News

[caption id="attachment_277841" align="alignnone" width="800"]Canada celebrates 150[/caption]

OTTAWA, CA – On July 1st, Canada celebrated its 150th birthday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Activities on the hill took places all day and ended up with a big show at night, hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the first lady, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and the minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly. The bill of the day included ceremonial segments, band performances and production numbers made especially for the day. Canadians had the honor of the presence of the Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston who came to commemorate the Canadian Confederation.

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INDIANAPOLIS – John Reed, owner of Indianapolis-based Stage Tech, Inc. died July 4, 2017 after a short illness. He was 62. Reed, who had served as a lighting director on tours for Frankie Valli and others, founded Stage Tech in 1975 as a lighting and staging company and later moved into audio production for big events including the Indianapolis 500 (pictured here).

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[caption id="attachment_277836" align="alignnone" width="800"]Blue Man Group in Vegas[/caption]

MONTREAL – Cirque du Soleil acquired New-York-based Blue Man Productions, a global live entertainment company best known for the award-winning Blue Man Group show, performed in more than 20 countries and seen by more than 35 million people worldwide since 1991. The acquisition widens Cirque du Soleil’s audience pool, adding to their portfolio six resident productions established across the U.S. and in Germany, as well as a North American tour and a World tour.

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[caption id="attachment_277825" align="alignnone" width="600"]Students attend the Prolyte Campus Event in the US[/caption]

ORLANDO – Prolyte Group hosted its first North American Campus event on truss training in Orlando last month, just one day prior to the opening of InfoComm. Organized in cooperation with its North American distributor A.C. Lighting Inc., the event had an impressive list of participants. The Prolyte Campus event was acredited by both ESTA (ETCP) as well as InfoComm (CTS), offering continuing education credits and interesting and high-standing content that is recognized by industry bodies as well as those who participated.

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[caption id="attachment_277822" align="alignnone" width="800"]Chauvet products get a workout at the BruFest[/caption]

PHOENIX, AZ – Beer isn’t the first thing most people associate with Arizona, but The Grand Canyon State has become a hot bed of micro brewing. A local survey by a Phoenix news outlet found that the city alone is home to 29 different establishments that brew craft beer.  Recently, the Arizona capital celebrated its growing local brewing industry with BruFest, a day-long festival featuring a mind-boggling assortment of craft beers, bountiful taco buffets and hours of penetrating punk and metal music.

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[caption id="attachment_277816" align="alignnone" width="800"]Bandit supports Slightly Stoopid[/caption]

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Slightly Stoopid may have two decades of touring under their belts, but the genre-busting band still keeps shows fresh and energetic for audiences around the country, pulling from their 12 albums including their recent release Meanwhile… Back at the Lab. Bandit Lites is proud to be providing a lighting package for their current tour. Lighting designer Scott O’Connor created a stellar design for the funk, reggae and punk rock band by capitalizing on equipment that would fill the stage with dynamic, audacious looks, while still allowing for versatility across the various venues and emphasizing a ‘less is more’ mindset.

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[caption id="attachment_277796" align="alignnone" width="960"]Elgin Ribfest in Heaven with Chauvet[/caption]

ELGIN, IL – Every Father’s Day, thousands of dads in the Chicago area are setting aside their backyard grills and heading out to the city’s western most exurb to sink their teeth into a mind boggling variety of real barbequed delights at the Elgin Ribfest. A true hog heaven for rib lovers, the two day event, which is held in downtown Elgin’s Festival Park, has become an annual tradition in the Windy City.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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[caption id="attachment_277754" align="alignnone" width="800"]Kinesys Apex Drive Front[/caption]

TORONTO – Automation specialist Kinesys is staging its first product awareness demonstration in Canada – on July 8th for one day only – to make people aware that Kinesys products have ‘officially landed’ in Canada and are available for immediate rental from Drifter Rigging. The Demo Day is a collaboration between David Bond, who runs Kinesys’ US operation and Mark “Drifter” Desloges from Drifter Rigging, a new rental operation recently established in Toronto, with a selection of Kinesys kit. It will be held in a warehouse facility at 100 Carson St. Unit A Etobicoke, Toronto, M8W 3R9.

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