There is a specific kind of magic that happens in the seconds right before a band strikes their first chord. The house lights go down, the crowd holds its breath, and in that brief moment of darkness, the stage becomes a blank canvas.
I’ve been an audio and lighting technician at Livewire since 2017, but my roots in the Fargo-Moorhead live music and event scene go much deeper. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working as an audio engineer and lighting designer with incredible local musical groups like The Forefeathers, Heart and Soul, The Quarterly, and Boots, along with countless high-energy EDM shows. I’ve also had a hand in operating and directing technology for beloved local venues like The Aquarium, Dempsey’s, The Hub, and Sanctuary Events Center. Through all those long days, packed rooms, and late-night load-outs, I discovered a core passion: bringing the music’s energy to light.
What You Feel vs. What You See
In event production, audio is what you feel in your chest, but lighting is what tells your eyes how to interpret that feeling. If a band plays a slow, emotional ballad, flashing bright white strobes completely ruin the moment. Conversely, if an EDM DJ drops a massive, bass-heavy track while the stage sits in a static blue wash, the audience’s energy instantly deflates. Lighting is the visual translation of sound, turning musical rhythm into visual emotion.
Lighting is the visual translation of sound, turning musical rhythm into visual emotion.
The Gear Behind the Show
To make that vision a reality, we rely on a massive inventory of top-tier gear. I use our Chauvet intelligent fixtures and moving heads to sweep beams across the crowd during a soaring guitar solo, while Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) and Ayrton fixtures provide crisp, theatrical-grade front-lighting to keep performers clearly visible without washing out the stage.
