Chris Reade Lights Dierks Bentley's Off The Map Tour
The lighting designer for Dierks Bentley for 20 years will discuss the tour's design during LDI 2026's Backstage Las Vegas event.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Casino
Chris Reade, lighting designer for Dierks Bentley for 20 years, is lighting the singer's Off The Map Tour, which includes shows at the Fontainebleau BleauLive Theatre on December 4 and 5. Reade will speak at LDI 2026's Backstage Las Vegas event on December 5.
Why it matters
The tour illustrates how touring lighting design has shifted from incandescent instruments to mostly LED-based fixtures over the past two decades. Reade's session offers a look at how the production adapts to venues such as the Fontainebleau.
The tour's gear list includes 60 ACME HYPERZONE, 54 ACME LYRA, 32 ACME Tornado, 46 GLP JDC1 Strobe, and 7 ACME Pixel Line IP fixtures. The ACME LYRA serves as the workhorse instrument in the design.
The players
Chris Reade
Chris Reade is a lighting designer who has worked as Dierks Bentley's lighting designer for 20 years.
Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley is a country music singer whose Off The Map Tour is being lit by Chris Reade.
LDI
LDI is the Live Design International trade event that hosts professional lighting and entertainment technology conferences.
The details
The lighting design relies on mostly LED-based instruments, with the ACME LYRA as the primary fixture. Houston Creswell serves as video director for the tour.
Timeline
December 4, 2026: Dierks Bentley performs at the Fontainebleau BleauLive Theatre.
December 5, 2026: Dierks Bentley performs at the Fontainebleau BleauLive Theatre, and Chris Reade speaks at LDI's Backstage Las Vegas event.
The Tech Race
The tour extends a shift in touring production away from incandescent lamp-sourced moving lights toward LED instruments, with the ACME LYRA serving as the workhorse fixture. This reflects broader adoption of LED-based rigs by major touring acts over the past two decades.
Fans attending the December 4 or 5 shows at the Fontainebleau BleauLive Theatre will see the tour's LED-based lighting setup in person. Industry professionals interested in touring production can attend Reade's December 5 session at LDI's Backstage Las Vegas event.
The takeaway
The Off The Map Tour shows how a long-running touring relationship can carry a production's design through two decades of technological change. Lighting teams planning similar shows can look to LED-centered rigs as the current standard for touring.
What happens next
Chris Reade is scheduled to speak at LDI 2026's Backstage Las Vegas event on December 5, 2026.
Further reading
For more on the Las Vegas venues hosting major tours, see Casino coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Live Design Online.
