Bandit Lites Helps Warren Haynes Xmas Jam Give Back posted: 21/12/2017
While the weather may have been frightful, fans and artists still turned out to give back at Warren Haynes Annual Christmas Jam. Bandit Lites was honored to donate a lighting package for the sold-out benefit for Habitat for Humanity where the lineup included Trey Anastasio and Classic Tab, The Avett Brothers, Blackberry Smoke, and Gov't Mule with a special appearance by Ann Wilson of Heart.
Lighting designer Preston Hoffman, excited to return to the helm of the evening after two years of scheduling conflicts, looked to craft a big rig that would be more immersive. The solution: going wide and placing truss outside the PA, which served to fill the field of vision. Hoffman also developed an idea of lining the balcony rails on either side of the audience with Chauvet DJ LED festoons, giving a festive look while still providing animation control.
The festoons worked great; we used 600' consisting of 240 bulbs individually controlled, said Hoffman. Another element that we usually incorporate are convention festoons hung over the audience. This year I decided instead of hanging them in strings over the audience, I would fashion them into chandeliers which really turned out great.
Preston wanted to make the show look as large as possible bearing in mind truck-space, load in and programming time available, crew constraints and the fact it is a 360 sold show, said Bandit's Production Manager Dizzy Gosnell. With that in mind, a low hung rear video wall was added this year which was a major upgrade to the look enabling custom backdrop looks for every act. If people look at some of the pictures on the web for this show, they'll see what looks like lovely Austrian drapes; however, they're digital. Much easier to deal with, and they don't get dirty or ripped!
Instead of being married to the same look all night, this allowed us to switch it up depending on the artist and keep that space fresh all night, Hoffman added. The video wall also allowed for some of the later acts to use motion graphics to bring the energy up to match the music. For example, I used an image of old, ornate distressed wall paper for Margo Price which matched her authentic country songs, and we used an Austrian curtain for the Avett brothers that looked right at home behind them. The video medium gave us a lot of flexibility to incorporate any ideas that we thought would work.
Bandit Lites donated the use of over 130 fixtures for the evening and Preston donated his two grand MA 2 Full consoles for control. VL 3000 Spots were spread out in a double arch over the stage hanging from eight fingers in addition to hanging off the wing trusses to continue the look outside of the PA. GLP X4's provided various lighting aspects, including big ACL and graphic beam looks, and surrounding the band with wash from all directions, a crucial need when the evening features dozens of different acts playing from the same stage. Finally, Robe Pointes were distributed between the fingers of the upstage and downstage truss while Bandit's exclusive GRNLite Pars provided truss toning.
The truss design has a cohesive look to it with some nice curves that I wanted to be able to draw attention to and use the shape visually, Hoffman said.
And as anticipated, the immersive design, effectively placed fixtures, cheerful festoons and video wall resulted in each act having a unique look of their own, while still supplying a cohesive, festive look that the Xmas Jam is known for.
Bandit really made the process from beginning to end very pleasant, said Hoffman. When I work with Bandit, everything is well thought out and no detail is missed; Dizzy and Project Manager Jimmy Hatten were right on top of everything. The onsite crew was one of the best crews I have worked with. Crew chief Andy French, a veteran of Xmas Jam easily led John Houle and Craig Richter to get the rig up and down in a fast and efficient way. I attribute a lot to the success of Xmas Jam this year to them and their tireless efforts.
We do enjoy being part of Warren's Habitat for Humanity drive every year, said Gosnell. In these tough times for some families, it is an extremely noble and worthwhile cause and we are all so proud at Bandit to be included in the mix.
About Bandit Lites, Inc. Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. Bandit's global presence will insure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Bandit Lites Helps Warren Haynes Xmas Jam Give Back posted: 21/12/2017 
