Wolds Top Gig — stage, rigging and show engineering

Overview

The Wolds Top Gig is a live music event, and the brief is the same one that runs through all of my stage work: build a structure and a technical setup that goes up safely, is operated by a real crew on the day, and comes down cleanly afterwards. The same engineering discipline I apply to industrial cells applies here — the failure modes are just louder.

The stage, rigging, screen, lighting and front-of-house were planned as one system. Pre-rigging and trial builds were carried out at the workshop first, so that what arrived on site was known to fit and known to work — not figured out under time pressure on the day.

The brief

Deliver a stage and show setup for the event: the stage, rigging for lighting and screen, PA, and a layout that lets the band, the crew and the audience all work safely. It has to be installable inside the get-in window, operable through the show, and strippable in the get-out.

How it was approached

The structure and rigging were pre-built and checked at the workshop before load-in. That means rigging points, cable runs and fixings were proven in a controlled environment, and the on-site build became an assembly job rather than a design-on-the-fly job.

Rigging work was planned around safe access and safe loading — what hangs where, how it is reached, and how it is made off. Lighting and screen were positioned for the audience sightlines while keeping rigging loads sensible and within the venue's limits.

What was delivered

• ✓Pre-rig and trial build carried out at the workshop before load-in
• ✓Stage, PA and front-of-house setup
• ✓Rigging for lighting and screen, planned for safe access and loading
• ✓Lighting and screen positioned for sightlines and show impact
• ✓Full get-in, show operation and get-out delivered on schedule