At the heart of the Castle Lite Unlocks Experience is a celebration of music, and therefore sound quality is of paramount importance in delivering an exceptional experience for fans. The Gearhouse sound team once again managed the sometimes challenging acoustic properties of the TicketPro Dome with skill. The combination of L-Acoustic’s K1 PA system, together with DiGiCo SDIO consoles provided the backbone of the sound system used for the event. Kholafelo “Rasta” Sewela served as sound engineer for South African artists, along with Sandile Zikalala as system technician and Simon Panos on monitors, with Kyle Bulmann taking over front of house for Chance the Rapper.
“Our engineers have worked in the TicketPro Dome over some years and have an excellent understanding of how to make the sound work. We have reached a point where we understand the configurations needed and can apply it to whatever the artist’s requirements ore,” explains Jaco Saaiman, PM at Gearhouse.
In addition to the spectacular LED display, the lighting rig for the Castle Lite Unlocks Experience brought an element to the show that the audience is unlikely to forget. Lighting designer, Robert Grobler, designed and operated a rig that comprised more than 460 lighting fixtures using GrandMA2 as the control platform.
While the LED display dominated the set, the accompanying light show made use of dramatic aerial effects over the arena and provided the perfect light levels over the stage to complement the brightness of the video wall. Grobler made use of a range of fixtures, including an impressive 62 Mac Viper profiles, together with 72 Martin Rush Par 2 RGBW Zoom LED PAR cans from Martin Professional. The inclusion of the ever-popular Robe Robin BMFL blades proved their worth, providing stunning movement sequences. The inclusion of 48 Robe Pointes provided sharp parallel beams that also worked extremely well with the LED display.
The design team took a truly innovative approach with the Castle Lite branding, which they built out of trussing above the stage to create the iconic Castle Lite snowflake, which they lit with LED strips in various patterns throughout the opening acts.
Adding to the visual extravaganza, Fireworks for Africa provided a range of pyrotechnic effects, with Travis Yeatman using an Avolites Tiger Touch II with stage effects by MagicFX. The inclusion of perfectly timed stage flames and confetti cannons added another element of drama throughout the show. The highlight, however, was watching multi-coloured confetti rain down over the exuberant crowd while Chance the Rapper closed the show with his gospel song Blessings.
