We Belong Here has been uniting EDM lovers on Miami's beautiful Virginia Key Beach for the past three years and has now hosted their first-ever festival experience in New York City amid Central Park’s lush greenery and panoramic skyline views. Held October 4-6 at historic Wollman Rink, design collective Datum Creative created a fully immersive 360-degree experience for festival-goers, including a stunning visual tribute to the city’s skyline using Elation PULSE BAR strobe and effect lights.  

The We Belong Here festival, known for offering an intimate, distraction-free music experience with its unique ‘no video’ policy, provided Datum Creative the opportunity to design a stage that was as visually impactful as the panoramic views surrounding it. On the southern end of Central Park, the lighting and production team utilized a series of 26 staggered truss towers lined with PULSE BARs to mimic the striking verticality of New York’s iconic skyline. 

A nod to NYC

Datum Creative has a fresh approach to creative production and wanted to do more than simply mirror the surrounding high-rises. “We didn’t want to just copy the skyline, but rather give it a nod,” said David Singleton, Creative Director at Datum Creative, production and lighting designers for the event. “We’re based in New York, so we often went on-site with pen and paper to sketch out designs– that’s how it was originally conceived.” (Note:  Datum Creative will soon be moving its main base of operations to Nashville but will still maintain a small office in NYC.)

360° design

With performances by headliners Kaskade, FISHER, and Monolink, along with other acts, the event’s signature 360° stage allowed attendees to encircle the stage and fully immerse themselves in the festival’s atmosphere. “You’re not just looking at the stage all the time but moving through the space,” says Singleton. “We created a truss circle system with custom 40-ft diameter roof that organizers will now use on all We Belong Here shows.” Gracing the circle truss were Elation PROTEUS MAXIMUS and PROTEUS RAYZOR 760 fixtures.  

Day and night, rain or shine

“Our approach was all about creating something dynamic that could work both day and night,” adds Singleton. “You’re not going to see any beams until it is dark, so we thought of how we could do something interesting visually that would also work during the day. That’s where the PULSE BARs came into play. We were amazed by the brightness—even in full daylight—which made them perfect for daytime sets. We ran effects pixel for pixel, using about 78 universes to create layers of effects that were visible throughout the day and into the night.”

The staggered heights of the truss towers (the tallest at 24 feet), filled with PULSE BARs, wrapped around the stage in a 180-degree array that followed the natural shape of the rink itself. “Their versatility—whether used as blinders, strobes, or simple background lighting—was key to maintaining the aesthetic of the show throughout the entire day.” 

PULSE BAR

The PULSE BAR is a strobe and visual effect bar with zone-controllable 1.5W RGB and 5W cool-white LEDs. Whether adding rhythmic flashes that synchronize with the music or crafting special effects, customizable zone control of both the RGB and CW LEDs opens up a myriad of design possibilities. 

In collaboration with Technical Arts Group (TAG, www.taglive.com, @gotaglive), the lighting vendor for the project, Datum Creative used 120 PULSE BARS, both long and short versions, to achieve their vision. The gear’s IP65 rating ensured that all lighting fixtures could withstand outdoor elements, a crucial factor given the event's rain-or-shine policy. 

Flagship of TAG inventory

“The PULSE BARs have quickly become a flagship of our rental inventory,” stated TAG owner Kevin Mignone.  “They outperform every other 1M bar on the market. Their brightness, available effects, and quickly adjustable mounting system make them a great product to have for our use and to offer our clients over other 1M bars in the market right now. With already a large inventory of both PULSE L and PULSE S, we are planning to double that inventory going into our 2025 events season in Q1.” 

TAG provided all production materials for the show, including the sound, lighting, staging, and structure, along with all lead department staff. “With only 60 hours from trucks unloading to the first guest entering the venue, we needed to make sure we had a 24-hour team of leadership there getting things built and completed quickly and efficiently,” Mignone comments. “Our team spent weeks leading up to the show in prep and pre-production, fine-tuning every detail of the schedule and gear to ensure the deployment could happen within the timeframe we had.”

PROTEUS

The PROTEUS MAXIMUS units served as workhorse beam fixtures with gobos and were placed in various locations around the site to create layered visuals. The PROTEUS RAYZOR 760 fixtures were used primarily as keylights and to define the circle truss, all run in pixel mode to generate eye-candy looks throughout the event.

“We’re always thinking outside the box with multi-layered and multi-dimensional designs,” says Singleton. “The MAXIMUS and RAYZOR 760 gave us the flexibility to achieve both symmetrical and asymmetrical looks. It’s important to give lighting designers something different to work with, and the variety we created on this stage made it a really fun project.”

He adds, “The quality of Elation gear and TAG’s ability to understand the concept and come up with an engineered solution that works made the whole process seamless.” Datum’s Brandon Jeffries served as the on-site lead, ensuring the vision was executed properly, while Renzo Cubus took charge as the lead programmer, handling the majority of the show’s lighting operation.

“It is always a pleasure working with David (Singleton) and the DATUM team,” Mignone adds. “Their crew is always on point, extremely helpful in the pre-pro side building up to their very knowledgeable team on site who play a big part in streamlining the process of a build, especially of this scale.”

Overcoming challenges for a spectacular show

With a tight build schedule and logistical challenges due to the site location, Datum Creative and TAG overcame obstacles to create a breathtaking experience in one of New York’s most scenic locations. The success of this New York City debut has solidified We Belong Here’s reputation for curating unique music experiences in exceptional spaces. 

“It was truly an amazing show in a great setting,” Singleton concludes. “The promoters were thrilled with the result, and we’re looking forward to working on their next event in Miami this March. It’s always rewarding to partner with companies like TAG and use high-quality gear like Elation’s, which allows us to execute our vision at the highest level.”