American singer-songwriter Clairo’s tour for her third album Charm unfolded against a stunning, intimate, and 1970s reminiscent backdrop that perfectly complemented the album’s warm, charming, playful spirit.
Designed by COUR Design and creative director Imogene Strauss, the tour’s conversation-pit set stage invited audiences into a welcoming and familiar atmosphere. The tour highlights COUR Design’s innovative approach to live production, building on their work with artists such as Charli XCX, Paramore, and Tate McRae.
In an exclusive interview with New Wave Magazine, Jonny Kingsbury of COUR, who is also Charli XCX’s production designer, detailed the creative process in bringing Clairo’s youthful, airy sound to stage design and curating an unforgettable experience for the tour’s audience.
I work very closely with Clairo’s creative director Imogene Strauss on a lot of shows. Imogene and [Clairo] talk and bat some ideas around in the initial stages. Right at the beginning, there was this Jeanette reference [Jeanette - Porque De Vas], the curtain she has, so you can see the direct influence there. [Clairo] had come up with this Jeanette reference, and that was our North Star, of where to go with it.
We imitated the look of a TV show performance with round and flat lighting with no haze. So that was the initial creative kickoff was this Jeanette reference, and that kind of guided our path for the rest of the show.
How did you get into the industry of stage production and creative direction?
I was a tour photographer for a long time. For the first half of my life, I did a lot of touring but was taking photos, and always taking photos of the lights and the production. I was like, I think I'm interested in doing that part of it. There was a specific moment where I'd gone to a festival and I'd seen this production by this artist named Amon Tobin. He was this DJ, but he had this massive set that he projection-mapped. This was maybe 10 years ago and at that time, that technology was brand new, and it just really blew my mind.
I just was like, I can't believe this is possible. After that, I set out to try and learn as much as I could, and I just started teaching myself how to program lights and what the different lighting fixtures were. I did literally everything I could here in Nashville, with every band that I could, until I finally got an opportunity with COUR design.
The first show I ever did with COUR design that was an official tour was [Clairo's] first show, actually, which was the Immunity tour back in 2019. Imogene and I did that one together for the first time. This is actually our third Clairo show together.
How did the idea of the conversation pit come about, and what did it mean to you creatively for the audience?
The conversation pit idea really evolved from [Clairo's] evolution as an artist. On Immunity, we had a smaller band, and then the Sling tour, the band grew. On this one, I feel we really wanted it to focus on [Clairo] and the musicians on stage, their skill, and make sure that they felt comfortable.
I think a big part of it is when you watch the show, the band and [Clairo] feel at ease on stage, and they feel comfortable in their environment, and it's very cozy. When you're on these risers, they're covered in carpet; it feels different than being on a standard wooden stage deck that kind of feels cold, and they're oftentimes gross and dirty.
At the start of the show, they have music that plays, and [Clairo] and the band come out, they have a drink together on stage, and I think the whole show kind of has that vibe, and it's built around the idea that we wanted them to feel comfortable on stage and in their environment.
What role did the lighting play in that comforting, “homey” feel?
I've been evolving what I think a Clairo show should be, and I feel we really nailed it with this tour in particular we had Immunity, and Immunity is kind of a different era, and we were kind of treating that as a traditional show. And then we evolved that idea on Sling, where it became a bit more living room vibe, but I think it was still over-programmed and there was too many things happening at once.
On this tour, I feel the lighting programming is very minimal, and I think it only does something if the music calls for it. We're not just flashing lights on snare bumps; it's very flowy, and it kind of melts together from one lighting cue to another. We also have this beautiful soft box feature that comes down and lights [Clairo] and makes it feel much more intimate for moments where we can take the scale of the stage, make it smaller for a song or two, and then raise it back up again.
The lighting for this show feels like it really fits in with her music and is appropriate for the way it feels on stage. We also made a very specific choice to not use any haze in the show, where, I think, almost every show that you see anywhere has haze in it right now, but it just didn't feel appropriate for the show.
I just didn't think we needed it. We didn't need to see beams in the air and stuff, It also didn't feel like TV when there's haze everywhere and beams in the air. So I think all of the elements kind of came together to support that original central idea of the Jeanette reference.
How does music influence your creative process? Do you listen to an album front to back to shape your ideas, or does the music guide specific creative decisions?
I really love Clairo's music, I have for a really long time. Before I worked on Immunity, I was listening to Immunity on repeat, so I already knew the music so well in my head that it was like ‘oh, now all I have to do is decide what lights might do during these moments’. It's a really easy process for me, because I enjoy the music so much that I already have it memorized by the time we get to that phase of deciding what happens.
I'll listen to the songs and sort of visualise what I think should happen generally, and go song to song that way. Once I have a feeling of what I think it should look like, then I'll put that down into writing. I have a programmer named Kai that I collaborate with often, so I'll kind of communicate my ideas to Kai, and then he programs them out, and then we look at it in a 3D render before we get to rehearsals. That's kind of the flow of going from, like the music to the real-world lighting that you see in person.
What has been your favourite song from the Charm tour to plan?
In the past, Alewife has always been my favorite Clairo song. I don't think that's on this tour, but that song always sticks out in my head. I always just really loved programming Alewife and the feeling that on stage. For this current record Charm, I think Sexy to Someone really feels good, and then Add Up My Love – both of those, I feel like I really nailed it.
We try and follow a formula, but I wouldn't say there's an obvious workflow to it. I think it's different for every single show. Generally, an artist starts with some ideas and maybe a mood board. That mood board sometimes will come from the artist’s creative director. Imogene Strauss is Charli and Clairo's creative director. Oftentimes, she has a mood board that she starts out and brings to us, and then, in collaboration with Imogene, we usually create renders of what we think it would look like.
What’s next for COUR in 2025?
Coming up next, we've got a lot of big Coachella shows that are keeping us pretty busy right now. We're doing Clairo, Charli XCX and this band called Parcels at Coachella. I think the theme across all those shows that I'm really targeting is cameras and IMAG screens.
The IMAG screens are the screens on the sides at festivals that typically have a close-up of the artist. I think making sure to present something that is almost movie-like or music video-like on the IMAG screens for the audiences is a theme across all of these shows and something I’m really excited about getting better at and exploring, and incorporating into shows going forward
The cameras, unique camera angles and equipment, and making it feel like we've put care and effort into what the audience is seeing. When you're at these festivals or arenas, sometimes your only view of the show is the IMAG screens. Presenting something really unique, there is a really interesting thing to focus on.
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