Across the last 18 years, Colorado-bred producer and multi-instrumentalist Derek Vincent Smith has successfully steered the Pretty Lights project into the enviable position of a cemented legacy act within the American concert circuit. Born out of the waning years of contemporary popularity for trip-hop and sample-collage music, Pretty Lights has continuously evolved stylistically. Starting from the nascent bedroom beats of 2006’s “Taking Up Your Precious Time,” the evolving texture and tone of the released catalog would culminate in 2013’s “A Color Map of the Sun,” the Grammy-nominated cornerstone at the heart of the distinctly American style that is Electro-Soul music. Having gone through several major transitions and evolutions in its live performance and a recently ended five-year hiatus, Pretty Lights Live is the current band-centric iteration of the eponymous act, with a heavy emphasis on “live."
This brings us to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Located on the original site of the legendary Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1968; Bethel Woods, is now considered a hallowed stomping grounds for any touring act or fan alike. Recently it opened a freshly engineered program for accommodating overnight camping events. So now, for any manner of headlining act, the venue is replete with the infrastructure necessary to create both a comfortable and family-friendly environment with few discernible hiccups.
During two evenings in August 2024, Pretty Lights Live berthed their multidisciplinary “Soundship” at the gorgeous Pavilion at Bethel Woods, taking control of an outrageous bevy of synthesizers, samplers, keyboards, and conventional instruments. The total confluence of individual skill sets and musical interpolation dominated the stage for the duration of the weekend.
For long-time fans and one-time revelers alike, it was exactly the kind of double-header on which Smith has staked his reputation; a fluid combination of established favorites, lauded deep cuts, and brand new soundscapes via both unreleased tracks and live improvisation, all stitched together by thousands of hours of custom programming and the industry-defining Ableton Live software. The five-man electronic jam vehicle used the first night to bring out a slew of classic and sought-after slices of the Pretty Lights catalog, interwoven with the latest iteration of new tracks and choice jams for a nearly 4-hour performance. The following evening saw a significant departure from the script, engendering an equally long dive into exploratory territory that sampled and reimagined the likes of everything from The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix, to Outkast, The Fugees, Nas, and dozens more beyond. Contrary to being just another notch in the belt for ardent fans on tour, this was the performance of a decade in a venue steeped in some of the brightest cultural capital the Northeast has to offer, and an outstanding addition to the locale-centric plays curated by the Pretty Lights team across their last several tours.
