ANAHEIM, CA – The Parnelli board of advisors announced that Bobby “Boomer” Thrasher, longtime production manager for Billy Joel and other top artists, will be honored with the 2018 Parnelli Audio Lifetime Achievement Award. The ceremony will take place Jan. 26, 2018 at the Hilton Hotel near the Anaheim Convention Center during Winter NAMM 2018.
Read More »
VECHTA, GERMANY – As Ascension Day is a traditional day off for Germans, what better way to spend it then at “Tanta Mia tanzt,” a one-day electro dance music festival with international and regional DJs. Held in the town of Vechta in northwest Germany, Tanta Mia tanzt debuted in 2016 and was back in 2017 with a lineup of EDM and house beat artists playing across multiple stages. The all-day EDM party with its unusual name (“Aunt Mia is dancing”) attracted more than 16,000 visitors this year.
DENMARK – Holstebro Musikteatret in Denmark has invested in 24 new Robe LEDWash 600+’s which will be used throughout their facility, making the production lighting options more dynamic and flexible and saving valuable time during changeovers and technical time. The Musikteatret includes three main venues: a 1200 seater Main auditorium; the Black Box, a flexible space which can accommodate up to 1700 people standing and is where the fixtures will primarily be deployed … and The Hall of Fame bar which is also used for concerts, comedy, dining and events.
LITTLE ROCK, AR – Twenty-eight people were injured after a dispute escalated into gunfire within the Power Ultra Lounge at about 2:30 a.m. on July 1, according to reports. Police noted that 25 people were shot and three others sustained other injuries. Two were listed in critical condition but all were expected to survive.
Read More »
NEW YORK – Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland was arrested June 30 on federal charges of wire fraud in connection with what would have been the inaugural two-weekend Fyre Festival, originally slated for April 28-30 and May 5-7 2017 on Grand Exuma Island in the Bahamas. In a statement, federal prosecutors alleged that McFarland “presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company,” Fyre Media, a company McFarland set up for a talent-booking app along with festival promotion.
Read More »
VANCOUVER – Industry veterans Brian Konechny and Larry Darling have opened ShowTech AVL. Both Konechny & Darling worked at Q1 & Epic Productions Technologies then a few years at Solotech Vancouver. On Oct 29th, becoming business partners, they took over operations at the same location and same phone number, servicing both their local and international clients as AEG Worldwide, Vancouver Canucks, Microsoft Theatre, Civic Theatres, STAPLES Center, City of Burnaby, Centennial Theatre, Grammy Museum, The Novo LA and more.
NEU-ANSPACH, GERMANY – The Cameo ZENIT® B60 battery-powered PAR spotlight is on its way. The first production run of the two models is already completely sold out. Boasting IP65 classification and W-DMX™ control, this highly professional spotlight is perfect for demanding lighting tasks, both indoors and outdoors. The ZENIT® B60 is available in black (CLZB60BLSD) and chrome (CLZB60CLSD) versions.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Australian audio-visual production company, IKONIX, recently used one of their Avolites Ai RX8 Media servers to video map a Cinco de Mayo event (Day of the Dead) at Melbourne’s top trending event space, Peninsula. The Mexican-themed event marked the end of the five-day 37th Australian Dental Association (ADA) Congress 2017 with 700 guests in attendance.
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND – This year’s Glastonbury Festival was “the best yet,” according to organizer Emily Eavis. It was easy to see why, as a star studded procession of artists from Radiohead, Ed Sheeran and the Foo Fighters to The Sleaford Mods, The XX and Katy Perry appeared on its stages.
Read More »
UK – “Robert Juliat is the gold standard of followspots and whenever we’re looking to add more to our inventory, it’s our go-to brand.” So says David Slater, Group Director of Hire for the award-winning, UK-based technical production company, Hawthorn. The company has just expanded its inventory of followspots with a significant purchase of fixtures from Robert Juliat’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions, opting to add to their stock of 2500W HMI Cyrano long-throw units and to make a new investment purchase of the LED 300W Roxie.
LONDON – Bristol-based Fineline Lighting proves the wisdom of its investment in Martin by HARMAN’s VDO Face 5 HB LED panels by deploying impressive media displays on the two main stages at the recent Love Saves The Day Festival, held locally in the city’s Eastville Park. Specialists in production lighting and visual displays, Fineline has regularly serviced the festival’s requirements for promoters Team Love — again rigging the two premier stages at the sell-out festival and providing kit for the subsidiary stages.
SOUTH AFRICA -The most recent RMB Starlight Classics concert, staged at the beautiful, Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa … was lit by Chris Bolton of Keystone Productions … with a little help from some Robe moving lights! It was Chris’s second year in the creative hot seat – working directly for organizers Jam Events. Last year he and Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier produced a lighting co-design – and the two are now partners in their brand new visual design venture, Collective Works – however when Starlight came up this year, Josh had other commitments, so Chris added the lighting magic working with his assistant Jade Manicom.