ADJ at Christmus Burns Red Celebration

Thirty-six ADJ Jolt Bar FX multifunction linear LED fixtures and eight ADJ 40 HEX Panel IP LED-powered wash panels played an integral role in the lighting rig for the 2025 edition of Christmas Burns Red -- the hometown holiday shows hosted by metalcore heavyweights August Burns Red. Designed, programmed, and operated by LD Noah Connolly, the rig combined bold looks with high-impact strobe and intricate pixel effects. With additional fixtures supplied by trusted lighting vendor Squeek Lights, the band scaled up their festival and support slot touring rig to deliver an impressive headline production.

Staged at the 6,500-capacity Freedom Hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the two-night event ran across Friday December 12 and Saturday December 13. August Burns Red headlined both nights, delivering completely different sets each evening, supported by a rotating lineup that included Currents, Animals as Leaders, Invent Animate and Boundaries.

A Grammy-nominated rock band, August Burns Red's music is often described as metalcore, but the group is equally known for its positive lyrical themes, melodic and highly technical guitar work, and boundary-pushing use of classical instruments. To create the right atmosphere for this year's mini Christmas festival, the band once again trusted lighting designer Noah Connolly, who was responsible for designing, programming, and operating the lighting system for the event.

"I've always been a fan of metalcore - in fact I'm a drummer myself - and have previously worked in that world," says Connolly, "but ended up as LD for some pretty big pop/rap artists. Then, randomly, I was invited to do a one-off fill-in gig for August Burns Red. I was meant to just show up and busk a five-show support run with Ice Nine Kills. But the band liked what I busked, and they're a super cool group of people to hang out with, so I've just stuck with them ever since as my main gig. They are really easy to work with and leave the designing and programming entirely in my court. It's also great to be in a scene that fits so well with my own musical taste. I started working for them in 2023, in August funnily enough, so it's been just over two and a half years!"

The culmination of a big year for the band, August Burns Red used their Christmas shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of debut album Thrill Seeker as well as the 10th anniversary of popular release Found In Far Away Places. As they were two of the band's biggest headline shows of the year, all the stops were pulled out in terms of production for Christmas Burns Red, with Connolly evolving a design concept that had been developed across previous tours and festival runs.

"Over the past couple of years we've done a lot of festivals and support runs on arena tours using a ground package made up of pods on big rolling carts that I welded and fitted with Jolt Bar FXs," explains Connolly. "And I used a similar look for Christmas Burns Red last year. So, this year the idea was basically to mirror the whole rig and expand up, flying the Jolts for the first time on an August Burns Red show. The band owns a large illuminated 'U' set piece, which is always the focal point on stage. So, we flew a horizontal line of Jolts on either side of that, with more above and below in vertical lines. It expanded the 'U' into almost one big architectural piece that provided a versatile backdrop to the whole show."

The Jolt Bar FX has long been a staple in the August Burns Red lighting arsenal -- a fact that Connolly was more than happy to build upon.

"August Burns Red were already using the Jolt Bar FX when I came on board - in fact, they own 16 of them!", he says. "So that means they are kind of locked into all their rigs, but I was super happy about that as I'd used them on other projects and really love them. I like creating big looks, with lots of fixtures rather than just a few of the more expensive options; I think it looks better both on the macro AND the micro level. The Jolt Bars are ideal for that. I think they sit at the perfect brightness where I don't really need more out of a strobe and they are versatile, but at a really great price. They allow these small-to-mid-sized bands to own a rig that they can use at every gig as a floor package and then scale up for the bigger headline shows. They just do a great job whether we're in a club or an arena!"

A large linear LED fixture, the Jolt Bar FX offers huge output as well as the creative potential of brilliant bright white strobe/blinder LEDs combined with multi-zone color wash LEDs in one versatile unit. It features a central strip of 112 5W cool white SMD LEDs, surrounded on both sides by a total of 672 x 0.3W RGB color mixing SMD LEDs. This allows the same fixture to generate intense white strobing effects as well as vibrant color washes. Both types of LED are grouped into independently controllable zones (16 white and 32 color), which means the unit can also be used to generate strobe chases and other "eye candy" effects. With a wide 116-degree beam angle and immense light output, the Jolt Bar FX will make a big impact wherever it is used.

"The durability of the Jolt Bar FX is actually pretty incredible," enthuses Connolly. "They've been times on tour when our fixtures have taken an unintentional beating and just kept going. Yet, despite being really well built, they are also lightweight and very easy to work with. The screen is in a good spot and the sockets are well laid out for linking -- which isn't always the case on linear fixtures; there is just nothing I don't like about them!"

Complementing the Jolt Bar FX backdrop, eight of ADJ's new 40 HEX Panel IP fixtures were used to provide strong, flexible sidelight. Four fixtures were positioned downstage -- two left and two right -- while the remaining four were dedicated to highlighting specific band members on risers, with one on each side riser and two on the drum riser.

Huge output, lime-infused and UV-enhanced color mixing, a robust IP65-rated casing, Aria X2 wireless connectivity, and versatile rigging options make the 40 HEX Panel IP a truly flexible fixture. Capable of wash, blinder, color strobe or eye candy functionality, it is ideal for busy rental houses or event production companies looking for the perfect mix of functionality, reliability and ROI. The unit features a ten by four matrix of high-performance 20-watt HEX LEDs, each combining red, green, blue, amber, lime and UV elements with independent dimming control to generate a vast collection of output colors. The inclusion of UV allows the creation of black light effects as well as vibrant pinks and purples, while the lime chip ensures excellent clarity when the fixture is used to illuminate performers or decor.

"I found the 40 HEX Panel IP to be a really nice step up from the 32 HEX Panel IP, which I've used a lot for sidelight on other tours," comments Connolly. "I put the frost filters in the ones on the risers to blow them out a bit for that tight area and then used them without filters downstage, which gave that extra throw to cover a bigger distance but still get a nice punchy flood."

Both Connolly and August Burns Red have separately developed a strong working relationship with rental company Squeek Lights, which made the choice of lighting vendor for the event very easy. Squeek Lights supplied all the additional fixtures for the rig, augmenting the band's own inventory of Jolt Bar FXs.

"We really love Squeek Lights," adds Connolly, "they've just been a fantastic vendor to August Burns Red. Their prices are great, and they have a really good inventory of fixtures, cutting through the BS and stocking products -- like the Jolt Bar FX -- which allow us to keep within our budget at this level but still make the shows look amazing. Squeek Lights are also always spot on with service! Their customer support is immediate; they take my calls no matter what; and they've never left me high and dry on a tour."

With a lighting design that balanced scale and flexibility, Christmas Burns Red 2025 showcased how a smartly built ADJ-based rig can evolve alongside a band's growing production ambitions. By combining the punch, durability and versatility of the Jolt Bar FX with the powerful, color-accurate output of the 40 HEX Panel IP -- and supported by the responsive service of Squeek Lights -- Connolly was able to deliver two visually distinct headline shows that complemented August Burns Red's intensity, musicality, and hometown pride.