Even for the most seasoned Roo Vets, this year’s version of the iconic Bonnaroo festival was hot, really hot! Temperatures during the three-day event were consistently in the 90s, sometimes reaching 100°F, with plenty of humidity and one thunderstorm thrown in.

These conditions made the covered This and That Tents welcome places to cool off. As one music critic put it, “the tents provided a safe haven from the heat.” True, but these shaded venues offered much more than more than thermal relief; they also served up some red hot (though not temperature-wise) performances or, as the same critic noted, they featured “some of the best sets of the weekend.”

Anyone who caught Dashboard Confessional’s legendary Superjam emo performance with a bevy of special guest stars on the This Tent Stage would readily agree with that assessment. So too would those captivated by Thundercat’s thunderous bass on the That Tent Stage. Throw in performances by GWAR, Eggy, Taking Back Sunday, Interpol, IDLES, and more, and there was plenty to get swept up by in the shade of the tents.

Adding to the energy level (though not the heat, since they were all LED fixtures) under the tents, were a pair of all-Chauvet Professional rigs from Harford Sound LLC. Each of the identical rigs, which were designed by Chris Lisle, featured 24 Maverick Storm 1 Hybrids, eight Rogue Outcast 2x Washes, 16 Strike Array 2 blinder-strobes and 12 Color Strike M motorised strobe-washes.

Working with Rock The House Entertainment, Evan Kirkendall, Steve Wozniak and their team at Harford Sound handled the entire production including sound. Joining them on the lighting team were Gabe Odachowski, Oliver Nelson, Sam Andrews and George Cannon.

The lighting rigs at the tents were created with an emphasis on flexibility, since the light shows had to reflect a broad range of musical styles and personas at two stages that are famous for hosting colourful personalities, even by the wildly freewheeling standards of Bonnaroo.

Drawing on the performance features of the fixtures in the two rigs, the technical team and visiting designers treated crowds to a free-flowing procession of different moods on stage, from subtle shadings created with the Rogue washes, to intense audience lighting from the Strike Array 2 units arranged in a triangular configuration on downstage truss, to the dramatic crossing patterns and downlight specials brought forth by the Maverick Storm Hybrids flown overhead.

The Color Strike M fixtures, which were arranged in two rows of mid-stage truss filled a variety of roles during the festival, generating excitement as strobes, being used to create chase sequences and covering the crowd and stage with brilliant colour washes.

Like the other fixtures in the rig, the Color Strike M units were chosen not only for their versatility, but also their bright output. With performances starting during daylight at “the farm,” the Harford Sound team wanted to ensure that all acts got the vivid looks they deserved. Kirkendall, Wozniak and their crew did just that and, as a result, the good times kept rolling in the tents, regardless how much light (or heat), the sun served up.