Rangely, CO (August 6, 2025)—In June, five motorcyclists known as the Rocky Mountain Ghostlight Riders set out on a charity ride to raise funds and awareness for the Behind the Scenes Foundation (BTS), the organization that provides grants to entertainment technology professionals. Fittingly, their journey ultimately led them to a unique sound-related site: the Tank Center for the Sonic Arts in Rangely, Colorado.
While BTS raises funds in a variety of creative ways, in 2022, the Foundation expanded its fundraising methods by launching an affinity fundraising campaign called Ghostlight Groups, allowing anyone to organize a group—such as the Rocky Mountain Ghostlight Riders—to participate in an activity while raising money for the charity.
Their route took them to outdoor music venues across Colorado, but while locations like Las Colonias, Ford Amphitheater, and Red Rocks are well known, the riders chose venues where local music scenes flourish, such as the Mishawaka Amphitheatre, tucked away in scenic Poudre Canyon. The ride also took them to the small community of Rangely, in the remote northwest corner of Colorado, where they found themselves inside a massive 60-foot water tank, where a dimly lit floor lamp, a handpan and a few roughhewn steel singing bowls lay on a multicolored area rug—the Tank Center for Sonic Arts.
Originally intended as a water treatment container for the nearby railroad, the tank was eventually decommissioned because the gravel foundation beneath it was not stable enough to bear the immense weight of the water it was designed to contain. Over time, this caused the floor to settle into a parabolic depression. This distinctive shape, together with the tank’s domed ceiling, complements the interior’s acoustics, resulting in a truly unique sound chamber.
CharterOak E700 FET mics are positioned near the floor to provide intimacy in the cavernous space, while cardioid and binaural mics are hung throughout to record vocal and ambient sound from various elevations, from 12 to 45 feet overhead. Signal is sent to the nearby “studio”—a converted shipping container—where everything is mixed down in Pro Tools Ultimate.
Michael Van Wagone, one of the sound engineers and artists that support the work of the non-profit Tank Center, has been with the organization for seven years and has worked with a variety of artists and musicians from the region and beyond. As he put it, “With our Meyer and JBL speakers inside, we have the capability of hosting remote sessions where anyone in the world with a decent internet connection, mic and headphones can play into the Tank.”
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While the ride to Tank Center for Sonic Arts was a fun way to raise money for BTS, the Rocky Mountain Ghostlight Riders’ effort will help pros who are in dire straits. “The charity began in 2005 by providing grants to entertainment technology professionals in need due to serious illness or injury,” says Lori Rubinstein, executive director of BTS. “Over the years, we have expanded our services and programs to include grants that assist with the cost of seeing a therapist or entering addiction rehab, for disaster relief, and for funeral assistance. BTS also has an extensive Mental Health Initiative which provides tools and resources that support all entertainment industry workers to promote mental health and wellness.”
Grant recipients go through an application and screening process; most grants are small, one-time awards that help fill a short-term need. One grant recipient explained, “I was blessed for over 30 years to mix the sound for music in countless cities and countless countries with the best musicians in the world. Then, all of a sudden, my liver failed because of an auto-immune disease. When I needed help, Behind the Scenes was there. Without them I would not have made it—that’s a fact. I can never thank them enough for the compassion they showed me in my true time of need.”
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BTS does more than raise and distribute grants, however. Among its different projects, it recently launched a new initiative that provides online resources to entertainment workers who may be seeking career expansion or transition into new careers.
Nonetheless, when it comes to providing grants to pros in need, BTS raises funds from across the entertainment field. Industry manufacturers, dealers, and service providers contribute to Behind the Scenes through Pledge-of-Support programs that donate a portion of their profits from a designated product or service to the organization. The Foundation also receives strong support from IATSE locals as well as the International.
And the Rocky Mountain Ghostlight Riders aren’t the only motorcyclists who have raised money for BTS—since 2003, a group of seasoned theater professionals known at the Long Reach Long Riders have been riding their motorcycles throughout the country on behalf of the organization; to date, they have raised over a million dollars for the cause. If you are interested in forming your own Ghostlight Group, reach out to Emily Drew at BTS.
