JJ Grey had one bit of advice for the artists who joined him and his band Mofro for their two-day festival, “The Blackwater Sol Revival,” which kicked off May 24. “Don’t stand on the side of the stage because I’m going to put you on the spot.”
The legendary artist was true to his word. Guest stars, a group that included John Anderson, The Marshall Tucker Band, Season 24 “The Voice” winner Huntley, and 49 Winchester, were called up on stage at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre to join JJ Grey & Mofro as they performed their captivating blend of southern rock and blues with a distinctive touch of jazz.
It was an invitation everyone gladly accepted. And why not? Coming together to play this kind of downhome music that resides at the intersection of cowboy boots and beach sandals was an ideal why to start summer. Setting an engaging atmosphere on stage, while supporting each artist with strong, natural-looking light was a Martin Thomas design that featured an even 100 CHAUVET Professional fixtures supplied by AVL Productions (Jacksonville, FL).
“The design concept for the Black Water Sol Revival festival rig was to give the touring LDs to have as much of an eye-catching rig as possible,” said Thomas. “In general, this was about being in sync with the extremely talented musicians and taking their timing and accents and not “overdoing” them with the lighting production. Also, as many of the acts performed during late-afternoon/sunset hours, and I wanted the system to offer great eye-candy for the audience as well as well as strong footcandles on stage for any of the other act’s LDs.
“As for the JJ Grey and Mofro & Mofro show that I did, it was entirely ‘live drive,’ no time code or cue stacks, with individual handles for wash, spot and FX fixture groups for position, beam/focus and color. This configuration gave me the ability to be flexible with the moments the band is creating. This was definitely not a “track act” of slaves to a single arrangement of JJ’s songs — there is always a bit of improvisation that I love sensing and being there when those moments happen.”
Color played a key role in helping Thomas set the mood for his client’s songs. For example, red and deep amber dominated for songs like the title track “Olustee,” which tells the story of JJ Grey being in the middle of a wildfire in his native northern Florida, while hits like “This River,” and “Lochloosa,” feature various shades of blues, from cyan to Congo, to reflect their strong association with the sea and the sky. Backlighting from the rig’s eight Maverick Force S Spot fixtures contributed to the color aspect of the design.
Among the most memorable moments in the show occurred when JJ Grey & Mofro covered of John Anderson’s haunting “Seminole Wind.” Thomas set the tone, creating a dark environment of greens and deep violets, inspired by visits to his client’s recording studio in the wetlands near Jacksonville during dusk.
Correct key lighting was also pivotal to Thomas’s design vision. “One of the signatures of all my shows is strong key light for the players, to cut them out of the look during solos and moments when their part is in front of the audio mix,” he said. “Having six Maverick Storm 2 Profiles on the downstage truss allowed me to carve the players out in a strong, natural light in conjunction with the 16 Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash fixtures that saturated the performance area in bold colors.”
Thomas relied on another 12 Maverick Storm 2 Profiles along with Rogue Outcast 2x Washes on his mid-stage truss to create “atmospheric effects and focus attention on center stage.” He also used 26 Rogue Outcast 2X Washes on mood-setting “chandeliers” positioned upstage. “The Outcast 2X accounted for a big section of my washes,” he noted. “I was able to run color effects and the occasional beam (gobo) effect through them. They were really the workhorse of the design.”
Speaking of “workhorses.” Thomas is quick to point out that his lightshow would not have been possible were it not for the dedicated efforts many people, including ear was Christopher Milton and Stephen Unkelbach of AVL; and Christopher Fanny from Lightscape Delaware; as well as Bill Parker’ Chris Delucchi, Al Lewis, Raymond Hardy, Carey Abrams, and tour manager Michael Savage.
“Everybody came together to make this work beautifully,” said Thomas. That’s not surprising, as one would expect a show that excelled by bringing artists together on stage, also thrived by having talented production professionals collaborating behind it.
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