Lighting designer Benjamin Moffitt has been working for legendary US rock band Foreigner for the last 2 years and has been a lighting professional for 40 years, and for around 20 years of that period, he has been using Avolites for his lighting control.
Foreigner – founded in 1976 – is one of the best-selling bands in the world and has been extremely active recently, taking to the road for ‘farewell’ tours through 2022, 2023 and 2024, interspersed with very successful Las Vegas residencies at The Venetian in 2023 and 24, as well as some co-headliner tours. Dates are currently booked for 2025 and into 2026, when they will celebrate an incredible 50th Anniversary. Some performances have seen original members rock up to join and play with the current lineup, notably original lead vocalist Lou Gramm, who was one of six founding members starting out in 1976, together with guitarist Mick Jones, drummer Dennis Elliot, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Ed Gagliardi and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald.
Benjamin describes himself as ‘always an Avo Sapphire guy’ when it comes to his control system and console of choice, and most recently has been appreciating the power, flexibility and simplicity of the Sapphire combined with the Titan software. Now he is also starting to lean towards Avo’s D9 after a couple of uses and is currently putting a T3 controlled rig together for some fly dates. “The new encoders are just as great as those on all my other desks,” he noted.
When video was introduced to Foreigner’s stage set in 2023 during their Venetian residency of that year, in the form of a large upstage LED screen with extensive LED strips delineating the set, Benjamin decided to use Avo’s AI servers. He’d first utilized AI servers for video content on his own custom video servers for 3 Doors Down tours in 2021 and 22, but for Foreigner expanded the system by also using Synergy for mapping the set lighting LED strips.
Synergy – Avo’s proprietary protocol that unites lighting and video seamlessly into one user interface – enabled pixel-mapping of the LED strips and easy control of these together with approximately 200 lighting fixtures via the Sapphire console. The lighting rig contains products from several brands, complete with a floor package and some striking custom pods on the deck, fabricated by rental vendor Premier Global.
Stylistically, Foreigner is a no-nonsense BIG rock show aesthetic, so lighting embraces this with all the attitude, balls, and brashness you would expect, plus plenty of drama for any slower power ballad moments … all run by Benjamin on his Avolites Sapphire. Creatively, he was careful to ensure that the video effects were well-blended and complementary to the lighting and musical material, so the band felt comfortable with having this new and exciting visual element to the stage presentation.
Benjamin owns two Sapphire consoles himself. One is used as a previz board and is permanently stationed in his studio; the other is usually on the road with him. He also purchased a third and donated it to the Pipestone Performing Arts Center in Pipestone, Minnesota. This is where he grew up, and so he has always tried to give back to the community there. His sister Reggina “Moffitt” Gorter runs a non-profit music school and directs many plays at the theatre.
Years ago, Benjamin helped the theater buy a 2010 Avolites Pearl Rolacue and when time allowed, he would go in and give the rig a clean. About a year after the Pearl arrived, lightning struck – literally – and a power surge killed the Pearl! So HELLYEAH, the band he was with at the time, sold them their old Pearl Expert for almost nothing … and 13 years later that console was at the end of its run and needed replacing. In 2024, Benjamin installed the Sapphire Touch plus modern lighting which allowed the theater to benefit from a dynamic and contemporary lighting system.
Benjamin had started using Avolites originally back in the days of the classic Pearl ‘Rolacue’ desk which then morphed into the Pearl 2004, 2008 and Pearl Expert versions, then onto Sapphire and has “not looked back” since. “I like the sliders and the faders on the Sapphire, I am really not a knobs guy.” Benjamin adds that despite that statement, he is now getting into using the Avolites D9 which does have a few rotary encoders on the top and right-hand side. He also appreciates the Sapphire’s small footprint and the neat and tidy two screens-wide set up and work interface.
Benjamin thinks that Titan software “makes everything super-simple and logical to grab the lights and program them to do what you want without having to navigate vast, complex, and potentially confusing menu systems.” He loves that visualization program Capture is fully integrated into the Avolites console software. His own style of operating lighting and visuals is very hands-on and ideally suited to the Avolites platform, succinctly summed up with the comment, “I want to feel like I am running lights not looking at timecode.”
He is really enjoying this block of work with Foreigner and relished the two sets of Vegas residencies, noting that the Venetian’s venue staff and tech crew – led by production manager Scott Ava and head of lighting, Justin Miller – were a joy to work with. Foreigner goes back into the Venetian in March 2026, complete with an orchestra, to kick off the 50th Anniversary Tour which is expected to run through 2026 and into 2027.
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