Technical Arts Group (TAG), an industry leader in event production and premium production equipment rentals, provided SJ Lighting, Inc. of Westlake Village, California with IP65-rated Ayrton Perseo Beam and Domino fixtures for the New York edition of the Rolling Loud global music festival last autumn. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.
TAG was formed in 2021 and specializes in lighting, audio, video, staging, special effects and event management. The company has offices in Secaucus, New Jersey and Miami. It furnished lighting, sound and video equipment for Stage 4 of Miami’s Rolling Loud fest last July then was asked to supply lighting for New York’s two main stages and sound and video gear for the third. The three-day event at Citi Field drew more than 80,000 fans to electrifying performances from some of hip hop’s biggest emcees.
The IP65-rated Perseo and Domino fixtures proved to be an inspired choice for the large outdoor venue, as TAG’s CRO Kevin Mignone recalls. “The festival got tons of rain and high winds. The Perseos and Dominos definitely got wet, but none failed – a real testament to the Ayrton fixtures. They also packed a punch, and the SJ Lighting team made great use of them.”
The Deleón Stage, where Maxwell T. Robin, SJ Lighting’s Associate Designer and Project Manager served as Lighting Designer, featured 68 Dominos. Most were mounted over centre stage and eight were FOH on delay towers.
“The Dominos were used as a stage wash to light the performers,” Robin explains. “They were great fixtures because they are outdoor-rated with good gobos, high beam quality and are reliable in all weather conditions. I didn’t have a single issue with any of the fixtures on this show.”
Fifty Perseo fixtures were used on the wings and through the deck and two Domino units were FOH on the Audiomack stage where David Hauss was the Lighting Designer.
“The Perseos were the main moving light detail for this stage,” Robin says. “Creating aerial effects and providing big looks were the main purpose of these fixtures. The Dominos were hung at FOH to provide light for the banner that was hung over the stage. Both these fixtures were a good choice because of their IP rating, reliability, light output and the high quality of that light output. The framing shutters on the Dominos were critical for getting a clean focus on the banner over the stage.”
He notes that SJ Lighting has a history of using Ayrton fixtures. “From our installs to our festival stages we always appreciate the reliability and quality that Ayrton fixtures provide,” he says.
“We like that the Perseos and Dominos are IP rated with an LED engine. Being outdoor-rated means we can put them on any show, in any location and any weather condition knowing they will hold up when faced with the elements. Rolling Loud New York in particular saw heavy rain and high winds throughout the load in and show without a single light being compromised. We also especially like Domino’s framing shutters and Perseo’s prism options. We absolutely will be specifying these two fixtures again.”
Lighting Designer Stephen Lieberman is President of SJ Lighting, Inc.