T-Pain’s Coachella Set: A Post-Apocalyptic Soundscape Brought to Life
When T-Pain took the stage at Coachella this year, the crowd didn’t just see a concert—they stepped into a whole new world.
The team at Dark Moon Designs created a custom stage inspired by a post-apocalyptic future, where your surroundings are built from whatever you can find.
In this imagined world, T-Pain has gathered musical gear—amps, speakers, cables—to create his own paradise. And at the center of it all? A towering staircase made from stacks of scavenged speakers.
“The idea was that he’s built his stage out of what he’s found—musical objects he’s collected to make something his own,” said Natalia from Dark Moon Designs. “The staircase became the centerpiece of that world.”
The staircase was more than a cool visual—it played a big role in setting the tone for the performance. It was built with a strong steel frame, shaped with foam speaker designs, and coated in hard plastic for durability.
Then, the Dark Moon team inlaid neon LED strips throughout the structure to give it that glowing, animated effect.
To control all that lighting, they turned to the ENTTEC Octo—one of our most trusted tools for shows like this. The Octo is a compact, reliable controller that sends lighting data to addressable LEDs, allowing every part of the staircase to respond in sync with the music.
Each unit can run up to 8 universes of pixel data and is super easy to configure using a web interface—perfect for fast-moving installs like a major festival.
“With some quick IP addresses from the Coachella stage team, we were able to hook in without an issue and bring T-Pain’s world to life.” — Natalia, Dark Moon Designs
It all came together: a set that told a story, lit up on cue, and helped turn T-Pain’s set into something unforgettable!
All Photo Credit to: Rachel Wood (@rachelawood), our media director.
