On her current tour opening for superstar Chris Young, Cassadee Pope is supported by a Michael Stanley-designed light show featuring versatile Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures from CHAUVET Professional, supplied by Bandit Lites. Stanley, who is also the programmer and Lighting Director for Chris Young, used 12 of the rotating Rogue fixtures in his floor package for Pope after consulting with the Bandit Lites team.
Stanley recalled: “The linear shape of the fixture obviously could give us the orientation we wanted. But beyond that, we knew that all of the angles and effects we could get from the Rogue’s rotations and movements could give us the kind of exciting looks that reflected Cassadee’s music.”
Stanley positioned the Rogue R1 FX-Bs inside 10’ vertical truss with guide rods. The truss is built on pallets arranged in a staggered configuration to allow sweeping, unbroken coverage of the stage. Like the artist herself, the Rogues in Stanley’s rig convey a myriad of emotions throughout the performance.
“I built the Rogue’s pallets in a staggered position, so in 360° tilt there’s ability for consistent sweeping without any large breaks and bursts of rolling fans,” said Stanley. “At different points during the set, we’ll use them for blinders and big beam looks, along with some crowd sweeping effects to reflect the mood of the music. They definitely build as the show goes on. We get some big looks using the 360° tilt close to the end of the set. Cassadee has a fun and dynamic show, and the Rogues keep pace.”
From Stanley’s perspective, however, being the Lighting Designer for Pope and the Programmer / Director for Chris Young presented some challenges. “Being Chris Young’s PM/LD, and being heavy into festival season, didn’t leave me with a lot of time,” he said. “I didn’t have an opportunity to see Cassadee’s rig before day one of the tour. I programmed most of the show in a hotel room before seeing it in person. Of course, once I saw it I was blown away. Our Bandit Crew Chief Andrew Jacoby is the board op for this, and he’s doing a phenomenal job.”
In addition to the Rogue R1 FX-Bs, the Cassadee Pope rig, which is controlled by a grandMA2 Lite, is comprised of moving spots, washes and blinder panels. “We needed the rig to be streamlined because of trailer space and the fast set changes required,” said Stanley.
A lot of movement was called for to keep up with this versatile artist’s dynamic music, and that is exactly what Stanley and the Rogue R1 FX-Bs in his rig delivered.
