News

[caption id="attachment_279773" align="alignnone" width="800"]Chamsys products in use[/caption]

RENO, NV –An impressive yacht with wheels that help it sail through the sand sits glimmering in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Not far away, half-buried on the quiet playa, is a massive 747 jet made of foam, lights twinkling in its fuselage. Sights like these make the annual Burning Man Festival the closest thing on earth to living out the fantasy of Lewis Carroll’s classic “Through The Looking Glass.”

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[caption id="attachment_279767" align="alignnone" width="1875"]Join the Journey Sunsphere[/caption]

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – More than 82,000 individuals and corporate donors gave to the University of Tennessee’s 1.1 billion dollar Join the Journey campaign, which focuses on making the overall cost of earning a degree more affordable, with funds going towards undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty support, athletics and other university initiatives. Bandit Lites was honored to donate the lighting for the sophisticated soiree, which culminated with a private event at the Knoxville Convention Center.

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[caption id="attachment_279755" align="alignnone" width="800"]Arcade Fire gets assist from GLP[/caption]

SEATTLE – After spending the early part of the summer on the European circuit, Canadian band Arcade Fire released their new album, Everything Now, in late July and have since kicked off the North American leg of their “Infinite Content” tour. The tour lighting includes PRG-supplied GLP fixtures.

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[caption id="attachment_279741" align="alignnone" width="800"]Plaza Mariachi[/caption]

NASHVILLE – As Nashville has grown more diverse so has the choice in ethnic restaurants and entertainment establishments. Plaza Mariachi, a unique Latin culture destination that caters to the city’s rapidly growing Hispanic community, is an excellent example of the trend. Formerly a supermarket, the 60,000-square-foot space was imaginatively converted to the themed, multi-use facility it is today with art, music, entertainment, food and retail all under one roof.

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[caption id="attachment_279738" align="alignnone" width="800"]Naughty By Nature[/caption]

PHOENIX – When an event is billed as an “Old School House Party,” you can’t do much better than to book Naughty By Nature as your headliner.  The New Jersey threesome of Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee defined hip hop in the 1990s, with some of the earliest crossover hits like O.P.P. and Hip Hop Hooray. Setting an appropriately frenetic tone for The It Factor Ltd event in Arizona, the Grammy-winning trio got the crowd on its feet with their rapid-fire rap. Supporting them every pulsating step of the way was a John Garberson-designed lightshow that featured 12 Rogue R2 Washes from CHAUVET Professional.

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DALLAS – ChamSys is offering church techs four introductory hands-on lighting console sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, October 11 and 12 at WFX this week. Phil Watson from Chamsys, pictured here, will be available to teach anyone interested. Free of charge, the 45-minute sessions will take place in room C-145 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

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LAS VEGAS – PLSN readers have chosen the six regional winners of this year’s Hometown Hero Award competition. These top vote getters from each of five U.S. regions plus all of Canada will be automatically entered on the Parnelli Awards ballot. PLSN readers will then get a chance to vote on which regional company will be awarded the coveted honor of Parnelli Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year. The Parnelli Ballot will be posted on parnelliawards.com in early November. The nominations process for all remaining Parnelli Award categories is now underway.

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[caption id="attachment_279731" align="alignnone" width="588"]BML on the lookout for stolen gear[/caption]

SECAUCUS, NJ – BML-Blackbird Theatrical Services notified police about the theft of a Penske rental truck from its parking lot over the weekend. The truck was loaded with lighting gear intended for a series of shows in New York. A driver who arrived to take the truck into the city reported the loss to police. Surveillance video captured a car dropping off a suspect. That suspect managed to pick the lock and hotwire the vehicle in a matter of minutes.

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[caption id="attachment_279722" align="alignnone" width="800"]Part of the Plan Musical[/caption]

NASHVILLE, TN- A new and hopefully Broadway-bound musical, Part of the Plan, opened to rave reviews this month in the Music City’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). The musical draws its score and inspiration from the deep catalog of singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg. Lighting Designer Jason Kantrowitz turned to 4Wall New York for the gear needed to light the musical’s debut at TPAC, in hopes of continuing its journey on to Broadway. After multiple prior readings of the show Part of the Plan, the producers’ goal for this developmental production was to see the fully staged material performed in front of Nashville audiences in order to hone the script.

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DALLAS – Visit Front Porch Productions’ display (Booth 407) at the 2017 WFX Conference & Expo to see High End Systems’ latest Bright White LED automated luminaires and HOG 4 control products. Front Porch Productions will be showing High End’s new SolaFrame 750 and SolaFrame Theatre, along with SolaSpot 2000, SolaSpot 1000, SolaWash 19 and SolaWash 37. HOG 4 lighting control products on display will include the HedgeHog 4X, Road Hog 4 and the flagship HOG 4 consoles. High End Systems Regional Sales Managers Noel Garcia and Bobby Hale will be joining Front Porch Productions staff at the conference to demo products and meet with customers.

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[caption id="attachment_279714" align="alignnone" width="800"]Fat Boy Slim performs live[/caption]

WORLDWIDE – Fatboy Slim’s long-term lighting designer, Stephen Abbiss, has chosen to use the superior live control capabilities of Avolites’ Tiger Touch II console for the DJ’s summer season of festival shows and one-off headline slots across Europe and Australia. Known for his flexible performance style, British DJ Norman Cook – a.k.a Fatboy Slim – demands a highly personalized approach when it comes to his production lighting.

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NYC – Early-Early Bird online registration for USITT 2018 in Fort Lauderdale is officially open! Register now at usittshow.com. USITT’s 2018 Annual Conference & Stage Expo runs March 14-17 in Fort Lauderdale. Early-Early Bird registration – by Dec. 7 – saves the most money, with the lowest rates.The 2018 show features 260+ conference sessions and 300 exhibitors at Stage Expo: an extensive, hands-on showcase of the latest in live entertainment technology.       

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