Lighting designer Sam Tozer of Vision Factory wanted to make a big impact for popular multi-award-winning UK singer-songwriter Sam Fender’s four UK stadium shows – collectively attended by nearly a quarter of a million fans – and for such a large undertaking, he specified 189 x Robe iFORTE LTX moving lights and four iBOLTS.

The performances were part of Sam Fender’s critically acclaimed and ongoing People Watching album campaign. The album is renowned for its heartfelt emotion, storytelling and overwhelming relatability.

The production equipment for these four spectacular shows – three at Fender’s hometown stadium of St. James’ Park, Newcastle, and one in London – was supplied by Liverpool-based Adlib (lighting, video, rigging, PA system) and Plymouth-based Nubsound (audio control).

To align with Fender’s raw and distinctively original aesthetic, Sam Tozer’s primary lighting requirement was “sheer firepower” … but applied simply in order to complement the epic cinematic aesthetic. The elegance and quality light output further accentuated the intensity of Fender’s material.

“The tour had already played extensively in arenas, where the streamlined, clean-cut lighting treatment worked brilliantly and everyone loved it, so the main basic need for the stadium gigs was to scale this up,” continues Sam.

Sam Tozer has been involved with the Sam Fender creative team as show designer since 2020, and works closely with lighting director and show designer Luke Avery and video content creator James Lockey, together with production manager Rob Simpson and tour director Oli James.

Adlib has been the equipment vendor since 2018, starting back then with floor lighting and video packages. The account has grown exponentially with Sam Fender’s success and is managed enthusiastically for Adlib by Jordan Willis.

Being in midsummer, “We needed extreme brightness for these shows,” stated Sam Tozer on why iFORTE LTXs were chosen.

There was also no roof above the band on the stage – custom-designed by Acorn Event Stages – for this show, so all the kit needed to be IP rated.

Six cantilevered structural towers provided rigging points for four horizontal trusses in overhead positions just above the band playing area. 

The look featured a wide upstage screen – 50 metres wide by 10 metres high – made up of transparent Roe Vanish 8 LED product, which was framed on all four sides with iFORTES. A spectacular 22 x 4 matrix of iFORTES – 88 in total – was rigged behind the screen on ladders, which kicked some serious lumens into the picture when needed, and enabled the screen to appear one moment … and magically dissolve the next – like a trick of the eye!

The iFORTE wall also offered some great depth and kinetic effects to be created, although Sam admits that most of the time, these iFORTE LTXs were running only at 40%, leaving plenty of headroom for power stabs, accents and looks.

Sixteen iFORTES were rigged in fours on the front side of each delay tower and used for key and front lighting on the band and for other ‘specials’. Sam noted that they make “excellent face illumination, looking natural and well-balanced on camera.”

He has used iFORTES before on several previous projects, so already knew they were robust and reliable fixtures.

Around six songs into the set, the stage was atmospherically lit using a base layer of video content, with iFORTES also mapped into the mix and triggered by the lighting console running Notch Blocks.

The four iBOLTS were rigged on top of the structural towers along the top side of the screen and used for special moments when the show needed some dramatic and hugely intense beam effects to underscore the onstage action.

Using them simply, straightforwardly, and judiciously ensured maximum impact and a chorus of audible ‘wows’ from the crowd, and this is exactly what the iBOLT was designed to do.

Sam’s most exacting challenge for these stadium shows was integrating the structural elements of the stage into the overall picture, so they assisted in closing down the area for more intimate moments and for re-launching back into ‘big-rock-legend scenes’ when needed.

Playing two venues essentially made this a very short tour that logically required huge focus and smooth, asymmetrical teamwork from everyone to get it spot on for all – band, fans, and production.

Jordan Willis commented that, from a rental company standpoint, iFORTES are “a flagship profile” also versatile enough to be a FOH follow spot and main key light fixture in stadiums. “The iFORTES have proved impressively bright for those first songs when you are playing outdoors in the summer, as well as incredibly reliable!” he stated.

Adlib loves collaborating with Sam Tozer – winner of this year’s coveted TPi Lighting Designer of the Year Award – for many reasons, including his “attention to detail related to every aspect of the show. He is highly creative, and a real team player who understands how things work and what is possible – or not – from the outset,” concludes Jordan.