Baltimore, Maryland – Acclaimed bluegrass musician Billy Strings channeled the Coen Brothers cult classic “O Brother Where Art Thou?” film for his epic Halloween show at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. Entitled “O Billy, Where Art Thou?” the night featured a theatrical stage production illuminated by Bandit Lites. Strings was joined by special guests Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Duane Trucks, Lindsay Lou and many more.
Starring George Clooney, the 2000 film follows three escaped convicts in the deep South searching for hidden treasure while a sheriff relentlessly pursues them. Lighting designer Roger Gant evoked the rural 1937 film setting by utilizing tungsten additions to the fresnels and festoons.
“There is some really interesting information out there about this movie being the first ever major motion picture to be completely color graded and manipulated digitally,” explained Production Manager Charlie Bryson. “Because of this we were able to get much more insight than you might normally have done on any other movie about how the Coen Brothers and their director of photography wanted this movie to look. As a result, we were able to really dial in how we wanted the lighting to pay homage to the movie and be a really accurate representation of what they did for the film.”
“Obviously the movie was the main inspiration, but within that the filmmakers used a method of color toning on the film to desaturate colors and give off a very dusty, Depression era vibe,” explained Gant. “I even adjusted all my usual color presets to reduce saturation and make those colors less bold. I tried to make everything very cinematic and theatrical as we moved through the show and I thought it ended up looking pretty great!”
“Since the Baltimore shows were right in the middle of Billy’s regular tour schedule, Charlie and Roger’s brief for the show equipment-wise was to use as much of the tour system as possible, but hung with a much more theatrical/television/film look than a rock show to fit in with the vibe,” explained Bandit Lites VP of Production, Dizzy Gosnell. “In addition to the tour equipment spec, they chose LED fresnels by Elation and Dracast as well as some ETC Source 4 pars all with barn doors. It made total sense for their output and look, but the dark-horse, king-daddy units are the big old tungsten Mole 2k fresnels that Bandit’s Jake Tickle was offered before they hit the dumpster. Jake modified with an Astera bulb inside, a total blend of new and old (which have no right to look as good as they do), but they really rock. They also were looking for non-moving pantographs for hanging heads, not easy to find for rent, so I suggested some ‘faux’ pantos from the scenic shop using sections of trellis painted black and clamped on either side of the drop pipe that actually held the lamp in place.”
Bandit Lites supplied 332 feet of Tyler Truss, ETC Source Four Par with Barn Doors, Dracast 1k LED with Barn doors, Dracast 2k LED with Barn doors, 2k ‘Mole’ Astera LED with Barn doors, Elation Fresnel KL 8FC with Barn doors, tungsten Festoons, Ayrton Khamsin S, Ayrton Mistral S, Chauvet AIR min panel, STRIKE Array 2, ACME Gemini, Khamsin FS, a Follow Me System and three grandMA 3 Full consoles for control.
“I loved, loved, loved the Astera bulbs in the old beat-up Fresnel,” Gant said. “It looked amazing.”
With such precise lighting, those in attendance were transported to 1930s Mississippi as Billy Strings staged a dozen songs from the film with appearances from a staggering 11 high-profile special guests.
“Roger had to build the show from scratch in almost zero time as the set list was a total one-off and would run to a specific theatrical schedule,” said Gosnell. “Using a good chunk of the tour system just hung very differently gave him the leg up on programming that he needed. Throw in a few hundred feet of festoons and the whole thing really came to life with Roger’s masterful operating.”
“As always, my experience with Bandit has been impeccable,” said Gant. “Iti s great to work with Dizzy, who totally gets the art as well as the technical details. My crew is amazing: John Lucksinger is now one of my favorite people ever. Huge props to the Bandit team.”
“I have said this before, but Dizzy is really such a great asset to have on our side,” said Bryson. “His CAD skills, wealth of knowledge and his years of experience really help get projects from napkin drawing ideas to actionable, riggable show designs that I can deliver to venues.”
Billy Strings – Guitar / Vocals
Billy Failing – Banjo / Vocals
Alex Hargreaves – Fiddle
Royal Masat – Bass / Vocals
Jarrod Walker – Mandolin / Vocals
Andy Lytle – FOH Engineer
Roger Gant – Lighting Designer
Ryen McPherson – Video Director
Taj Givens – VJ
Bob Larkin – Video Engineer
Sam Treadway – Stream Specialist
Tobe Bean – Guitar Tech
Kyle Kriete – Backline Tech
Jimmy Marsh – Audio Tech
Jacob Siczka – Audio Tech
Nathan Epperson – Audio Tech
Lucky Lucksinger- Lighting Tech
Derek Ingrao – Lighting Tech
Jese Figueroa – Lighting Tech
Jason Wade – Tour Rigger
Charlie Bryson – Production Manager
Steve York – Assistant Production Manager
Nate Flores – Stage Manager
Jesse Faatz – Tour Photographer
William Felch – Videographer
Maggie Milosevic – Travel Director, Admin
Erica Johnson – Travel Coordinator
Mikaila Strycharz – Merchandise Director
Haley Obata – Merchandise Manager
Sherree Simonson – Tour Merchandise Manager
Tater Felver – Merchandise
Chandler Thayer – Merchandise
Journey Legg – Merchandise
David Sien – Merchandise
Mike Lee – Bus Driver
Mark Savana – Bus Driver
Ted Angell – Bus Driver
Rob Snow – Truck Driver
Jeff Stitt – Truck Driver
Tony Lira – Truck Driver
Jerry Ballengee – Truck Driver
James Slaughter – Truck Driver
Jordan Gant – Wardrobe
Jessie Crawford – Graphic Design
Logan Fox – Graphic Design
Tim Jansen – Admin Coordinator
Andrea Santoyo – Administrative Manager
Sameen Ahmad – Business Manager
Pat May – Booking Agent
Liz Irving – Marketing Director
Bill Orner – General Manager
About Bandit Lites, Inc.
Bandit Lites is a full-service design, management and producer of live events, theatrical productions, and live shows. Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of production needs. Bandit’s presence will ensure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you. More information available at www.BanditLites.com