Newsroom

BERLIN, Germany – Freelance LD Rick Kay used GLP X4 S and X1 fixtures to light British poet and spoken word performer Anne Clark on a tour through Germany, with stops in Belgium and the Netherlands. The “Wasted Wonderland” tour, which also featured co-collaborator herrB, traveled with a minimized lighting rig suited to the 300-to-800-capacity clubs where Clark and herrB performed.

ANTWERP, Belgium – For an event at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp celebrating Belgian venue Cherry Moon’s 25th anniversary, LD Steven Couliez designed the lighting, video and structural set elements to go with an evening devoted to techno, trance, house and retro sounds. Nachtcollective created the video content, and Belgian lighting rental company Splendit supplied a rig that included Robe Pointes, CycFX 8s and LEDBeam 100s. 

MANCHESTER, U.K. – Before resigning in mid-July, former U.K. prime minister David Cameron championed a plan to create three million new apprentice positions by the year 2020. Announced last summer, the plan is designed to encourage the development of a better-skilled work force, which could help the U.K. compete in the global economy. As part of that larger effort, the U.K.’s National Rigging Advisory Group (NRAG) announced a trial program called the Live Event Rigging Apprenticeship. It provides formal training to new recruits, supporting them beyond the National Rigging Certificate Level 2. Key rigging leaders from Blackout, UK Rigging, RTM Rigging, PSI Production Ireland and NEC Group attended the trial run of the newly-created LERA program to test the assessment format and marking system before it is formally launched to the industry in September.

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland – For the annual Greenfield rock festival, LD Nico Müller of technical supplier Go Audio used more than 150 Clay Paky fixtures. The Main Stage was equipped with 39 Alpha Wash 1200 fixtures, 36 Mythos and 18 Stormy CC strobes. Müller’s rig design for Greenfield’s smaller stages included 18 A.leda B-EYE K10, 18 Mythos, 16 Alpha Spot 800 QWO and eight Stormy CCs. The festival, which ran from June 8-11, welcomed more than 40 international rock, punk and metalcore bands including Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Prodigy, Dropkick Murphys and Bullet For My Valentine (BFMV). More than 100,000 people from across Europe attended the four -day event.

DURBAN, South Africa  – A massive fire destroyed the Durban Christian Centre’s 5,500-capacity Jesus Dome auditorium in the city’s Mayville neighborhood on the night of June 8. No one was injured in the blaze, but the structure, first dedicated in 1999, was a total loss. Three days later, the sky above the destroyed church’s parking lot lit up with beams from 12 Clay Paky Mythos fixtures, all pointed towards a star, as the congregation met together for a service. LD Michael Broderick and Brandon Bunyan of Black Coffee donated the idea and the use of the gear.  Going forward, the megachurch will hold services using a large tent until the Jesus Dome can be rebuilt.