Concert Lasers: Laser Lights for Concerts and Festivals
Concert lasers for bands, DJs and festival stages: what makes the look, what one LaserCube covers, haze, timing the lasers to the music, and safety.
Concert lasers make the look people remember from a gig or a festival: sharp beams cutting through haze high above the stage, fans and sheets of light that change with the music, and a name or logo on the backdrop.
What makes the concert laser look
- Beams in the air: in a dark venue with a little haze, a laser's thin beam shows as aerial effects: single beams, fans, bursts and flat sheets of light.
- Height: the beams run high overhead and end on a wall, a ceiling or a backdrop where nobody is.
- Timing: the looks change with the music.
- Extras: your name or logo on a backdrop; Lumia lenses for an aurora look in haze; diffraction lenses for many copies of the picture.
What one LaserCube does on a concert stage
As a concert laser projector, one LaserCube Ultra MK2 or Pro suits an audience of up to about 1,000 people: a club, a band night in a hall, or a festival stage with a crowd that size. On battery it plays about 3 to 4 hours (Ultra MK2) or 2 to 3 hours (Pro), and it charges while it plays on its charger.
Rigging and a show-day checklist: our laser stage lighting guide. Theaters and halls: medium indoor venues.
For club laser lights in a room of up to about 1,000 people, one Ultra MK2 (or, outside the USA, a Pro) is enough. Hang it from a truss (upside down too, from a suitable mount on its handle bar) and run it from the club's DMX or Art-Net desk, or on its own from a microSD playlist. A fixed install that plays every night is fine when whoever sets it up takes responsibility for where the beams go and that nobody can get into them. More in lasers for nightclubs, weddings and mobile DJs.
Bigger crowds: several cubes in sync
For a bigger crowd, run several cubes in sync. Cube Link (wireless, about 20 to 40 m line of sight) plays the built-in shows on every cube on the master's timing, and cubes of different power can be linked: for example, a brighter cube in the middle and lower-power cubes at the sides. Your own shows sync through LaserOS on one computer, each cube on its own Timeline layer, or through your desk over DMX or Art-Net.
Planning a bigger stage? Email support@laseros.com with the venue, the crowd size and the distance to cover.
Timing the lasers to the set
An Ultra MK2 or Pro follows the music with or without a computer:
- Visualizers: CubeOS, the cube's own software, has 197 sound-reactive visualizers (since firmware 2.2), listening through the cube's microphone or its line input (A-IN) from the mixing desk: pick the input in the cube's Audio settings. Tap BPM sets the tempo of CubeOS's effects.
- Ready-made shows: 38 on the microSD card, EDM beam shows among them, each playing to its own soundtrack from the cube's audio output: best as a moment of their own, such as an intro.
- Your own playlists: made in LaserOS on a computer, exported to the microSD card, and played live from an APC40 MK II or APC mini MK II in the cube's USB port, with USB MIDI turned on in the cube's settings.
- A show set to a recorded track: the LaserOS Timeline on a computer places beams, animations and effects along a song.
- Your lighting desk: the cube patches in as a single 16-channel DMX or Art-Net fixture, and the desk calls up its looks from a microSD playlist, cue by cue. SoundSwitch and the Wolfmix W1 have it ready-made; other desks use the channel layout.
- Professional show software: laser show software that works with LaserCube.
Playing from LaserOS? Use a network (Ethernet) cable; any standard one works. The phones in a crowd can cause WiFi drop-outs.
Haze makes the beams
Beams in the air show best with haze or fog, in the dark. Thin haze gives the clearest beams; too much turns them into a bright glow. Any fog or haze machine works; big stages use a full-size one, and our Nano Fogger is for small spaces.
Never plug a fog machine into the cube's DMX ports unless it's true DMX: many put mains power on their XLR socket, which damages the cube. More in do you need fog for a laser show.
Festival lasers and outdoor stages
For an outdoor festival stage, plan for three things:
- Weather: the Ultra MK2 and Pro are made for outdoor use (IP51). With the rain cover fitted (IP63) they take light rain, not heavy rain; without it, no rain at all. The Pro's cover isn't available yet, so a Pro stays out of the rain for now. Keep sand and spray off them.
- Temperature: the operating range is 10 to 40 °C (50 to 104 °F); 45 °C (113 °F) is possible but not recommended, and below 0 °C (32 °F) isn't recommended.
- Where the beams end: outdoors there's no ceiling to catch them, so aim every beam at the stage set, a backdrop or a wall where nobody is, never out over an open field into the night sky: laser light can interfere with aircraft many miles away. Never at windows, glass, mirrors or anything shiny.
A word on safety
LaserCube is a professional show laser, not a toy: never aim it at people's eyes, at audiences or at aircraft, and never at anything flammable. The power that makes beams visible in a big space can cause serious eye injury, even from a very brief exposure. Every concert laser show follows these rules:
- No audience scanning, ever: never a beam into the crowd or at anyone on stage.
- 3 m (10 ft) up: every beam stays at least 3 m above the floor wherever people may be, measured from the highest place someone could stand, such as the stage. The band and crew count too. Beams end at least 3 m from people on all sides.
- Beam block: it keeps the scan out of audience areas. With the cube secured and aimed, adjust it with the cube off and the key out, arm the cube, look where the beams fall, and repeat until none reach those areas. It can't be used with a lens fitted: then check where every beam and diffraction copy ends.
- Safety zones keep beams off cameras and video projectors. They never protect people: nobody should be in front of the laser.
- Stopping the beams: turning the safety key off stops them at once, and so does the E-Stop's red button. Every US LaserCube comes with an E-Stop; elsewhere it's optional, and on a show it gives you a second way to stop. Never bypass or disable the key, the interlock or the E-Stop.
- Secure and signed: mount the cube so it can't shift, with a safety cable when it hangs overhead; put up laser warning signs.
More in our safety tips and the manual's safety guidelines.
Which LaserCube for concerts and festivals?
For concerts and festivals, our advice is the biggest model, unless you have a reason to go smaller:
- Ultra MK2 (6W or 10W): our most powerful model, with the longest battery and full-size XLR DMX; we recommend the 10W. From €1,999 for the 6W ($2,799 in the USA). In the USA, the Ultra MK2 is the professional model we sell. US buyers of the Ultra MK2 10W or 6W pass X-Laser's free online Laser Operator Course before it ships.
- Pro (3W or 6W): our most advanced model, essentially a compact Ultra MK2: 2.5 kg against the Ultra MK2's 3.7 kg. The Pro 6W has the same laser output as the Ultra MK2 6W: the pick when smaller and lighter matters. Its DMX ports are 3.5 mm jacks: a standard 3.5 mm-to-XLR DMX adapter per port (not included); Art-Net needs none. From €1,399 for the 3W. The Pro isn't sold in the USA yet.
These were the starting prices on 2 November 2026. Compare the models on the models page, then pick yours on the LaserCube page, with today's price for your country. More in what a laser show projector costs, Ultra MK2 or Pro and high power laser lights.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Can a LaserCube be used as a concert laser?
Yes. An Ultra MK2 or Pro gives you beams through haze high above the stage, your logo on a backdrop, and shows that follow the music or your lighting desk.
Q02How many lasers does a festival stage need?
One Ultra MK2 or Pro for up to about 1,000 people; for more, several cubes in sync.
Q03Can concert lasers follow a live band?
Yes. CubeOS's visualizers react to the band's mix through the cube's line input (A-IN), and someone can play the lasers by hand from an APC controller plugged into the cube or from the lighting desk. The LaserOS Timeline is for a recorded track.
Q04Can concert lasers be aimed at the audience?
No. No audience scanning, ever: every beam stays at least 3 m (10 ft) above the floor wherever people may be, and ends where nobody is.
Q05Do I need a permit for lasers at a concert?
LaserCube is fully legal and certified worldwide. Rules for shows differ by country, state and venue, and some places need a permit or a trained laser safety officer. In the US, LaserCube is certified through X-Laser, and a LaserCube bought in the USA comes with the FDA variance (issued by X-Laser). For public shows, check your local rules too.
See it for yourself
LaserCube is a portable, battery-powered RGB laser projector, and its show software, LaserOS, is free.
Explore the LaserCube lineup