2018 X Games, Minneapolis

The Opportunity

Provide world-class lighting rig on the Geico Music Stage at the Armory to illuminate three nights of musical performances by major headlining artists at the 2018 X Games in Minneapolis. The X Games is an annual sports competition produced by ESPN that brings together the best athletes in skateboarding, BMX, motocross, snowboarding, inline skating and more. The 2018 Summer X Games were held at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, a with three nights of official concerts at the 8,400-capacity Minneapolis Armory.

The Solution

In order to provide stunning visuals and immersive lighting for headlining performances by Ice Cube, Zedd and Kaskade, ESPN hired live production company Slamhammer to deploy a world-class lighting rig on the Geico Music Stage at the Armory. Slamhammer selected a full complement of Martin lighting fixtures for their versatile features, reliable performance and vibrant colors.

To provide the guest lighting designers with maximum power and versatility while maintaining a modest footprint, Slamhammer supplied the Geico Music Stage at the Armory with an impressive Martin rig consisting of 12 MAC Viper Profile spot fixtures, 30 MAC Aura wash fixtures and 21 Atomic 3000 DMX strobe fixtures. The flexibility, programmability and reliability of these rider-friendly fixtures are highly valued by lighting designers throughout the industry, enabling the Slamhammer team to satisfy the lighting requirements of all three headlining artists without having to make changes to the rig between performances.

The Impact

“It’s a privilege to be involved with an event as iconic as the X Games for the second year in a row,” said Marty Lesmeister, Lighting Department Manager at Slamhammer. “ESPN asked us to put together an impressive lighting rig that could handle the demands of a high-energy concert at an extreme sports event, while staying within a reasonable budget. We went with the Martin rig because it’s flexible and powerful enough to deliver impressive results with a modest number of fixtures. Everyone was really satisfied with the rig. Zedd’s lighting designer uses 200 or more fixtures for his show, so it’s a real testament to Martin fixtures that he was able to get everything he needed from a fraction of the lights he originally requested. These performances were fly dates for all three acts too, so it was crucial that the lighting designers were comfortable with the fixtures and could get in and get out without sacrificing quality and speed on the programming and performance side of things.”