Rising star Nina Nesbitt and lighting designer Ollie Wilkinson have both come a long way since there first collaboration in 2013. Then still a teenager, the Scottish-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was about to embark on her first headline tour. For Wilkinson, who was not much older, it was also his first tour as a headline LD.

A year after Wilkinson joined her team, Nesbitt released her debut album Peroxide, which reached Number 11 on the UK Charts. The two have been growing together, and feeding off one another creatively, ever since, as they now play in larger venues before thousands of fans.

Nesbitt has continued to develop and deepen her musical style every step of the way, releasing critically acclaimed albums like The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change, and last year’s Älskar. Her nuanced style, a mixture of ballads with strong electric influences, along with her enchanting voice and stage presence, make her shows memorable for fans.

However, the same quality that captivates on stage, also presents challenges for anyone striving to reflect Nesbitt’s music in light. To do so, a designer must be able to move seamlessly from delicate emotional moments, to bold ones, where the artist asserts her unique power.

As he explains here, this is a challenge that Wilkinson has relished during the course of his evolving collaboration with this remarkable artist.

You use a lot of white light and back lighting for Nina Nesbitt. Why is that?
“I often like to use various colour temperatures when lighting Nina’s shows – I can take the stage from a cold atmospheric feeling into a warm inviting glow of white. This allows me to separate the audience or bring them into the show. Really, I have always been a big fan of back and side lighting. Even now I will still dot some old school floor par cans around the stage to capture the artist from a low light level. I have never been a huge fan of lighting everything from the front, to me, it makes everything feel very flat; the depth you are trying to create can be lost when the front wash is on. If I do use front light, it has to be very tight and focused specifically so that the stage doesn’t become a blanket of washed out light.”

Nina is a multi instrumentalist. Does this influence the way you design for her?
“Often Nina will play a stripped back version on her acoustic guitar or sometimes on piano, this can change the entire original song. It captivates the audience when they hear a different version, which, of course, changes the way I light certain numbers. Sometimes, I will have multiple cues built for each number in case Nina wants to strip it back. My lighting can go from very bright and epic, to a slow back lit moody number. So, having both versions in the desk really helps.”

A lot of critics praise Nina’s soaring vocal range and the dreamy quality of her instrumental performances. How would you categorize her style, and how do you reflect it in light?
“Nina’s incredible range, not only as a vocalist, but also as an instrumentalist, really helps me create a dynamic lighting design. One of the things I enjoy about working with Nina is that we never tour the same show. Every show is unique in its own way, both from Nina’s performance, as well as the lighting design. Due to her wide range of genre and vocals, I will often choose fixtures that can be utilized in many various ways to help me shift mood.”

Nina has a very loyal fan base. When designing for her, do you try to keep a consistent feel that they can connect to from tour to tour?
“We often blackout after every song too. Sometimes this can be a dramatic snap, or a slow sweep out to the audience. These are pretty much always characteristic features. With social media being such a huge part of culture these days, it’s always nice to see my mark and people know it’s my design on Nina’s Show.

How and when you started designing for Nina?
“Well, It all started back in 2013 — I had to take a deep breath then! My good friend and tour manager, Curtis McKenna, asked me to get involved on her first UK Tour. It was a very minimal floor package, small tour van, myself and a console. The venues varied in size so much! From 250 Capacity up to 1500 Capacity venues, such as Koko in London. This was a great learning curve in how to get the most out of in house lighting rigs, along with matching this to our touring floor package.”

What was your most memorable show with Nina?
“We always have fantastic shows in Glasgow. We often sell out the SWG3 Main Arena with surprise guests. But I think my personal favorite was in Blackpool, which is my home town. It was The Blackpool Light Switch in 2019, we played to over fifteen thousand people.”

What the best thing about designing for her?
“I think it’s the artist – designer relationship. Nina trusts me to create the show and is never hesitant about bringing me on board for every tour and one-off event. Nina always has a general concept of how she wants the show to feel and look, but trusts me to take the reins with designing the tour. Curtis McKenna and I also have a great working relationship and he always lets me push the boundaries, even though that sometimes involves very long nights and early mornings!”

What’s the most challenging thing?
“It’s often the variation in size of venues. A lot of prep work is required to ensure our touring lighting package will fit into the smaller venues and will also works in the bigger venues. Every day is a little challenge in itself, but all the work is done in the prep. We always endeavor to fit the entire touring production into every venue, even when the crew are shaking their heads. However, we’re all also wearing a smile at the same time.”

How has working for Nina influenced your development as a lighting designer?
“I feel that both Nina and I have grown in our own creative concepts over the last 10 years of working together. Her first headline tour in 2013 was also my first headline tour as a lighting designer. So it’s nice that we have grown with the production together. I also think that the trust we have built together really makes working with Nina an incredible experience.”

What’s the one word that you would use to describe a Nina Nesbitt performance?
“Captivating! That’s because her incredible vocal range and sheer musical talent always makes for an enjoyable tour. She always writes and creates new music so every tour has fresh material in which we can create a powerful lighting design for The loyal and new fan base.”