NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Country crooner Frankie Ballard is out on tour bringing his classic country sound to fans across the nation. The ‘Sunshine and Whiskey’ singer is known for his vintage style on tour, something Bandit Lites lighting director Patrick Sieg focused on continuing. Using a Bandit supplied GrandMA 2 Ultra-Lite console, he worked to carefully accentuate Ballard’s four piece band, a component Sieg calls a major part of the performance.
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“There was no direction on design or concept from the camp or management when I first came on, so I studied the show, watched previous live concerts and pretty much threw ideas at the wall until something stuck,” said Sieg.
“I wanted the audience to visually perceive the band and take notice of their involvement without highlighting a clear focus on the stage,” he said. “I use a lot of saturating backlights on the band to achieve this, and then utilize specials for solos and introductions.”
Due to the high involvement of electric guitars in Ballard’s performance (both by himself and the lead guitarist) the lighting needed to include quick focal changes and active directional movement on the stage, a need where Sieg’s theatrical design background really thrived.
“By both replicating concepts of the McCandless method (using cool opposite warm in a 45- degree angle relative to the plane of the target) and Constantin Stanislavski’s stage concept of Naturalism, you are presented with a dynamic feel on stage that draws the audience in and involves them in the set.” Frankie Ballard’s tour continues through December. For upcoming dates, visit http://www.frankieballard.com/tour.
