Robe for the Country Music Television Awards

International lighting designer Tom Kenny specified over 100 Robe moving lights -- ROBIN MMX Spots and ROBIN 600 LEDWashes -- to light the 2012 Country Music Television Awards (CMT) event in Nashville, Tennessee on June 6.

Staged at Bridgestone Arena, the annual Awards show is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and TV performances, which is enjoyed by a live audience of over 15,000 and broadcast live on CMT.

Hosted by Toby Keith and Kristen Bell, the action-packed evening featured live performances from a truly stellar line up of country talent including Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, and many more. Lighting equipment was supplied by VER Rentals.

It's the fourth year that Kenny has designed lighting for the CMT Awards. He worked closely with set designer Ann Brahic and video designer Tim Levally.

There was a close correlation between lighting and video in the scenic environment, and at around 300' wide by 250' deep, the spectacular stage dimensions emphasized the impact and importance of country music that underlined the essence of the evening.

The Robe MMX spots were used to frame the various video walls and set pieces, and six were positioned on the floor and used for rear effects on the B stage during the live performances taking place there.

The MMXs generally were used to produce striking back lighting for the cameras. The LEDWash 600s were used to light the various scenic elements and the audience.

Kenny has used Robe's LEDWash 600s on a few previous occasions, but this was his first time using MMX Spots - for which he was suitably impressed with the power and output. He says, "Robe fixtures can definitely compete with any other product out there -- they are very fast and always work reliably -- that's what you need."

He adds that he received great support from Robe Lighting Inc.'s rental and staging segment manager Heather Busch.

Kenny, is known for his great sense of humour and honesty. "It takes a lot to impress me -- I have been a guinea pig for many a new lighting product since 1987 -- and this new Robe ROBIN line is very good. Both the MMXs and the LEDWash 600s proved themselves in every cue, the speed and lumens gave us some great looks and I look forward to using them on future projects," he concludes.