BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG MOVES

HTH Productions Hits the Touring Scene

When Harry the Hirer Productions (HTH) acquired the equipment assets of Creative Productions in late 2024, it wasn’t just another gear sale. It marked a shift – a deliberate decision to expand its lighting and video offering while stepping firmly into the touring space.

The result was HTH Touring – a division built on a solid knowledge base, passionate people, now backed by the muscle of one of Australia’s biggest moving light, video and LED screen inventories.

New Culture, Building the Future

HTH has always known the best way to deliver quality is to invest in great people and put the best equipment in their hands.

Chris Dalton, former Operations Manager at Creative, joined HTH in the touring business on the client side as Touring Account Manager, while Shannon Barreau, previously Head of Video, steps in as Touring Operations Manager. Between them sits an experienced crew that know touring lighting and video inside out – the kind who can load in, problem solve on the fly, load out, and still have time to share a laugh in the loading dock.

“We moved an entire factory, set up a new home, and still prepped a massive national tour – all in two weeks,” recalls Barreau. “It came down to the dedication and passion of our crew. That’s what keeps us delivering.”

That “massive national tour” was The Kid Laroi’s THE FIRST TIME TOUR – the team’s first big test. Two weeks from planning to rollout, all while physically relocating their operation. If they could survive that, the rest would be easy.

Heavy Investment, Light Touch

Since its launch, the team has poured serious investment into new gear. The focus is future-proofing the fleet for the hybrid demands of arena touring and large-scale production events market.

A full container of Robe iFortes joined the inventory – fixtures that have quickly become a global LD favourite – alongside ACME Tornados, over 200sqm of VuePix Infiled Black Widow LED, and a complete refresh of cabling and power distribution systems.

“We wanted fixtures that give us flexibility across all show scales,” says Dalton. “The iFortes have fast become an international touring go-to fixture, and securing the first batch of VuePix Infiled Black Widow panels in Australia was a huge win (think – a new improved Vanish screen). The LED team worked directly with the factory and ULA Group to take the US version of Black Widow and make the screen more versatile for the Australian market.”

Video Department Head, Archie Landsberg explains, “The US has much bigger volumes than Australia, so they can afford to have different products for different purposes, but in Australia it’s important to have a screen that will work on festivals, major events, corporate and arena gigs. All these sectors have different needs, but with our new Black Widow, we’ve nailed it to work across all sectors.” Head of Touring Video, Sotheara ‘Tee’ Mam, couldn’t agree more, and joined the touring team as the product was nearing its development, so was able to bring his touring knowledge to its final development and rollout.

The iFortes, Tornadoes and Black Widow are just a few of the new gear coming online for HTH Touring.

Word Spreads Fast

The results are easy to spot on stage. The team’s work has been seen across productions for The Kid Laroi, AEW Grand Slam, Tash Sultana, Nelly, The Rudimentals, Human Nature, and Porter Robinson. Their trademark consistency backed by a crew with a refreshingly no-ego attitude has quickly caught international attention.

So, when UK act New Order mapped out their latest Australian tour, their production team turned to HTH Touring for LX and VX systems. The run took over some of the country’s most iconic venues – Brisbane Riverstage, the Sydney Opera House Forecourt, and Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl, each brought to life by a significant lighting and video package.

More than 150 fixtures made up the rig, including Ayrton Eurus, Robe BMFL Wash Beams, Robe MegaPointes, GLP X4 Bar 20s and 10s, and GLP JDC-1s, paired with a 12-metre-wide VuePix Infiled LED screen at 3.9mm pitch. The result was a clean, powerful touring setup that matched the precision and heritage of the band itself.

Fast-forward six months and the team has just wrapped Yeat’s Australian tour, a smooth, tightly executed run that left the artist’s team more than impressed. The package included a full lighting and video setup featuring ACME Pixel Lines, Robe MegaPointes, GLP JDC-1s, Chauvet Strike Ms, Ayrton Magic Blades, and a 12-metre-wide 3.9mm VuePix Infiled LED screen with a full camera control system.

Once again, the approach proved its worth – seamless delivery, world-class experiences for artists, management, and crew alike.

Bigger Shows, Better Gear, New Attitude

HTH Touring in a short period has amassed an experienced crew who have worked in the touring industry both internationally and locally for many years. The real difference lies in how the company blends its corporate and event production DNA into the touring world.

A great example is how HTH employ key crew full-time rather than on a freelance basis, so they have legitimate consistency of crew from show to show. This is not the standard in touring businesses, but HTH have runs on the board with full-time tech crews. Full-time crew have more knowledge of the gear, more consistent understanding of the venues, and are used to working with each other, working better as a team on the broader show.

This is unusual in Australian touring, coupled with reliable new gear, and a genuine love for the craft, and we can only watch as they scale bigger, and the investment in gear continues.

At the end of the day, it’s still about the people who make the show – the road dogs, techs, and dreamers who make the impossible look routine.

www.hthtouring.com.au