Billy Joel is a household name across the nation, and for his residency at Madison Square Garden, he’s continuing to astonish sold out crowds. Part of how he’s accomplishing this is by using the 40-year relationship he has developed with lighting designer Steve Cohen.
According to Live Design, Cohen has worked with Joel for the last 40 years, touring with him and creating the spectacular light shows that accompany his music. He also assists with putting the shows together visually, and even creating set lists.
“Fast forward to last year, when we really didn’t know how much Billy wanted to do,” Cohen told the news source. “But it sort of took on its own momentum when he decided to commit to one performance, and everyone at the Garden said, ‘You could probably play here until you don’t want to play anymore.'”
Cohen designs the stage around Joel, with the piano as the focus. He noted that this can be challenging, as Joel plays on a turntable that allows him to spin and face any direction – one moment the lighting can be on him, and another on the tip of the piano. To eliminate this problem, they set trusses around the stage – which is in the center of the Garden for a 360 degree audience experience – set high so as to not obscure the audience’s view of the stage.
Cohen uses a wide variety of lighting for Joel’s ongoing monthly performances at the Garden. For lighting designers of small stages, GoboSource offers a wide variety of projectors, spots and accessories to meet your lighting needs. We also provide custom gobo design assistance to optimize your lighting potential for events of all kinds.
