Baltimore’s First Ball Drop Brightens with X-Laser Visuals

BALTIMORE — The animated clock on the big building counted down as 2015 came to an end. A large crowd gathered in the streets to watch the glistening ball drop to welcome the New Year. This was not Times Square, though — this was Baltimore. At GAME Sports & Spirits in the heart of the city between the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium and Horseshoe Casino, X-Laser projectors generated vivid laser effects to help create the atmosphere for Baltimore’s first New Year’s Eve ball drop.

WESTLAKE, TX. – The ESTA Control Protocols Plugfest, the event where manufacturers and developers can test their products for interoperability with other manufacturers’ products, is scheduled to take place Jan. 29 through Feb. 1 at the D/FW Marriott Solana in Westlake, TX. Attendees bring controllers, intelligent lights, control protocol analyzers, and various other tools and devices, in an effort to seek out and resolve interoperability challenges. People attend from all around the world to plug into this network and improve their products.

ROSEMONT, IL – LD Collyns Stenzel of White Light AV transformed space within the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL into party central for a series of house music artists taking the stage for React Presents’ Reaction New Year’s Eve festival, a two-day event. Stenzel used 96 Chauvet COLORado Batten 144 Tour RGBWA linear washes arranged in V-shaped configurations flown from upstage truss.

TAMPA, FL – Revelers coming to the Amphitheatre seeking an immersive experience on New Year’s Eve found what they were looking for at the lofty two-story club, which has become a familiar stop on the EDM circuit. Lighting designer Brett Lorins of Brett Lorins Design brought fixtures from Chauvet Professional to the party.

DALLAS – Jimmy Page Henderson, 69, died Jan. 5. Known for playing a key role in the live events industry, he joined founder Jack Calmes at Showco in 1972 as their first and only salesman after being involved with concert promotions and nightclub management. Jimmy again teamed with Calmes to help build Syncrolite in 1991, and worked there for more than two decades. In a striking coincidence, his death comes one year to the day after Calmes’ passing.

ATLANTA — Bandit Lites continued its tradition of kicking off the New Year with legendary jam band Widespread Panic. The American rock group closed out their three night run at the Fox Theater on New Year’s Eve and featured both their original songs and covers of Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen with guest performances by the Megablaster Horns.

SEATTLE – Harrison Mills (CatacombKid) and Clayton Knight (BeachesBeaches), a.k.a. Odesza, backed their latest hit album with a tour that included sold out shows in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Toronto. LMG Touring provided audio, lighting and LED video for the tour.