Cirque Du Soleil - Songblazers 

Cirque du Soleil teamed up with Universal Music Group to create an original country music-themed show that will kick off in Nashville in the summer of 2024 for an 8-week run, before kicking off a two year touring show to various American markets. The show is inspired by the culture, roots and spirit of country music, and references historical and contemporary artists, and seamlessly integrates coherent human performances through Cirque du Soleil's creative vision.

In the show, two dreaming "Songblazers" embark on a musical journey to compose the ultimate country song. They travel through the hills, mountains, fields, railroads, churches, and saloons of America, recording lyrics and ultimately sharing an original song with the world. The trailblazing theater production, directed and written by Amy Tinkham, paid homage to legendary icons of country music and took the audience on a journey of the past with high flying acrobatics to “Man! I feel Like A Woman!” and sing-a-longs to well-known songs like “Friends In Low Places” and “Never Gonna Give You Up”. This unique production features a curated catalog of 35 songs spanning from 1867 to 2024.

Responsibilities: Develop creative approach for the show’s brand including name, tagline and iconography. Develop creative treatment for the BTS webseries as well as shoot, produce and story edit the series. Lead a creative team to capture photos and video of final show. Creative direct and produce Premiere event with VIP interactive. Cretive direct and produce after party with UMG and Sam Williams Performance. Serve as content lead for the show between all Cirque Du Soleil internal teams including marketing and PR . Work as a local producer for the show and creation team.

Announce - Cirque Du Soleil + UMG

To announce the collaboration, we filmed a promo spot at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and hosted the red carpet during UMG’s after party at the CMA awards.

In addition, Cirque Du Soleil announced its collaboration with Sam Williams, a contemporary country artist, grandson of country pioneer Hank Williams and the son of outlaw legend Hank Jr, for the creation of an original song for the show Songblazers, fusing gut-wrenching honesty and plainspoken poetics with raw vulnerability and deep empathy, CARNIVAL HEART, is inspired by a personal yearning of self-discovery, friendship, and hope. Williams wrote the spellbinding new song with fellow songwriters PJ Harding and Ned Houston.

Branding - Show Name, Tagline, and Iconography 

Tasked with the goal of finding a show name that captures the spirit of both country and circus, we leaned into the power of storytelling that both share. For generations country artist have been on the forefront of innovation in storytelling. Cirque Du Soleil artist, similar to songwriters… are also storytellers. The craft of writing a country song, similar to the craft of cirques arts, requires a depth of study and sharing that is difficult to master.

So I thought what better way to get to an authentic name and tagline then to bring in songwriters to help us write a “title” and “hook” that could be translated to the show.

After 800+ submissions and several rounds back and forth with both the creative team and legal, we landed on the name SONGBLAZERS and the tagline “A journey into country music.”

From there, the name was integrated into the physical show, and became the foundation for a 360-brand campaign that was created as promotional material to tell the full story around the creation of the show.

Behind The Scenes: Webseries 

To support the launch and promotion of the new Cirque du Soleil’s show SONGBLAZERS, we produced a four-part web series that looks at the making of the show. Production of the BTS began a year prior to the show launch with the initial creation meeting where director Amy Tinkham shared her idea for the show and the creation team helped outline initial acts. We filmed during musical auditions as well as band assembly. We continued through artist arrival in Montreal and traveled with the team as they made a company move to Nashville to bring the show to life leading to the world premiere.

This series captures the inspiration and connection of two different art forms by keeping story on the forefront, while diving deep into the dedication to the creation of the show, in a way that is relatable to an audience anywhere.

Episode 1: A Love Letter to Country Music

In this episode we begin with the history of Cirque du Soleil and look at it’s genesis as it parallels to country music. We will see the cast and crew meet for the first time, and start practice in Montreal. The foundation of Cirque du Soleil + Country will be established, as well as the introduction of main characters. The challenge of building out the acts will be presented, and the discovery phase of the tableaus will lead viewers into the next episode.

Episode 2: From Vision to Reality

In this episode we learn the story of the show. We see the initial creation meeting, and learn that the show is about two main songwriters who have set out together to write the perfect country song. We meet both the songblazers and join them on their training journey. In addition, we learn about individual acts and meet the artists involved while getting to see the costume inspiration and how the choreography brings the characters to life. This episode is all about turning the idea into the show we see.

Episode 3: Parallels of Practice

In this episode we spotlight the influence of country music in this show. The organic integration of the clogging fiddle player will lead us into the first band practice, and begin to spotlight how the songblazers will “write” the song. We join the band on their journey to recording the Songblazers album and use visuals to show the parallel between music and acrobatics as it plays out in the show. 

Episode 4: Live Where The Wonder Is

In this final episode we join the cast and crew as they move to Nashville for the final leg of training before the world premiere. At the front of the episode we see the set being built for the first time, and realize the pieces of the show are all ready to be put together. We see the artist take stage with full set and props for the first time. We sit in on costume fittings and final makeup walkthroughs.

World Premiere Event: Nashville Red Carpet 

For the World Premiere, Cirque du Soleil and Universal Music Group Nashville debuted the show to media and members of the music industry on July 10, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. The cast energized all of those in the theater with their foot-stomping tunes and jaw-dropping acrobatics. In addition to the Red Carpet area, we hosted a VIP ‘Carnival Heart’ Part for executives and celebreties as well as a ‘meet the cast & crew’ afterparty.