National Music Council to Honor Patti Smith, Harry Shearer and Crystal Gayle at Summer NAMM

NASHVILLE – The National Music Council has announced that songwriter and poet Patti Smith, comic, actor, writer, musician and creators’ rights activist Harry Shearer and country music legend Crystal Gayle will be honored at the organization’s 34th annual American Eagle Awards on Thursday, July 13 at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville. Smith, Shearer and Gayle are pictured here, clockwise from left.

NASHVILLE — For the April 6 taping of Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, top artists performed in tribute to the late country artist, who died April 6, 2016 on his 79^th birthday. LD Mark Carver used Bandit Lites-supplied fixtures for the event including Martin MAC Viper Profiles, Vari-Lite VL3500 Spots, GLP X4, X4S and X4 Bar 10 fixtures, Ayrton MagicBlades, Clay Paky B-EYE K20, Sharpy and Mythos fixtures, Sunstrip STP-10 MK2s and Bandit’s own GRNLite Moving Washes and 5x5s, with a grandMA2 full and light console for control.

LUBBOCK, TX — For an April 7 show featuring true-grit country performer Cody Johnson at Lubbock’s Lonestar Amphitheater, LD Jimmy Davidson designed a light show that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. Davidson, co-owner of Texas Stage, used six Rogue R2 Washes, 18 COLORado 1-Tri Tours, 14 Next NXT-1 moving panels and two STRIKE 4 fixtures to reflect a variety of moods.

MIDDLETON, WI – ETC is set to make a big impact on stand #525 at the Lightfair International tradeshow, May 9-11, 2017, in Philadelphia. The company will have a new stand at the show that will be full of new architectural-lighting products, including some that will make their debut at Lightfair. Pictured here is ETC’s SC1008 Branch Circuit Emergency Lighting Transfer Switch.

MIAMI — With names like Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Carl Cox, Alesso and David Guetta consistently on the marquee, Ultra cemented its place as the world’s premier electronic music festival years ago. The elaborate production that backs the performances is just as impressive. Three of the festival’s classic EDM stages — the Carl Cox Megastructure (pictured here), Main Stage and Worldwide/Midpark Stage — relied heavily on Elation Professional lighting fixtures to deliver extra visual impact.

SYRACUSE, NY — USITT is calling on the backstage community to promote safe stages with the third annual Rigging Safety Day on Arbor Day, April 28.