraints, we needed to get as much bang for our buck," said Wheat. "The MK3s were impressive last year, and I knew they would perform well this year, without having as many other fixtures to help out. They were really the workhorse we needed."

Due to the rigging restrictions and budget limitations, Bandit Lites production designer Dizzy Gosnell and project manager Matt King worked diligently to make sure the system was achievable, while lighting techs Nikki Dotson and Cody Cheatham delivered Bandit's standard of excellence no matter what the situation.

"Bandit has always been consistent in everything, and that's extremely appreciated," added Wheat. "I know that I won't have to worry about how a weird day or venue is going to be handled: our crew always gets the job done, and we don't have to worry about them because they can adapt so well to any situation."

"Bandit's tour prep is amazing," Holcomb said, "even for such a short run this year, everything was prepped wonderfully."

"Winter Jam is one of those tours that I enjoy the process with Jerry and Kurtis as much as the result," said Bandit Lites business development officer Brent Barrett, "and the result always proves impressive! Jerry and Kurtis approach the design with the versatility needed to successfully light the multiple Christian artists with their multiple styles with a distinct look for each artist. The presentation of the event is always alive and dynamic. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this Winter Jam team!"

"Brent Barrett and Matt King always seem to go above and beyond, and are always so fun to work with," finished Wheat. "If I ever have an issue, it is handled and I have an email from both of them telling me it is taken care of. They truly do care and are some of the best in the business to work with!"

And while the industry is moving forward in 2021, it will be hard to forget the events of the past year and the hardships that came with it.

"Obviously 2020 shook our industry pretty hard, but the guys that were checking in on me every couple of weeks were the guys from Bandit," said Wheat. "From the crew guys all the way to the top; not a month went by that I didn't get a phone call, just to catch up and say hey! And that was a special thing to me, because I consider all these guys family and you don't find relationships like that very often, especially in a business environment."