An array of stars gathered on sunday, November 26 2023 to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Michael Gudinski at Mushroom 50 Live. Each performer was reflected in a lighting design that featured 60 of the new CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorised battens from Showtools International.
Gudinski founded Mushroom Records in 1972. Over the years, he recorded, promoted and nurtured a generation of transformative Australian stars like MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, The Choirboys and Kylie Minogue among many others.
Honouring his legacy, the Mushroom Group recognised Gudinski’s half-century of achievements by holding Mushroom 50 Live, a live and broadcast show that featured 50 songs from 50 years of the record label Gudinski founded.
Lighting director Hugh Taranto, and programmer-operator Chad Spenser artfully deployed the fully pixel-mappable RGBW to accent the production design by Travis Hogan and Simon Johnson.
According to Taranto, the PXL Curve 12 fixtures were used for various purposes, including effect lights, footlights, beams, and more. Taranto noted that the IP65 rate fixtures impressed all the designers associated with the show thanks to their pixel mapping prowess, as well as their 12 independent heads, each with individual zoom, tilt and colour control.
Hanging above the proscenium were eight pod fascia’s custom built by the Showtools’ LED Strip Solutions company and designed by Casey Loraine. The custom-built LED pod fascia contributed to creating nostalgic looks and animation chases. The fixtures’ pixel mapping included the giant campfire effect during Dan Sultan’s set.
LED Strip Solutions also designed and built the various décor signage elements such as the huge “Mushroom” banner sign and the “50th” and “Mushroom Logo” signs.
