France – Beauty abounds in the sensual gardens of the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud on the left bank of the Seine, but Frédéric (Aldo) Fayard and his Concept K team were not focused on that this summer. They were too busy working on aesthetic gems of their own, as they designed the Main Stage and the Boursobank Stage rigs at the renowned Rock En Seine festival.
And oh, what remarkable gems they were! The main stage, which played host to The Cure, Tyler The Creator, and the Deftones among others was also a very large gem. It measured 24-meters wide and 18-meters deep (almost half used as backstage), with key light truss reaching as high as 12-meters.
Skilled at making an impressive site even more extraordinary, Aldo and his colleagues, led by on-site designer, Stephane Courtillot, expanded the look of the stage even further with video wall extensions, plus the artful placement of CHAUVET Professional STRIKE 4 and Color STRIKE M fixtures.
This move added 40-meters to the look of the stage. The Concept K design harmonized the big stage and brought it into focus for fans who were as far as 150-meters away on the festival grounds, by framing it and its flanking video walls in light. “The mission of the Strike M was crucial,” said Aldo, when discussing the decision. “They surrounded the full stage, including video screen, and they underline each moving truss within the stage.”
However, the stage was more than just big and balanced, with a rig made up of 213 fixtures supplied by Dushow (including 18 STRIKE Array 4s and 52 Color STRIKE Ms), the rig provided visiting LDs with the tools needed to reflect the varying musical styles and personalities of the performing artists.
While one look invited fans to enter a mellow world of soft washes, another fired them up with intense blinders. Then there were also looks that challenged with bold monochromatic greens, followed by ones that enticed fans to imagine new possibilities with abstract patterns moving across the stage and video walls. The looks were as wonderfully varied as the performances on stage!
When asked about the array of looks Aldo said, “we are not magicians, but we know Rock En Seine very well. This was our 21st edition and we spend a lot of time in advance to analyze the riders. We then proposed the “creme de la crème,” equipment that our team is able to use to satisfy the bands.”
This magic was also sprinkled across the smaller, but equally beautiful, Boursobank Stage, where the Concept K team operated more of the shows. “This stage hosted more bands without their own LD, so we had to build something very efficient as fast as possible,” noted Aldo. “The time slots were also shorter, the backstage area was less spacious, and the teams involved were smaller, so we need to be efficient in terms of installation, changeovers, and dismantling.”
Like the main stage, the smaller stage also had a Dushow suppled rig, this one featuring 18 STRIKE Array 4s and 38 Color STRIKE Ms. Just as they did on the main stage, these fixtures played a key role in enlivening the Boursobank. “We found a good solution for the main stage, and we used exactly the same philosophy for the second stage,” said Aldo.
In the end, that philosophy revolved around the same point on both stages and additionally two smaller ones: to create an environment that immersed fans in the music and the moment at one of the world’s most enchanting festivals.
