Justin Casey and CHAUVET Professional Gear on Tash Sultana Tour

	"The lighting sets the scene and helps build the intensity for when we finally add the lasers," says Casey. Photo: Sade Batal and others

Justin Casey and his team at HELM Projects express delight in working on the Return to the Roots Tour starring Australian singer/songwriter Tash Sultana. Their lighting, lasers, and video are designed to seamlessly reflect every curve, sudden peak, or gentle valley in their client's performance, regardless of the instrument being played.

"Tash is an incredible musician who moves all over the stage," Casey says. "Her energy is really contagious. There is a lot of improvising, as things change depending on the mood and energy level, which really keeps our team on their toes. They have to be ready to make changes quickly, just as this artist does. So, when I was designing this tour's show, I made sure to account for different solos by Tash, with the lasers and lighting in places that complemented each moment."

Helping Casey turn his flexible, multifarious show into a reality is a collection of CHAUVET Professional EPIX Strip Tour 1m LED strips, Color STRIKE M motorized strobe-washes, and Maverick Storm 2 Profiles from HELM Projects' inventory.

Casey and the production crew (John Phillips, production manager; Owen Pike, lighting director; and Travis Price, L2) work the lights in close coordination with their rigs' lasers, run by Nick Stabile. "Lasers were a new item for this tour," he remarks. "We were going for a trippy pop EDM vibe, while also complementing Tash's incredible musical skills. We were able to add them in during solos to pump up the intensity. The lighting sets the scene and helps build the intensity for when we finally add the lasers."

Also contributing to the richly textured visual tapestry on stage is the video content run by VJ Andrew Gross. "We had some very cool content made by Human Person that Andrew was able to manipulate to make it really pop," says Casey. "We did carry a video wall on this tour and had a few configurations that we could do. Our main configuration was a 40'-wide ground-supported curved wall. Then we were able to hang it in venues like Red Rocks. We had a camera package on the tour as well, which helped get some really great content to the video during big solos."

Adding to the holistic quality of the production are vivid displays on the deck in the form of gobos projected from the rig's Maverick Storm 2 Profiles, along with color washes from EPIX Strip Tour strips that tie into the looks created by the flown fixtures and video wall. This enhances the overall immersive quality of the design and helps the team adjust the production to the different-sized rigs they encounter.

"For this tour we're playing venues of all sizes, from Red Rocks to the Van Buren in Phoenix (an 1,800-capacity live music venue)," explains Casey. "The stages were all different sizes, which made us have to adapt. We wrapped the risers with edge lighting, then in front of the risers, we put some Custom brackets we built for EPIX to make half sunburst shapes. We used the EPIX Strip Tour one-meter fixtures, which gave our set such a unique and custom fill. They were great lights to fill space and create a vibe."

Casey notes that the workhorse of the rig (and the fixture responsible for the beautiful color-scape looks that reflected the essence of Sultana's eclectic music) is the Color STRIKE M. "We have a ton of them -- they are everywhere," he says of the motorized strobe-wash. "We had some under our acrylic risers where Tash would solo, along with using them for foot lighting the band and on side trusses. They are a great wash light to just throw big bright colors all over the place."

The sweeping everywhere-looks created with the Color STRIKE M provide a visual metaphor for the sound of Tash Sultana, who once declared that "music is the embodiment of my soul. When I play, I'm not performing a song; I'm becoming it."

The Return to the Roots Tour is now in Latin America.