TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Alpha Production team had one thing in mind when they put together the lighting rig for the Pepsi Funk Fest Tour when it stopped at Florida A&M University. The most important thing they focused on was movement. Their goal was to create a show that was constantly moving and changing so it could keep up with the artists on stage.
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LOS ANGELES – Maxwell and Mary J. Blige are wrapping up their international “King & Queen of Hearts Tour” with a 24-date North American leg playing to packed houses. Daunte Kenner and Justin Collie, the production and lighting designers for Mary J. Blige and Maxwell, respectively, selected a large complement of Claypaky Scenius moving head spotlights for the rig and grandMA2 consoles for lighting control.
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ASHEVILLE, NC – Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam once again drew legendary musicians and an appreciative crowd together for a great cause. The annual Christmas benefit began 28 years ago, as Haynes sought to give back to his hometown’s Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. Bandit Lites donated lighting for this year’s sold out concert. Along with Haynes and his band, this year’s event featured Gov’t Mule, Bob Weir, Michael McDonald, Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss, among others. LD Chris Ragan used Bandit-supplied grandMA2 consoles to control the rig, which included VL, Robe, Claypaky, GLP and Bandit’s own moving light fixtures.
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DETROIT – LD Sooner Routhier of SRae Productions used a full array of Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 10 LED video fixtures and MAC Viper Profile fixtures to create an innovative, modern and exciting lighting experience for Shinedown’s recent “Carnival of Madness” tour. After using the same lighting setup for several years, the band asked SRae Productions to create a new and modern lighting set that represented the band’s unique sound. The tour, which also featured Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry and Whiskey Myers, among others, hit a variety of venues in the Eastern and Midwest U.S. in July and August.
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MONTREAL – The Theatre St-James is a four-story building that once served as the home for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce but now gets used for a variety of special events. Garou Blancan of Montreal’s XYZ Technologie Culturelle upgraded the lighting system within the venue using Chauvet Professional LED fixtures supplied by JAM Industries.
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LISLE, IL — For many in the Chicago area an annual trip to see Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle has become a wintertime tradition. Now in its fourth year, the magical mile-long walk in the woods with its dramatic lighting and color-changing illumination is a whole new way to experience the Arboretum in winter. John Featherstone, principal at design group Lightswitch, is the lighting director and creative director for Illumination. This year he had the opportunity to be the first anywhere to use Elation’s new weatherproof Proteus Beam moving head fixture for the event.
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OAKLAND, CA and NEW ORLEANS — The first week of December was marked by the tragic news of the passing of three promising young designers, including video innovator Jonathan Bernbaum, audio engineer Barrett Clark and lighting prodigy Cody Stoltz. Bernbaum and Clark were among the 36 victims of the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, pictured here. Stoltz, whom PLSN profiled in Sept. 2008 as a 13-year-old LD, died Dec. 5.
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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Dierks Bentley was up at dawn to kick off the morning of the 50th Annual CMA Awards with a live performance on the streets of Nashville with Good Morning America. The televised concert featured a lighting package designed by Mark Carver and provided by Bandit Lites. The crowd was treated to hearing Bentley’s new single “Black,”
NEW YORK – The elegantly appointed Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria is impressive. Its 44’ high ceiling, custom made 16’ diameter chandelier and ornate carved balconies provide a dramatic setting for any event. To stand out against this backdrop, a stage presentation has to be as bold and dramatic as the ballroom itself. Chris Hubbard and his team at Emergency Production provided just such a presentation recently for buildOn, a global charity, with help from 117 PVP S7 panels from CHAUVET Professional.
IRVINE, CA — For Blink-182’s 2016 return to the road, in support of the band’s mid-2016 album release, California, the production design by Dominic Smith from Neon Black featured 40 BMFL Blades supplied by VER. Twelve of the BMFL Blades are used as key lights on the front of the band, and the rest as high-impact back lighting and effects.
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BOSTON – There was no shortage of star power on stage at Boston’s House of Blues on Monday December 5, as the legendary venue, hosted Electric Bounce House. The 2,500 capacity concert hall welcomed an Electric Bounce House lineup of artists who often would be playing at an arena or amphitheater. Opening the evening was Grammy-nominated teenage sensation Daya. As the evening progressed, the music grew electronic with the progressive house dance group Cash Cash, followed by Grammy-nominated The Chainsmokers.
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