Travis Shirley gets creative, running 80 fixtures in single pixel mode

Singer-songwriter Sam Hunt has supported country music legend Luke Bryan on a series of stadium shows this summer (as well as undertaking solo dates), with a stage set conceived by production designer, Travis Shirley (of TSLD).

To create a three-sided wrap-around, the LD used no fewer than 80 of GLP’s new JDC1 hybrid strobes, provided by Nashville-based Premier Global Production Company (PGP). Although this is the second tour that TSLD has handled the design for, Travis has worked with the artist for several years on a number of TV performances.

Explaining the reasons for choosing the JDC1, the LD states, “When planning the concept a huge factor was the load in/set up time we would be allowed for the shows with Luke. I knew that we needed something that had definition to it and offered the fans an experience of what they’ve come to expect from a Sam Hunt show, while at the same time being able to load in quickly. The lighting carts provided a huge look, while taking very little time to get on and off stage.”

He had fallen in love with GLP’s innovative hybrid as soon as it was released, immediately specifying a number of JDC1s on the last Enrique Iglesias/Pitbull tour. “I knew then that it would find a place in my Sam Hunt design,” he said. “Given the aforementioned load in and logistical struggles, paired up with the sunset and occasionally daylight hours we were playing, I knew the JDC1 would still produce a bang under the sun and could easily be attached to a series of carts creating a nice-ever changing lighting grid.”

Inventory came from PGP, who had first purchased the JDC1 for Metallica’s shows in Europe, before sending them out with Papa Roach and Alice in Chains. Said the company’s Senior Accounts Manager, Steven ‘Creech’ Anderson, “While many of the purchases we make are customer driven we could see the potential [of the JDC1] and decided that we should add a large amount of the fixtures to our inventory for future and upcoming tours.”

Anderson and Shirley had also worked together on Sam Hunt’s 2017 tour. This time around Trevor Ahlstrand (Travis’s long time co-designer) took control of the programming, running the JDC1s in full usage single pixel mode. “Sam’s music has a unique style that allows and prompts unique hits and lighting elements that the JDC1s in this mode are perfect for,” notes Travis. “While the light as a whole is a gorgeous thing, you can get extremely creative when given the full usage of single pixels. [Lighting director] Eric Hardin does a hell of a job running the show and doesn’t miss a beat!”

Travis Shirley says he is presently getting great returns right across the GLP portfolio, including the Force 120, which he used earlier this year with Old Dominion. “I also find that the X4 Bar 10 and 20 always find a way onto my shows — whether for floor shin kickers, or as a unique fascia light. The X4s, like the JDC1s, are a must have.”

At the same time he paid tribute to the support provided by GLP’s Mark Ravenhill, as well as Creech Anderson and the entire PGP team.

Anderson himself says the purchase of the JDC1s has been fully justified. “Without a doubt, the JDC1 is in demand as a more cost-effective strobe over all the different strobes on the market,” he says. “I do not see this fixture falling from the gear lists being supplied by production. It’s been a great Investment.”