UK - Johnny Marr embarked on his UK tour, The Spirit Power, earlier this month, finishing at Rock City, Nottingham on 14 April.

Lighting designer Ed Warren, of Next Level Lights, put together a compact yet impactful lighting design for the 10-date tour with Ayrton laser-sourced Cobra fixtures playing a key role.

The full rig included 16 Ayrton Cobra rigged on two over-stage trusses with four more Cobra units sited upstage of the band, the latter of which formed the touring floor package.

“We used them as big, bright wash lights with whic

USA - Las Vegas-based OSA International provided Ayrton Huracán LT and Zonda 9 FX lighting fixtures, grandMA3 consoles and MDG TheONE atmospheric generators to lighting designer Aldo Visentin for the North American leg of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s arena tour. Ayrton, MA Lighting and MDG are all brands exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment.

Andrea Bocelli kicked off his run of US and Canadian dates with a Valentine’s Day performance in Raleigh, North Carolina and wrapped his tour in Detroit on 14 April. OSA International provided t

USA - The 1,500-capacity Showtime Theatre show lounge and central entertainment hub of the 306m long Carnival Magic cruise ship has been upgraded with the installation of 30 x new Robe Painte, 30 x LEDBeam 350 and 12 x miniPointe moving lights, which were installed while the ship was still in operation around Miami.

Co-ordinating the upgrade project was Carnival Cruise Line fleet supervisor for lighting Silviu Ardelean and lighting manager Alexander Nelson, who explained that the refit saw the replacement of the original moving lights.

The three-tiered sho

UK - The recently announced Profile Awards have created much interest within the industry, with sponsorship take up for all the 16 Awards. The Headline Sponsor is Ayrton with the TV Awards being sponsored by ChamSys, ELP, LCR, Light Initiative, Roxxlight and Version 2 Lights. The Theatre Awards are sponsored by Chauvet, Elation, ETC, Fix8, GLP, TSL, SLX and Vari-Lite; the pre-show bar is sponsored by Ambersphere Solutions and the Goody Bags at the end of the evening are sponsored by JLL.

The Profile Awards have been created and are coordinated by Durham and Jennie

USA - On the winter leg of Disturbed’s Take Back Your Life tour, Alex Mungal created a raw, powerful visual dimension that matched the intensity of the music.

Featuring multiple layers of lighting fixtures that projected colours and pixel effects in every direction - and often enveloped the band in brilliant hues – in addition to serving up volcanic eruptions of pyro effects and fog, the production design fused seamlessly with the gripping music to create an overwhelmingly moving and all-embracive experience.

Mungal and the design team were ab

USA - Altman Lighting has announced the appointment of Ethan Aberg as the new regional manager for the western region of the United States.

Ethan Aberg brings over 20 years of experience in the lighting fixtures and controls industry with a proven track record at Martin Professional where he contributed to the development and execution of the annual sales strategy and objectives for the Martin by Harman Professional lighting division for the installation market. As the North American brand ambassador he contributed to supporting relationships with regional sales t

Europe - Lighting designer and programmer Jimmy Olausson was with his client, Avatar, on their European tour, when the metal band suddenly released a new song, Make It Rain, and asked him to programme looks for it.

“Normally, I prefer to do my programming in my office where I can focus on the details, so creating the lighting for Make It Rain during the tour was a challenge,” said Olausson. “But it turned out to be a fantastic addition to our set and gave me the opportunity to think outside the box, crafting a visual style for this song tha

Spain - The growing Avolites team has welcomed aboard Gonzalo Herranz Gutierrez as a senior product specialist, who will be based in Madrid, and will be providing comprehensive support related services to Avolites customers and distributors focusing on Europe and Latin America including training new users and their own sales and support staff.

Avolites MD Paul Wong stated, “We’ve worked with Gonzalo for many years and are absolutely thrilled he’s joining the Avolites global team.

“He brings long lasting relationships, a strong knowledge of the mark

USA – Harman Professional Solutions has introduced the Martin MAC Viper XIP, the next-generation Viper-class fixture that integrates Viper performance, Martin’s patent-pending XIP weatherproofing technology, and the most robust feature set Martin has ever developed. Drawing on features that defined the renowned Viper lineup, MAC Viper XIP sets a new standard for all-in-one performance, innovation, and reliability. 

Integrating powerful lumen output, XIP water and dust ingress protection, and whisper-silent noise levels, MAC Viper XIP is not only designed for

France - The renowned Théâtre de la Renaissance is the latest venue in Paris to choose ETC gear to upgrade its lighting. ETC dealer So What & Co supplied High End Systems Halcyon Titanium fixtures for the Parisian theatre.

Well-known spaces across France including the Bordeaux Opera, the Théâtre National Populaire, the Comédie Française and the Grand Théâtre de Provence have all recently selected Halcyon automated fixtures to light their spaces. In the heart of the 10th arrondissement of Paris, the Théâtre de la Renaissance also made the same choice

Slovenia - Writer, actor and TV personality Lado Bizovicar presented the 2024 Slovenska Muska extravaganza, staged at Ljubljana’s Stožice arena, the first time in the venue’s history that a 360-degree show had been presented, which bumped up the capacity to 13,000, with every seat sold.

The production and lighting design was created by Crt Birsa of design studio Blackout and Greta Godnic and recorded for broadcast. Crt utilised 355 Robe lighting fixtures in the 500+ luminaires on the rig, from the high-powered Forte to the scenic Patt 2013 plus seven other ty

Argentina - Singer and former YouTuber María Becerra made history as the first Argentine female artist to sell out River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, the largest venue in Argentina, for two consecutive nights, 22-23 March 2024. A large complement of Claypaky fixtures illuminated the show designed by creative director Julian Levy and lit by lighting designers and programmers Pablo Martinelli and Joaquin Boerr from Gou Studio.

A leading voice in Argentina’s urban pop movement, the 24-year-old Becerra began her career at the age of 12 on Facebook then created he

Australia - Novatech Creative Event Technology of Adelaide, the first production company in Australia to hold stock of Ayrton’s IP65-rated Domino Wash fixtures, invested in 48 units, supplied by Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Australia, Show Technology, and immediately put them to work on the Adelaide Festival.

Domino Wash is an all-terrain luminaire developed specifically for resisting hot or cold weather, wind, rain, hail, sand or dust.

“We’d been looking for a high-powered moving wash light with a Fresnel lens for more theatrical uses, as we

Europe - Claypaky Rhapsodya is a low-noise multi-spectral RGBAL LED fixture designed for various applications such as touring, live events, theatre, and TV production, and managed by a specially crafted, internally developed firmware algorithm.

It is an evolution of Sinfonya, particularly regarding the focus on quality of optics and colour management, and the quiet operation even at full output. Rhapsodya has a new product design that is sleek and modern, with a double power output (24,000 lm) compared to Sinfonya.

Traditional fixtures utilized four focal

Europe - Elation‘s KL Series full-colour PAR light is now available in an IP65 version, the KL PAR FC IP, that makes it an even more versatile luminaire for production settings indoors or out. This theatrical and broadcast-grade luminaire pairs modern technology with classic design, serving as a key, fill, and area wash light source for broadcast environments, film, theatre, or ‘any production requiring outstanding colour quality’.

Colour rendering quality, fully variable CCT control, and remotely adjustable LED refresh frequency– all in a traditional PAR

UK - Highlite International has announced an operational restructure and relocation of its customer support and services within the UK.

Highlite's UK operations have recently relocated to new facilities in Colchester, Essex. The move sees the expansion of the regional offices, service department and UK stockholding, as well as the welcoming of a newly-appointed sales director, David Drane, and an increase in support resources and technician team members.

The new facilities and operational changes provide Highlite with a long-term strategic move for acceler

UK - Visitors to PLASA Focus Leeds (14-15 May, Royal Armouries) who stop by the ChamSys Stand (N-B23) will have the opportunity to see something that will “take them to an entirely new place,” the company says.

ChamSys is promoting the UK debut of its new MagicQ MQ500M+ Stadium Console at PLASA Focus Leeds with the slogan ‘Go Where No Other Console Has Gone Before’. The latest addition to the company’s MagicQ M series is capable of supporting 400 universes directly from the console without requiring external processing.

Along with showcasing this

Norway - Robe has announced Oslo-based Prostage as its new exclusive distributor for Norway. Michel Arntz, Robe’s key account manager for Europe states: “Norway is an important market and in Prostage we have a strong and proactive partner to move our business forward to the next level and are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with the team there.”

Prostage AS was established in 2008 by CEO Gunnar Waldemar Naas to offer quality and cost-efficient professional lighting, sound and stage products. A full-time staff of 22 manage a streamlined

Luxembourg - Rockhal Club is amongst the latest to have taken stock of Ayrton Mistral S and Levante S fixtures, which were supplied to the venue through Ayrton’s Belgian distributor, FACE.

Situated in the Centre de Musiques Amplifiées on the Avenue du Rock’n’Roll in the industrial heritage area of Belval in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, Rockhal has two main venues amongst its rehearsal and creative studios. The 6000-capacity Main Hall has seen many bands and performers pass through its doors, including Mariah Carey, Iron Maiden, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Brya

USA – Jazz musician Brian Culbertson is out on his Trilogy Tour with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Named for his Red, Blue, and White albums, the tour features a mix of songs from the albums, as well as the greatest hits from his catalogue.

For the tour, lighting director Terese Fensler sought to create looks with negative space and loads of energy, saying: “Brian's show is very funky for a jazz artist. With all the instrumental hits and solo moments, I tried to pull back some so that those short moments were b

USA - Elation has introduced ColourTune Technology, a lighting fixture software that allows for “unprecedented control over output and colour accuracy” across Elation’s range of full-spectrum LED lighting fixtures.

“With ColourTune, users can customize lighting output to meet their exact needs, whether emphasizing brightness or colour fidelity. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, ensuring adaptability and colour precision for the highest quality lighting designs,” the company says.

Bob Mentele, associate product manager at Elation, was i

Canada – Montreal-based PixMob has been bringing its immersive crowd-lighting experience to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) since its inception. PixMob already engaged more than 14,000 fans at the three home opener games in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal with its LED wearables. Now, the company is gearing up for the historic game between Montreal and Toronto on 20 April at the Bell Centre, where a new women’s hockey attendance record is expected to be set.

The partnership was born out of PixMob’s dedication to bring the same big league experienc

USA - More than a few people sitting close to the stage during Beartooth’s recently concluded 40-city North American tour, reportedly felt they were in an arena once the band’s 75-minute show started, even though they were actually at 1,000 or 2,000 capacity club venues.

Early in the planning stages of the tour, Caleb Shomo, frontman and founder of the metal band, told Victor Zeiser, head of Squeek Lights, that he wanted to hit the road with “an arena level production that works in clubs.” Zeiser and lighting designer-programmer Ben Jarrett duly delivered.

Europe - Owing to the continued growth of the business, and the imminent move to the new HQ in Colne, Bradley Jeffrey has recently been appointed as group operations director at Prolight Concepts.

In this new role, Bradley will help bolster the business logistically and strategically. Bradley has been in the business for over 10 years, and has worked in all areas, which has provided him with the knowledge and understanding to streamline and grow the business with other directors, managers and workforce.

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