Bandit Lites Illuminates Nashville's Record-Breaking Fourth of July Celebration

	"Our crews were responsible for multiple simultaneous projects across downtown Nashville, each with its own unique requirements and challenges," says Stanley.

Bandit Lites once again helped light one of America's largest Independence Day celebrations, providing lighting and production support across multiple key elements of Nashville's Fourth of July festivities. From the nationally televised ABC/Disney Nashville's Star-Spangled Bash broadcast to the downtown main stage performances and the city's iconic bridge and stadium, Bandit Lites played an integral role in bringing Music City's signature celebration to millions of viewers and attendees.

Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, Nashville's Star-Spangled Bash proved to be a historic television success. The three-hour ABC special averaged 5.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched primetime program of the holiday while earning a 0.83 rating among adults 18-49.

Bandit Lites was responsible for multiple lighting systems throughout the celebration, including the lighting package for the nationally televised broadcast, the downtown concert stage, the bridge lighting installation, and the stadium lighting elements that helped create a unified visual experience across Nashville's skyline.

"This year's Fourth of July celebration represented one of the most ambitious productions we've ever supported," says Mike Stanley of Bandit Lites. "Our crews were responsible for multiple simultaneous projects across downtown Nashville, each with its own unique requirements and challenges. From the nationally televised broadcast to the live concert audience and the city-wide architectural lighting, our team worked together to deliver a seamless production that showcased what can be accomplished through planning, collaboration and an incredible crew."

Lighting designer Tom Kenny led the lighting design for the ABC television production, while Chris Lisle designed the lighting for the main stage performances. Together with the Bandit Lites team, the production delivered a dynamic visual presentation that seamlessly translated from the live audience to millions of television viewers nationwide.

The full lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites featured an extensive inventory of cutting-edge technology, including: 38 Chauvet Maverick Storm 1 Hybrid fixtures; 64 Chauvet Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash fixtures; 15 Chauvet Strike Array 4 fixtures; 68 Chauvet Color Strike M fixtures; 18 Elation DTW Blinders 350 IP 65; five Robe iFORTE LTX FS fixtures; five Robe RoboSpot Base Station; ten Robe MegaPointe fixtures; 11 VL3600 Profile IP; three grandMA3 Full-Size consoles; four grandMA3 Light console; 24 Acme Pixel Line IP 1000 fixtures; 28 Elation Proteus Maximus IP 65; 12 Elation Proteus Excalibur IP 65; 12 Elation KL CYC L fixtures; 204 Elation SixPar 100 IP 65. 12 ETC Source Four 19 Degree; 100 Elation Paladin IP 65; Bandit Lites' new distributed sACN network, providing advanced Ethernet-based lighting distribution across the production; complete motor package and rigging support.

The production also showcased Bandit Lites' first large-scale deployment of its distributed sACN network, utilizing Ethernet-based lighting control infrastructure to efficiently distribute data throughout the extensive production footprint. The network architecture reduced complexity while providing the reliability and flexibility required for an event of this magnitude, the company says.

Months of planning, equipment preparation, programming, logistics, and on-site execution culminated in a seamless production that supported multiple venues and broadcast elements simultaneously.