Follow-Me has announced that its Follow-Me 3D SIX system is once again proving itself to be a reliable tool for the lighting team on legendary rock band Toto’s Dogs of Oz tour, handling complex lighting demands for one of music’s most enduring acts.
Toto’s musical repertoire presents unique challenges for lighting design, requiring a system capable of adapting to rapid stylistic changes without being confined to a single aesthetic.
The Follow-Me 3D SIX system enables an unlimited number of fixtures from any manufacturer to function as follow-spots for up to six performers on stage. The SIX license delivers Posi Stage Net (PSN) and Open Sound Control (OSC) data output for synchronisation with audio, video, and media server systems, while seamless console integration operates over Art-Net and sACN protocols.
GO AUDIO RENTAL, based in Hamburg, Germany, supplied the Follow-Me 3D SIX system for the European dates that kicked off in January 2025, while Bandit Lites provided the system for the US leg of the tour, which began in July 2025. Lighting Designer Greg Classen led the lighting production design, with Lucas Gamez from Bandit Lites serving as Lighting Tech.
The production faced several distinctive challenges. Modern audience behaviour, with widespread smartphone recording, has fundamentally altered lighting design priorities. Additionally, many of Toto’s songs feature complex time signatures and abrupt blackouts that demand absolute precision from lighting systems.
“Toto’s repertoire spans the entire musical spectrum, so the lighting design has to be as versatile as possible without any limitations,” explained Classen.
The technical setup utilised Follow-Me 3D SIX with four console sets to track the band’s four mobile performers. The keyboard players and drummer meanwhile received traditional key lights. The production’s scope however extended beyond conventional follow-spotting, with 18 fixtures on the upstage truss also mapped into the Follow-Me system. This integration allowed the entire lighting rig to focus on specific targets during key moments.
“The reason I chose Follow-Me over any other system is because I have the entire upstage truss also mapped into Follow-Me,” noted Classen. “So, at any point during the show, if I want to pull all of the washes or all of the beams to one particular target for an effect, I just turn it on for that cue or song or list of cues, and they will also follow that particular target. It works really well for some of the more incendiary guitar solos, to have the entire rig sweep to a certain point.”
The system delivered significant operational advantages. Daily setup required less than 30 minutes for both follow-spots and upstage fixtures, and the design scaled flexibly for venues with varying rigging capabilities. The elevated positioning of the follow-spots prevented direct light from hitting performers’ faces, improving stage visibility and comfort for the musicians. The system also enabled real-time adjustments to colour temperature and intensity based on venue IMAG systems and ambient conditions.
Precision timing proved critical for the production’s success, as Classen explained: “The other serious advantage for me is that, because Toto has a lot of songs that have odd time signatures and short, sharp blackouts which conventional follow-spot operators can’t do at least 20% of the time,” he said. “You end up with a completely dark room and one follow-spot still sitting on a target. With the ability to have all that in my console, there are no mistakes.”
The production ran exceptionally smoothly throughout the tour, with only minimal technical interruptions. During one performance, the seamless activation of the backup system, aided remotely by Follow-Me’s responsive support team, kept everything running without disruption. The system’s intuitive programming interface also proved to be a major asset, enabling the production team to learn and implement it quickly and confidently.
“The system was very intuitive as far as learning to programme it and getting it to work for me,” Classen added. “It was a piece of cake.”
“Greg highlighted several challenges in rock productions that many face, from unpredictable blackouts to varying venue conditions and the demand for camera-ready lighting,” concluded Marc van der Wel, Managing Director at Follow-Me. “With Follow-Me 3D SIX, he had console-level control that allowed him to address all of these factors seamlessly, all while preserving the spontaneity and energy that make live performances truly exceptional.”
