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ADJ fixtures selected for August Burns Red Christmas shows

Thirty-six ADJ Jolt Bar FX multifunction linear LED fixtures and eight ADJ 40 Hex Panel IP LED-powered wash panels played an integral role in the lighting rig for the 2025 edition of “Christmas Burns Red”, hometown holiday shows hosted by metalcore band August Burns Red.

Designed, programmed and operated by lighting designer Noah Connolly, the rig combined bold looks with strobe and pixel effects. With additional fixtures supplied by lighting vendor Squeek Lights, the band scaled up their festival and support slot touring rig to deliver this headline production.

Staged at the 6,500-capacity Freedom Hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the two-night event ran across December 12/13. August Burns Red headlined both nights, delivering completely different sets each evening, supported by a rotating lineup that included Currents, Animals as Leaders, Invent Animate and Boundaries. To create the right atmosphere for the mini Christmas festival, August Burns Red once again trusted Connolly, who was responsible for designing, programming, and operating the lighting system for the event.

“I’ve always been a fan of metalcore - in fact I’m a drummer myself - and have previously worked in that world but ended up as LD for some pretty big pop/rap artists”, he says, “Then, randomly, I was invited to do a one-off fill-in gig for August Burns Red. I was meant to just show up and busk a five-show support run with Ice Nine Kills. But the band liked what I busked, and they’re a super cool group of people to hang out with, so I’ve just stuck with them ever since as my main gig. They are really easy to work with and leave the designing and programming entirely in my court. It’s also great to be in a scene that fits so well with my own musical taste. I started working for them in 2023, in August funnily enough, so it’s been just over two and a half years.”

The culmination of a big year for the band, August Burns Red used their Christmas shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of debut album “Thrill Seeker” as well as the 10th anniversary of popular release “Found In Far Away Places”. As they were two of the band’s biggest headline shows of the year, all the stops were pulled out in terms of production for “Christmas Burns Red”, with Connolly evolving a design concept that had been developed across previous tours and festival runs.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve done a lot of festivals and support runs on arena tours using a ground package made up of pods on big rolling carts that I welded and fitted with Jolt Bar FXs”, explains Connolly. “And I used a similar look for ‘Christmas Burns Red’ last year. So, this year the idea was basically to mirror the whole rig and expand up, flying the Jolts for the first time on an August Burns Red show. The band owns a large illuminated ‘U’ set piece, which is always the focal point on stage. So, we flew a horizontal line of Jolts on either side of that, with more above and below in vertical lines. It expanded the ‘U’ into almost one big architectural piece that provided a versatile backdrop to the whole show.”

“August Burns Red were already using the Jolt Bar FX when I came on board - in fact, they own sixteen of them”, continues Connolly. “So that means they are kind of locked into all their rigs, but I was super happy about that as I’d used them on other projects and really love them. I like creating big looks, with lots of fixtures rather than just a few of the more expensive options; I think it looks better both on the macro and the micro level. The Jolt Bars allow these small-to-mid-sized bands to own a rig that they can use at every gig as a floor package and then scale up for the bigger headline shows.”

Complementing the Jolt Bar FX backdrop, eight of ADJ’s new 40 Hex Panel IP fixtures were used to provide flexible sidelight. Four fixtures were positioned downstage - two left and two right - while the remaining four were dedicated to highlighting specific band members on risers, with one on each side riser and two on the drum riser.

“I found the 40 Hex Panel IP to be a really nice step up from the 32 Hex Panel IP, which I’ve used a lot for sidelight on other tours”, comments Connolly. “I put the frost filters in the ones on the risers to blow them out a bit for that tight area and then used them without filters downstage, which gave that extra throw to cover a bigger distance but still get a nice punchy flood.”

(Photos: Paxton Powell)

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