The Irish producer and director talks about his approach to staging some of music's biggest live events

Baz Halpin was ready to follow his family into classical music when a Jethro Tull tour changed everything. As a teenager in the Nineties, the Irish producer and director had been working at a Dublin concert hall, where he became captivated by the way that lighting could accentuate the emotionality of music. So he accepted a gig as a lighting tech and rigger.

“I went on tour, and it was like stepping through that door in The Wizard of Oz, where everything suddenly went into color,” recalls Halpin, CEO and founder of the production company Silent House Group. “This whole world of travel, excitement, responsibility, wildness, and everything the rock & roll lifestyle offered, I fell in love with it.”

Halpin’s yellow brick road has taken him all the way to Sphere Las Vegas, where The Wizard of Oz itself has stepped through bold new doors with an immersive 4D film. It’s here that Halpin has masterminded the visuals for residencies by the Eagles and Backstreet Boys. He’s now working with No Doubt on their own Sphere engagement, opening May 6 — a “nostalgic, exciting, surprising” ride chronicling the band’s 40-year run. 

“This will be a journey through the most important moments in the history of No Doubt,” Halpin says. “The band grew up in Orange County and conquered the world. They’ve been through so many things together, and the beauty of the Sphere is the ability to tell those stories in a visual way. You’ll be swept away and feel like you’re experiencing their evolution alongside them.”

The artistic potential in Sphere is a long way from Halpin’s earlier work in production design and creative direction for Pink, Cher, Christina Aguilera, and George Michael’s final tour, Symphonica, which paired the late singer with orchestral accompanists. “He did a version of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ with this incredible orchestra, which still floors me,” Halpin recalls. He describes his diverse résumé, which also includes time spent working on Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, as a “university” that taught him how to enthrall audiences across genres and venues.

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Another major highlight in his career was collaborating with Taylor Swift as she transitioned into pop with her Red tour in 2013. Halpin continued to work closely with Swift on the global treks that followed, including her record-breaking Eras Tour. Live events like those highlight the ways today’s superstars are stretching the limits of live production: Artists want to achieve “more than what came before,” he says, at a time when concertgoers are creatively savvier than ever.

“Most people, whether through Instagram or TikTok, are creatives in their own right,” he adds. “Everyone’s an editor. There’s a knowledge base within the fandom that wasn’t there before, which increases the bar to wow people…. And the technology, software, and processing power [have increased] how much you can do. The whole industry’s moved forward, which allows you to dream bigger. Nobody would’ve conceived Sphere 20 years ago.”

No Doubt were fresh from their 2024 Coachella comeback when Halpin, who worked on their 2009 Summer Tour, was brought on for their residency. He began by presenting mood boards and reference images, which he fine-tuned with the band before creating a show deck. Once the set list was finalized, he showed Gwen Stefani, bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young what he envisioned for each song on a projector, then they developed the ideas together.

“So much of it has to take shape in your mind because you’re not seeing finished products — just references, models, or sketches,” Halpin says. “They’re all creative and able to do that, but it’s a tough process.”

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The greatest challenge with Sphere remains the “delicate little dance” of creating extraordinary visuals without overshadowing the band. With No Doubt, the creative possibilities felt greater thanks to the range of their discography, from ballads like “Don’t Speak” to pop-punk anthems like “Ex-Girlfriend.”

Halpin says that the group’s Orange County roots will feature prominently in the show, while eagle-eyed fans will catch numerous Easter eggs. “We’ve done a deep dive, pulling out obvious moments from the past and obscure ones,” says Halpin. 

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Having also directed Super Bowl halftime shows for Katy Perry and Usher, Halpin feels that both live sports and music are critical avenues for human connections. He ultimately hopes his work elevates such moments and memories.

“In an increasingly digital and isolated world, sports and live music are two of the few remaining things where humans gather, almost ceremonially, and participate,” he says. “Something magical happens there. As a director or producer, you want to heighten that experience. And when there’s that nostalgic element, those memories are threaded into our souls, so honoring that is important.”