Jova Beach Party 2022 saw Lorenzo Cherubini, aka Jovanotti, performing from June until September along beautiful Italian beaches, in front of stadium-size audiences totalling 550,000 spectators. This was a project that wanted to break the mould, leaving behind the usual live circuits to collaborate with an ambitious ecological initiative that aims to clean up 20m sqm of beaches, lakes, rivers and seabeds.
Lighting Designer, Paul Normandale, in collaboration with Lighting Director, Dave Morris, opted for 68 Ayrton Perseo Profiles and 14 Domino Profiles rigged on the main stage and the floor for audience and effects lighting, and on front of house spot towers for movement and effects, plus a stage wash in case of spot failure.
“We chose Ayrton units because of their IP65 protection rating, but above all because of their reliability and light output,” highlighted Morris. “Perseo Profiles, used for most of the time with open zoom, were able to offer high levels of illumination of the audience, fulfilling the artist’s desire to be able to see the crowd at any time during the concert. We used them mainly with dimmer and movement effects, and during each song they managed to create the right atmosphere, especially due to their bright colours.”
For the last stage of the concert at Bresso Airport, the duo added a further 48 Domino Profile fixtures to the rig to cope with the increased number of spectators and the need for more lighting on the ‘Kontiki’ B stage. “The extra output of the Domino units gave us full coverage of the crowd, while still offering bright saturated colours,” he remarked.
Normandale added: “I have used Ayrton many times this summer across Europe and the UK because of their IP rated nature, and indeed their brightness, as well as their LED sustainable light source. For the Jova Beach Party we had twenty-one 3.5 hour shows without a set list, no roof, on a beach, with between 40,000 to 100,000 people. The Ayrton kit held up really well!”
Morris agreed: “Ayrton units really impressed us for their reliability throughout the concerts, withstanding the harsh conditions of the Italian beaches, from the 40 degrees of heat to strong storms and rain in different locations. In all this, the Perseo and Domino units proved to be up to the task, resisting everything the elements could throw at them, right to the end, with maximum performance.”
The Ayrton Perseo and Domino units were presented by the exclusive distributor of Ayrton in Italy, Molpass, and provided by the Italian service Agorà.