Shinedown and Bandit Lites Take to the Road Again When Shinedown front man Brent Smith was on stage to present Bandit Lites founder Michael T. Strickland with the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award in January of 2020, neither knew that in a few weeks, the world of touring would abruptly stop, making the rock band's return to touring this September even more meaningful. "Shinedown is a treasured member of the Bandit Family," says Bandit Lites business development officer Brent Barrett. "It is a privilege for us to be a part of their production team and to have the opportunity to provide lighting services for such a talented and congenial band." In an interview with HardDrive Radio, Smith spoke about what the return of live performances meant to him, saying "Finally being able to get back out with Shinedown, man, it was emotional. It really, really was. These eight shows, they were massive -- they were, like, big attendance; everything was sold out." Following the shutdown of live events in 2020, long time Shinedown lighting director Carter Fulghum found himself faced with a reality he had not thought of: a world without live shows. And while some found themselves moving on to different careers, he knew that there was nothing that could fulfill him the same way live lighting did. "When you hear the crowd and feel the excitement in the air with the house lights going out and the show starting, there is no better feeling," he confesses. "And even though people do not come to the show to see my lighting, I am still a part of that, and add so much to their experience while they are there. I missed it very much, and I also missed my road family. It was very emotional to me to be back doing it and being a part of the show again." While the transition to touring again was a welcome one, Fulghum shared the support from the Bandit staff was "above the call of duty." "Jake Tickle helped with finding the right lights to accomplish the looks and did a great job," he says. "Matt King is very helpful in coming up with ideas to make the rig faster and more efficient. Brent Barrett is always very happy to help in any way he can, and he does it with a smile on his face. Lastly, Michael Strickland even takes a personal interest in how things are going, as well as helping keep things running smoothly for the tour." Venues varied from theaters, to arenas, to outdoor festivals, meaning the rig would need to be adaptable while maintaining big, impactful looks. Mitchell Schellenger supplied drawings of a rig and programmed the show and video. "We supplemented the floor package that he designed with an air rig that we advance to all the venues," explains Fulghum. "They complement each other very well and makes the show look big." Bandit Lites supplied more than 125 fixtures, including Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Martin Atomic 3000 LED Strobes, and Martin Sceptrons with two grandMA2 Full consoles for control. "We were looking for things that could fit in small places, so the size of the moving lights were a big thing," Fulghum explains about gear selection. "We went with the Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrid; it is a bright light that can hold its own, and that was important because we never knew which spot fixture we would have in the air rig. We also have the Showline SL NITRO 510C to add punch and color to the rig and we cap it all off with the Martin Sceptrons for more color and effects for the show." "Carter consistently knocks the visual element out of the park in his position as the board operator," says Barrett. "I always look forward to experiencing one of the Shinedown shows." "Every song stood on its own and looks different from the rest, that way if the guys move things around in the set list there are no looks that are the same," finishes Fulghum. Shinedown's tour continues into October 2021. For more information about upcoming tour dates and tickets, visit www.Shinedown.com. 
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