All-ADJ Rig Creates Impact For Inaugural Desert Moon Festival in Reno, NV
The first-ever Desert Moon Festival made a striking visual statement with an all-ADJ lighting rig that delivered power, scale, and reliability for its debut edition. Supplied by Starsound Audio Inc, the system comprised more than 70 ADJ fixtures, including high-output automated washes, dynamic LED strobes, and versatile moving head spots to create a bold, immersive look tailored for a large-scale outdoor electronic music event. Designed to withstand Reno’s unpredictable weather while delivering maximum visual impact, the lighting played a central role in defining the festival’s identity from day one.
The two-night open-air electronic music experience took place on Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27, 2025, attracting a crowd of thousands to City Plaza in downtown Reno. Located right beside the Truckee River, the site is known locally as Believe Plaza, named after the iconic installation of 12-foot-high rustic block letters spelling out the word — a landmark backdrop that framed the festival’s stage and lighting spectacularly.
At one end of the plaza, a Stageline SL320 40’ mobile stage anchored the production, rigged exclusively with ADJ lighting fixtures to deliver a bold, immersive look that matched the scale and energy of the festival. Lighting, staging, video and audio for the event was supplied by Reno-based Starsound Audio Inc. Led by president and owner Nick Sorrentino, the company has invested heavily in ADJ equipment over the past three years to the point that it is able to cover all the lighting requirements of a stage of this size using ADJ fixtures exclusively.
Suspended from four angled trusses above the stage were 12 ADJ Jolt Panel FX LED wash/strobe fixtures. Known for combining intensely bright white strobe LEDs with zone-controlled RGB color mixing LEDs, the Jolt Panel FX added dynamic punch and eye-catching effects throughout the performances.
“We invested in the Jolt Panel FX around three years ago, right when it came out and we’ve used them nonstop ever since!” enthuses Nick. “One of the first shows we put them on was for Hall and Oates, back when they were still performing. The design called for the tilting LED panel that was all over riders at the time, but no one in Reno had any, so we offered the Jolt Panel FX as an alternative without the tilt feature. Our LDs convinced their team to give it a shot, and they were super impressed. I think that was the first time the Jolts were used by a big touring artist and that really proved them for us. We figured that if Hall and Oates would accept them, and be fine with them as a comparable, then anyone else would. Since then, we’ve used the Jolts religiously on a wide variety of shows.”
Wash coverage for the stage was provided by 30 ADJ Hydro Flex L19 LED-powered moving head wash-zoom fixtures, rigged on the overhead trusses and lined across the front of the stage. Powered by 19 x 60-Watt RGBL LEDs, with individual pixel control and a motorized zoom range of 5° to 38°, the L19 fixtures delivered intense output and smooth, flexible coverage across the performance area. Zoomed out they were able to bathe both the stage and audience in vibrant, saturated color, while zoomed in they generated intense beam effects.
“Our shipment of Hydro Flex L19 fixtures arrived a few weeks before this show,” explains Nick. “And they lived up to our high expectations. When we first saw them at LDI last year we decided right away to invest in 32 and make them our flagship wash fixture. We previously owned a well-known fixture from a leading brand, and these are 60% brighter… and IP65-rated! Most of our events in the summertime are outdoors, and the weather here is erratic. There can be a monsoon for five minutes and then a quick change to bright, sunny and 100 degrees. In the winter, we also do events at ski resorts in the snow, so a robust, IP-rated fixture made sense for us. We already know that the Hydro Series is reliable, as we own sixteen of the original Hydro Wash X19, which have served us well, but the increased power output and other upgrades put into the new L19 model make it just insanely good.”
Extending the visual impact beyond the main truss structure, 12 of the smaller Hydro Flex L7 fixtures were deployed in pairs on six truss totems. Positioned with one totem on either side of the DJ setup and the remainder pushing the lightshow outward, beyond the main stage structure, the compact washes helped widen the visual footprint of the festival. Despite their smaller size, the L7 fixtures pack serious punch thanks to 7 x 60-Watt RGBL LEDs, individual pixel control, and a motorized zoom range of 4° to 38°.
“We also love our new Hydro Flex L7 fixtures,” states Nick, “which we bought at the same time as the L19s. They are almost as bright as our old X19s, but with a much smaller form factor. That’s what our designers love about them, that incredible punch from an extremely compact and lightweight fixture. We own smaller Stageline SL-75 and SL-100 mobile stages and the X19/L19 are just two big and heavy to use on those, but the L7 is perfect. We can load up a good number of fixtures – both in terms of size and weight – and then the output is phenomenal. Again, from an IP65-rated fixture that can be used in any weather conditions.”
To add sharp aerial effects, texture, and movement, the rig was further enhanced with ADJ Hydro Spot 2 fixtures, deployed both on the overhead trusses and positioned directly on the stage. Featuring a 320W LED engine producing 15,000 lumens, CMY + CTO color mixing, dual GOBO wheels, two rotating prisms, two frost filters and an animation wheel, the Hydro Spot 2 provided a powerful and versatile automated spot solution for the festival.
“We were early adopters to the Hydro Spot 2, adding them to our inventory three summers ago, and we absolutely love them,” comments Nick. “It’s amazing to have an IP65-rated fixture with such a comprehensive feature set at that price point. I can’t think of another option on the market that comes close without being two or three times the price. The extensive feature set makes it incredibly versatile, meaning we can use it for everything from EDM shows like this to the televised broadcast events we do that require precise color temperature control for the cameras. The Hydro Spot 2 does it all from a robust, reliable, IP65-rated fixture.”
With its carefully considered all-ADJ lighting design, Desert Moon Festival made a powerful first impression — delivering high-impact looks, weatherproof reliability, and the flexibility needed to support a wide range of performances. For Starsound Audio Inc, the event further reinforced the value of investing in a cohesive, outdoor-ready ADJ lighting inventory capable of rising to any challenge.
Event
Desert Moon Festival
Event Producer
RVLTN Events
Lighting Vendor
Starsound Audio Inc
www.starsound.com
President / Owner
Nick Sorrentino
Production Manager
Michael Young
Stage Lighting & Concept Design
David Perez
Lighting Operator & Programming
Jonah Gaunt
Lighting Gear List
30 x Hydro Flex L19
12 x Hydro Flex L7
14 x Hydro Spot 2
12 x Jolt Panel FX
