AXTON, VA – With its 150 acres of pastoral meadows dotted by tranquil ponds surround by tall pines and flowering trees, Pops Farm is alive with color throughout the year. At no time though is this celebration of hues as bold and exciting as it is in the early summer, when the farm is home to Rooster Walk a four-day festival dedicated to roots and bluegrass music.

Year after year, the team at 81 Productions, which puts on the festival, is not only dedicated to enlivening its stages with a rainbow of light, they also set a transformative mood throughout the site by bathing the trees throughout the farm with a richly textured palette of colors.

This year, for the 14th annual edition of the festival, lighting designer Jason Patsel used a rig anchored by CHAUVET Professional fixtures to light all of the stages, as well as the surrounding woodlands.

“We used Chauvet fixtures everywhere, from the tree lights on and around the Pine Stage, to the lake lights on and around the lake stage, and the lights on and around the Lawn’s Main Stage,” said Patsel. “Our Main Stage had 12 Maverick Force S Spots, eight Rogue R2 Washes, and 16 COLORado Solo 2 Washes. The Maverick Force S Spot was super important to creating the big looks needed for that many of the Main Stage acts.”

Among the acts performing the 80 different sets during the four-day festival were Grammy winner and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Emmylou Harris, Cory Wong, Big Something, and the North Mississippi All-Stars. Patsel, who managed lighting for the entire festival and his team, including the stage LDs, relied on the versatility of the fixtures in their rig to create a variety of looks for the diverse mix of artists on stage.

At times, notably during daylight performances, they conjured up deep color washes and static eye-candy effects to set the mood on stage. During the nighttime shows they revved up the mood with dynamic aerial effects.

Joining the Maverick Force S Spots in lighting up the sky at these moments were the festival’s Rogue fixtures, particularly the RH1 Hybrids, which also set a magical tone by making the big lake at Pop’s Farm come alive with color and patterns.

“We depended on the RH1 Hybrids to project clean crisp gobo patters across the festival’s huge lake,” said Patsel. “Their bright output and throw distance made the me ideal for this purpose.”

Adding to the immersive atmosphere at the festival was the uplighting that transformed the site’s tall trees. Patsel credits his COLORado 2 Quad Zoom and COLORado Solo 2 fixtures with making this happen. “They have the punch to light up the tallest trees,” he said. “The lighting really made everything come off perfectly. Also, we could not have done this with a great team, including the whole 81 Productions crew — Dustin Lee, Trevor Creany, Matt Kirkpatrick, Trevor Jones; all of Rooster Walk and their productions crew; and Sean Grogan who provided helpful cues during the Cosmic Country sets.”

Thanks to their joint effort, this team turned the always beautiful Pops Farm, into something even more special.