It is fun when you are running lights and you know/like the Music the band is playing. But you don’t get to pick the entertainment. Most of the time you might run lights for a band that you have never heard of. OR you don’t like that type of Music. So Practice Programming Lights to music you don’t know.
Story – So far my favorite concert I ran lights for – was The Wailers. It was a free outdoor concert in July. The weather was great. I know all the songs. The stagehands were good. All the lights worked. I was able to attend a concert and run lights that night.
Extra Tip – One simple thing you can do to Become a Better LD – Is to change it up. Make every event/concert look different. Different Effects – Different Colors – Different Positions. If you look at your Instagram Profile and you see the same colors in every picture. Try to mix it up.
Programming Playlist
I have a Programming playlist on my phone. It has a variety of different artists. The songs come in handy when I am getting ready for a band I don’t know. I try to look up a band the night before their show and find out their main hits. But for their other songs that I don’t know – I use the songs in my list to help me program. After most concerts I usually add a song to my programming playlist from a band I just worked with.
Some songs from my Playlist
Catfish and the Bottlemen – Soundcheck
Soul Asylum – Supersonic
Ester Dean – Drop It Low
Blink-182 – Up All Night
Bob Marley – Wait in Vain
Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams
First Aid Kit – Emmylou
The War on Drugs – Eyes To the Wind
Judah & the Lion – Green Eyes
One Direction – Story of My Life
3 Speaker High – Make Me Dance All Night
Cardi B – Bodak Yellow
Paul Simon – Graceland
Taylor Swift – …Ready For It
Twenty One Pilots – Jumpsuit
Robbie Rivera – Girlfriend
Ludacris – My Chick is Bad
Solarstone – I Want You Here
Mumford & Sons – I’m On Fire (Cover)
Lissie – Shameless
Post Malone – A Thousand Bad Times
R3HAB & VINAI – How We Party (Haterade Remix)
Britney Spears – Till The World Ends (Jump Smokers Extended Mix)
Plus a lot of Chvrches, Angels and Airwaves, Blink 182
I put a song on repeat and go to work.
Practice Programing Lights to Music You Don’t Know
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Ryan Conlon is a highly experienced Corporate Freelance Lighting Designer with two decades of dedicated work in the entertainment industry. With a passion for creating captivating lighting experiences, Ryan has contributed his expertise to numerous corporate meetings, stage productions, concerts, and events throughout his career.