RAYE brought her This Tour May Contain New Music to London’s O2 Arena, a 20,000-capacity venue that presented a rare balance of sheer scale and striking intimacy. ACME Lighting was proud to support the production, helping delivering a powerful and emotionally resonant live experience.
The show unfolded as a four-act theatrical journey: an orchestral opening featuring chart-topping hits; a downstage jazz club vignette; a spine-tingling performance of Ice Cream Man; and a euphoric nightclub segment that transformed the space entirely. Rather than following a conventional concert format, the production was structured as a continuous narrative experience, where lighting, staging, and performance were seamlessly integrated to reflect the emotional arc of the music.
The visual concept was developed by a collaborative creative team, bringing RAYE’s theatrical vision to life through a unified design language. The stage was conceived as a “metaphorical hug,” designed to balance impact with intimacy. Featuring a concave upstage screen and a mirrored convex downstage edge, the curved architecture created an enveloping environment that visually connected the artist, band, and audience. Scenic elements and lighting were carefully integrated to achieve a clean, purposeful aesthetic, allowing the storytelling to remain direct, personal, and emotionally engaging despite the arena scale.
To realise the narrative-driven vision, production and lighting designer Thomas Edwards approached fixture selection with a clear balance between aesthetic ambition and pragmatic reality. “It’s not always about using the ‘best’ fixtures,” he explains, instead prioritising solutions that deliver maximum visual impact within real-world constraints. Within this design philosophy, ACME fixtures were deployed across the production, providing both structural definition and dynamic visual expression across the show.
The ACME TORNADO effect lights were strategically positioned along the ladder truss flanking the screen, as well as on the overhead video truss. Rigged at 45°, the fixtures projected sharp, punchy beams toward the downstage edge, forming a highly dynamic lighting system.
Featuring five individually controllable heads, the fixture offered fast zoom and fluid kinetic motion, precisely synchronized with the rhythm and emotional flow of the performance. Praised by Edwards, the TORNADO proved exceptionally versatile, capable of delivering both high-impact visual statements and subtle, restrained accents.
In addition, the ACME's top-selling PIXEL LINE IP strip lights were deployed to define the stage architecture. Integrated seamlessly into the truss system, the fixtures outlined the structural framing while offering exceptional versatility — from truss lining to high-impact strobe effects. Running in full-pixel mode, the PIXEL LINE IP transitioned from subtle structural accents to visual eye-candy.
The production demonstrates how considered lighting design can reshape large-scale arena shows into emotionally intimate experiences. Blending cutting-edge technology with creative design, ACME continues to support world-class touring productions, translating artistic vision into immersive visual experiences.
Special Thanks to:
Creative Director: Mikey Robbins
Production Management: Steve Reeve, Pull the Pin Out
Visual Director: Matt Askem
Production and Lighting Design: Thomas Edwards
Lighting Programmers: Guy Knox-Holmes, Dan C
Choreography: Maureen Moores
Scenic Designer: Lyndon Ogbourne
Lighting Supplier: Solotech
Photo Credits: Luke Dyson, Solotech
Content Credit: LSi Online
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