30 second peek into all the small decisions that make up an Umphrey’s lighting build.
Using slow movement to mirror the anticipation and emotional peak of Brendan’s high note “Blow Awayyy” and then color for the guitar solo ending - this is a typical approach for this specific section. But each show has its own unique character and differences night after night.
#grandma3 #umphreysmcgee #stagelightingdesign
Bending light, fat beams and disco balls.
Ben & Louie break down the lighting rig from the Colorado NYE run, featuring @official.megalite M-Spheres.
With half mirror ball and half flat mirror, the M-Spheres allowed Ben & Louie to fill the room in a reimagined way.
What’d you think of these new lights?
#BTS Here’s 30 seconds of Wizard Burial Ground from NYE with the lighting cue list overlayed. Like Guitar Hero for lights! Go go go go.
When I got word that the band would be playing their epic, 10+ minute prog metal opus with @mikeportnoy I wanted to rise to the challenge and specifically program out the entire thing, the way I imagine a Dream Theater show is approached. What resulted was 250+ intentional cues, excluding live bumps and strobes. Look at those Robe Spikies fly!!
So fun to give this song the treatment it deserves. Full song is available on the bands YouTube
Line cut directed by @keithgriner_photo
#umphreysmcgee #umphreys #mikeportnoy #stagelighting #concertlighting #malighting #grandma2 #lightingdesigner #metal
Playing one of my favorite songs (Someday, The Strokes) with two of my favorite singers (@rebeccahhrosen and @brendanbaylissmusic ) in front of the amazing Umphreys crowd poolside in Mexico! What a fun time !! Familia 🙏
Photos by @abbyfoxphoto Vid by Robbie Williams
Q1 2026 Highlights. Coast to coast, a wide spectrum of venues and finding a visual voice with this mirror rig.
Thank you to all the rockstar photogs who capture the moments.
Stoked for next week at Sweetwater 420 Fest where I’ll be using a rig full of the new Viper XIP for the first time!
@umphreysmcgee@official.megalite@martinprofessional@robelighting
#stagelighting #grandma3 #malighting
An enormous thank you to all of the in-house LD’s, techs, stagehands and electricians who helped make this first leg of tour run smoothly! Y’all accommodated our touring package and got your hands dirty building and tearing it down.
Focusing all those extra positions for the mirror looks was not easy - So getting up and running in a timely fashion was crucial, and greatly appreciated 🙏
And of course a forever shoutout to the UMCrew - Louie, Bob, Robbie, Chris + Bobby.
(Many venues not pictured here. Some load outs don’t exactly have “take a mirror selfie” vibes/time/space. Much love to all those places too 😂 )
#umphreysmcgee #megalite #msphere
🤩 Well done peeps!!! We raised over $2,000 last night. Such a good time hanging in the live chat, talkin shit and nerding out. Pretty incredible for this lighting/UM community to come together like that. 💕🙏 The show footage is now available on my YouTube for anyone who missed the live premiere. It’s some good Umphrey’s. ✌️
I will be premiering the wide angle, full show footage from our show at the Salt Shed tonight at 730EST on my YouTube channel as a fundraising effort for an incredible organization of people doing work on the ground in Minnesota.
Being in Minneapolis this past Saturday was intense. My thoughts were already stirring all week leading up to our show, knowing how much was going on in the city. To wake up to the news of yet another disgusting display of violence on behalf of this administration and ICE, and then have our show canceled, made the weight of being there undeniable.
I have been in touch with a handful of locals, and they all mention Monarca MN as an org who is doing urgent work that needs funding.
I have been wanting to share this footage for a while, as it is some of the proudest work of my career. (Including my fuck up in the very first song LOL) I hope you will tune in to check it out, and use the show as an opportunity to donate some material support to a community in need. I’ll be in the live chat interacting with those who wanna hang, chat, ask questions about the mirror technology, etc …
Peace.
LASTLY - Plz try your best to not engage in arguments in the comment section if that comes up. Let’s use this social media tool as a mechanism for organizing, not pointless noise.
#umphreys #umphreysmcgee #stagelightingdesign #malighting
#umphreys NYE shows and the return of the moving mirrors! Feelin’ reaaaal proud of how these turned out. It was a blast to deploy this concept in two amazing spaces - @tabernacleatl and @saltshedchicago - with adequate trim height and depth to let the reflections throw.
I’ve heard some hilarious names from the community for each of these looks, so please drop a comment if you have one to contribute:
1 - “Unicorn Butthole”
2 - Prizmatic
3 - Baby Ur a Firework
6 - Oppa Green Bean Style
Gear: 20 @martinprofessional Axioms, 12 @official.megalite M-Sphere, 16 @asteraofficial Titan Tubes, 3 @chauvet_pro Strike M provided by @ectoproductionsinc
Great vibes in camp UM right now - with our rippin new drummer and fresh vibes heading into a dense winter tour! See yall out there.
Photos by @thenicklanglois and @nslmedia
#umphreysmcgee #grandma3 #concertlighting #discoball
Stoked be back programming on the M-Sphere’s in preparation for 4 big shows coming up soon! Can’t wait to share new tricks with a year of experience, the new MA3 console and (ideally) no fractured collarbone like last year. 🏂
Umphrey’s NYE in Atlanta and then Chicago right after. Let’s rip!
#umphreysmcgee #umphreys
