Whitney Hoversten dials up the dynamism of Bruno Mars’ The Romantic Tour with Ayrton Rivale and Veloce Profiles
Bruno Mars’ first full global tour since 2018, The Romantic Tour, has left British shores, having kicked off in Las Vegas on its first North American leg before transferring to Europe.
Adding to the dynamism of Mars’ energetic, high-octane 30-song show are 212 Ayrton Rivale Profiles and 40 AyrtonVeloce Profile fixtures, chosen by lighting designer Whitney Hoverst in a very stringent selection process: “A tremendous amount of thought went into the fixture choices,” he explains. “It’s all about having the rig products to do the job the artist wan and Bruno is very clear about how he wants the show to look and feel.”
“We had the tricky task of devising a completely new rig that would be re for anything, capable of expanding on old looks for the back catalogue and creating fresh new ones for the new numbers, many of which were create during rehearsals,” explains Hoverste “It was a fast and organic process and we needed a Swiss Army Knife of a fixture to be sure we had all the tools to deliver everything that would serve Bruno needs.”
Working closely with production manager, Joel Foreman, and the lighting team, Hoversten developed and streamlined the lighting elements, integrating them into the set design.
The Romantic set is a highly mobile configuration comprising ten rotating truss pillar search rigged with14Rivale Profiles, six of which track on and off stage behind Mars, and four non-tracking rotators that flank him either side of the stage. Two mini ladders – half size copies of the rotators – are located in downstage positions and rigged with 7 Rivale Profiles. The set is constantly on the move, reshaping the performance space, continually keeping Mars in the best light and following his movements like another performer in the troop.
Overhead, a circular video screen – named the Puck – is outlined with 10 Rivale Profiles and 4 circular dynamic pods carry 12 Rivale Profiles on each. Upstage of the video wall are 40 Veloce Profiles on ladders, spaced to mimic the rotators in front of them. “The Ayrton fixtures are a very dynamic part of our design,” states Hoversten. “One of the main feature sets that I love most is the con nuous pan and lt that comes in so many of the Ayrton fixtures, including both Rivale and Veloce. That whittled down a lot of the options and fitted exactly with the kind of visuals we were aiming for.
“Rivale has so many features and options which really impressed me, but it’s also a really good quality light for lighting the performers! It is so versatile: I can switch from beams to graphics to spinning movements in a moment, then instantly transform it into a lightsource for the artist or band members with all the subtlety and colour mixing that entails. It’s a very flattering lightsource for the human body. It’s a great tool and the Swiss Army Knife we were looking for.”
Hoversten also liked the fact Ayrton has a large, medium and small option in each fixture range - Veloce, Rivale and Stradale in this case. “It gives you the ultimate flexibility and uniformity of choice,” he says. “The reason we have the 40 Veloces behind the video wall is they have the exact same features at Rivale. It was a great opportunity to combine the extra foot candles of Veloce with the exact same feature set as Rivale, giving us more punch to get through the video wall when needed.
The Ayrton fixtures were supplied by the tour’s lighting vendor and long-time collaborator with the Bruno Mars camp, Fuse Technical Group. “The team at Fuse has supplied Bruno’s lighting for as long as they have existed as a company,” says Hoversten. “The support we receive from them is so important – they are always there to jump in to solve any problems that might arise. We’ve had virtually the same, exceptionally dedicated, lighting crew for ten years who are so committed to delivering a perfect show every night. We’ve all been working together for a long time now and it’s a well-oiled machine!”
“Providing the lighting for a Bruno Mars tour is about much more than putting fixtures in the air—it’s about creating an unforgettable experience that matches Bruno’s incredible musicianship and stage presence,” says senior account handler, Kevin Forster, who also gives a special shout out to Angelo Viacava for putting the tour together.
“At Fuse Technical Group, we’re proud to deliver world-class lighting systems and crews that help bring one of the world’s biggest live productions to life, night after night. When you’re supporting a tour of this scale and success, there’s no room for compromise.”
Ayrton is distributed in the United Kingdom and North America by its network of exclusive distributors.
Photos © Daniel Ramos and Jean Nguyen
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