Zeo Lights Up Academy of Country Music Awards

At the 60^th Academy of Country Music Awards, legendary artists took the stage to celebrate six decades of country music. Ford Center at The Star, the practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys, hosted the event in Frisco, TX with a capacity of 14,000 people. To help the star-studded performances shine brightly, Co-Lighting Designers Travis Hagenbuch and Michael Berger brought in High End Systems Zeo fixtures, supplied by Kinetic Lighting.

The awards show streamed live on Prime Video, with availability to replay the broadcast after the event. Performances were produced by Raj Kapoor, Patrick Menton, and their team in house. Once artists were booked, Hagenbuch and Berger sat down with them and the art department, Paperweight and Yellow Studio, to develop the concept further and specify fixtures and placement. Hagenbuch and Berger were responsible for the lighting design, augmenting the base rig with floor packages that suited each act’s aesthetic. That’s where Zeo came in.

A square face design highlighted by a central LED monolith, four reflectors, and four RGBW engines makes Zeo a visually exciting choice for in-person and on-camera performances. For the ACM Awards, 25 Zeo fixtures were placed in front of and above the band risers for Jelly Roll’s performance of “Heart of Stone.”

“We wanted ‘Heart of Stone’ to have a more industrial feel to it, since the second song of the performance was going to have a much more open, warm look,” says Hagenbuch. “The Zeo had a unique fixture shape that fit the bill. We tried to balance the show with older and newer technologies to give some variety to the performances. Pairing the Zeo with DMX controllable fans was a best-of-both-worlds solution.”

Production Credits

Co-Lighting Designers: Travis Hagenbuch and Michael Berger

Lighting Directors: Jeff Behm, Hannah Kerman

Lighting Directors/Programmers: Ryan Tanker, Erin Anderson, Grey Nicholson

Gaffer/PRG Account Rep: Tony Ward

PRG Chief Tech: Jason Trowbridge 

Zeo supplier: Kinetic Lighting