grandMA3 as the brain of Tour Al Sol

The Tour Al Sol by Carlos Vives proposes a journey through more than three decades of music following the path of the sun. Behind that idea, lighting designer William Gallo created a concept where light accompanies the artist without competing with him. It is a vision that found in Wholestage a dedicated technology partner, capable of providing advanced MA Lighting solutions alongside the deep technical support needed to turn ambitious ideas into real production tools.

There is a phrase that William Gallo repeats when talking about Tour Al Sol that explains his entire approach: light must accompany, not compete. This takes on special meaning at a time when major tours are often measured by sheer volume and number of fixtures. For the Colombian designer, who has been Carlos Vives’ lighting director for several years, the starting point was to build a large-scale show without allowing technology to displace what truly needed to remain at the center: Carlos Vives, his band La Provincia, and music deeply connected to Colombian identity.

From Film to Stage Lighting

Before reaching major stages, William Gallo imagined his career behind a screen. He studied film and television with the intention of working in post-production, drawn to editing, visual creation, and photography. A course dedicated to studio techniques changed that path when he came into contact with lighting fixtures, color temperatures, and atmosphere creation. At the same time, he began working with lighting consoles for theater and live stage productions.

His audiovisual background remains central to how he designs today, thinking not only about what the live audience sees, but also about how the light translates through a camera lens. After honing his style in theater spaces with subtle intensities and atmospheres, he joined Carlos Vives, with whom he has now shared several major international tours.

Following the Path of the Sun

The core concept came from Vives himself: the theme had to be the sun, referencing the sunrises and sunsets of Santa Marta on the Colombian Caribbean coast.

Gallo and his team organized the setlist into four distinct acts: sunrise, midday, sunset, and night. Light became the primary narrative device, with color temperature as the connecting thread. Drawing on his film background, Gallo ensured that the lighting evolved naturally throughout the performance; the warm tones of sunrise gradually shifted into the intense brilliance of midday, before softening into sunset and transitioning into night.

Instead of relying on excessive visual noise, Gallo focused on intentionality. The show was not meant to come from accumulation, but from precise emotional impact. With a streamlined rig, every single light had to justify its presence.

grandMA3 as the Central Brain of the Show

William Gallo has worked with MA Lighting since approximately 2012. For Tour Al Sol, he operates a grandMA3 full-size as the primary console alongside a grandMA3 light as backup, running a complex control framework built almost entirely around timecode.

The lighting cues, movements, and dynamic transitions execute seamlessly within this automated structure, maintaining absolute precision night after night. During the live performance, Gallo maintains direct hands-on control over key light intensities for camera coverage.

“The only way for us to achieve the consistency we have is timecode. There is no other way.”

The grandMA3 platform plays a fundamental role when adapting to changing venue dimensions and local equipment setups during international dates:

• Recipes & Presets: Stored directly in Fixture Types, these allow Gallo to instantly transfer complex show logic and behavior to substitute fixtures without rebuilding the show from scratch.
• Phasers & Offsets: Advanced control over dynamic effects enables rapid adjustment of stage positions and parameter timing on the fly.
• Custom Macros & Plugins: Tailored grandMA3 workflow macros expand operational speed and control flexibility, ensuring full consistency from venue to venue.

Wholestage: Technical Support and Integration

The relationship between William Gallo and Wholestage spans several years. Wholestage provides access to MA Lighting hardware, laboratory facilities, dedicated training, and ongoing technical assistance. Gallo highlights that the true differentiator of Wholestage is not just equipment access, but their expert human support when questions arise during pre-production or mid-tour.

Translating the artistic vision of Carlos Vives into grandMA3 control requires a blend of technical mastery and artistic sensitivity. As Gallo summarizes: “Taste cannot be programmed.”

While the expansive capabilities of the grandMA3 platform offer unlimited technical possibilities, the creative achievement of Tour Al Sol lies in knowing how to deploy those tools with precision—ensuring the technology serves the performance and gracefully accompanies the music.