Lighting designer Joshua Schultz goes full‐Ayrton with his rig for The Turnpike Troubadours’ US Tour
Country‐bluegrass band The Turnpike Troubadours are continuing their hit US “A Cat in the Rain Tour” with Ayrton Zonda 9 FX and Zonda 3 FX LED moving head washes, Bora LED beams and washes, and Khamsin LED profiles dominating the rig. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.
Nashville‐based independent lighting designer and programmer Joshua Schultz selected 24 Zonda 9 FX for the rig. Four are mounted on the upstage number two truss for band backlight; eight are downstage and act as washes; eight more are in the fingers; and four are in the drape truss. Recently, he added 24 Zonda 3 FX to the tour. “I wanted a baby version of the Zonda 9s, and they’ve gone beyond my expectations with their zoom and punch. I wasn’t sure how they would stack up with everything else, but they are punchy little guys – I love them!” Four of the Zonda 3s are mounted on 10‐foot sticks on GT truss; the rest are positioned across each of the trusses. In addition to the Zondas, Schultz chose 21 Bora fixtures “as the main punch light – it’s a wash but also a great effects fixture.”
Four are mounted upstage to light the band’s album logo backdrop, 13 are on the mid‐rig fingers to cover the stage and four are downstage for crowd effects and key light. “I was told the Boras would complement the Khamsins well, and that’s very true,” he reports. Schultz has 28 Khamsins to assure him of the punch he needs in any size venue. They are mounted on the V‐shaped fingers where they deliver his “go‐to scenic looks with gobos and paint the stage, drapes and band.”
“ACT has definitely been supportive whenever I need them,” he notes, and he gives SES kudos for bolstering its inventory with a wide range of Ayrton products. “This tour was my opportunity to go full‐Ayrton, and I’ve been very pleased with the results.”
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