SXSW 2014

Lightwave takes the famous Austin festival by storm supporting multiple artists on several stages.

During the week of March 7-16, 2014, thousands converged on the city of Austin for the Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW). Lightwave was there working around the clock filling the music capitol’s venues with lasers and special effects for artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Zedd and more.

Wednesday Jay-Z and Kanye West combined for a powerful, hit-filled two-hour Watch the Throne reunion show sponsored by Samsung. Fans lined up several hundred yards around the block before the show with hopes of getting in. Those who did were treated to an energetic performance from two of hip-hop’s biggest stars along with Lightwave’s dazzling laser display. They emerged individually atop two large boxes stationed on the stage and in the crowd and began the show near the rafters. They played selections from their “Watch the Throne” collaboration throughout, including “No Church in the Wild,” “… in Paris,” “Who Gon Stop Me” and “Otis” as images of Doberman pinschers, lions and tigers, great white sharks and gazelle-killing cheetahs flashed across a screen that wrapped around the stagebound box. The pair each also played hits from their own lengthy catalogs. West, engaged and smiling and even occasionally trading high fives with the crowd, performed “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” from his latest album “Yeezus” along with older hits like “Jesus Walks” and “Runaway.” Jay Z offered favorites recent hit “Tom Ford” from “Magna Carta … Holy Grail,” and standards “99 Problems,” “Empire State of Mind,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Big Pimpin’.”