Shangri-La Resort

Reviewing the Rider

The first thing our team did was review the artist rider. We cover this in our Production Glossary but in short, a band’s rider is what specifies what the band carries with them, and what they’re counting on being provided when they arrive. The event promoter, as their client (also our client), then turns to the hired production company to mediate for both parties.

No two acts are the same. Some travel with very little, especially when doing a “fly date”, meaning the artist is flying in. Typically, that means they’re only bringing what they can carry on standard commercial airlines (think guitars and pedalboards, not keyboards). In this case, Ian was on tour, carrying a more standard tour pack in a trailer behind their tour bus.

Seeing the Site

Next, it’s time for a site visit. At avad3, we have a dedicated person who is the first stop for every event, gets things scoped, but then once an event signs, we assign both a Production Manager and Technical Director to every event. Micah and Zach made the trip out to the site with our clients and scoped out the best way to tackle this outdoor space. To accommodate the client’s goals, the band’s needs, and the size rig we recommended for both, we brought in our favorite size of mobile stage: the 32ft wide by 24ft deep APEX.

We made plans for power, cable paths, crowd control, all the things that have to be planned around the stage itself. One of the unique challenges of this event was the terrain and the need for follow spots. Spotlights aren’t used as often in corporate style conference event A/V any more, but they are alive and well with live music! We made a plan for placement, stability and electricity, and headed home for the remaining weeks of planning to happen back at avad3 HQ in Northwest Arkansas.

Taking Care of the Band

The tour manager gave avad3 high praise for how organized and proactive our communication was leading up-to and upon arriving on-site. All those years of corporate conference planning have given us high standards for professionalism, and in the live music space, it shined!

Weather is always a factor. Every outdoor event just has to plan for it. 1 out of every 10 events gets a clear blue sky day, the other 9 there’s a chance it’s too cold, too hot, too windy, snow, ice, too wet from earlier in the week, lightning on the horizon, or everyone’s worst enemy: the thunderstorm. Afton was blessed with the 1 in 10, the most beautiful clear sky kind of evening. We had a plan, we were prepared, and that professionalism goes a long way when it counts. In this case, our crew breathed easy and enjoyed a beautiful evening of live music.

Taking Care of the Client

Some of the best compliments sound like this: “I hardly thought of production.”

Perfect. Booked the artist, booked us, and then focused elsewhere, like taking care of sponsors, guests, and all the stakeholders it takes to come around an event like this.

We’re proud of our people, our line arrays, our moving lights, but most of all we’re proud of a reputation that communicates our brand: SERVICE. We served the band, served this audience, and served our CLIENT. Events are a lot of hard work, they take a village, and we’re honored to sit between the promoter who says, “let’s do this,” and the band who says, “can’t wait.”