Category
Concerts
Design Team
Tina Turner, eight-time Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, is currently dazzling audiences during the Tina Turner Live in ConcertTour, spanning North America and Europe. There are currently 80 dates scheduled, with more being added as the massive demand for tickets continues to increase.
Turner’s new show features her entire career of hits, backed by a spectacular production, including the singer’s high-energy band, original choreography, and of course, a jaw-dropping lighting scheme.
The mission for the production crew was simple and challenging at the same time: To make the stage show as powerful and exciting as the performer herself. No doubt, Tina can raise people’s pulse simply by her onstage energy, but after an eight-year hiatus, this needed to be over the top.
The stage includes a stunning array of 80 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300 fixtures, as part of a massive 27 x36' Saco V9 LED wall upstage. The wall was specially designed with motion control to split into eight movable sections. When the wall splits, the Alpha Beams shine through. The fixtures are hung from custom brackets on the sides of each of the eight screens, with five fixtures hanging along each side, which become visible only when the screens separate from each other.
Lighting designer is Barry “Baz” Halpin, who lists Cher, Queen, Joe Cocker, and Pink among his credits. “I chose the Alpha Beam 300 for Tina Turner because of their low power consumption and unparalleled output compared to anything else in its class,” says Halpin. “Because the fixtures were hung on the moving screens, it was imperative we used lightweight fixtures. I was most impressed by their reliability, speed, and effectiveness. They are lightweight, bright, and pack a powerful punch. I love them!”
Some of the most stunning effects occur first during “Addicted to Love,” when the LED wall splits for the first time into four sections, revealing 40 Alpha Beams between the split screens, then again during “Simply the Best,” when the four screens divide into eight, showing all 80 fixtures beaming between. Halpin says, “They look just beautiful – they make an incredible impact without overwhelming the other stage elements. We were able to use all of their features in different ways to get a gorgeous variety of looks.”
The tour had additional spark from Pyrotek Special Effects, including an all-fire cue upstage at the conclusion of Turner’s song, “Hero,” giving the song the look and feel of Turner’s action thriller film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdone. Later, during “Better Be Good to Me, fire was again creatively implemented alongside the video wall, and as graphics on the wall, making the virtual curtains onstage appear to catch on fire.
“When you’re told to create visuals to enhance someone like Tina Turner,” says Halpin, “you know you’re in for a wild ride. Thanks to a very talented production team and innovative products, I think we achieved just that. The audience goes absolutely wild!”
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