Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Garth Brooks Returns to the Stage with Bandit Lites

03/07/2020

Garth Brooks Returns to the Stage with Bandit Lites posted: 03/07/2020

Garth Brooks returned to the stage in true spectacular fashion, as only Garth can, in a coordinated live concert at over 300 drive-in theaters across North America. Nothing like this had ever been seen before, and Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the special event, where more than 350,000 fans were entertained while safe in their own vehicles.

This time, I was the fan and the people were the entertainment. Watching people all night from coast to coast, in Canada and here in the U.S., laughing, dancing, and singing, made me smile, said Garth Brooks in a statement. It reminded me how much I miss the crazy, happy, and unpredictable life we lead as entertainers. For one night, things seemed...right.

The event was produced by Encore Live and recorded in Nashville with a full band. Brooks' long-time lighting designer David Gig' Butzler modified his original in-the-round lighting design from Brooks' current world tour, all at a breakneck pace while programmer Aaron Swetland reworked the show.

We only had a week to put this together before he wanted to load in, so without a lot of time, we used the same lighting rig. We just hung it differently, explained Butzler. Dizzy Gosnell was the mastermind behind all of the CAD work.

We had to reign in some focus positions that just didn't work for this layout, said Swetland. No big deal, really. Just like an odd festival day! Second, some of the elements of the rig didn't fit and that forced us to create some new looks to augment moments from the missing fixtures.

With the drive-in wall being the key focus of the event, Butzler kept the video wall the main key element. Substituting a studio venue for what is normally a massive arena meant the lighting team had to do a rare thing for a Garth Brooks show: turn the lights down.

We had more light than what was needed, but that's the normal way for Garth, said Butzler. we just cheated by only having a couple of focuses that we put around the band instead of on them, but of course they walked in and out of hotspots.

Bandit Lites supplied nearly 400 fixtures including Robe BMFL Wash Beams, Robe BMFL,

Robe Robin 1200 LED Washes, GLP KNV Cubes, GLP JDC-1 Strobes, GLP X4 Bar 20, GLP X4S, VL 6000 Beams, Martin MAC Viper AirFX, Martin Atomic 3000 LED Strobes, Showline Nitro 510C, two grandMA2 Full consoles as well as a grandMA2 light.

The light masters made it extremely easy for us to keep light and follow the band, said Butzler. I was able to put eight units on an 80-foot truss to make it easier to key light the band. This could not have been done so easily using follow spot old school method, but otherwise everything did its job.

With the live entertainment industry frozen, this concert not only gave music fans something to come together and enjoy, but it also provided the opportunity for Bandit to quite literally shine a light in these dark times, something that was not lost on the team. Even more important, all of Bandit's employees were healthy and ready to go the moment the call came from Garth.

All our team jumped in, said Crew Chief Chuck Hastings. I had four to sixteen extra Bandits being stagehands for everyone. We helped to put together the stage, helped the audio guys push gear and run their cable, acted as downriggers and assisted the backline guys. We put down the that's not my gig' mentality, and made the show happen.

Thanks to Garth for putting this together and allowing us the chance to work again, added Swetland. I also want to give a big thanks to all the great Bandit LDs and techs that came out to help, from fork driving to deck slinging to spot opp-ing. They were awesome.

Bandit's crew included Cody Cheatham, Terese Fensler, Carter Hopkins, Andy Knighton, John

Lucksinger, Sam Morgan, Chris Noll, Craig Richter, Scot Sepe, Steve Strickland, Aaron Swetland, Ty Veneziano, Ryan Waldron, Elizabeth Weller, Scott Wesson, Justin Wilk, Carter Fulghum, Chuck Hastings and Dave Butzler.

Garth called me a few weeks back about his concept for a Drive-In Tour, said Bandit Lites

Chair Michael T. Strickland. I thought he meant playing multiple drive-ins. He quickly told me, No, not that. We will play 300 drive-ins at once!' Only Garth! Always a trail blazer, always a leader, he comes up with this unique concept and, like all things Garth, it is a home run. The care, love, and compassion that Garth has for his fans, his band, his crew and his friends and family is second to none. In a time when we are all looking for a way to connect, Garth figures it out. Thank you, my friend, I love you sir!

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 ensure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/garth-brooks-returns-stage-b...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

21/07/2026

High Interest, limited resources: AI in Mongolia's newsrooms

New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...

21/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: The Firsts, Breakthroughs, and Lasting Legacies

With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...

21/07/2026

NHL Launches Centralized Production Operation for Regional Broadcasts; Four Teams Aboard To Start

In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...

21/07/2026

With Boland Monitors, NEPs PGA TOUR Unit Ready for Future

When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...

21/07/2026

elysia Channex Studio now available

High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...

21/07/2026

Musik Hack announce HyFi mastering platform

Relies on same DSP as plug-in range Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...

21/07/2026

Dirty Boy Jr. Series from Warm Audio

Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...

21/07/2026

SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final

SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final 21 July, 2026 Media releases Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...

21/07/2026

Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC+SIPI 2026 in Dallas, Texas

Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...

21/07/2026

TVP Claims Top Spot as the World Cup and the Opole Music Festival Drive June Viewership in Poland

Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...

21/07/2026

Savannah Bananas Tap Calrec to Expand Banana Ball TV Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/07/2026

Where Growth Takes Root Viaccess-Orca Showcases the Found...

Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...

21/07/2026

Tuxera breaks performance ceilings and brings SMB/NFS mul...

Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...

21/07/2026

COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package

COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package Brie Clayton July 21, 2026 0 Comments HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...

21/07/2026

Cinegy directly addresses the real issues of software-def...

Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...

21/07/2026

Calrec brings leading audio solutions and long term busin...

Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47 Beyond bigger For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...

21/07/2026

Pebble takes the next step towards the future of media de...

Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...

21/07/2026

nxtedition Brings Production, AI and Automation Together...

nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...

21/07/2026

Big Blue Marble brings C2PA Content Credentials to Cloud...

C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...

21/07/2026

HDHomeRun Enables Operation During Internet Outages

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/07/2026

Calif. Federal Judge Pauses Paramount-WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/07/2026

AWARN Rebuts Weigel Claims of 3.0 EAS Problems

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/07/2026

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for August Open Meeting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/07/2026

VIDA Introduces QC Manager for Collaborative Quality Cont...

New capability centralizes collaboration, feedback, security and status tracking within VIDA, providing a structured, auditable approach to master quality contr...

21/07/2026

Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SIGGRAPH 2026

Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SI...

21/07/2026

Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Brie Clayton July 20, 2026 0 Comments Colorist blends vintage film looks to shape...

21/07/2026

Which USS Defiant Pulse Phaser effect is better?

Which USS Defiant Pulse Phaser effect is better? Graham Quince July 20, 2026 0 Comments Aargh, ever since @DarkRavenProductions posted a comment ask...

21/07/2026

X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's Fashion and Textile Workforce

X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's...

21/07/2026

Bluepeak Taps Harmonic to Speed Up Fiber Rollout and Expand into MDUs

Harmonics cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform and Pearl Remote OLTs Enable Flexible PON Migration, While SeaStar Optical Node Powers Cost-Effective Multi-Gigabit...

21/07/2026

From Lens to Pixel: Why Connected Workflows Are the Future of Live Venue Production

Every live event starts with a defining moment. A camera captures the game-winni...

21/07/2026

Built for Vera Rubin, NVIDIA Spectrum-6 Arrives in Gigascale AI Factories

AI has entered the gigascale era. The world's most advanced AI factories are bringing together hundreds of thousands of GPUs and CPUs to train frontier mod...

21/07/2026

NVIDIA Vera Rubin Driving Performance Per Watt, Lowest Token Cost for Partners Worldwide

NVIDIA Vera Rubin is here, and it's going gigascale. Vera Rubin NVL72 produ...

21/07/2026

RT announces biggest ever year for new drama

160 hours of Irish storytelling for 2026 KIN and The Walsh Sisters return RT has today unveiled its most ambitious drama slate ever, with a record-breakin...

20/07/2026

SVG All-Stars: Rob Coons, Senior Director, StudentU, Big Ten Network

The former Northwestern broadcast-operations leader is helping train the next generation of live-sports-production talent across the Big Ten The sports-product...

20/07/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Stacey Lee, the Filmmaker Behind Murder 101

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...

20/07/2026

Graph Tech Guitar Labs open UK Online Store

Product range now readily available in the UK Graph Tech Guitar Labs have just announced the launch of a new UK Online Store that makes it quicker and easie...

20/07/2026

Audeze launch the Maxwell 2 ANC

Popular headset gains active noise cancellation The Maxwell headet was Audeze's first foray into the gaming world, and thanks to its Dolby Atmos compati...

20/07/2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) Call for Public Screening funding applications for Cycle 1, 2026/27 financial year is Open

The NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, has released t...

20/07/2026

Telemundo Inks Another Major U.S. Spanish-Language Soccer Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/07/2026

HDHomeRun Enables Operation During An Internet Outage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/07/2026

Starfish highlights flexible, scalable transport stream p...

Starfish Technologies will use IBC2026 to showcase the flexibility of its transport stream processing software, including the latest versions of TS Splicer (Win...

20/07/2026

Bitfocus makes the connections at IBC2026

Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, will show at IBC2026 (Elgato stand 8.D31, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) how its Buttons control la...

20/07/2026

Mediagenix Introduces Trusted Agentic AI Operating Model...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced new AI capabilities that e...

20/07/2026

Big Blue Marble Cloud DRM nominated for Streaming Media R...

Big Blue Marble's Cloud DRM has been nominated in the DRM/Content Protection category of the 2026 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards. Only four pro...

20/07/2026

Sky brings free global roaming to millions of loyal customers when they choose Sky Mobile

Monday 20 July 2026 Sky brings free global roaming to millions of loyal custome...

20/07/2026

Red Seat Ventures Announces Introduction of Premium Creator and Podcast Communities to Amazon DSP

Red Seat Ventures Announces Introduction of Premium Creator and Podcast Communit...