Nehemiah Grubbs Creates Down Home Mood at MerleFest with CHAUVET Professional

	"The Storm 2 provided some really interesting eye candy effects with the pixel capabilities," says Grubb.

This year, the 37 annual MerleFest honored the memory of flat picking country music guitarist Doc Watson.

The music played at the festival, which is named after Doc's late son and fellow musician Merle Watson, was warm, witty, inviting, and heartfelt, especially when it's played in North Carolina's hill country.

Enhancing this atmosphere at the festival's famed Doc and Merle Watson main stage and two other sites at the four-day event were richly textured and colorful lightshows designed by Nehemiah Grubbs. Grubbs created an immersive aura around it by lighting the surrounding wooded area in vibrant colors.

Helping Grubbs create this design was a collection of 76 CHAUVET Professional Maverick Storm 2 BeamWashes, Rogue Outcast 2x Washes and COLORado 1 Solo pars, supplied by SE Systems.

"There is a lot of history surrounding this festival," says Grubbs, who served as production manager as well as lighting designer for the event. "SE Systems has been handling full production of MerleFest since its inception 35 years ago. Cliff Miller, the owner of SE Systems, had a long history with Doc Watson, providing audio for his shows, and touring as a guitar player for many years. We tried to reflect this tradition with our looks."

To maintain an open, friendly atmosphere throughout the festival and on its stages, Grubbs opted to go with uncluttered looks. This was especially important at the main stage, which hosted stars like The Avett Brothers (who were introduced by the governor of North Carolina), Bonnie Raitt, and the Juno Award winning bluegrass quartet, The Dead South.

With talent like this on stage, Grubb wanted to create some visual sizzle, without detracting from his desired uncluttered look. The Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash and Rogue Outcast 2X Wash helped him and his team (Michael Lowery, L1 and Katherine Braswel, L3/Production Manager) achieve this goal.

"The Storm 2 provided some really interesting eye candy effects with the pixel capabilities," says Grubb. "It looked great on IMAG. The Rogue 2X wash was used to handle all front key lighting, the smooth dimmer curve and its white color values really stood out. We got a lot of variety, with taking up a lot of space."