News

NASHVILLE– For more than 20 years, Big Events, Inc. has been designing and creating unique, customized events that guests will remember for years to come. So when they were approached by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts to help them create a contemporary “New Spain” club atmosphere for their Annual Gala on April 9, Big Events president Malcolm Greenwood welcomed the opportunity to showcase the design firm’s creativity. With the goal of implementing the highest production-value the event had ever seen, Greenwood then called upon Nashville-based Elite Multimedia who provided him with a complete lighting, audio and projection package for the black-tie dinner and cocktail reception.

AUSTIN – For the sixth season of PBS’ Bluegrass Underground, LD Allen Branton and programmer Han Henze of Keylight LLC used six SolaSpot 1500s provided by 4Wall Lighting to augment the show’s lighting production. A Todd Squared production for PBS broadcast, Bluegrass Underground is the brainchild of entrepreneur Todd Mayo, who transformed an underground cave system discovered by Aaron Higgenbotham in 1810 into the magical performance environment of The Volcano Room of the Cumberland Cavern.

ORLANDO – LMG, a national provider of video, audio, lighting, and LED support and a fixture in the Orlando high tech community for 32 years, held a ribbon cutting ceremony to introduce their second expansion to its current Orlando headquarters.  Founded in Orlando, LMG provides technical services for some of the world’s largest corporate meetings, trade shows, concerts, tours, and permanent installations. With steady growth over the last decade and continuous investments in ground-breaking new technology, the second expansion will provide a much needed larger facility. 

MANCHESTER, TN – The 15th Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival took place June 9-12, once again turning a 700 acre field into a concert destination for 85,000 attendees, which would make the rural area rank as the state’s 7th largest city for a weekend. Bandit Lites once again worked with Lambda Productions to provide a lighting package for the weekend that featured a lineup including Pearl Jam, Dead & Company, LCD Soundsystem, J. Cole, CHVRCHES, Jason Isbell, M83, Halsey and Chris Stapleton. Dead & Company’s set is pictured here.

MIAMI – Alpha & Omega Church in Miami was looking for a dynamic lighting solution for their newly remodeled Next Level Youth ministry auditorium, something both welcoming and energetic. They found the flexibility they were looking for in an Elation Professional lighting package of LED lights and Platinum Series moving heads. Total Audio & Visual Solutions (TAVS) of Miami installed the lighting system upgrade during a refurbishment of the space, one that allowed the South Florida production and rental company to start with a fresh canvas.

LAS VEGAS — An intensifying heat wave in the U.S. Southwest posed some concerns, but Insomniac Production’s 2016 Electric Daisy Carnival event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway went relatively smoothly. One crew member looking after the Bass Pod stage sustained minor burn-related injuries in a pyro accident on the second night of the three-night event, however.

LAS CRUCES, NM — The Long Reach Long Riders recently completed their 13th annual charity motorcycle ride. The ride, which was dubbed The Radioactive Ride by ride marshal Loren Schreiber, raised more than $45,000 for Behind the Scenes and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, bringing the total raised since the LRLR rides began to well over $550,000. It began and ended in Las Cruces, NM, running from June 4-12.

BEL AIR, MD — Harford Community College and Barbizon Capitol will hold the second annual Entertainment Design Expo (EDX) on Thursday, June 23. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the APG Federal Credit Union Arena at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. It will feature national and international manufacturers and representatives for a day of exploration and education in entertainment technology.

HOUSTON —Freelance LD Robert Sanders put six recently purchased Martin Atomic 3000 LED fixtures to work for Live Nation’s “2016 Ones to Watch Tour.” The tour, which featured up-and-coming alternative rockers Finish Ticket and Vinyl Theatre, kicked off in Florida and wrapped up in Houston. On the road, the new fixtures complemented other  Martin products including four MAC 250 Entour moving head spots and a Jem Compact Hazer Pro haze machine. Sanders used a portable M2GO lighting controller and a Martin M-Touch for control.

LAS VEGAS – NanoLumens recently opened a Visualization Center in Las Vegas. Located at 5275 S. Arville Street in Suite 328, the facility is the third such center opened by the company; the other two are in Bath, U.K. and the Atlanta, GA area. Those interested in seeing the indoor and outdoor LED screens featured in the new 7,700-square-foot Las Vegas showroom can make an appointment by calling 888-771-NANO (6266).

COLUMBUS, OH — For an effect that creates bursts of fog that appear to be triggered by R. Kelly as he walks on stage during his show supporting his most recent album, The Buffet, Russell Armentrout, president of Performance Lighting, worked with lighting director Tony Trovato on a setup that uses 24 Vesuvio RGBA high-output LED foggers from Chauvet Professional.

ANCHORAGE, AK – LightParts  recently delivered eight High End Systems ShapeShifter C1 LED fixtures to Anchorage Baptist Temple (ABT). ABT technical director Bryan Dunfee quickly put the C1’s to work to highlight scenic elements, visually support the music, and create some great beam looks for ABT’s worship services.