Super Bowl XLVII was a memorable game, but the full Super Bowl experience started well before kickoff with a pair of live pre-game concerts broadcast on VH-1 and CMT where Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and grandMA2 light consoles played key roles.
VH-1 and the NFL joined forces to celebrate the Super Bowl with Train headlining on Friday night. CMT and the NFL partnered the following evening on a Crossroads special starring superstar country band Rascal Flatts and iconic rock band Journey. Both concerts were held at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans, which seats 4,000-5,000 fans.
Atomic Lighting of Lititz, Pennsylvania provided 40 Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and a pair of grandMA2 light systems with wings for the concert series. PEDG was the production design team collaborating. Bob Pederson was acting lighting designer on the broadcast truck.
"Atomic had suggested using the QWOs. I hadn't used them before, but Spike [Lloyd] had just done a shootout and loved them so he was onboard with them," says Nathan Wilson, an associate designer with PEDG who served as project manager/production designer for the concerts along with Lloyd.
The grandMA2 lights were selected by programmers Kevin Lawson and Tyler Roach. "I've always liked MA products, but I've been designing more lately and programming less," says Wilson. "Kevin raved about the grandMA2 light, and it's PEDG's desk of choice for all the programmers we work , Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, adds, "We're proud to have our lights involved in these high with."
