When Hillsong United announced its highly-anticipated The People Tour, which included over 30 cities in the Americas, the group noted: “We have been working hard on a brand-new experience.” The tour kicked-off in Austin, Texas on the eve of the release of their 14th live album People, which made its late-April debut as the week’s top-selling album in US charts and recently won the Dove Award for Best Album of the Year.
To bring their audiences a new experience Hillsong United’s production team relied on Solotech, a global leader in entertainment technology, to supply the audio, video, lighting, rigging and soft goods services for the tour. Steve Pippett, Production Director for Hillsong, Tim Greene, Production Manager and Production Designer Nathan Taylor worked closely with Lee Moro, Vice-President, Live Productions Division, USA at Solotech.
“Hillsong always has sky-high aspirations and expectations to create a unique experience with their audience, regardless of whether it’s an intimate venue or a full-size major arena,” noted Moro. “Solotech always collaborates with them to succeed in delivering this engagement for each and every performance; ensuring that the design is realized to the intentions of the artists. It is always a wonderful collaboration between Solotech and Hillsong.”
One of the important features of the set is a huge trapezoidal-shaped screen, which Solotech provided, that overhangs both the stage and the pit, displaying content and live images of the performance above the audience. The songs’ lyrics are projected onto the back of the stage and onto the edges of the giant screen for the concert-goers to sing in unison. Two additional screens are also installed on each side of the stage.
“One of the biggest challenges for our teams was the projection-mapped roof over the band and audience, however the results were breathtaking. It creates a unique atmosphere for the fans; it’s really spectacular,” noted Jason McCarrick, Solotech’s Technical Specialist on the tour.