There are few venues anywhere that rival the natural wonders of the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. Carved into the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the site presents lighting designers with a canvas that inspires creativity in untold ways. Beyond that, however, these surroundings turn designers and their clients into, not just professionals, but also visitors, as it overwhelms them with the sheer magnitude of its beauty.

The only “negative” about Red Rocks is that we have only one chance to experience it for the first time, when the full measure of its grandeur hits us head on and elevates our souls. Matthew PJ Row reminds us of what this is like, as he recounts his first-ever visit to the iconic venue earlier this summer to light Shane Smith and the Saints.

Row’s story will bring back great memories for many. Meanwhile, his description of how he wove his surroundings into his design, will provide a good guidepost for anyone lighting a show in a dramatic outdoor venue.

You recently did a killer lightshow for Shane Smith and the Saints at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Seems like the perfect setting for their evocative music. Was this your first time working there?
“Yes, it was, and I quickly became completely immersed in my breathtaking surroundings.
Having always seen pictures from other LD’s or Incubus Alive at Red Rocks, it was like being the kid that sees everything about Disney World, and is finally being able to go.”

So, what was the sensation like?
“Being driven up the mountain, walking through catering and seeing the walls were actually of the rock formation was dreamlike It’s an indescribable feeling, walking through the tunnel to FOH and seeing everyone’s imprint left; then going out on the stage and seeing the house left and right monoliths and turning and being able to place hands on the US rock formation.

“It was as I heard “truss Moving” that I felt the sensation of, “I’ve finally made it to Red Rocks!” It was everything I’ve imagined it to be. Red Rocks left the same impression on me as time and nature has left on the rock formations.”

When you were driving to Red Rocks, what was your impression of the landscape you were passing?
“It was the perfect escape from the city. Driving in early AM allowed me to see all of the scenery, the trees, the landscapes, the mountains, and the terrain of different heights. It was the perfect way to wake up and start my day. The next day before I flew out, I had to come back and hike some of the trails before I left. I just couldn’t get enough of the scenery.”

How did being at Red Rocks influence your design for Shane Smith and The Saints?
“A lot of Shane Smiths and The Saints music is fantastic at painting a picture. I did a lot of the same. I was told by friends that, “When you do your positions, do them bigger. You have people at the top that will be peering down into the stage. You want your high positions to be above them.” First and foremost, I wanted everyone throughout the whole show to not just be viewing into all of my positions but have the same experience that the fans at the DS edge to FOH sight views.

“Then having the US wall. Playing into their song, Canvas, I had to use the US wall in many different ways. From blasting it with colors, intensity chases, CYC Wall looks with rotating Gobos, to bathing it in red with no other lights on to Silhouette the band.

“We used a custom gobo to paint the House Right Monolith with for certain times in the set.
To even using the architectural lighting. I tried to use every aspect I could, imaginable of the amphitheater to play into the show.

“Really, it was like having a mirror ball in a venue. You got to use it for at least one song. Red Rocks was like having a dozen mirror balls and utilizing them all tastefully that complimented the music and lyrics of the band.

“Honestly there were times in my pre-programming/visualizer where I had to stop and just imagine the venue and think, how would the lights look at the top seats and the bottom seats.”

You did a lot of audience lighting in that show. When you did, you saw all the beautiful natural surroundings. What kind of feeling did that give you?
“There was a break in the set where the band rocked out on stage while Shane Smith and Bennett Brown (Fiddle) snuck up the tunnel and performed a few songs above FOH to the crowd in a stripped-down acoustic performance. I remember adding the Strike 1’s so that they could see all of their fans as well. That was when I was able to take a short break and turn full 360 and see the fans from the front row all the way to the top, the Monoliths, the city lights in the distance behind the amphitheater.

“It was an overwhelming sensation of joy and happiness. Something a picture couldn’t encapsulate. It was all sensations in one. Seeing all of the beauty of the venue, hearing the crowd sing-a-long in a carol like notion, tasting and smelling the Colorado air, and feeling every hair on my body stand up. It was truly a monumental emotion that was left in time in space for me.”

There were so many great things for you at that show. Does anything in particular stand out?
“Those first cues of the intro. At that point, it’s all or nothing. You’ve done your work prior, you’ve stressed, you’ve sweated, and now you’re here. Doing your part as all the other LD’s before you have. Being in the moment seeing the work come to fruition.”

What is the worst, or most challenging, thing?
“Trying to enjoy the beauty of the venue and your work, while mitigating the show and triggering cues. I found myself so often being caught between work mode and tourist mode. Trying to balance both was my most challenging thing.”

How has working at Red Rocks influenced you as a lighting designer?
“To find new and inventive ways of tying the venue into the show so that every show is different in some way in regards to the lighting aspects.”

If you had to describe Red Rocks Amphitheatre in one word, what would it be?
“Monumental.”