USA - After 18 years of touring and a fistful of Top Ten hits, the Puerto Rican duo Zion & Lennox still exhibit the raw hungry power that has made them a defining force in their musical genre. This fervour was on full display in their recent hit music video Mi Tesoro, recorded with Nicky Jam. It was also very much in evidence on a cloudy Sunday night, 22 April, when they rocked the sold-out 4,400-seat Rosemont Theatre outside Chicago.
Supporting the duo’s high-energy performance was a plethora of aerial effects, stage sweeps, blinders and intense audience lighting created by Juan Ocampo of High Frequency Productions (Gurnee, IL). Using a collection of Rogue and STRIKE fixtures from Chauvet Professional, Ocampo’s rig featured 28 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures, 16 Rogue RH1 Hybrids and four STRIKE 4 multi-formatted blinders, along with 16 Chauvet DJ Intimidator Hybrid 140SR u

USA - Grammy-Award winning Halestorm is back on the road with a new lighting package from Bandit Lites and launching into summer with their epic, hard rock sound, featuring the vocals of Lzzy Hale, drummer and percussionist Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith.
Bandit Lites supplied nearly 150 fixtures included Ayrton MagicDot R, GLP impression X4s, Robe Halos, Clay Paky B-Eye K20, Chauvet Nexus 4x4, Chauvet FX-B, Martin MAC Viper Profiles, Sun Strips, Martin Atomic 3000 LED, Elation Color Chorus 48 with Base Haze, a GrandMA2 full-size for control along with a MA Lighting 8port node.
When lighting designer Craig Richter began the planning this year’s tour cycle with the band, they communicated their desire to step up the production. To bring about this escalation, Richter opted for custom carts that hold nearly all the fixtures and raise up to

Zambia - Entrepreneur Siddharth Patel wanted his new Fire & Ice Night Club in the heart of Ndola, Zambia’s third largest city, to be truly cutting-edge in technology and aesthetics, so he approached Johannesburg-based lighting sales and installation specialist DWR for ideas and solutions.
DWR project manager JP Vernon conducted a site visit, chatted extensively with the client and produced some concepts which they discussed, including the installation of Anolis Arc Source 4 MC luminaires to provide mood lighting.
The 28 x ArcSource 4 MCs are installed above the bar, DJ booth and VIP area at the back of the space. They function as striking down-lighters and greatly enhance the ambience of the lively 200 capacity venue.
The bar is geared to attract a dynamic community of guests living and working in the city which is also Zambia’s commercial capital and is

UK - GoboPlus.com has announced its support for the #SaveStageLighting campaign by providing free #SaveStageLighting gobos to performance venues across the UK and Europe.
A campaign initiative spearheaded by the Association of Lighting Designers’ Robbie Butler, encouraged theatres and other performance venues across Europe to project a ‘#SaveStageLighting’ gobo on the buildings’ exteriors to raise awareness of the controversial Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019.
GoboPlus.com gifted 150 metal gobos to ALD members to project on Light Up day on 28 April.
The #SaveStageLighting gobos were given to any venue which wanted to take part, and theatres, schools, opera houses and even television studios all over the UK and mainland Europe took up the challenge. The National Theatre, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Brechin High School, West Yorkshire Playhouse

UK - Production equipment specialist VER has opened its new lighting showspace and pre-visualisation suites.
The new facility houses VER's entire product range. It has been built as part of upgrade works at the company’s North London hub and is adjacent to VER’s equipment store. 
To help launch the new showspace, the company is running a series of open-house events featuring a variety of automated fixtures and lighting effects, including the Minuit Une M-Carré, an innovative new approach to scenographic illumination and effects that will change the way you look at light - exclusively available to rent from VER.
Speaking about the new studio, VER’s director of lighting, Europe, David March says, “We’re delighted to be launching our new showspace. The facility allows us to provide crews with hands on testing of both the VER and Aurora product range plus

Israel - Light architects Cochavi & Klein produced a 'show-stopping' lighting designs for a major event staged in Pavilion 2, Tel Aviv’s largest venue. They were working for production company MPLive who delivered the event for financial services giant, Isracard.
The format was a gala dinner for around 2,500 people, a live show featuring a star-studded line-up of popular Israeli talent onstage including Infected Mushroom and others, culminating in a party. Eran Klein operated the lights working closely with stage designer Omer Israeli, Cochavi & Klein’s project manager Dor Aichner and video designer Rubi Saati of Studio Vega.
Omer and Eran chose Robe moving lights to deliver serious impact and effects, with 12 x Mega Pointes - used for the first time live in Israel - plus 30 x Pointes, six Spiiders, eight BMFL Blades, eight 8 x BMFL Spots and three Patt 20

UK - The Charity Film Awards have been created to celebrate the success of film in fundraising, to increase exposure of charity films and to encourage donations for good causes. This year’s ceremony took place at Central Hall Westminster on Friday, 11 May where White Light is the venue’s production service partner. Attended by more than 300 people, WL provided a complete technical production solution as part of their commitment to sponsoring this event.
WL’s venue manager James Thurlow comments: “The Charity Film Awards is the only one of its kind, and we wanted to support them in creating an unforgettable evening. To achieve this, we worked closely with co-founder of the Charity Film Awards; Simon Burton to ensure that we delivered on his vision for the evening and to ensure smooth running. We are pleased to be able to offer Central Hall Westminster a charity awards

USA - For the fourth consecutive year, global design and BIM software solutions provider Vectorworks will continue its partnership with the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SILV) as part of its ongoing support for student designers.
As a first-of-its-kind intensive training programme, SILV offers improved and efficient ways to train students in all areas of live entertainment in an effort to grow the next generation of practitioners in the field. Vectorworks aids in this mission by donating funds to the organisation and teaching workshops on cutting-edge entertainment technology.
“The partnership that SILV has with Vectorworks has dramatically expanded our students’ experience with digital drafting and increased their pre-visualisation and console programming capabilities, making the plotting and paperwork process possible,” said Jane Childs, director at SILV.

UK - Stage Electrics Group CEO Maria Townsend and marketing director and PLASA chairman Adam Blaxill met with Ashley Fox MEP for the South West to discuss the proposed EU Ecodesign regulations.
At the meeting, Blaxill outlined the potential implications, not only for specialist lighting companies like Stage Electrics and their sister company SLX Hire & Events, but also for theatres, social clubs and schools all of whom own equipment which will effectively become obsolete. He comments: “The UK and Europe are world leaders in entertainment lighting, these regulations are a direct threat to our ability to deliver world class entertainment.”
Fox, who had already responded to the consultation before meeting the Stage Electrics team, offered insight into the legislative process and promised to continue to raise concerns with the European Commission and lobby for an

China - MA Lighting and Avolites had blocked alleged infringing companies from exhibiting certain products at the recent Guangzhou Entertainment Technology (GET) exhibition after a number of product copyright infringements were identified by both companies and the GET organisers.
The move comes shortly after the two stage lighting solutions manufacturers joined forces in a similar action against an alleged counterfeiter at Frankfurt’s Prolight+Sound.
Franco Zaghini, director of business development for MA Lighting, and Avolites’ sales director Koy Neminathan led the team to negotiate with alleged counterfeit manufacturers on the show floor and asked them to withdraw all displayed infringing products.
Zaghini comments: “On the first day of the show, we sat with the GET organisers to show them all our patents, trademarks and IPs and their authenticity. At t

USA - X-Laser USA began with the goal of making high-powered laser systems accessible and affordable for anyone who wanted to add dynamic laser effects to their lighting rig.
With the 2017 release of their Mercury laser control system, X-Laser continues to make lasers accessible and easy to integrate for all sorts of lighting professionals. To coincide with celebrating their tenth year in operation, X-Laser has released three new laser systems that will add to the brand’s legacy as a democratizer of high-powered laser fixtures.
“We’re kind of going back to our roots with these new fixtures,” Adam Raugh, president of X-Laser, said. “The Mobile Beat Mercury adds our Mercury laser control system to our most popular model line, the Mobile Beat, the model that really helped us make a name for ourselves. And while our Skywriter series is a bit newer, the Skywriter

USA - When Swedish House Mafia (SHM) decided to reform after five years, providing the Ultra Music Festival in Miami with its surprise headline act, production designer Andy Hurst was brought in to design the extravaganza.
Already the show designer for Axwell and Ingrosso, two of the band members, he immediately turned to GLP’s LED catalogue, procuring 60 JDC1 hybrid strobe and 96 impression X4 Bar 20 from PRG in Las Vegas, knowing that SHM would be the closing act. “As the festival main stage design was changed one month before the show we had to work quickly to get a new SHM design signed off and ready in time,” he explained.
His main challenge was to interface with the existing house rig, supplied by AG Light and Sound. “We had to have our entire system set in 35 mins. In that time we had to fly our back wall, set our custom DJ riser and roll in our lighting

UK - When Richard Tring opened Le Poivrot, an unmistakably French wine bar, on Colston Street in Bristol, it was in sharp contrast to his speakeasy-style Red Light bar, described as an "adult drinking den in the heart of Bristol". Le Poivrot demonstrates an altogether different creative expression from Tring, who with his wife Sarah also owns Weber and Tring's wine and spirits shop in the city. Since opening night, a seat at the bar at Le Poivrot is much sought after.
To help realise his vision for Le Poivrot, Richard engaged the services of Bristol-based designers, Out of The Woodwork Designs, with whom he already had a good working relationship, to design and manage the entire refit. Out of The Woodwork in turn, consulted with GDS over lighting provision for the project.
The project team wished to “combine exquisite detail and an understated old world charm to cre

USA - One of the most successful off-the-Strip venues in Las Vegas and one of Sin City’s more individual resorts is South Point Hotel and Casino. The resort offers novel amenities for a casino resort like an equestrian arena and 64-lane bowling centre, but teems with standard casino attractions as well.
In 2017, the resort decided to upgrade three popular areas with LED video displays – Showroom, Sports Book and Bingo Room – and chose Elation Professional’s high-definition EVHD3 LED video panels for the job. Twelve separate screens were installed across the three areas in November and December last year, an installation encompassing a total of 600 EVHD3 panels.
South Point operates a busy 400-seat Showroom facility that features headliner entertainment, live bands and other acts on a daily basis. The Showroom operates seven days a week the majority of the yea

Japan - Since its founding in 1902, the American School in Japan has sought to provide its students with a well-rounded education. This is very apparent in the diversity of its student body, which includes youngsters from 47 different countries, as well as in its diverse programme of music, theatre, and conferences.
Recently, the school enhanced the infrastructure that supports its educational and arts programs by adding four Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures from PRG to its multi-functional theatre/auditorium. The new 440W LED moving fixtures join the full complement of conventional units in the school’s lighting system to give it greater flexibility.
“We have been looking to make our lighting system more versatile to meet the varied demands we place on it,” said Ed Gilmartin, theatre manager/resident lighting designer at the American School in Jap

Europe - Ayrton’s ultra-compact MiniPanelFX unit was exhibited for the first time in mainland Europe at Prolight+Sound 2018 last month.
First launched at PLASA 2017 in London, MiniPanel-FX is a diminutive version of the MagicPanel-FX, and the first Ayrton product to undergo a miniaturisation process. This multi-function luminaire may be small in dimensions but it is mighty in output, with a zoom spread of 3.6° to 53°.
MiniPanel-FX is fitted with four of Ayrton’s 65mm square lenses arranged in a neat 2 x 2 configuration to form an extremely powerful beam and wash light with immense creative possibilities. Its four 35W RGBW multi-chip LED emitters are paired with a high-efficiency optical system to deliver up to 2,400 lumens from only 200W power consumption. Sophisticated 4-colour mixing and high CRI readings gives “an incredible range of colours from pastels an

UK - Keeping up with a hectic workload being experienced across all companies, Blackburn based lighting and video rental specialist the HSL Group has again increased its investment spend to keep up to speed with the newest technologies.
“This will help service ongoing and upcoming projects across all sectors - rental & staging, theatre, television, sporting events and concert touring. The rapid pace at which the technology is changing and the fact we want to keep ahead of the game is driving this, together with an increase in demand. It’s vital that we can continue offering our clients the very best options for all of their shows, events and creative projects,” commented HSL’s Simon Stuart.
Fixtures like the.Robe MegaPointe and the Martin MAC Encore have really made their mark, together with products from GLP, SGM and Vari*lite. Other top brands on the re

USA – For nearly two decades, ETC’s LDI Student Sponsorship has given students a way to gain experience, make connections and launch a career, and to attend the LDI tradeshow with all expenses paid. Applications for this year’s Sponsorship are available at www.etcconnect.com/LDISponsorship, and due by 8 June 2018.
ETC’s LDI Student Sponsorship includes roundtrip airfare to the LDI tradeshow, which will be 19 to 21 October this year, along with hotel accommodation, all meals, a full conference pass, a student reception to meet people in the industry, and exclusive ETC swag. Students in their final year of undergraduate study, graduate students, and students from outside of North America who are studying at the university level at the time of the LDI show, and who are studying lighting design, theatre technology, stage machinery, or closely related fields, are eligible

Europe - In the field of outdoor event and broadcast production, adverse climate and other environmental conditions can impact negatively on the performance of equipment and the ultimate quality of production work.
Environmentally sealed connectors are in great demand for heavy-duty and harsh environment applications with entertainment equipment like PA systems, lighting, signage and LED screens. So, for critical production applications, in the most challenging conditions, there is now a range of resilient and reliable solutions, in the shape of Neutrik’s new TOP product range.
The new series includes the powerCON TRUE1, etherCON and XLR products, which have been certified in accordance with IEC 61076-2-103, IEC 60320, UL 1977 and UL 498, and which now also meet the requirements for outdoor use and UV resistance as laid out in UL50E.
“It is now possible to

USA - A complete Avolites light and video integration system featuring the brand's latest Arena lighting console and two Ai R4 Media servers, was used to drive the lighting and video content for the 21st annual D.I.C.E Awards, held at the Mandalay Bay hotel, Las Vegas.
The D.I.C.E (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards celebrates the latest innovations in interactive entertainment in the video gaming industry. For its 2018 edition, the event's long-term lighting designer Joshua Schultz worked alongside Andre Huff, director of Limelite Design, who were tasked to deliver a light and video presentation within a set design of clean, structural lines to accompany the awards ceremony.
"Chris Wu from Hatch, one of the awards' production partners, let me run with the design this year," says Schultz. "I took a lot of my inspiration from the intro video to the Awards,

USA - Providing an appropriately intense visual backdrop for The National on its current global tour in support of its seventh album, Sleep Well Beast, is a 13-universe Michael Brown-designed lightshow that is being run with a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console.
The Nashville-based LD, who has been a ChamSys user since 2009, selected the MQ500 for this tour because the power and versatility of the console, particularly its effects engine, allow him to pull together diverse visual elements to match his client’s distinctive sound.
“The National are a unique band,” said Brown. “Their music and performances can vary from very intimate textural moments to all-out eruption. Their front man Matt Berninger embodies the escapism of a true performer. He can go from contemplative to this madman on stage amidst the dense backdrop of a mixed meter ballad and compl

USA - An early practitioner of Trip Hop, Bonobo was among the British DJs that influenced the course of electronic music in the 1990s. Later, he pushed the genre in a new, softer direction by blending his sound with elements of jazz and Hindu music. More recently, Bonobo has been at the forefront of the trend among DJs to work with bands, as he’s done on his tour in support of his Top Ten album Migration.
Backed by his band, Bonobo has created a more atmospheric sound that blends his jagged synths with instrumentation. In keeping with this expanded sound, the visual backdrop at his live shows, which is created with projection video, has become more about storytelling. Supporting this new look at Bonobo’s 23 March appearance at San Francisco’s Midway music hall was an engaging lightshow created by Bryce Cherpelis of 12BC Pro that was anchored by a collection of

Slovenia - Cankarjev Dom – Slovenia’s leading cultural and congress centre - has added Robe Spiiders, plus more BMFLs Blades and CycFX8s to its already extensive stock of Robe moving lights which also includes Pointes. They now have around 150 units.
The largest of five performance venues in the Cankarjev Dom complex is the 1650 capacity Concert Hall and in addition to these are the foyers and two galleries and conference rooms also used for events. It’s both a co-producing and a receiving house staging a wide variety of shows, events all year round, from opera to dance, popular music to choral, orchestra to drama and everything in between. Some venues and spaces are also hired out for corporate events and conferences.
Each venue has its own lighting rig and all of them need dynamic and flexible lighting to deal with the diverse programming, however some kit is a

Mexico - Ganesha Producciones is one of the latest rental and production companies in Mexico to invest in Robe Spiider LED wash beams, which were recently delivered by distributor Showco and much anticipated by owner Gerardo Hernández and his team.
The company was founded in 1996 by Gerardo and is based in central Mexico City. They are involved in technical production for many prestigious cultural events including government organised and sponsored shows and expositions, and also supply lighting, video and sound to corporates, music concerts and other shows. The company also has an architectural lighting division.
Gerardo has kept Ganesha tightly focussed on its core business. There are currently 20 full-time employees and they work with up to 80 regular freelance designers and technicians during the busy periods.
Gerardo has been a loyal Showco client for some

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