Shawn Mendes: The Tour

SHAWN MENDES: THE TOUR

Back by overwhelming demand, the Canadian singer-songwriter returned to the continent with an eagerly anticipated live offering - much to the adulation of thousands of screaming fans. TPi’s Jacob Waite makes the trip to Arena Birmingham to meet the tireless touring team...

PRODUCTION PROFILE

SHAWN MENDES

Having stormed into the music charts with number one single Stitches in 2015, Shawn Mendes has consolidated himself as a live tour-de-force in recent years. Off the back of his latest self-titled record, the Shawn Mendes camp hit the road with a brand-new production. TPi caught up with the crew members 20 dates deep into the touring cycle.

Greeting TPi was a familiar face in the Shawn Mendes touring fold, 24/7 Productions’ Andrew Thornton, who assumed the role of Production Manager for the fourth consecutive year. Over a cup of No. 3 Highpost’s damn fine coffee, the PM went on to recount 24/7’s history with the artist. “The first Shawn Mendes tour included a small European run with 2 busses and a trailer but that immediately expanded to include 2 trucks. We upscaled as demand grew from theatres to arena venues.”

The PM was astounded by the “incredibly fast progression” following Shawn Mendes’ arena tour in 2017. “On the Illuminate World Tour we were just hitting the major markets around the world.” More established, Thornton defined The Shawn Mendes Tour as a “more complete worldwide project”, he furthered: “As well as upscaling the production we’ve also brought a lot of automation this time around. All of the shows have sold out and we’re consistently trying to facilitate extra tickets when we can.”

For suppliers, the PM brought in Christie Lites for lighting and automation. Clair Global for audio, Team Audio and Radiotek for comms. Fly By Nite and Phoenix Bussing handled logistics. While Brilliant covered the staging and set elements. PixMob, Quantum Special Effects, No. 3 Highpost and Video Screen Services (VSS) also joined vendor roster.

Creative Director, Paul Caslin, in collaboration with Production Designer, Nathan Paul Taylor and Lighting Designer, Louis Oliver designed the touring package, which included a main and b-stage for Mendes to perform. “We wanted to keep the performance space organic, allowing the technology to hide in the background,” he said. “With the design, we wanted to craft bold environments for Shawn to perform within.”

The main stage comprised left and right IMAG screens each side of an automated LED video wall with a circular fascia. “There are lots of circular

items, including the stage itself,” Thornton reflected. While the b-stage boasted a huge rose with LED tape located in the flower bud, a nod to Mendes’ latest album artwork.

SETTING THE STAGE Following the day’s load-in, TPi caught up with Head Carpenter, Jem Nicholson. “We put a big set of Meccano together,” he said rather modestly. “It all comes out of carts and we batter it together and roll in into place.” Downplaying his contribution atop of Harlequin Floors Hi-Shine floor vinyl, Nicholson added the key to the successful execution of the stage and set was to “think fast”.

Quintessential to the latest design was a wide variety of automation solutions with a mixture of 48 ½, 1 and 2 tonne Kinesys hoists and 70 load cells. “Automation has definitely picked up in recent years,” expressed Christie Lites’ Head of Automation, Mark Desloges. “Gone are the days of 6 to 24 hoist shows which, at the time, were considered as ‘big showboat’ tours,” he gestured to the rig. “The demand for automation in live touring is increasing at an exponential rate. Between 30 to 50 hoists have become the norm for arena tours – which is great for me because people want to see things move now.”

He went on to explain the “versatility” of automation when it comes to show design. “It allows designers to create a variety of looks with a smaller infrastructure. For example, instead of having a giant video wall you can use a fair sized one which engages the audience by physically interacting.”

Controlled by Kinesys Elevation 1+ variable speed chain hoist control, Automation Rigger, Rueben Mitchell joined Desloges at stage right. “It’s a lot of motors for two people but it’s working quite well,” Desloges furthered. “The big thing with this camp is the integration and help from the lighting and video departments who put in a lot of work installing the mother grid trusses.”

The duo specified Kinesys Vector software for the tour. “All 48 hoists have the load cells fed into them and then we also use libraWATCH to take

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a peek at what’s going on up top.” In addition to Christie Lites, Desloges praised Kinesys as a “fundamental” factor in making the rig a success. “It’s such a large project and Kinesys has helped us conquer a lot of things.” Most notably the dimmer rack in addition to a “completely separate system and rack” located on the b-stage. “We currently have the longest piece of USOC cable in existence,” Desloges enthused. “Kinesys has pulled out all the stops and given us a bunch of loaner kit to get through this run. It’s a great company so I’d like to give a big shout out to Kinesys’ David Bond and Martin Honeywell who have been a huge help.”

VISUALS At FOH, Lighting Director, Ryan Nixon manned a pair of MA Lighting grandMA3 full sized consoles and an MA Lighting MA3 light, the latter of the range to focus and tech the rig. “We’re running the consoles in grandMA2 mode but it’s the first time I’ve used the grandMA3, which has been great.”

At the core of the visual design, the grandMA3 consoles triggered the tour’s disguise media servers, pyro and Wahlberg automation winches on DMX control. “Everything syncs back to the consoles at FOH. I’m essentially the show’s operator day to day.” The LD reflected on the importance of the console: “We rely on the grandMA3 console to control a lot of things because there’s redundancy everywhere.”

Nixon also manually controlled the key light to make sure Shawn Mendes was lit across the front of the stage. Lighting Designer, Louis Oliver had purposefully avoided the use of followspots or remote tracking, choosing instead to work with Ayrton fixtures to provide creative light across the back, top and side of the stage. “We tested the new Ayrton fixtures and found they could compete with anything else on the market,” stated Oliver. “Ayrton has created a range of LED fixtures you can use without compromise.”

A total of 78 Ayrton Khamsin-S profile units were the undeniable workhorse fixtures of the show, rigged on 3 motorised trusses upstage

of the performance area, on the front and b-stage truss as well as 5 units strategically placed around the stage. The upstage and front trusses also housed several Ayrton Khamsin-S fixtures for key light along with 11 4 Lite Molefay fixtures to enhance the performance space.

A pair of Ayrton Khamsin-S units were located in the centre of the LED fascia – providing the only lighting directly above the stage – with 3 additional Ayrton Khamsin-S fixtures were located at stage level. Sixteen Ayrton Bora-S wash fixtures were treated as floor package but were rigged on floor-based pre-rig truss upstage of the main stage and used as backlighting and for aerial effects.

The b-stage set-up was completed by 8 Ayrton Mistral-S spot fixtures sited on floor shelves to deliver effects and textures on the floor during Shawn Mendes’ piano break, the units acted as additional lighting on the audience and during VT moments as a more subtle alternative to audience blinders.

A staggering 96 GLP JDC1s made up the rig which Nixon described as “incredibly bright fixtures” despite not running on full. He enthused: “The fact they have pan and tilt as well as the strobe section in the middle is amazing.”

An additional 2 trusses boasted 26 Mole-Richardson 7.2K 6-Light Maxi Spacelite fixtures. While a total of 43 Chroma-Q CFII-12s and 4 Chroma-Q CLFII-72s were purposed for keylight and uplight in addition to the 18 TMB Solaris Flares which made up the lighting rig. Creating low fog atmosphere was a range of MDG Fog Generators. “It’s quite a hazy show and the band really like the look of them. The lights cut through it so well, you’d never know they’re LED fixtures and as we’re also in an industry with quite a big carbon footprint it helps to use”

The extensive lighting rig also boasted 20 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Washes as audience light. “Shawn likes to see the audience’s faces because he interacts with them a lot during the show,” said Nixon. “The primarily purpose of the MAC Viper Washes is to bring the stage to the crowd.

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Similarly, with the PixMob X2 LED wristbands the aim is to make the crowd feel part of the show.”

Nixon oversaw the operation and integration of the PixMob X2 wristbands, bespoke LED roses and infrared followspots which delivered an immersive experience to fans; creating a series of looks which were triggered and updated throughout the course of the show. “We program PixMob’s innovative technology and import it into the show, which is a new workflow for me,” he enthused. “The best thing about PixMob is it keeps me engaged and interested. Typically, programming lighting can become a bit repetitive. Thankfully, PixMob allows me to be creative and keeps me on my toes.”

PixMob’s Technical Director, Jacques Vanier and Samantha Torres were onsite to overlook the technologies integration. Having worked on Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour, Vanier shed some light on PixMob’s expanding touring profile. “PixMob utilises infrared light technology to activate a series of products and the crowd love it,” he said. “As soon as the LED lights up you can hear the screams from the crowd. From our perspective, it’s always a great feeling for us to hear that appreciation and it allows the audience to integrate themselves and feel like an integral part of the show.”

Conceived by the Shawn Mendes’ design team for the Canadian singer’s Billboard performance, a life-sized synthetic rose’s LED mirrored the PixMob X2 wristband programming to help the lighting sequences achieve a maximised effect — which allowed Nixon to amplify the visibility and effect of Oliver’s lighting design, which was a “no-brainer” as Vanier explained: “The flower is a new product which has been developed especially for Shawn in line with the aesthetic of his album artwork and the giant rose on the b-stage,” Vanier said. “The flower reacts to infrared light and has a specific group so not only does it work in line with the wristbands,” he continued. “It also generated its unique set of looks under the control of Nixon.”

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Automation Engineer, Mark Desloges; The No 3 Highpost catering crew; Stage Manager, Duncan Ladkin; PM, Andrew Thornton; Tour Manager, Cez Darke; Promoter Reps, Louis Messina Jr & Cara McDaniel; Production Coordinator, Alicia Forster.

PixMob Lighting Operator and Programmer, Rafael Linares joined the conversation. He discussed his partnership with Oliver and Nixon: “It was a really fluid collaboration from the beginning. The design team would share their ideas and we would elaborate on a particular idea with how we could accomplish the desired effect using our moving heads.”

A series of PixMob MH1 moving heads were placed on the 800mm drop downs, located on the main stage along with 12 PixMob Wash Transmitter fixtures were located on the b-stage to cover the entire arena with an impressive “gobo effect” courtesy of its integration with the PixMob X2 wristbands. “We reprogram the bracelet to send specific information to change its behavior,” Vanier stated.

PixMob also strives to counter the industry’s ever-expanding carbon footprint by placing designated recycle bins near the exits of each tour venue for the wristbands to be recycled.

Quantum SFX’s Michael “Biscuit” Morey provided an extra “wow moment” to the tour with 20 CO2 jets, 10 Stadium Shots and 2 Low Smoke Machines triggered via Nixon’s MA Lighting grandMA3 console. “The low fog is in a couple of songs. As soon as I trigger them from FOH via the console, a chiller comes up and the low fog comes out on stage via compressed air which is neat,” Nixon stated. He reflected on the FOH setup. “We’ve got 4 NPUs backstage, as well as backup server racks and timecode running everywhere in addition to the Riedel Bolero comms system.”

A primary convention of most modern pop productions, video has always been “a big part of the show”, Lighting and Video Crew Chief George Doherty said. He gesticulated to the master fibre snake which both the video and lighting team use to network, before going on to describe the benefits of being a cohesive visual unit. “It’s important that the departments are one entity. Even the camera guys help build the screen,” he began. “Nowadays, show designers don’t really see it as lighting and video as separate departments. They see the bigger picture of overall show

design.” For processing, VSS Media Server Programmer Josh Key manned 3 disguise gx2 media servers. “We’ve got a master at FOH, a slave which does the outputting and the understudy server,” he explained. “Everything is run through timecode with the whole system runs through the processing rack before hitting the ROE Visual CB5 LED screens.”

VSS’ Adrian Offord explained its LED equipment investments are based on “quality” and “reliability”. He said: “Our LED screen partner, ROE Visual, produces high-end products at the cutting edge of display technology,” which includes a range of resolutions, panel sizes and deployment options, such as the ROE Visual CB5 LED, to give touring crews the flexibility required for even the most creative display designs.

Doherty praised the ROE Visual CB5 LED screens purposed for centre fascia flanked by left and right projection IMAG screens. “We specified shallow and highly-beneficial 0.3mm shaders to increase the viewing angle, meaning the audience can see the colour mixing on the screen on an angle whereas if we had a thicker shader it would start to block out certain pixels,” he reiterated. “The picture quality is never compromised with these shaders.”

Video Director, Wannes Vandendriessche used a Sony MVS-3000A Compact Video Switcher to direct a mix of Sony HSC-300 camera bodies for long lens cameras and Sony P70s as the remote camera system. He recalled from the director’s chair: “We’re trying to reflect the energy on screen, which the moving cameras help with along with PixMob in the crowd.”

Having supplied the back end of video, VSS contracted Faber and a bespoke camera system from Luna Remote System, who provided a fully IP, multi remote camera set up consisting on 2 Junior 5 C dollies, and 2 Series 5 Smart remote pan and tilt heads as well as Sony P70 block camera packages. The configuration allowed two operators to control 4 machines via purpose built operating stations. While the systems were connected via

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Lighting Director, Ryan Nixon; Camera Operator, Henry Commerman; Video Director, Wannes Vandendriessche; Camera Operator, Brendan McCool; LED Technician, Steve Clarisse; Video Engineer, Piotr Klimczyk; Projection Engineer, Joe Makein; PixMob’s Jacques Vanier & Samantha Torres; VSS Media Server Programmer, Josh Key; Lighting & Video Crew Chief, George Doherty & Lighting Crew Chief, Craig Hancock.

a single SMPTE each which feed back to the PPU.

All 4 systems, cameras and 30m of track fit into 4 boxes which ensured speedy rigging and de-rigging. VSS supplied Luna Camera Technician and Operator, Brendan McCool who specialised in the equipment to give the production piece of mind throughout the year. “It’s a really clever system and it means there’s only one cable per dolly,” McCool elaborated further. “The system is built specifically for touring because it’s a click and play option.”

Sony P70 cameras were chosen for their “lightweight” nature as McCool explained: “They don’t get in anybody’s view as tracking systems. We shoot primarily for the IMAG and screen and Wannes chooses when to project those images as we’re constantly live.”

Doherty referenced the “nice” and “considered” packaging of the dollies. McCool concluded: “The track and dollies are incredibly fragile, so we’ve had them custom built to tour. [Camera Operator] Henry Commerman does a fantastic job of wedging the track every day which is crucial to making the picture as level as possible.”

AUDIO Shawn Mendes added fresh elements to his sonic soundscape this year – specifically a move from traditional pop to ballads with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. “The challenge from this cycle was to fit a mixture of songs from the last two records as well as a lot of new songs,” explained Musical Director, Zubin Thakkar, who was commissioned to sew the set lists seeds. “The key is to curate a show which is appealing to both the die-hard Shawn Mendes fan who knows every word of every song to a new fan,” he remarked. “My job is to make sure both type of fan leave satisfied having heard their favourite songs.”

FOH Engineer, Tom Wood picked up the story. “There’s more freedom to be rockier with the mix on this cycle. Everyone is feeling really confident that we can be a bit bolder in our approach, both musically under the guise of Zubin. Ultimately, I don’t need to be afraid to push a guitar solo until the

faders coming off on this tour. It’s nice to see the progression of how Shawn has evolved musically from the Illuminate tour.”

Wood utilised his personal Avid Venue S6L with Waves SoundGrid Extreme Servers. “The integration between Avid Venue S6L and Waves is better than ever,” he enthused. “The Waves SoundGrid Extreme server makes the console feels like you’re back on an Avid Profile,” he outlined. “I don’t particularly use a crazy number of plug-ins, although I do like to sprinkle them over the mix.”

When it came to mixing the sound in a live setting, Wood adopted a hands-on approach. “I like to get pretty involved, there’s always a nice balance between snapshots and programming while also being involved in the show itself.”

During the set, Wood roamed between the gate of FOH to his mixing console – constantly testing his analytical ear. “It’s really easy to become automated nowadays, especially with a desk like this. After 100 shows, it would be pretty boring to hit next on every song,” he jokingly remarked. “I like to be involved and play off what the guys are doing up there.”

For outboard gear, Wood travelled specified a Pro Tools rig set up with an Apple Mac Pro in the rack to capture the audio, along with a selection of studio-worthy analogue gear. “I like having a bit of an analogue feel in a totally digital world,” he said. “Shawn’s vocal is on the Avalon VT-737SP, which is a staple of his live sound.”

The control package was provided by Clair Global in the US while the PA and local audio was provided by audio vendor, Clair Global, which utilised its partnership with AudioRent Clair in Switzerland to supply the UK and European legs of the tour. “As a provider and service, Clair is fantastic and I’m really happy with the kit, initially it was strange to prepare a UK tour in Switzerland however it’s worked out perfectly,” Wood praised. “The PA suits the rockier style because there’s a lot of headroom. I like to push the level of the mix and it really handles itself well in that regard.”

The main speaker arrays comprised 16 Clair CO-12 line array boxes. The side hangs boasted 14 Clair CO-12s. The rear hang came in the shape

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of 8 Clair CO-12s. Clair Audio Crew Chief and System Engineer, Jeff Wuerth explained: “We ended up picking up a rear hang for two reasons. Firstly, the sails were enough that we thought it would be best to include 8 Clair CO-12s because they’re going past the 180° point,” he continued. “The LED screen is also so far forward it was initially impacting our side hangs. Thus, the rear hang covers where the screen may block audio.”

For subwoofers, a trio of Clair CP-218s aside were flown in cardioid. While 12 Clair CP-218s were purposed as ground subs underneath the stage all in a cardioid, steered array configuration, which arched electronically at

120°. Front fill duties were achieved by 9 Clair CP-6 loudspeakers, all driven by Dante from FOH Lake Processing LM44s, while the PA amps were driven by PLM2000s. “I’m driving the system via Dante over fibres because our snake is 500ft long,” he added. “We’ve used the entirety of the snake more than once. In the O2 Arena, London we’re adding amps in the catwalk and delays in FOH for total coverage.”

However, the sonic feat didn’t come without its fair share of hurdles. “Our biggest challenge is getting our load-in done around the extensive lighting rig because everything is so tight. I typically come in early and use EASE Focus, which Clair provides, to aim the PA every day and get everything set up,” Weurth said.

Wood explained his biggest challenge was his desire to make the run “a better tour than the last” and consistently improve from a production and audio engineering standpoint. “It’s a really great group of people here and everyone is their hardest and worst critic but we all genuinely want this tour to be the best it possibly can be,” he reflected: “At this point, 20 dates deep into the tour, we could sit back and rest on our laurels but we consistently push to improve the show every night.”

In the caverns of main stage, TPi located Monitor Engineer, Michael Flaherty who waxed lyrical about his Solid State Logic Live L500 mixing console. “It felt like it was the right time to use a different console,” he reflected. Flaherty debuted the console during a radio show slot. “The vocal through the preamps was lighting fast,” he enthused. “The depth it gives to the mix when the band starts, and the dynamic range makes it my ‘go to’ console for this tour.”

With nearly 110 inputs talkbacks run via timecode for scenes. Flaherty explained his mixing approach: “Three quarters of my show is timecoded with there being so many moving elements to the production. However, Shawn opens up several of the songs either with an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar or a piano which I manually move to the next snap shot for.”

Stage Technician, Adam Field joined the Flaherty in monitor world to tune the RF on a daily basis. “In Europe, we use Mission Control, who are great at liaising with the local authorities and promoter in every territory to

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Musical Director, Zubin Thakkar; FOH Engineer, Tom Wood; Systems Engineer, Jeff Wuerth; Monitor Engineer, Michael Flaherty & Monitor Technician, Adam Field.

handle the licensing in advance.”

Field detailed the “time restraints” involved with putting together the audio control and playback rig underneath the stage. “We have to build most of our rig in different places,” he elaborated. “There’s ancillary sections of the setup which can’t be added until the stage comes into position, which gives us a short time frame to put it together. However, we’ve managed to overcome it.”

With no wedges or side fills on stage to contend with, artists used a mixture of Jerry Harvey Audio Roxannes and Shure PSM1000 IEMs. “Shawn has a mix very similar to the record,” commented Flaherty. “For this tour Shawn and the band have really focussed into being a rockier act. He likes to be fully locked in with what the band are doing. His vocal will sit just above the music but then there’ll be occasions where his vocal is embedded into the song. I have stem groups set up for a drum mix and music mix with a separate vocal group. This amount of control makes the mix process a lot more efficient. Most importantly is that he loves to hear the crowd, especially at the end of the song.”

To aid Shawn’s penchant for crowd interaction, Flaherty rode the crowd mics “quite a lot at times judging by the call and response of the songs nature”.

Mendes’ vocal mic was a Sennheiser 6000 RF Handhelds with a Sennheiser MMD 945 wireless mic capsule. For the singers’ vocal chain, Flaherty specified a Bricasti Design M7 reverb unit which he recalled as “a nice high-fidelity vocal reverb” which Shawn Mendes typically uses in a recording studio. “It’s nice to replicate that for him on the road, allowing him to feel comfortable on stage.”

In addition, Flaherty brought on board a “nice and crunchy” Rupert Neve 1073 Mic Preamp and a TUBE-TECH CL 1B Opto Compressor to keep it in line. “We found going from different countries that it’d always sound pretty different because the hardware is all handmade it was quite inconsistent so what we’ve done is chosen to go down the universal audio route.” Using the Rupert Neve and TUBE-TECH plugins in one unit with a laptop, along with Bricasti Design M7 reverb, Flaherty believed it allowed Shawn Mendes to feel “super comfortable” in a matter of seconds.

Several microphones were deployed in different locales across the

stage. Shure B91A and BETA52s were used as drum kick microphones. The overheads packed Shure KSM32s. Additionally, a trio of beyerdynamic M201TGs manned the snares. Whereas hi hats, ride and stage percussion were sounded by Neumann KM 184s. The rack and floor toms as well as the percussion pot donned Sennheiser e 904s.

“We’ve had to comprise the mic antenna placement due to aesthetic reasons,” Field explained. “We can’t attach them until the stage rolls which is a challenge. Our battle is having enough time to troubleshoot any RF issues. However, we’ve had no issues and we’re in a good place 20 dates in,” he grinned.

Kemper amps were stereo fed via XLR out of the units direct to the mic splitter. On stage vocal mics comprised of Sennheiser E 945s with additional ambient mics on the main stage and a duo on the b-stage. “The crowd is crazy loud which Shawn loves to hear so it’s important we cap-ture this correctly” Flaherty stated.

COMMUNICATIONS Designed by Mark Isbister at Team Audio, the Riedel Communications Bolero system allowed Nixon to distribute the timecode to all departments via individual intercom panels and switch between rehearsal and show mode without re-plugging.

“The primary reason we distribute timecode through the comms system is because it keeps the delay across the system the same,” Nixon explained. “The coverage with the Bolero wireless is excellent. We get talkback and playback through our headsets so all facets of the production team can communicate easily. The primary reason we distribute timecode through the system because it keeps the delay across the system the same.”

The communications system comprised 8 wireless Riedel Bolero packs, 4 C31 wired packs and 6 12-key panels connected to an Artist 128 matrix frame and allowed the team to roam arena venues without dropouts with the correct distribution of the 3 antennas.

The multi-channel system facilitated private talk groups, keeping the show channel clear for essential cues. It also allowed the engineers to listen to mixes and the live show audio without swapping headsets or headphones. “In addition to running the LX board, Nixon took the system

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under his wing by learning Riedel director software while watching us remotely log in to it. He now sets up the system at each venue and is able to make any changes to the programming of it that maybe required, which is hugely effective,” Team Audio’s Alison Dale recounted.

While on site crew communication was achieved by Radiotek. Thornton commented on the latter: “Radiotek have been supporting us on the Shawn Mendes project for the last two years and the service is impeccable. Nigel Morris and his team have made it super simple for us to manage frequencies without having to reprogram.”

LOGISTICS During a load-out meeting in Arena Birmingham, Stage Manager, Duncan Ladkin walked TPi through the logistical undertaking - complete with large-scale print outs of arena venue layouts, miniature forklifts and Shawn Mendes The Tour branded trucks, which for Ladkin, marked “one of the most important” factors of its successful delivery. “The load-out meetings started as a joke,” he confessed. “However, we realised it’s actually really useful to visualise the undertaking before we approach it. It’s all about providing nice touches when you are on tour. Especially when you have to try and orchestrate the load out of 21 trucks!” he exclaimed.

Entrusted with the navigation of the kit was Fly By Nite’s Simon Sinclair. “On this run we’ve got 20 production trucks and a merchandise truck,” explained the Lead Driver: “We’ve been averaging between 3 and a half hours each night. I’d like to thank Duncan Ladkin and Andrew Thornton for working with us for many years. It’s a very good crew with too many names to mention,” he laughed. “It’d be like an Oscars speech if I started listing them all!”

Doherty echoed: “Fly By Nite’s drivers are excellent. Often when you’ve got 21 trucks it can be carnage. However, it has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside them,” he assured. “They’re experts at turning the trucks and looking after their loads and equipment in a meticulous manner.”

Phoenix Bussing also supplied 5 crew buses, a band party and an artist party for the tour to transport the crew members from A to B. Phoenix’s Andy Gray commented: “The artist bus was one of our brand-new 5 series and was finished just in time for Shawn.”

Driver numbers ranged from 7 to 14, with 7 main drivers and 7 additional drivers to cover the longer journeys. Gray explained the company’s “great

relationship” with 24/7 Productions and Thornton, having worked with them for “many years” on a range of tours. He said: “Dealing with Andrew is always a pleasure, he knows what he wants and has a good understanding of the driver’s hours which definitely helps us when planning tours, especially when we need extra drivers to cover breaks or those longer journeys.”

YOUTH Having made astronomic leaps as a consummate performer on stage as well as considerable steps in the music industry with a trio of chart-topping albums, backed by sold-out touring cycles; Shawn Mendes has trumped the convention of age over experience. After closing out the European leg of Shawn Mendes The Tour, both the artist and crew members furthered the campaign in North America, leaving a trail of LED flowers and satisfied fans their wake.

Riding the wave of back-to-back album and tour successes, Thornton had the last word. “Everyone seems thrilled with the outcome. Both the crewmembers and the audience enjoy what we’re putting on and the reviews have been positive. All of the shows are sold out, we’re opening extra tickets when we can, so it’s been a very positive experience for all those involved.” TPi Photos: TPi, Andrew Benge & Josiah Van Dien. www.shawnmendesofficial.com www.24-7productions.co.uk www.brilliantstages.com www.clairglobal.com www.flybynite.co.uk www.phoenix-bussing.co.uk www.q-sfx.com www.videoscreenservices.com www.pixmob.com www.ayrton.eu www.christielites.com uk.harlequinfloors.com www.radiotek.co.uk www.teamaudio.net

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