International. When COVID-19 hit earlier this year, Hyacinth Belcher, president and CEO of full-service audiovisual company Onstage Systems, worked hard to find a way to bring live events safely to the Dallas area.
Belcher dedicated months to the project, which culminated in Capricorn Drive-In, a series of live events held at historic Fair Park, a 277-acre campus located east of downtown Dallas.
Fair Park is a beautiful art-deco property with a historic history that hosts the Texas State Fair each year. "For me, it was the ideal place to celebrate the diversity of Dallas and the local talent of the area," Belcher says, "which we did with a diverse variety of musical styles and ethnic backgrounds."
Supporting emerging talent in the area is praiseworthy in its own right, but as a live industry professional and director of a major entertainment technology provider, Belcher also had other motivations in mind. "We also used it as a proof of concept to show city officials that live events could happen safely and that it was possible to host larger shows."
Security Plan
To be approved by the City of Dallas, Onstage Systems developed a safety plan with attendee management as the number one priority. The company created a parking diagram with designated seating areas for attendees following COVID-19 distancing guidelines. Once the City approved final approval in mid-summer, Belcher and his team spent the following month producing, promoting and managing production for a series of live events that took place later in the summer.
From August 28 to September 5, Capricorn Drive-In presented music, films and performances at Fair Park and used an Elation lighting platform to illuminate the shows. Then, on October 16, they climbed the list of teams for a special performance of the national subtronics act featuring supporting artists HE$H, Al Ross, Level Up and Ace Aura.
Stage lighting included 14 Platinum Beam 5R Extreme and 4 Platinum Beam 5R narrow-beam moving heads, 8 Rayzor 760 LED washing moving heads, DTW Blinder 700 IP, 14 Hex Panels from sister company ADJ along with strobe lights. In addition to providing lighting and coordination of driving events, Onstage Systems provided staging, video and audio production.
It was big
Onstage Systems co-promoted the Subtronics event where nearly 1500 paid guests enjoyed the show from 393 car safety modules. Attendees were encouraged to get out of their cars or sit in designated areas on picnic blankets and chairs. Belcher says they were larger than most drive-ins by supplying an SL260 mobile stage flanked by LED walls, multiple cameras and also mixed visual effects. Guests can enjoy the show on their car radio or via live public address system with audio delays. Because the rear batch was quite far from the stage, Onstage also supplied a 40x22 inflatable display with a 30K digital projector from over 400' away.
Lighting design for the Subtronics show was done by Sean Hedrick with the help of Sterling Cordier. Tommy Dowdy and his assistant Casey Shelton handled the FOH audio. All are employees of Onstage Systems. The video was the responsibility of Mike Moore. The challenge for us had been to get the lighting platform to 'look big' in the vast audience space that cars occupy," said LD Hedrick. "That said, it seems that the solution has been a greater number of luminaires and beams and forceful washes."
Dallas' First Covid-19 Safe Public Concert
A great effort was made to create a safe Covid-19 live event experience with social distancing and mask protocols in place. Onstage Systems has two certified Covid-19 compliance officers on staff and all staff and artists underwent temperature checks and contact tracing. The efforts proved a success and the event had the distinction of being the first COVID-19 safe public concert approved by the City of Dallas.
