Innovation Behind the Spotlight: Rethinking Arena Show Production

All the way back in 1978, still at school, I went to see Genesis at a festival at Knebworth House, a Stately home near where I live in Hertfordshire, UK. I thought I was going to see some musicians playing on a stage in front of 90,000 people. What I – besides the musicians – was this amazing lighting show. Giant mirrors moving over the band's head with light shining on them, making the lights move as they bounced off these mirrors. Lasers, smoke, and more – I was blown away. The following year, 1979, Led Zeppelin played there. I went there a few days prior to the show and asked for a job. Only at the third try two days later, I was hired as a dogbody to do all the jobs that nobody else wanted to do – but I was in.   

From that event, I never really looked back. I went on to work as a stagehand on various shows, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and more.  

It was always the lighting that interested me. Back then, the industry was in its infancy, and although I didn’t realize it at the time, I had arrived at the perfect time, because over the next decade, the touring industry exploded. I was 16 years old and keen to get involved. Back then, there were no degrees to be had in lighting design, sound engineering, or stage management.

Fast forward 40+ years, and I’m still here doing the job I love to this day. What makes it special is that everyone is working towards the same goal. To put on a show at the end of the day, take it down, put it into trucks, move to another city, and put it all back again.  

A recent project that pushed my own creativity was for Jamiroquai.

I’ve been working with Jamiroquai for over 25 years. Last summer, Jay, the main man in the band Jamiroquai, decided he wanted to go back on tour. He hadn’t done a tour in five  years. He and the band were writing a new album, and it was time to test the waters with the new material. We sat down with a blank piece of paper, and he wrote four words on it: “EGYPTIAN, COSMIC, PARADISE, DISCO.”  

As you can see, starting from the back, there is a giant screen. On the screen is a sort of rough paradise scene with butterflies, exotic birds, a sunset, an all-seeing eye, and what looks like a flying fish. In front are some palm trees, some water bubble columns, a band, and some risers and steps.  

That’s what I walked away with after this meeting. This is a great start. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from the first meeting with a piece of paper that had very little on it. Quite often, the artist doesn’t really have any idea of what he wants and really leans on you, the designer, to come up with a concept, which is also fine. That’s what I do. Come up with a concept or fill in the blanks. Jay, on this occasion, had a very good idea of what he wanted. My job was to translate this into a working design. I decided that, obviously, we needed a big screen at the back of the stage. This became a 20m-wide x 12m-high LED screen. 

I used layered LED screens to create a dynamic, immersive set. Angled screens formed 3D pyramid shapes, while LED columns doubled as adaptable “water” features and visual elements. Transparent mesh screens added depth by appearing and disappearing, allowing multiple visual layers. Overall, the concept replaced physical effects with flexible digital visuals, creating a versatile and tour-friendly video environment.

This was all drawn, as ever, with Vectorworks Spotlight. 

The set was designed using modular, rental-based stage components to create multiple levels. While custom-built trees were initially planned, they were dropped because they lacked flexibility across different show looks. Instead, tree visuals were delivered digitally via screens, allowing greater adaptability throughout the performance.

The heavy scenic elements – massive LED screens, pyramids, and columns – required overhead trusses and sectional lifting to safely support and fly the entire set.

So now we had the set and video worked out. It was then time to find a place for the musicians. 

After positioning the band, the challenge was integrating lighting, rigging, sound, and cabling around both the musicians and the flown LED elements. Using Vectorworks’ built-in libraries, all components were accurately planned and coordinated within a single design environment.

I think the show came out well. Egyptian, cosmic, disco, paradise.