Super Bowl LIX

Over 100 million viewers tuned in for the game and the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, broadcast live on FOX Sports from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. This year, Kendrick Lamar made history as the first solo rap headliner, delivering a powerful performance alongside SZA on one of the biggest stages in live entertainment.

PRG, along with our partner PRG Forum, supplied the technology and expertise to bring lighting designers Al Gurdon and Ben Green’s vision to life.

“I’ve collaborated with PRG worldwide for decades because I value their approach—supporting both me and the production throughout pre-production, the show and beyond. They always make it work, and their crews take real pride in every project’s success.” — Al Gurdon

The scale of this year’s setup was nothing short of massive, with nearly 60,000 ft (11+ miles) of fiber optic cable — enough to stretch across 150 football fields — powering the network behind the stunning lighting display. Included in the over 700+ fixtures provided were 48 of the new Elation Proteus Radius, fresh off their debut at the CMA Awards. Coupled with this was PRG proprietary gear including the Super Node™, Hydra Node, Longthrow™ and GroundControl®.

A notable technological feature came from Pathway Connectivity who developed a new software solution that made its VIA12, a gigabit switch designed specifically for live entertainment, compatible with PRG’s lighting system, which required single-core BiDi SFP transceivers. The effort was a collaboration among Robert Bell, Director of Product Market at Pathway Connectivity, PRG’s Chris Conti, Chief Innovation Officer, and Michael Dodge, Vice President of Lighting Asset Services, and resulted in seamless fiber integration and exceptional performance.

PRG’s involvement in game day did not stop at the Halftime show. The team provided an additional 55 fixtures, networking infrastructure and atmospherics for various pre-game events. PRG also equipped Van Wagner’s ‘auxiliary control room’ with flypacks including modular furniture as well as camera packages to capture talent, celebrity shots, pre-game elements and more. PRG was proud to continue its longstanding relationship with Van Wagner, supporting their goal of capturing both the essence of New Orleans and the excitement of the game in one seamless production.

Van Wagner’s main control room | Image via SportsVideo.org

All of this came together thanks to PRG’s Nashville and Van Nuys teams, who played a crucial role in prepping and delivering the equipment, ensuring everything functioned flawlessly on game day. Along with PRG Dallas R&D team who manufactured a custom XLR5 chassis to tie into the stadium lighting system. Their dedication and technical expertise were instrumental in making it all happen.

With over 20 years of experience supporting Super Bowl Halftime Shows, PRG is honored to be a trusted production partner, continually powering music’s most-watched stage.

Watch the full halftime show here:

Check out more design details from the Halftime Show here.

Produced By: Roc Nation, Diversified Production Services, Jesse Collins
Director: Hamish Hamilton
Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers
Lighting Designer: Al Gurdon
Lighting Director: Ben Green

Pre-Game Crew
PRG Project Manager: Bryan Barry
PRG Network Chief: Michael Dodge
PRG Lighting Crew Chief: Chris Shaffer
PRG Lighting Techs: Robbie Winfree & Talon Fausnaught

Halftime Crew 
Lighting Programmers: Eric Marchwinski & Mark Humphrey
Gaffer: Allen Sisul
Chief Lighting Tech: Robb Minnotte
PRG Lead Techs: Megan Flanagan & Janos Bode
PRG Account Managers: Tony Ward & Patrick Osuna
PRG Stadium Lighting Integration: Michael Dodge
PRG Forum Founder/CEO: Kevin Columbus

Head Best Boy: John Cox
Best Boys: Dennis Sisul, Chris Latch, Damon Isaacks
Best Boys/Followspots: Adam Hagin, Mikey Smallman, Brian Marshall, Gerado Vizcarra
Fiber/Stadium Cable Management: Planned and led by Alen Sisul, install was multiple teams and leading those teams was Gerado Vizcarra (Catwalk Fiber), Chris Latch (Catwalk Soca), Dennis Sisul and Damon Isaacks (450 Level and Field Level)
Field Team: Brian Marshall
Spot Operators: Adam Hagin, Mikey Smallman, Brian Marshall, Gerado Vizcarra

Pre-Game Gear

Lighting
x5 ETC S4 Lustr Ser-2
x24 Martin Rush Par 2
x18 Arri Sky Pane1 S30-C
x8 Robe BMFL Blade

Infrastructure
x4 Pathway Elink
x12 Pathway VIA12 SFP
x3 Pathway Octo 6425
x8 Pathway Quattro
x4 Pathway Opto 9114

Consoles
x2 MA Lighting grandMA 3 Full
x1 MA Lighting grandMA 3 Light
x10 MA Lighting grandMA 3 PU – M

Atmospherics
x4 Hazebase Base Hazer Pro

Halftime Gear

Lighting
x180 Solaris Flare
x48 Elation Radius
x32 Ayrton Diablo
x26 Robe iForte LTX
x123 VL3600 Profile
x78 ACME Super Dotline
x100 VL4000 Beam Wash
x24 ACME Pixel Line 500
x88 High End Zeo (provided by HES)

Infrastructure
x2 Pathway Elink
x19 VIA12 SFP+
x6 PRG HydraNode
x20 PRG Super Node

Followspots
x16 PRG GroundControl
x16 PRG Longthrow

Consoles
x3 MA Lighting grandMA3 Full
x2 MA Lighting grandMA3 Light
x5 MA Lighting grandMA3 PU – XL

Atmospherics
x24 Reel EFX DF-50
x7 Hazebase Base Touring