Mindy Gledhill: Custom LED Light Bars for Madam Bandit

Client

Mindy Gledhill

Date

February–March 2022

Role

Creative Technology · Lighting Design · Fabrication

Overview

For singer-songwriter Mindy Gledhill’s Madam Bandit live show, we designed and built a set of custom LED light bars with a unique color and animation system for each song. The lighting was triggered live from an SPD-SX pad across an 18-song, 45-minute set.

The build, start to finish, as we posted it at the time.

The Experience

Each song had its own lighting theme, so the colors and patterns changed as the band moved through the set.

A simple diagnostic display showed the current song and MIDI note so whoever was running the system could follow along, and reset controls let them recover an individual bar mid-show if anything fell out of sync.

One Sign, Two Personas

Madam Bandit is Mindy's alter ego, so the show had two faces to it: Mindy in her classic glasses, and the Bandit in her mask. The sign behind the drums merged them into one shape. We photographed the actual glasses and the actual mask, traced and merged them in Illustrator, took the outline into Fusion 360 for the CNC files, and cut it from plywood. Pixel-mapped neon flex LED runs along the outline, with the glasses and the mask each on their own runs, so the sign could read as either persona. The same MIDI system that cued the bars decided which face the sign showed on each song, and switching a song from one to the other was a setting, not a rewire.

Running the song looks in the shop before load-in. The sign switches between the glasses and the mask depending on the song.

Built for the Tour

These fixtures had to survive repeated load-ins, load-outs, and travel.

We modeled the LED layout in Cinema 4D, then fabricated each bar from aluminum channel and diffuser. Magnets and elastic ties allowed the fixtures to attach to standard microphone stands in seconds, so no venue needed custom rigging.

Stack of CNC-cut plywood mask shapes in the shop, the cat-eye glasses outline visible in each one — The sign before the LED went on: CNC-cut plywood, painted black, with the glasses and mask outlines marked for the neon flex.

The mask sign painted black with the white outline and glasses drawn on, leaning against a drum kit — The sign before the LED went on: CNC-cut plywood, painted black, with the glasses and mask outlines marked for the neon flex.

Tracing the photographed mask and glasses into one outline. This is the file that went to Fusion 360 and then to the router.

The pixel layout was designed around the actual limits of the Falcon controllers, with up to 1,024 pixels per output. The full system ran on components that could be sourced and replaced without specialized fabrication while on the road.

Technical Specifications

Fixtures: Custom LED light bars, aluminum channel and diffuser
LED: Individually addressable (WS2812B-class)
Sign: Mask and glasses photographed, merged in Illustrator, CNC files in Fusion 360, cut from plywood · pixel-mapped neon flex LED on separate runs, persona chosen per song
Control: Falcon pixel controllers, up to 1,024 pixels per output
Design: Fixture layout modeled in Cinema 4D
Triggering: Live MIDI from an SPD-SX pad · Ableton
Mounting: Magnets and elastic ties onto standard microphone stands
Operator tools: Diagnostic display showing current song and MIDI note · per-bar reset controls
Set: 18 songs · 45 minutes
Run: February–March 2022

What Else Is Possible

This gives touring musicians and smaller productions custom stage lighting without a dedicated lighting operator at every show. The fixtures are built around the act’s own look, mount in seconds, and take their cues from gear the band is already playing.

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