Maxwell performed for three nights at Wynn Vegas as part of The Night Tour. Check out these gorgeous pics from the Encore Theatre. As usual, Maxwell’s tour featured the vocals of our own, La Tina Webb. Visuals by Linda Strawberry and Lighting by Felix Peralta and Lauren Brunson.
Cher: Classic Cher
Cher stepped on to the concert stage opening her residency at the Park Theater at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Park Theater was a newly opened venue boasting a huge stage and capacity ranging from 5,200 to 5,600 for the Cher engagement. Additional shows were at The Theater at MGM National Harbor outside Washington, DC.
The show features what fans would expect including a packed hit-list of singles, glamorous costume changes and archival footage spanning her career. We met up in Vegas with our strategic partner 4U2C providing the lighting design for both Vegas and National Harbor gigs. Numerous costume changes and set designs which had to fit in two different venues also provided opportunities for our highly skilled technical team to provide master drawings, technical drawings and renders ensuring nothing was missed.
Bon Jovi: 2022 Tour
After a mandatory two-year hiatus from touring, Bon Jovi had a lot of catching up to do with fans [as he took the stage in Omaha]. After months of designing, planning, coordinating, and days spent programming and coordinating visuals and lights with music, we kicked off to a sold-out crowd, pumped and ready. A highlight of the performance honored the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people and spread awareness about the horrific situation with their song “We Don’t Run.” The design focused on sustainability, utilizing pre-existing hex towers and pantographs and in new ways to create as many dynamic looks as possible, even leaning into five 9×9 Roe V8T screens’ resemblance to windows.
Pearl Jam: Lighting Bolt
Pearl Jam’s priority has always been that the show is about the music, not the ‘stuff.’ The goal for us as the production designer was to develop the show in a way that still felt authentic: music-centric with an organic feel, not a production-centric show that is slick and shiny. We teamed up with PJ Lighting Designer Kille Knobel to bring new visual elements into the tour which was the biggest production they had done at the time.
We were involved in the ideation and conceptualization based on brainstorming sessions which included the band. The final major elements included a large sculptural motion controlled ‘bird,’ oversized lighting orbs on winches (including one Eddie Vedder was lifted on), small floor lighting orbs and lighting.
Beck: Morning Phase
We provided the conceptual creation, installation, and implementation of this tour which was in support Grammy Award winning album, “Morning Phase.” We also consulted creatively on the video content which was provided by Beck in relation to the presentation and cueing of the production.
Nickelback: Feed The Machine
Nickelback hit the road with this 44-show tour supporting their ninth album, Feed The Machine.
The first single by the same name provided inspiration for a industrial-themed riser and facade for the band. We were with the band throughout rehearsals and helped kick off the tour. Our creative team updated the staging and scenic elements while also providing video creative direction and oversight. Realistic renderings of the machine-inspired design showcased our technical abilities. We brought in our friends at Atomic’s Scenic Division to bring the drawings to life and construct the riser which is out on tour.
In 2018, we also worked with the band for a limited run of shows in Las Vegas and then on to Mexico and Europe.
Lil Wayne: America’s Most Wanted Tour
In the midst of releasing mixtapes and full-length albums, Lil Wayne was touring the world to promote his new music and connect with his fans. To match the rapper’s ferocity and talent, Nimblist was brought to the table to create the perfect environment for Lil Wayne to showcase his talents. In addition to his successful music career, the rapper also has a love of skateboarding, a detail our design team expanded upon for the stage design. Our team utilized projection mapping to bring an abandoned skatepark to life. While projection mapping created the illusion of a cityscape, real-life professional skateboarders joined Lil Wayne onstage. Lil Wayne also shared the stage with fellow rappers T.I, 2 Chainz and G-Eazy.
Throughout the performance, the projection mapping broadcast a variety of visuals, images and patterns on the stage construction. Our design team also employed the use of pyrotechnics and a detailed lighting design to highlight the many facets of the stage production.
Soundgarden: The King Animal Tour
Soundgarden made a triumphant return to the music scene with their sixth studio album King Animal, and they needed a powerful tour to support their new music. Following a sixteen year hiatus, the grunge band from Seattle was ready to amaze audiences again with their powerhouse performances while on tour. With so many hit songs and such anticipation from Soundgarden’s fans to see the newly reunited band, our team was brought in to create a design that could not only match the intensity of the music, and Chris Cornell’s one-of-a-kind voice, but also let the music — old and new — speak for itself.
Using a cloth draped at the back of the stage, we designed visuals that were projected onto the fabric behind the band. Through this method of projection, our team had the flexibility to create dynamic screen sizes and ratios to fit each visual, ranging from full screen to tiny windows, from squares to circles and even splitting the projection into two separate frames.
Chris Brown: Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour
The Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour kicked off in June 2018 and encompassed 27 cities making stops at major amphitheaters and arenas around the U.S. before concluding in August. The tour was in support of his eighth studio album of the same name. We were brought in for production design taking a rough sketch from the artist and translating it into reality.
A key feature of the tour for Nimblist was the video design and lasers.
Bon Jovi: This House is Not for Sale
Our partnership with Bon Jovi spans over 15 years and is an example of leveraging rich relationships to make entertainment history. This 29-arena show tour, in support of his latest album, featured a video projection intro customized by location. It grabbed the crowd instantly as they recognized their city’s iconic locations speeding past them. The primary creative direction for this tour design centered on The House — a symbol for everything Bon Jovi has built over the years and its deep roots. Its construction and transformation tell the story of his career. Second was ‘Light’ — volumetric beams of light form ethereal architectures. Light can define spaces like physical materials do, but they also refer to the limitless and transcending nature of the Bon Jovi story. Third was ‘Industry’ — metal structures of beams and truss allude to the labor of building a monumental legacy. The strong architecture of these structures evoke endurance and purpose.