"Creativity knows no bounds"… This well-known saying wasn’t created with Tash Sultana in mind, but it would fit her perfectly. More than just a performer, this Australian multi-instrumentalist is a musical force that takes the audience on a fascinating and joyful journey, without a script or map, along a captivating path.
Lighting a performance like this can be a challenge, but it’s one that Justin Casey and his team at HELM Projects are enjoying meeting on Sultana’s current The Return To The Roots tour. Their lighting, lasers, and video perfectly reflect every curve, sudden peak, or gentle valley of their client’s performance, regardless of the instrument being played.
Tash is an incredible musician who moves all over the stage. Her energy is contagious. There is a lot of improvisation, as things change depending on the mood and energy level, which keeps the team on their toes. They have to be ready to make changes quickly, just like this artist does. So, when I designed the show for this tour, I made sure to account for Tash’s different solos, with the lasers and lighting positioned to complement each moment, said Casey.
To turn his flexible, multifaceted show into reality, Casey relied on an impressive collection of one-meter EPIX Strip Tour LED strips, Color STRIKE M (motorized strobes and washes), and Maverick Storm 2 Profiles from CHAUVET Professional, all from HELM Projects’ own inventory.
Casey and the production crew (John Phillips, PM; Owen Pike, LD; and Travis Price, L2) coordinated these lights with the rig’s lasers, operated by Nick Stabile. “Lasers were something new for this tour”, he commented. “We were going for a psychedelic pop-EDM vibe, while also complementing Tash’s incredible musical skills. We were able to add them during solos to really ramp up the intensity. The lighting set the scene and helped build the intensity for when we finally added the lasers”.
Also contributing to the rich visual texture on stage was the video content managed by VJ Andrew Gross. “We had some really cool content created by Human Person that Andrew was able to manipulate to make it stand out”, said Casey. “We carried a video wall on this tour with several possible configurations. The main one was a 40-foot-wide curved ground-supported wall. In venues like Red Rocks, we were able to fly it. We also had a camera package on the tour, which allowed us to get great content for the screen during big solos”.
Adding to the overall quality of the production were floor projections from gobos generated by the Maverick Storm 2 Profiles, along with color washes from the EPIX Strip Tour strips that tied into the looks created by the overhead fixtures and the video wall. This not only reinforced the immersive feel of the design but also helped the team adapt the production to the different rig sizes encountered on the tour.
On this tour, we played venues of all sizes, from Red Rocks to the Van Buren in Phoenix (a live music venue with a capacity of 1,800). The stages varied greatly, which forced us to adapt. We wrapped the risers with edge lighting, and in front of them, we placed custom-made brackets for the EPIX to form half sunburst shapes. We used the one-meter EPIX Strip Tour fixtures, which gave our set a unique and custom fill. They are great lights for filling space and creating a vibe, explained Casey.
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Casey pointed out that the most versatile element of the rig —and the one responsible for the beautiful color combinations that reflected the essence of Sultana’s eclectic music— was the Color STRIKE M. “We had a ton of them; they were everywhere”, he said of the motorized strobe-wash. “We placed some under our acrylic risers where Tash would solo, as well as using them for foot lighting the band and on side trusses. They are great wash lights for throwing big, bright colors all over the place”.
The sweeping looks created with the Color STRIKE M offered the perfect visual metaphor for the sound of Tash Sultana, who once said, “Music is the embodiment of my soul. When I play, I’m not performing a song; I’m becoming it”.
In this show, beautifully evocative lighting, created by an inspired design team, accompanies the talented artist every step of the way on this transcendent journey.
