— Beartooth 2024 North American Tour Case Study
For any professional lighting designer, the real test isn’t just having a big budget or a massive arena to fill. The real challenge is making every show feel huge, even when you’re working in 900-cap clubs or 3,000-seat theaters.
With the right combination of stage laser lights, concert lasers, moving head laser light fixtures, and laser stage lighting, a show can jump from “looks good” to “completely unforgettable.” Good laser design doesn’t just decorate the room— it amplifies the band’s emotional arc, keeps the crowd engaged, and gives the LD enough creative room to tell a story with light.
In this case study, the team used Starshine-Laser fixtures plus a flexible laser controller workflow to build the lighting for Beartooth’s 2024 North American tour. The goal was clear:
- Deliver arena-level visual impact
- In small and medium venues (900–3,000 cap)
- With a rig that can adapt to different rooms night after night
Table of Contents
| Section | What You'll Learn |
|---|---|
| 1. Beartooth’s Vision | Why the band wanted arena energy in clubs and theaters |
| 2. Design Strategy & Rig | How Starshine-Laser stage laser lights scaled up small rooms |
| 3. Color Storytelling | Using rgb laser light to match Beartooth’s album emotions |
| 4. Programming on grandMA2 | Integrating concert lasers into a single lighting brain |
| 5. Real-World Feedback | How fans, band, and crew reacted to the show |
| 6. Who This Setup Is For | Tours, venues, and rental companies that benefit most |
| 7. Buying Tips | Practical guidance for choosing stage lasers and concert lasers |
| 8. Choosing Categories | 5W vs 10W, moving head laser light, and rig planning |
| 9. FAQ | Common questions about Starshine-Laser stage laser lights |
| 10. Final Thoughts & Next Steps | How to apply this case study to your own shows |
1. Beartooth’s Vision: Arena Energy in Club and Theater Venues
In the earliest design meetings, Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo made one thing very clear:
“Whether we’re in a 3,000-cap theater or a 900-cap club, I want it to feel like an arena show. Every night should feel big. People should walk in and think, ‘This is way more than I expected for this size of venue.’”
That one sentence gave lighting designer Jarrett and the production team a precise target.
The goal wasn’t just:
- “Make it brighter”
- Or “add more effects”
To do that, the Beartooth stage needed:
- Multi-layered looks that push past the physical size of the room
- Memorable wow moments where the entire space explodes with energy
- Consistent visual identity from venue to venue
2. Design Strategy: Using Starshine-Laser Stage Laser Lights to Scale Up Small and Medium Rooms
2.1 Building a Rig That Feels Bigger Than the Room
For this run, the rig used eight Starshine-Laser fixtures, with a mix of 5W and 10W units. These stage laser lights were combined with:
- A large LED video wall
- A full rig of conventional fixtures: moving heads, washes, beams, blinders, and effects
- A grandMA2 console as the main lighting desk and laser controller
- Starshine-Laser–compatible control firmware to bring the lasers into the same workflow as the rest of the rig
The Starshine-Laser concert lasers were not treated as “extra special effects.” They were baked into the core structure of the show’s visuals:
- The video wall set the overall imagery and mood
- The conventional rig handled people-light, fills, and basic stage looks
- The Starshine-Laser stage laser lights and rgb laser light effects handled the “spine-tingling” moments and gave each song a unique sense of space
2.2 Beartooth x Starshine-Laser Rig at a Glance
- Tour: Beartooth 2024 North American tour
- Venues: 900–3,000-cap clubs, theaters, and mid-size rooms
- Lasers: 8× Starshine-Laser stage laser lights (mix of 5W and 10W concert lasers)
- Other fixtures: Moving heads, washes, beams, blinders, effects
- Control: grandMA2 as the main console and laser controller
- Main goal: Arena-level laser stage lighting in small and medium venues
2.3 Mounting: Building a “Ceiling of Beams” Above the Video Wall
Jarrett mounted the Starshine-Laser units above the LED wall. That single choice unlocked a lot of flexibility:
- Wide rooms – lasers could run with wide angles, creating a ceiling of beams over the crowd and sweeping from the stage to the back of the room.
- Narrow or low rooms – beam angles could be tightened and layered vertically to create depth instead of width, making the room feel taller and more three-dimensional.
Jarrett sums it up like this:
“One of the biggest advantages of the Starshine-Laser fixtures is how flexible they are. When the room is wide, I can open up the stage lasers and fill the entire space with aerial effects. When the room is narrow or the ceiling is low, I can layer the laser stage light looks and still make it feel huge.”
That’s exactly what you want from tour-ready stage laser lights: a rig that can move from city to city and still deliver the same emotional impact.
3. Color Storytelling: Matching Beartooth’s Album with Starshine-Laser Concert Lasers
3.1 Giving Each Song Its Own Color Language
Beartooth’s album Surface is full of songs that build gradually and then explode into big choruses. Jarrett didn’t just want the lights to match the beat; he wanted them to match the emotional curve of each song.
Here’s where rgb laser light performance really mattered. With Starshine-Laser fixtures, he could work with:
- Soft, low-saturation pinks for intros and reflective sections
- Bright, high-energy yellows for big, uplifting choruses
- Deep greens and teals for heavier or darker bridges and breakdowns
- Some songs stayed mostly inside one color family, locking the audience into a specific mood.
- Others shifted palettes as the music moved from tension to release.
Jarrett explains:
“So many of the tracks on Surface ramp up layer by layer and then finally explode. I wanted the stage lasers to follow that arc—be restrained during the build, then completely open up in the chorus. When the song hits that emotional high, the whole room should blow up with color.”
3.2 Lasers as Emotion Amplifiers, Not Just Extra Bright Objects
In this design, Starshine-Laser fixtures weren’t blasting nonstop. They were used like high-impact punctuation marks:
- Some songs used simple, clean geometry—fans, tunnels, and straight beams in haze.
- Others used complex, layered concert lasers that filled the entire space.
- The biggest looks were reserved for the biggest emotional moments.
4. Programming Starshine-Laser Concert Lasers on grandMA2 for Seamless Laser Stage Lighting
4.1 One Console, One Brain
All the Starshine-Laser fixtures were integrated into the grandMA2 show file using compatible firmware and profiles. For Jarrett, that meant:
- He could program conventional fixtures, stage laser lights, and concert lasers all on one desk.
- He could run the whole show to timecode, including laser cues.
- He could tweak both laser lighting and the rest of the rig on the fly, without switching systems.
For a touring LD, that has two major advantages:
- Low learning curve – no need to master a completely separate laser-only software just to control a handful of fixtures. Each moving head laser light or rgb laser light fixture behaves like another intelligent light inside the MA show.
- Fast real-world adjustments – if the trim height changes or the venue is smaller than expected, beam angles and zones can be quickly adjusted from the console. If a certain song gets a huge reaction, looks can be expanded or intensified for future shows.
Jarrett puts it simply:
“I programmed and designed everything myself. The biggest advantage was being able to treat the lasers as part of the standard rig, not an extra system. For a timecoded tour, having Starshine-Laser fully integrated with the MA2 was absolutely key.”
That’s what modern laser stage lighting should feel like:
- Fully integrated with your preferred laser controller or console
- Flexible enough to support both precise timecode and live improvisation
5. Real-World Feedback from Fans, Band, and Crew
As the Beartooth 2024 North American tour rolled across different cities and venues, feedback came from every side:
- Fans – social media filled up with pictures of laser light cutting through haze and stretching across the room. Many comments mentioned how big and “arena-like” the production felt for a club or theater show.
- The band – the band’s main concern was whether the production actually supported the music. With the way the stage lasers, rgb laser light effects, and video content locked into each song’s dynamics, they felt the design lifted the performance instead of distracting from it.
- Other artists and crew – fellow artists and crew members noticed how cohesive the rig was: not just “a lot of fixtures,” but a unified system where concert lasers, moving heads, and video all worked together.
This was Jarrett’s first major tour built heavily around Starshine-Laser fixtures—but it won’t be his last:
“After this Beartooth tour, I’ve already started planning other shows and clients at Squeek Lights with Starshine-Laser in mind. Clubs, theaters, larger venues—if the music needs those big ‘lift-off’ moments, I’m thinking about lasers.”
6. Who This Starshine-Laser Stage Lighting Setup Is For (Tours, Venues, Rental)
This Beartooth-style Starshine-Laser stage lighting approach is especially useful if you’re:
- Touring LDs / Production Designers – you need a rig that travels well and adapts to different room sizes, and you want stage lasers that scale up for big rooms but still make sense in small ones.
- Rental houses / Production companies – you’re looking for concert lasers and stage laser lights that can serve a wide range of clients: rock and metal tours, EDM festivals, brand events, TV shoots, and more.
- Venue owners (clubs, live rooms, small theaters) – you want to upgrade from basic effects to professional laser stage lighting that touring bands will be excited to use, and make your venue feel “bigger” without physically expanding the space.
For all of these users, a Starshine-Laser rig becomes a scalable visual asset:
- In smaller rooms, 4–6 fixtures can completely transform the vibe.
- In larger rooms, the same fixtures can be part of a full laser light show projector–style setup, alongside a bigger lighting and video package.
7. Key Buying Tips for Starshine-Laser Stage Lasers and Concert Lasers
7.1 Define the Emotion Before You Define the Wattage
Don’t start with, “How many watts can I afford?” Start with: “What do I want people to feel?”
- For arena-type energy in small/medium rooms, 5W–10W stage laser lights are a solid starting point.
- Map your setlist and mark where you want peak laser moments. Choose fixtures that support those scenes.
7.2 Make Sure Your Lasers Talk to Your Existing Console
If you’re already on grandMA2, MA3, or another pro console, pick Starshine-Laser fixtures that integrate cleanly:
- Your console becomes your laser controller.
- You can treat each concert laser like another intelligent fixture in your show file.
- No need for separate operators or software unless you want them.
7.3 Hang Lasers Where They Have Maximum Flexibility
When planning your rig:
- Mount stage lasers where they can cover the entire audience area in wide rooms.
- Prepare alternate presets for narrow rooms, low trims, and balcony layouts.
- Think in terms of “max coverage now + options later.”
7.4 Focus on Color Storytelling, Not Just Spec Sheets
Power and scanning speeds matter, but the audience notices:
- How clean your laser lighting looks in haze
- How well your rgb laser light colors match your key light, video content, and overall palette
- Whether your colors follow the emotional journey of each song
7.5 Plan for Growth When You Look at Laser Lights for Sale or Rental
When you talk to suppliers or Starshine partners about pricing, quotes, and configurations:
- Be clear about your current needs, but also your future goals.
- Instead of buying ultra-cheap fixtures you’ll replace, consider starting with fewer, better stage laser lights and adding more later.
- A modular Starshine-Laser rig is easier to scale than a random mix of one-off purchases.
8. Choosing the Right Starshine-Laser Categories for Your Rig
If you’re exploring Starshine-Laser options for your tour, venue, or rental inventory, it helps to think in categories:
- Compact 5W stage laser lights – great for clubs and 500–1,000-cap rooms; perfect for clean overhead fans, tunnels, and “ceiling of beams” looks.
- 10W concert lasers – ideal for bigger theaters, festival stages, and outdoor setups; strong enough to hold their own against bright video walls and large rigs.
- Moving head laser light fixtures – maximize flexibility and positions with motorized pan/tilt, and give you more varied looks from the same number of lasers.
9. FAQ: Buying and Using Starshine-Laser Stage Laser Lights
Q1: For a 500–1500-cap venue, how many Starshine-Laser units do I really need?
As a starting point:
- For simple, tasteful laser lighting accents: around 4× 5W stage laser lights can already transform the look of a club show.
- For “arena-style” Beartooth-level impact in mid-sized rooms: a mix like 4× 10W + 2–4× 5W concert lasers gives you a powerful and flexible rig.
Q2: If my budget is tight, should I buy more units or higher wattage?
For most clubs and live rooms:
- It’s usually better to have more positions and looks than just a few very powerful beams.
- Six well-placed 5W units often give more creative options than two higher-wattage fixtures.
Q3: Can Starshine-Laser fixtures really integrate with my existing lighting console?
Yes.
- With compatible firmware and fixture profiles, Starshine-Laser can be patched into your console like any other intelligent fixture.
- You can build laser stage lighting cues, chases, and timecode directly in your show file.
- You don’t need dedicated laser-only software unless you want advanced, specialized control.
Q4: Do I need a dedicated “laser programmer” to run this kind of rig?
Not necessarily.
- If you already understand DMX, universes, and intelligent lighting, you’re most of the way there.
- You’ll just need to learn some basic laser concepts, like safety zones and scanning behavior.
- Many touring LDs now act as both lighting and laser programmers, especially when stage lasers are fully integrated with their console.
Q5: What should I prepare before asking for a Starshine-Laser quote or design proposal?
Before contacting a supplier or Starshine partner, it helps to have:
- Typical venue size and capacity
- Stage dimensions and trim height
- Audience layout (flat floor, tiers, balcony, etc.)
- Music style (rock/metal, EDM, pop, etc.)
- Budget range, and whether you’re planning to buy laser lights for sale or build a laser rental package
Q6: Are stage laser lights safe to use in small venues?
Yes, as long as you follow basic laser safety rules and local regulations.
With Starshine-Laser stage laser lights, you can define safe zones, heights, and beam angles from your console or laser controller. For club and theater shows, most effects are focused above the audience, so you still get powerful concert lasers in the air without aiming direct beams into people’s eyes.
With Starshine-Laser stage laser lights, you can define safe zones, heights, and beam angles from your console or laser controller. For club and theater shows, most effects are focused above the audience, so you still get powerful concert lasers in the air without aiming direct beams into people’s eyes.
Q7: Do I need special permits or licenses to use concert lasers on tour?
That depends on your country and local regulations.
- In many regions, touring with concert lasers is allowed if you work with a qualified production company or LD, and follow local safety standards.
- Always use certified laser stage lighting fixtures and proper installation practices.
10. Final Thoughts & Next Steps: Start with the Moments You Want People to Remember
The Beartooth 2024 North American tour is a strong example of what happens when:
- The band is clear about the experience they want people to have
- The LD designs the show around those emotional peaks
- The gear—like Starshine-Laser stage laser lights and concert lasers—is chosen to support that vision
If you’re planning your own production—tour, venue upgrade, or special event—you don’t have to copy this rig exactly. But you can borrow the mindset:
“When people walk out of my show, which two or three moments do I want them to remember forever?”
Once you know that, choosing the right laser stage lighting, stage lasers, and moving head laser light configuration becomes much clearer.
What You Can Do Next
- If you’re a lighting designer or programmer – sketch a simple chart of your setlist: songs vs. emotional peaks vs. potential laser looks. From there, estimate how many Starshine-Laser fixtures—and what power levels—you really need.
- If you run a venue or rental company – talk with your supplier or Starshine partners about building a modular Starshine-Laser rig that can scale between club shows, tours, and festivals.
- If you’re a fan of great live visuals – next time the room suddenly feels twice as big when the lights hit, look up. There’s a good chance those beams stretching over your head are coming from a carefully programmed set of Starshine-Laser stage laser lights.
👉 Get tailored advice on Starshine-Laser stage lasers, concert lasers, and complete lighting packages for your rig.
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