Sooner Routhier debuts PROTEUS ATLAS on Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” Tour

Coldplay’s sensational “Music of the Spheres” world tour has received widespread acclaim since launching in 2022, not only for the band’s celebrated music and engaging onstage presence but also for their efforts in ushering in a new era of sustainable touring. Award-winning lighting designer Sooner Routhier has been working with Coldplay since 2019 and, keeping with the environmental ethic, she chose to light the shows using greener, more eco-friendly fixtures. The lighting vendor for the tour is a long-time partner, Upstaging.

Routhier’s original tour design launched in 2022 in support of the “Music of the Spheres” album, and the band is continuing the current stadium tour with the same design. For this summer’s European leg, which launched on June 8 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, she was looking for the most effective way to add a searchlight-type effect to the show without using a heavy, power-consuming fixture. “We wanted to add lighting to the seats to expand the overall image of the rig without adding a ton of structure,” she said.

Consequently, Elation’s John Dunn and Chuck Dillingham from Freed Sales brought Elation’s new PROTEUS ATLAS to Clear All Visuals in Nashville for Routhier to look at. “It was actually an amazing and fun experience,” she said. “We had the fixture on the rooftop deck of the office and pointed it in the direction of a rooftop bar down the street. We were able to see the beam shooting across the night sky from over two blocks away!”

The designer found what she sought in the powerful IP66-rated PROTEUS ATLAS beam FX moving head, which debuted on the “Music of the Spheres” tour. “We placed them in the seats behind the stage to add some extra firepower to the rig,” she stated. “Music of the Spheres is a hazeless show, yet even without haze, the fixtures are able to provide amazing beam effects without the use of unnatural atmospherics!”

The PROTEUS ATLAS projects a powerful and razor-thin 0.6° beam comparable to 7K Xenon searchlights yet offers various design features and operates at a fraction of the power. Compact enough to be incorporated into virtually any lighting setup, the beam projects from a mammoth 320mm (12.5″) front lens, a great look for a large-scale show like “Music of the Spheres.” Routhier’s design includes 48 units lined above and behind the stage in groups of four, all exposed to the elements.

Tour lighting director and programmer Shaheem Litchmore has been with Coldplay for 3 ½ years and manages the day-to-day handling of the fixtures on the road. “They allow the show to feel massive at moments,” he says, “and because they sit around the stage, they create an intimate, immersive experience. It’s like they give the room a hug that brings it all together!” Referencing the unit’s massive column of light, he says they “feel big but not disconnected. It’s massive but you also feel like you can reach out and touch it.”

The ATLAS creates dynamic beam looks at times, and gobo/prism looks at others to add texture to specific songs. “We love the look of the beams punching through the stadium and touching the clouds; however, it’s also cool to have a softer look from such a powerful fixture,” Shaheem remarked. “They expand the depth of our show and push our creativity.” He adds that they look forward to exploring more of the effects package as the tour continues, especially the continuous pan movement.

A Coldplay show naturally includes a lot of wow moments, one of which occurs right at the top of the show when the lights go down. “One of the first lighting cues involves the ATLAS beams hitting on vertically, touching the sky then falling to the floor of the stadium,” Shaheem describes. “It’s an unexpected and impactful way to introduce the new PROTEUS ATLAS to our show.”

Sooner adds that the fixtures look “incredible” doing a rainbow chase for “Adventure of a Lifetime.” In the song “A Sky Full of Stars,” one of her favorites, massive white beams explode from behind the stage, creating a “lighting firework.” In the hit “Paradise,” the softer side of the fixture is displayed with bold gobo/prism looks.

One of the highlight moments in the show, according to Shaheem, is in a song called “Clocks” with no front light and the band silhouetted. “There is a big laser moment in that number, and the ATLAS add a lot of beams on top of it all. It’s an impactful moment in the show and they punch right through,” he said, adding that “the reaction from the crowd during those moments is why we do this.”

One of the highest-attended and biggest-grossing tours of all time, Coldplay’s environmental efforts on “Music of the Spheres” are highly commendable. Stages were developed with a team of sustainability experts and built from reusable materials, displays, lasers, lighting, and PA are all low energy, and many more ecological initiatives. With its efficient 500W Solid State Phosphor-Converted (SSPC) light engine, the PROTEUS ATLAS aligns with the green ethos of the tour as it operates at a fraction of the power of 7000W Xenon fixtures for a much smaller footprint.

The European leg of Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” world tour is scheduled to wrap on 2^ndSeptember in Dublin, the final show in a successful debut outing for the PROTEUS ATLAS.

“Every time I visit the show, I’m in awe at the dynamics they add to it!” Sooner concludes. “They were definitely the perfect addition to the lighting rig.”

Photos: Kai Kuczera.