Architects, the acclaimed English metalcore band from Brighton, East Sussex, played a series of pop-up events across the UK in October 2025 to celebrate their album The Sky, The Earth, and All Between. At the heart of the show’s lighting was the Follow-Me 3D Six manual performer tracking system, supplied by 4Wall Europe.
Formed in 2004 by twin brothers Dan and Tom Searle, Architects now consists of Dan Searle on drums, Sam Carter on vocals, Alex Dean on bass, and Adam Christianson on guitar. Known for their high-energy performances, the pop-up events formed part of a wider tour schedule and represented one of the biggest productions the band has undertaken in terms of production values.
Paul McAdams served as Lighting Designer on the tour, with Alex Merrett acting as Follow-Me Tech. McAdams designed the show to match the aggression of the band’s music, anchoring the rig around a large grid of spot fixtures on ladders either side of a singular central LED wall, which served both as a design feature and for IMAG. The blow-through screen also allowed for a large array of GLP JDC1 to shine through.
The rig itself featured six Ayrton Khamsins deployed via the Follow-Me system, with two dedicated fixtures per moving band member. Additional Khamsins on the front truss completed the Follow-Me setup, while the rig also featured a large complement of Chauvet COLORado PXL Curves, used to generate a range of effects throughout the show.
“It was a very linear design,” said McAdams. “PXL Curves were rigged vertically, horizontally and at a 45-degree angle to allow for various shapes. There were ACME Pixel Line Strobes on automated trusses to allow for a multitude of looks and moving effects. The band are very active on stage, and lots of pulsing and energetic effects were used to mirror this.”
“I believe this is one of the biggest productions they’ve done in terms of production values,” added Merrett. “The show is heavy metal, so quite high energy. The lead singer loves to move about the stage, up on the riser, down on the riser, across and along, so whoever was on spot 2 was picking him up and had their work cut out. The show itself was great. The rig had to do a lot, but it also had to be different and it had to keep up.”
One of the standout benefits on this tour was the speed and simplicity of the Follow-Me setup and calibration process: Merrett was able to complete the process in as little as 10 minutes in some venues. By identifying fixed stage points and leveraging the metre-long PXL Curves to establish a consistent centre line, calibration was streamlined from day to day.
“In most venues we could reach the same trim height, so I was quite lucky in that I only needed to refine, rather than redo it every day,” Merrett explained. “On average it was probably 10 to 15 minutes of calibrating the Follow-Me system. It was quite a nice simple setup and we didn’t need to swap targets at any point. I built the risers in 3D, and it was all done on my end through the control rack.”
The system’s flexibility also proved its worth when fixture changes were required. Merrett highlights the ease with which a new light could be swapped in, recalibrated, and placed back on target, a key practical advantage in the fast-paced environment of a touring production.
The load-in process was equally efficient. With the Follow-Me control rack and camera loom ready to go as soon as the system was plugged in, the truss could be flown without the rest of the crew waiting on the Follow-Me setup, a significant benefit in a busy touring schedule.
“One of the things I love about Follow-Me that makes it a really quick setup is the fact that I just had to plug in the system and control rack, plug in my camera loom to establish I can see the camera feed, and then that truss is good to go out,” Merrett said. “On a load-in, people aren’t waiting for you to set your end up, because it’s already good to go. The system is rock solid.”
Merrett also praised the support provided by the Follow-Me team throughout the tour: “The support we received from Luke Edwards and the Follow-Me team on this tour was outstanding. It’s a quick and easy system to set up, even with a lot of fixtures.”
