Kat Borderud chats about lighting Lizzo, the music industry, and creative process

We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Kat Borderud, one of the best lighting designers & lighting directors in the music industry. We caught Kat while in town lighting Lizzo‘s, The Special Tour, one of the most anticipated live shows this year. Her working list includes a wide range of artists including Japanese Breakfast, Turnstile, Alex G, The Japanese House, Sting, Lady Gaga, Hayley Kiyoko, Shura, and many from her time while working as the head LD at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. While she masters her craft she is also working on creating an inclusive environment and exploring ways to guide others interested in the field. You can currently catch Kat doing lights on the Lizzo HBO special streaming now.

Playxear: What are your plans for the rest of 2022?

Kat: We’re in the final stretch of the run with Lizzo ending in LA on November 18th and 19th. Then I immediately go to Philly to see the Alex G final show there and then go straight to Harrisburg PA, to catch Turnstile. I am grateful to get to see both of the tours that are out there with my design package and enjoy the shows. The lighting directors for both are close friends and are doing a phenomenal job out on the road.

Playxear: How does your role play out in these tours?

Kat: There is a lot that needs to be planned and it takes a few of us working together in order to succeed. With Lizzo I helped program the show with the programmer Steve Mills, and worked with the design firm who created the overall production including lighting, lasers, visuals and content, how the stage is shaped, and different things like that. I am the lighting director for Lizzo, who is typically the person operating the show and out on tour with it. For Alex G, Turnstile, and Japanese Breakfast I had the role of lighting designer this last year, the latter two were acts I also toured with.

Playxear: How long does it take to rehearse a large production like Lizzo?

Kat: We started rehearsals back in August, so about a month in LA before the tour kicked off. The design firm’s key players were there during rehearsals, and we worked together to do the show creation which involves a lot of creatives in such a big pop tour. We work each day to build the show and then go back and forth on notes from management and the artist, then editing the show with changes the artist wishes to see. There is a lot of updating until the last minute, a lot of overnight programming, rehearsing with the crew, and creating the live experience. My job while out on the road is to be able to run all of that but also make decisions in the moment like calling spot operators and creating the new looks on the fly whether Lizzo wants to play a crystal flute from the Library of Congress, or light a TikTok, or change/add something to the show.

Playxear: How does the designing process work?

Kat: For Japanese Breakfast, Michelle and I are very close and talk a lot about ideas and how she would like the show to look as well as future ideas. She had reached out right before the pandemic began in 2020 and when I saw things moving again I reached out to her management and it worked out for us. I was so lucky they reached out with the release of Jubilee and the timing of everything which helped with a full year of touring with them. Michelle is so great to work with and I respect her so much as a friend and artist. For Turnstile, Brendan and I work very closely when it’s time to create the design with which he has a lot of input as well.  Working closely with Brendan is also a great experience, he has such a creative aesthetic mind too. The band is so energetic and lovely to work with.  Being a part of the design process and building that show for their tour is always so exciting. There is mutual respect and understanding which is so important when you’re out on the road with people, working so many days together constantly.

Playxear: Do you need to have an artistic connection with them?

Kat: I’m fortunate enough to where I feel like a lot of the acts that I work with, I genuinely like the music, or it has had a significant impact on my life and want to be a part of their vision. I want to support that and I also like to bring elements to the table that they haven’t thought about. I would like to see a stage that would be visually compelling and captivating and complementary to the sound.  I always design with the idea in mind of someone I love very deeply being on the stage, and how I would want to see them presented.

Playxear: How do you prioritize collaboration requests?

Kat: There is a lot going on for me at the same time and it’s definitely more of a dance than it has ever been for me now. A part of that is because of the pandemic, during 2020 I wondered, ‘Will I ever get to do lighting again?’ Then the floodgates opened when people could go on tour again. Sometimes it starts when it’s a month or two out when artists can get me new music and I could start working with them on looks and programming the design and what will come on tour with them. Then we talk dates and if I’m available to go out on the road with them or if there’s someone else who can run my design as well. It takes a lot to map out each year where I commit to the artists that I really love to work with, then at the same time having to turn down working with some bands because I can only give so much of myself to many different projects. I try to balance requests in a way that won’t burn myself out, it’s been a lesson a lot of us in the touring industry have learned especially coming out of the 2020 lockdown. So many people left concert work and touring. We had to address issues and start conversations about mental health and how we can balance a healthy lifestyle. I try to consciously work on those things in my life knowing it’s unconventional but still try maintaining relationships in different ways.

Playxear: Did music play a role in your upbringing?

Kat: My father was in the US Army, so I was born in Germany, and we moved around every few years, so I don’t really have a hometown. Brooklyn, New York is the longest I lived anywhere starting back in 2013. When I was in middle school, I started playing drums and was in the marching band in high school, as well as different pop/rock bands in high school and college.  I’ve played music in public school since I was young, and my parents were very supportive of that.  I still play music in a band called Painted Zeros, with Katie Lau and Taiya Cheng who are also amazing sound engineers.

Playxear: How did your career get started in the industry?

Kat: My Parents moved us to Georgia where I went to a small college there and I got involved with their performing arts center and I learned a bit about sound and lighting and it’s how I got into the technical side of things for the first time. After I finished college, I moved to New York and I interned for Sony Music, thinking I would be on that side of the industry. While there I realized that it wasn’t for me, but I loved live music and got involved in playing drums for a few indie bands. When one of those bands didn’t work out because the previous drummer returned, they paid me to go to their shows and figure out the lighting board and flash them in time with the music, like a visual instrument.  While going around to New York shows with them, Bowery Ballroom was hiring for a new LD and gave me the job, so that’s where I started learning lighting programming and running shows regularly.  I had the chance to light a lot of acts that are huge now, in their formative years. I would talk to them, ask them what they wanted, capture the vibe, ask them to give me notes, and I got really good at programming on the Martin M1 console first, then GrandMA2. I learned from a lot of people there and mainly worked as a lighting director, lighting programmer, and lighting operator at venues. Then more bands hired me around town and that’s how I got started touring, with Magic Giant, and later on with The Japanese House.

Playxear: It sounds like you made a lot of connections being the house LD, did you have any mentors who helped?

Kat: I would say a lot of it was things that I did and then there were some connections made. I would say Bowery Ballroom PM Danielle DePalma, designer Tom Kenny, who is the lighting designer for The Who and other major bands, is a wonderful person who is very supportive of me. I’ve worked with him on a few gigs, but for most part he’s been a wonderful supporter and someone to give me advice on different things. When I did SNL with Japanese Breakfast, he gave me insights on how to approach and who to reach out to for equipment. It’s been nice that he just gets to see me grow and be proud of me in a way, and to have that person.

Playxear: What is the role you would like in helping others explore the FOH field?

Kat: I want to support more young people to have the opportunity to grow in the field and I will gladly lend my resources to help out. Especially for any people of color, non-white, non-binary, trans, and queer folks who want to get into lighting, my inbox is open and there to help. I’ve had a few people reach out to me this year and I’ve been trying to support as much as I can and that’s something that I’d like to do more in the future with the time and resources that I have because it’s vital.  It’s important in our industry to make space for a diverse community and move away from the dated culture of gatekeeping.

Playxear: What advice would you give someone trying to get into lighting?

Kat: It’s not an easy path to take, so you really should determine if lighting and touring in the concert world is your passion.  It involves a lot of sacrifice with your body and time, it can feel very ungrounded at times.  When things were difficult at work, I focused on getting the experience and learning. If you can find a lighting rental company who is hiring, you can learn all of the different jobs within lighting and figure out what you’re good at and what you like. Also, if you live in a city with music venues try to find any work there to understand the space and what you’re most passionate about. Explore educational resources on YouTube once you find a skill that interests you. Don’t give up if you’re getting some doors slammed in your face because there’s always a need for people if you want to be a part of all of this.

Playxear: What is the most fulfilling thing about your job?

Kat: Being able to meet people and connect with them and the whole experience of it all. I am so thankful of all the people I’ve met along the way within each adventure, everything happens for a reason and is connected. There is a lot of beauty in connecting with others since our lives are so ever changing and on the go and sort of unconventional. I love running the show every night and always look forward to it, even at Lizzo, you’ll see me in the back dancing at FOH behind the console. Naturally, I’m playing with the band, and I feel like the lighting is the visual instrument along with the auditory.

Playxear: What’s next for you in 2023?

Kat: I’ll be in Europe with Lizzo this February and March, then some gigs with Japanese Breakfast. Turnstile is planning a big tour with Blink-182 so we’re talking about the design for that and what will work for their show. I’m also looking forward to hopefully designing and working with other new bands and projects in the future.