Commissioned by the tour direction company The Beehive LA, Michael Brown’s creative direction and production design for indie breakout singer Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us tour aimed to create an atmosphere of intimacy and fan connection, despite being performed in large-scale venues.
As USA Today noted: “Gracie Abrams sings like she's letting you in on a secret”.
To capture this feeling of closeness through artistic lighting, Clearwing, a Clair Global brand, worked alongside Michael to bring his design to life, combining state-of-the-art lighting technology, custom-fabricated hardware, and strategic vendor partnerships.
Michael worked closely with co-lighting designer and programmer Zach Sternberg, lighting director Taylor Glatt, Clearwing senior account executive Steve Harvey, and Clearwing lighting crew chief Sam McKeown.
My approach as a designer is always centered on the artist side of the equation. I want to design shows that are beautiful and unique while also allowing the tour to operate as efficiently as possible. I want every artist I work with to succeed—not only creatively, but financially as well. I make a deliberate effort to work alongside production managers, tour directors, and production teams to ensure that ideas, budgets, and timelines are met, Michael begins.
To achieve this, Michael had one vendor in mind: “When I began collaborating with Gracie’s production team on this tour, one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to introduce them to Clearwing as the ideal partner capable of managing all lighting and associated technical logistics. Every project we’ve done together has always included an intentional focus on systems and the concept of ‘smarter touring’”.
Vinnie Ferra, tour director and founder of The Beehive LA, comments: “Over the six years I’ve had the privilege of working with Gracie, we’ve watched her career grow from intimate theaters to full-scale arenas. When we began discussing production vendors, everyone understood how important it is to surround Gracie with the right people. When Michael Brown, our production director, recommended Clearwing, his confidence in their top-tier team and equipment immediately put me at ease, and they did not disappoint. When you partner with a team that knows how to collaborate and support one another on tour, you save invaluable time and energy. Clearwing allowed us to focus on what matters: delivering an incredible show”.
Originally conceived for smaller venues, the public demand for Gracie to perform in arenas, along with her festival appearances, meant the show design had to be adapted as needed, as Sam McKeown, lighting crew chief, explains: “Any time Michael Brown reaches out to collaborate with us, we get excited. We’ve built a 10-year working relationship based on trust, and the results always come down to smart and efficient touring solutions. We knew this tour was going to be special, but the scale grew at an astounding rate. Part of working with Michael is the fun of creating systems that align with a smarter touring vision”.
One of the main challenges was the large floor lighting system, which had to operate seamlessly both in arenas and during rapid changeovers at North American festivals such as Lollapalooza, Osheaga, and Outside Lands.
We worked on a custom floor sled that allowed us to maximize truck space, minimize load-in time, and keep the deck always tidy. Working alongside specialized structure fabricators Texas Structures to create the right solution enabled us to deliver a phenomenal product: a stackable touring cart that travels with fixtures just 8 inches off the floor, Sam continues.
Michael adds: “It’s always enjoyable to see festival crews impressed by a tour prep and build. Our Clearwing team is top-notch and is an essential part of Gracie’s touring crew; their ability and professionalism are recognized everywhere we go. Sam and Steve play a fundamental role in how this tour operates. The attention to detail you get with Clearwing isn’t typical service; they invest in the details that save touring productions time and money. Gracie’s tour also includes custom automation, rigging, transport, network, and control solutions designed for speed, and the product quality is extremely high. This makes my life as a designer so much easier because I know my ideas won’t be compromised and will be delivered in an immaculate package, exactly as drawn”.
The speed of deployment was key. With nearly 244 meters of GT Truss on the tour, every minute of load-in and load-out was calculated to the second. Sam continues: “The new Tyler Lighting Ladder system for our side light torms and the Tyler v2 Light Rack built as large dimmer barges helped make speed and tidiness go hand in hand”.
The tour is programmed and operated on an MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size console and uses nearly 200 Martin Professional units, most of which are new additions to Clearwing’s state-of-the-art inventory.
The MAC Aura Raven XIP, Martin MAC Aura XIP, and Martin MAC One make seamless color matching and rapid movement effects possible.
I’m very pleased we had the opportunity to use the new Aura Raven fixtures; it’s great to finally have an aura/lens element bright enough to translate in arena shows, with excellent color rendering abilities. Integrating them into our automation made that lighting element versatile and the workhorse of the show. The Aura XIP does a fantastic job of being bright while still small enough not to draw too much attention, and I’m impressed with the Martin MAC One—a small yet punchy fixture that eliminates LED bubbles and has a unique Fresnel lens effect. For me, these three luminaires work in perfect harmony, Michael says.
Other fixtures included GLP Impression X4 Bar 20, Vari-Lite VL3600 LT, Vari-Lite 3600IP Profile —which provided crisp optics and a clean color system—, Elation Professional Pulse Bar L and Pulse Bar S, Astera AX5, and Chauvet Professional Color Strike M, along with 100 CM Chain Hoists.
The tour incorporated 11 new Vari-Lite VL3600IP LT units, some integrated into Spotrack Evolution v4 systems, which proved to be another simple and effective solution.
Senior account executive Steve Harvey highlighted the results of Michael’s design: “Michael Brown’s shows captivate you; he can hold a look, a defining theatrical moment. He plays into the audience’s reaction, and that makes the show”.
Clearwing also designed a robust lighting network backbone. The Luminex network powered a system of nearly 100 DMX universes, making it reliable, simple, and efficient. Sam explains: “Having LumiNode12 DMX Nodes, GigaCore 20t and 30i switches, and LumiCore64 built in for festival integration was a dream. The LumiCore64 product has really simplified multi-system integration”.
Steve concludes by explaining that Clearwing has developed strong client relationships and tailored services that enhance production values while increasing efficiency: “We take the time to understand the lighting designer’s needs, and we make it happen. Gracie’s custom lighting system was a huge success, and our crew was loading out of festivals in 12 minutes! When a vendor is agile and designs first-rate custom fabrications, you get a service provider that not only cares about technical excellence but also about making day-to-day work easier for the crews. There is always a ‘family’ feel to our tours, partly because of this”.
The Clearwing lighting crew for the The Secret of Us tour was completed by Robbie Scott, Derek Frenz, Pedro Pradenas, Zach Lipo Zovic, Bart Freed, and Jeff Jann.
