Creative Energy Knows No Bounds… That time-honored aphorism wasn’t coined for Tash Sultana, but it certainly could have been. A musical force, as much as a performer, the multi-instrumentalist from Australia takes audiences on a wonderous joy ride that follows no road map as it winds its way along its captivating journey.

Lighting such a performance can present a challenge, but it’s one that Justin Casey and his team at HELM Projects are delighting in meeting on Sultana’s current The Return To The Roots Tour. Their lighting, lasers and video seamlessly reflect every curve, sudden peak or gentle valley, in their client’s performance, regardless of the instrument being played.

“Tash is an incredible musician who moves all over the stage,” said Casey. “Her energy is really contagious. There is a lot of improvising, as things change depending on the mood and energy level, which really keeps our team on their toes. They have to be ready to make changes quickly, just as this artist does. So, when I was designing this tour’s show, I made sure to account for different solos by Tash, with the lasers and lighting in places that complimented each moment.”

Helping Casey turn his flexible, multifarious show into a reality was an impressive collection of CHAUVET Professional Epix Strip Tour one-meter LED Strips, Color Strike M motorized strobe-washes, and Maverick Storm 2 Profiles from HELM Projects own inventory.

Casey and the production crew (John Phillips, PM; Owen Pike, LD; and Travis Price, L2) worked these lights in close coordination with their rigs’ lasers, which were run by Nick Stabile. “Lasers were a new item for this tour,” he remarked. “We were going for a trippy pop EDM vibe, while also complimenting Tash’s incredible musical skills. We were able to add them in during solos to really just pump up the intensity. The lighting really set the scene and helped build the intensity for when we finally added the lasers.”

Also contributing to the richly textured visual tapestry on stage was the video content run by VJ Andrew Gross. “We had some very cool content made by Human Person that Andrew was able to manipulate to make it really pop,” said Casey. “We did carry a video wall on this tour and had a few configurations that we could do. Our main configuration was a 40-foot wide ground supported curved wall. Then we were able to hang it in venues like Red Rocks. We had a camera package on the tour as well, which helped get some really great content to the video curing big solos.”

Adding to the holistic quality of the production were vivid displays on the deck in the form of gobos projected from the rig’s Maverick Storm 2 Profiles, along with color washes from EPIX Strip Tour strips that tied into the looks created by the flown fixtures and video wall. This not only enhanced the overall immersive quality of the design; it also helped the team adjust the production to the different sized rigs they encountered on the tour.

“For this tour we were playing venues of all sizes, from Red Rocks to the Van Buren in Phoenix (an1,800 capacity live music venue),” explained Casey. “The stages were all different sizes, which made us have to adapt. We wrapped the risers with edge lighting then in front of risers we put some Custom brackets we built for Epix to make half sun burst shapes. We used the Epix Strip Tour one-meter fixtures, which really gave our set such a unique and custom fill. They were great lights to fill space and create a vibe.”

Casey noted that the workhorse of the rig (and the fixture responsible for the beautiful color-scape looks that reflected the essence of Sultana’s eclectic music), was the Color Strike M. “We had a ton of them– they were everywhere,” he said of the motorized strobe-wash. “We had some under our acrylic risers where Tash would solo, along with using them for foot lighting the band and on side trusses. They are a great wash light to just throw big bright colors all over the place.”

The sweeping everywhere-looks created with the Color Strike M provided a perfect visual metaphor for the sound of Tash Sultana, who once declared that “music is the embodiment of my soul. When I play, I’m not performing a song; I’m becoming it.” On this show, beautifully evocative lighting created by an inspired design team is with the gifted artist every step of the way in this transcendent journey.