News

LAS VEGAS — Nominations for the 2014 Parnelli Awards, to be presented at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nov. 22, are now open. PLSN subscribers once again have the chance — but only through the end of September — to determine who will be on the Parnelli Awards ballot this year. The 2014 Parnelli Awards Ballot will be open for voting during the month of October.

NEW YORK – Peter Greenbaum, LD for the Today Show Toyota Summer Concert Series, used Chauvet Professional’s Nexus 4×4 COB LED panels for a mid-August show featuring the Neon Trees at Rockefeller Plaza. Berenice and Albert Chauvet, the co-owners of Chauvet Professional, attended the event.

LOS ANGELES — Rent What? Inc. Cabaret rental drapes were used at a special July Aerosmith concert at the Forum in LA in a new arrangement of the band’s song, “Dream On.” The latest arrangement of the song honors the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, and the drapes from Rent What? were used for a surprise reveal of the the Southern California Children’s Chorus for the Forum in LA concert.

GREENSBORO, NC – SE Systems, based here, has been working with  Select Artists Associates (Scottsdale, AZ) to handle the pro audio and lighting needs for a number of concerts featured during Major League Baseball games this summer. The series pairs baseball teams including the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals with artists ranging from Martina McBride to rap’s 50 Cent. SE lighting designer Nehemiah Grubbs credited Avolites’ compact Titan Mobile console for helping MLB shift the spotlight from sports to music.

KNOXVILLE, TN – Ken “KP” Patterson of A Tennessee Lighting Company, based here, helped Cokesbury United Methodist Church upgrade its lighting with fixtures from Chauvet Professional and Chauvet DJ. Along with versatility for the church’s three campuses, the LED fixtures offer benefits in the form of energy efficiency.

MIAMI — LD Gaston Fazio of HD House used Elation Professional’s Platinum Spot LED Pro moving heads and Cuepix Panel matrix blinders for Telemundo’s “Buscando Mi Ritmo,” a music competition that included six episodes. LED Source provided the gear.

LOUISVILLE, KY – For the annual Forecastle Festival, which has grown from its humble beginnings in 2002 to an annual event drawing 75,000 fans of music, arts and Kentucky bourbon, Bandit Lites worked with AC Entertainment and festival production manager Richard Wold of Lambda Productions to provide the lighting rig for two stages and the DJ tent.

NASHVILLE — Elite Multimedia and LD Brandon Quisberg included Philips Entertainment’s Showline SL Nitro 510 fixtures in the rig for Gary Allan’s 2014 “Set You Free” tour. The trek continues in the U.S. through September and then heads to Australia for a six-show run.

VICKSBURG, MS — André Huff, owner of Limelite Design Service, once again relied upon Avolites products to control the lighting rig at the Miss Mississippi beauty pageant. For the event, which included three nights of preliminary completion in mid-July, Huff used Avolites’ Sapphire Touch, a Tiger Touch, a Titan Mobile and an AI Media Server.

CHICAGO — RGB Lights handled the design, rendering and production for the 2014 Chicago Gospel Music Awards, which were held June 13 at the 10,000-seat House of Hope in Chicago. RGB used an HES Hog 4 Full Boar console to control Clay Paky Sharpys, ColorBlast TRX and ColorBlaze fixtures. Also used: Radiance hazers and the venue’s followspots.