HSL supplied lighting and rigging to Earth Wind and Fire’s recent UK and European
tour which included a closing headline slot on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury
2016 as the second show.

Lighting was designed by Merle McLain who has worked with the band for 23 years.
He was on the road operating the key and conventional lights and also directing and
switching seven robo-cams as well as keeping an overview on all-things visual.
Running the moving lights was Robin Seefeldt. Lester Cobrin was HSL’s project
manager on the road, with everything at the warehouse end managed by Sean
McGlone.

Earth Wind and Fire, one of the most successful bands of the 20th century have
embraced many musical genres including soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, R”n’B, pop, rock,
Latin and African – and have a huge and eclectic fanbase as a result. Their live
shows are known for their vibrance and energy, and the band still tours constantly
worldwide.

The version of the current tour’s lighting design used for this leg of the 2016 tour
was based on four trusses – upstage, downstage and two side trusses.

With 12 people onstage and the full 60ft width and 40ft depth of the performance
area needing to be lit, there were several challenges!

The main effects moving lights from HSL were Martin MAC Viper Profiles, rigged in
the air upstage and downstage, with more on the floor behind the backline.

Twenty-two MAC 2K XB washes were dotted around the trusses and on the floor.

There was a central video wall upstage of the back truss and some smaller LED
surfaces stage left and right behind the drums and keyboards respectively.

Source Four profiles on the front truss provided the key lighting, and 2K fresnels on
the front truss, five were used to make a basic stage wash, with two reserved as
audience fillers for camera shots into the crowd of the highly interactive show,
together with some 2-lite Moles.

Joining Merle and Robin were HSL crew chief Andy “Paris’ Hilton, Dave Bunn and Rik
Foreman. Robin commented that they worked very quickly and efficiently each day
to get the rig up and ready.

Robin ran the moving lights from a grandMA2 full size console. She’s been working
with Merle on Earth Wind & Fire for the last two years, taking over from the
previous moving light operator Jess Baker who’d been in the role for around 12
years. Her console also triggered the ArKaos media server running the playback
video content and she called – on this tour – four follow spots which were Robert
Juliat Cyranos from HSL.

Merle himself – an industry maverick with 42 years’ experience starting back in the
glorious 1970s and part of that rock “n’ roll rulebook writing era – ran the
conventionals from an Avolites Pearl Expert console.