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The Weeknd ‘Starboy: Legend of the Fall’ 2017 Tour

The Weeknd Starboy Legend of the Fall 2017 tour photos by Steve Jennings

The Weeknd ‘Starboy: Legend of the Fall’ 2017 Tour

Singer, songwriter and record producer The Weeknd (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye), is back out on the road, along with a massive set design by stage designer Es Devlin (Beyoncé, Adele, U2), who’s illustrious background includes design in theatre, dance, pop music, film and TV. Solotech provided all of the lighting and video elements in use. We spoke with two key individuals who worked with Devlin on the tour currently out on a North American leg, lighting designer Sooner Routhier (The Lumineers, Mötley Crüe, G-Eazy), and lighting director/programmer Darien Koop (Pentatonix, Sara Bareilles, Mutemath).

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Eric Church 'Holdin’ My Own' Tour 2017 photos by Steve Jennings

Eric Church ‘Holdin’ My Own’ Tour 2017

Eric Church is out packing arenas on his “Holdin’ My Own Tour” with Butch Allen back as production and lighting designer and Rob Koenig and Scott Chmielewski as programmers. With close to three hours on stage, Church covers the bases and doesn’t disappoint the fans with his 360 end stage show, where he can get close and personal. We spoke with lighting director Gavin Lake about Allen’s production design. Lake took over LD duties back in February of 2015, as he explains.

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V2 performs at the House of Rock. Photo by Ryan Richardson.

House of Rock

The House of Rock in Santa Rosa, CA, began in mid-2012 as a private rehearsal studio, owned and operated by the management of the hard rock band V2 (pronounced V Squared), fronted by virtuoso teen twin brothers, drummer and vocalist Vincenzo and guitarist and lead vocalist Vittorio Piazza. Aside from being the home of V2, the five-year business plan was to evolve House of Rock as Northern California’s newest, multi-purpose, full-service art and entertainment creation and exhibition facility.

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Def Leppard performs with a followspot assist from the Follow-Me system.

Def Leppard and the Issue of Followspots

The Addition of the Follow-Me System Makes Life Easier

As the story has been told through the years, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard played some shows in Japan some 15 years ago. A Japanese LD from Big One Lighting named Kenji Ohashi was hired to run the lighting for these shows. The artist liked what he was doing and decided to keep him on permanently.

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The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration during its live broadcast last August in Kingston, Ontario. Photo by Mike Homer.

Canada Celebrates The Tragically Hip

Emotional Live Concert Event Garners Honors for “Canada’s Band” and LD Brent Clark

LD Brent Clark sent us a link to a YouTube video. Expecting to see a band’s light show, cameras instead are aimed not at the stage but at the somber audience. Tears stream down a few faces as the band plays one last song.

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NAMM CEO Joe Lamond and Parnelli Awards Executive Producer Terry Lowe

The Parnelli Awards Move to NAMM

Strategic Alliance to Benefit All Sides of Music and Live Entertainment

As announced last month, NAMM is expanding their January Anaheim trade show to further include the live event production industry, and a big part of that strategy is bringing the Parnelli Awards to it. One factor making this possible is Anaheim Convention Center’s 200,000 square foot expansion, which will allow pro audio, lighting, staging, video, and all related manufacturers to have space available to them to exhibit at an international trade show that already pulls in over 100,000 professional registrants.

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Hemphill Brothers Coach bus interior photo by Lauren M. Mitchell

Hemphill Brothers Coach Company

Joey Hemphill Discusses the Company’s History and State of the Tour Bus Today

The young brothers, Joey and Trent, did a double take when they opened the check from Van Halen’s management. Eyes were squinted, heads were scratched. The check was less than they were expecting.

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Creative Stage Lighting Celebrates 40 Years

Creative Stage Lighting Celebrates 40 Years

[caption id="attachment_276676" align="alignnone" width="800"]Creative Stage Lighting Celebrates 40 Years[/caption]

Family Business Survives and Thrives “Making Magic Every Day”

“I liked making magic happen every day,” says George Studnicky. And because of his business savvy, the ability to navigate an ever-changing market and the backing and support of his family and team of associations, there’s been many days of magic making as Studnicky’s Creative Stage Lighting (CSL, creativestagelighting.com) celebrates its 40th year in business this year.

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Widespread Panic at SweetWater 420 Festival. Photo courtesy Dave Vann

SweetWater 420 Festival

Premier Global Production Sets the Stage for Another Successful Show

The SweetWater 420 Festival is celebrating its 13th year as an Earth Day environmental celebration. The eco-friendly showcase focuses on music, SweetWater Brewing’s craft beers, food and art. The weeklong event, held in Atlanta’s Centennial Park for the last three years, hosts more than 50 national and local musical performers. Statistics from last year’s performance indicate attendees traveled from 46 different states in the U.S. and seven different countries.

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