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.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
Garth Brooks Returns to the Stage with Bandit Lites posted: 03/07/2020 
