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O.A.R.

Hamilton photo by Joan Marcus

Reimagining History with ‘Hamilton’

Actor/playwright/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda empathizes with underdogs. As Usnavi in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical In The Heights, he portrayed a young Latino immigrant in New York City’s Washington Heights struggling with cultural assimilation into America. In his hot new musical, Hamilton, he portrays Alexander Hamilton, the impoverished immigrant from St. Croix who became a highly prolific writer (penning a majority of The Federalist Papers) and the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, often clashing with allies and rivals alike.

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AC/DC tour photo by Steve Jennings

AC/DC Hits the Stadiums

Last month, AC/DC played a show in Chicago that had local residents listening to the music from their apartments…, a mile away. Amidst a shower of pyrotechnics, the band hit the stage running for a non stop two hour show starting off with their new song (and name of the tour) “Rock or Bust.” Taking a second to cool off before launching into a parade of hits, singer Brian Johnson announced, “Tonight, together, we’re gonna make some rock ‘n’ roll….., and the party starts now.” He wasn’t kidding, as a non-stop two-hour energetic rock ‘n’ roll show followed.

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LD Martin Thomas lit Rundgren along with the Global Girls and guest DJs this time around.

Todd Rundgren’s ‘Global’ Tour

Rundgren’s EDM Project (with Singing Dancers) Fills Smaller Venues with a Big Rave Vibe

Martin Thomas apologizes for being a few minutes late to the interview. “I’m solo on this tour, and I touch everything,” he says, explaining that, besides a few local tech hires, the whole operation is literally in his hands. You could say the whole “world” is.

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Paul McCartney's treks may be shorter these days, but the artist still delivers a high-energy show. Photo by MJ Kim

Wally Lees

Paul McCartney’s Longtime Lighting Director is Someone You Should Know

Wally Lees has been on the live concert scene for his entire adult life. For the last 13 years, he could be found behind a console directing the lighting for every show Paul McCartney has performed, with good reason. But it didn’t start out at the top for a Scottish lad who moved from Glasgow down to the Midlands of the U.K. with his family when he was nine. At 20, Wally got an offer from his best friend’s brother to work as an electrician at a cabaret in Watford under his supervision.

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Altman Pegasus Fresnels are 6” and 8” White output LED Fresnels that are both Mains Dimmable or DMX controlled all in one luminaire. Pictured here, the Pegasus 6.

Altman Lighting Pegasus Series LED Fresnels

Altman Pegasus Fresnels are 6” (pictured here) and 8” (pictured below) White output LED Fresnels that are both Mains Dimmable or DMX controlled all in one luminaire.  Pegasus replicates the soft light output that is expected from a theatrical or Studio Fresnel.  At under 150 Watts the 6” Pegasus Fresnel far surpasses the output of its 500 watt incandescent counterpart, where the 8” Pegasus Fresnel meets the output of its 750 watt incandescent counterpart.

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Shania Twain 'Rock This Country' Tour photo by Steve Jennings

Shania Twain’s “Rock This Country” Tour

It’s been a dozen years since Shania Twain has hit the road on tour. She picked up right where she left off with a gorgeous production design for her current “Rock This Country” tour. In 2004, she stopped singing to heal her throat and stayed silent up until she took up residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2012. Ten months before that run of 105 shows, the artist met with show director Raj Kapoor to come up with a production for those distinct shows. A good relationship was formed and, once again, the singer looked to him and his company for a vision on this tour, which launched in June and wraps later this month.

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