USA - CEO of the PRG Music Group, Mickey Curbishley has announced that he will be leaving Production Resource Group as of 30 June, 2016. As CEO of PRG's Music Group, Curbishley oversaw business development and client support for concert tours, special events, television, and other music-related projects around the world.

"After 18 great years at PRG, I have decided to move on," says Curbishley. "Looking back what a fantastic journey it has been. From a tiny warehouse in West London where we spent the first week removing dead pigeons to the glamorous Hollywood Hills. I have been extremely proud of the professional and personal achievements my time at PRG has afforded me but now I feel it is time to begin a new journey in this amazing and ever-changing industry."

Curbishley also notes that he wants to thank the people that have made his journey at PRG so special. "I will mis

France - Ayrton has introduced MagicBurst, billed as the industry's first dynamic LED strobe. The high-power graphic LED strobe offers continuous, unlimited rotation on its pan and tilt axes.

MagicBurst is the company's first strobe unit, and the world's only motorised strobe. MagicBurst's 384 x 384 mm squared face supports 3,840 high-output white LEDs grouped into 64 pixels on an 8 x 8 matrix. With a new ultra-compact 1,300W power supply, MagicBurst can deliver a peak light output of over 240,000 lumens - perfectly calibrated at 5600K - for several seconds, and put it into continuous rotation.

The strobe duration, speed and intensity of each LED pixel group can be individually controlled, and individual sections controlled to create graphic arrays, moving checker-boards, flashing letters, etc. MagicBurst also has a library of fixed images and pre-programmed dynamic effect

UK - As a part of the company's 40th anniversary celebrations, ETC has something extra special in store for visitors to the ABTT Theatre Show at London's Alexandra Palace. For the first time in Europe, ETC will be hosting interactive training sessions with its new ColorSource consoles.

In tandem with the exhibition, ETC will be running a series of 70-minute training sessions in Suite 4 of Alexandra Palace's Palm Court. This is an opportunity to get an overview of the capabilities and benefits of the entire ColorSource range of products, followed by a more in-depth look at the current and forthcoming ColorSource consoles.

The sessions will include an interactive demonstration of ColorSource consoles; each attendee will have hands-on access to a desk, and can explore the main operational features. As an added bonus, participants will be automatically entered into a prize dra

The Netherlands - Philips Lighting reports that its LED RGBW strobe the SL NITRO 510C is out on tour with synthpop trio Chvrches. As part of the band's brief to create 'distorted reality', the Philips SL NITRO 510C delivers special effects as part of a lighting design by Louis Oliver and James Scott of Okulus.

The design house - which also created the concept for the band's 2013 tour - specified 46 of the award-winning strobe from Philips Lighting. The units were supplied by PRG for the UK leg and Special Event Services (SES) in the States. Oliver and Scott augmented the design with 33 extra units for the larger headline shows.

The designers explain the band wanted a strong video element but without using a conventional screen. "Any video content was to look more like lighting and effects than actual high definition video," says Oliver. The solution was to create five slig

Germany - Maisel's Weissbierfest (Maisel's Beer Festival) is as much part of Bayreuth as is the famous Richard Wagner Festival. While the Richard Wagner Festival focuses on the fine arts, Maisel's Weissbierfest stands for a good atmosphere, regional specialities and - in particular - a diverse and top-class live music programme.

This year, over 3,000 spectators witnessed seven different acts. The highlight on Saturday evening was the 80s rock legend Europe (The Final Countdown). With their riveting show, the Swedish outfit proved that they still have what it takes.

Lighting and sound at Maisel's Weissbierfest were again the responsibility of TC Showtechnik from Weilheim. The team headed by Martin Schulze relied on stands from Adam Hall Group brand Gravity for Europe's performance. "They have proven their worth," says Schulze. In addition to the fresh new appeal, the

USA - Cyndi Lauper's career has spanned more than 30 years, and while she's known as a pop pioneer, she's recently made another bold move to country airwaves with her newest album, Detour.

Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the first leg of the Grammy, Tony and Emmy-award winning performer's summer tour, which kicked off in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium.

In addition to performing songs from her new album, Lauper also treats fans to her classic hits, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and True Colors while telling anecdotes of her adventures. "I have an idea of how I am going to put a little country in all of some of the songs I will be singing,' Lauper said. "You know, why not? What the heck. You live once."

Her show features a five piece band and artful set comprising of a video wall that showcases Western flicks and footage of Cyndi in the

USA - MayFest marks the start of the summer music festival season for residents of Chicago. A three-day celebration of food, drink and community spirit, the event showcases local musical talent.

Headlining this year's festival on Sunday night, was 7th Heaven. Lighting designer Zach Scott added punch to the band's MayFest appearance with a ground package that was anchored by Rogue R2 Beams by Chauvet Professional.

"There's a large and loyal following for 7th Heaven in Chicago and the Midwest. One of the things that draws fans to this band is its incredibly high energy level." said Scott. "My goal is to reflect this energy level by producing a high impact lighting design - and the R2 Beams allow me to do that. I love the look of the beams, especially when I'm on the festival circuit."

Scott has plenty of opportunities to use the Rogue R2 Beams along with the lasers, LED

Canada - Telemiracle, the annual telethon in Saskatchewan, Canada that benefits the Kinsmen Foundation, celebrated its 40th anniversary with a 21-hour, commercial-free live broadcast on the province's CTV affiliates.

This year lighting designer Linus MacDonald stepped up the show's look with Clay Paky Scenius moving head spotlights.

The Kinsmen Foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization that assists Saskatchewan people to acquire special needs equipment and access to medical treatment. The telethon was staged at Conexus Arts Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan; the production alternates between Regina and Saskatoon annually.

Linus MacDonald marked his fifth consecutive turn as lighting designer for Telemiracle, which continues to increase its production values year to year. "This time we had new Sony cameras and the fabulous Scenius fixtures," he notes. "The show has

Benelux - Kristof van Mensel is one of a new wave of highly original LDs from Benelux, and currently part of innovative design and programming collective, TCF bvba (The Creative Factory). He's involved in a myriad of exciting lighting and visual projects that embrace multiple performance genres from hardstyle dance to choral!

The eleven 20th anniversary concerts staged by Scala & Kolacny Brothers at the Stadsfeesthall in Aarschot was a great opportunity for him to utilize nearly 150 Robe fixtures to deliver these memorable and visually compelling sold-out performances, playing to 750 people a time.

Their material is an eclectic mix of special arrangements from well-known artists like Coldplay, Metallica, Radiohead, U2, Nirvana and many others, interspersed with their own material. As you might expect, it veers from classical to rock to full-on techno; from raw and intense

UK - Riders are revving up to participate in the 2016 First Night Riders 'Magical Mystery' charity motorbike and classic car ride, visiting theatres across the country to raise money and awareness for The Theatrical Guild (TTG).

This year's tour will take to the road between the 7th and 11th of July somewhere within 100 miles of central London.

The Theatrical Guild, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, has long helped those working in backstage and front of house roles during their times of need. The organisation offers advice, re-training opportunities or one-off grants to those who, due to a range of circumstances, may require support.

The ride has a new format this year. For the first time ever the route and venues that will be visited along the way are top secret. The details will be revealed at the Thursday night briefing on the 7th of July. More informati

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies will be showcasing the latest product highlights from their extensive brand portfolio at the ABTT 2016 Show - Alexandra Palace, London, UK, stand A40, 22-23 June.

AC-ET will be showcasing a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging, video, and film & TV solutions available from their vast portfolio of over 200 leading brands and five specialist sales divisions.

The stand will feature the very latest premium LED solutions from Chroma-Q. Designed and built to exacting standards in North America, the range has been adopted by many leading designers and specifiers for some of today's most demanding and prestigious lighting applications. Highlights include the innovative new Space Force LED space light; the Color One 100 RGBA, homogenous output LED PAR; award-winning Inspire family of colour-changing LED house lights; the hugely

USA - ETC has announced its Unison Mosaic Show Controller X (MSCX) has a new-and-improved version. It is now smaller, housed in a one-unit, 19-inch rack-mount enclosure. The updated Show Controller X is offered with capacities from 5,120 channels (10 universes) up to 50,000 channels of DMX-over-Ethernet. It is compatible with all existing and new Mosaic control systems that utilise Mosaic Designer 2 software.

"Mosaic Show Controller X was created for larger lighting and LED installations that demand synchronised control and extensive capabilities," explains ETC architectural product manager Lowell Olcott, "which is why the MSCX offers an extensive range of external triggering interfaces, including Ethernet, RS232 Serial, and more.

It also provides astronomical, real-time and lunar-time time-based control as well as video output for multiple pixel matrices simultaneously.

USA - Based in Brooklyn, NY, St. Lucia recently released their second studio album entitled Matter, which Rolling Stone says "bursts with light". Now needing to embark on a nationwide tour to support the album release, the band turned to production design house Cour Design who enlisted the assistance of Nashville-based tour provider Elite Multimedia to help them create a hard-hitting visual experience.

"Before we even started Cour Design, we were working with St. Lucia and it was actually their openness to implement our system for automatic playback of visuals that got our business going," began Gordon Droitcour, Cour Design. "The band has an evolving and different stage design aesthetic than most other artists, so we wanted to push the creative envelope on a design that also works well logistically. Using the Matter album cover as inspiration we knew wanted to i

USA - It was a sight to behold on Nashville's famous Broadway street as fans filled the famous stretch of honky-tonks to celebrate country music's biggest night at the CMT Awards. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the outdoor stage where long time Bandit client Jason Aldean ignited the crowd and the sky with his newest single, Lights Come On on live television.

Additional performances throughout the day included Billy Ray Cyrus, Cheap Trick and Thomas Rhett, meaning lighting designer Tom Kenny had to create a design that would balance daytime and evening looks, wow the live audience and translate well to the millions of viewers watching at home.

Bandit provided VL 3500 washes for fill, VL 3500 Spots as key light for band members, while VL 3000 Spots created patterns and chunky beams in the air. A combination of Robe Pointes, Solares Flares and Clay Paky Sharpys

Italy - Following the resounding success of the September concerts in the Arena Centrale of the Foro Italico in Rome and the two triumphant evenings on live TV on RAI UNO in October, Baglioni and Morandi have embarked again - by popular demand - on a bright new adventure around Italy, together with Clay Paky.

I Capitani Coraggiosi (the Courageous Captains), as they are known, will do a new series of three-hour concerts, consisting of 50 memorable Italian songs from the last 50 years. A super group of 21 multi-instrumentalists will perform on an innovative high-tech stage hosted in the sports halls of various Italian cities.

The challenge the new production team faced was to resume from the show's Rome format. Lighting designer Carlo Pastore had the task of explaining the choices the two artists helped make.

"Every sports hall has its own characteristics. We need

USA - Memorial Day marks the traditional kick-off to summer in the U.S. and music fans in southern Texas celebrated the long weekend at the Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso, dancing to the rhythms of Dutch DJ phenom Ti

Germany - Over 350 Robe fixtures rocked the main stage of the 2016 Mayday dance event at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, specified by lighting designer Ronnie Santegoeds from Netherlands based 4Light, who was asked to create a memorable lightshow by promoters, I-Motion.

Ronnie is a regular LD for Dutch hardstyle dance producer / promoter Art of Dance, with whom I-Motion co-promoted the most recent Syndicate event at the same venue.

On the strength of his work for that event, he was invited to produce the production lighting design for this leading house / trance phenomena.

The Robe count was impressive - 202 x Pointes, 121 x LEDWash 800s and 28 x CycFX 8s - all supplied by leading Netherlands based rental company, The Purple Group.

Ronnie created the visual design - lighting and video - working with Chris Das who coordinated the technical preparations for

USA - Belmont University in Nashville is about 468 miles from the border separating Florida from Georgia. But it was at this leafy Christian university where the world-famous Florida Georgia Line began in 2008, when Floridian Brian Kelley met Georgian Tyler Hubbard. It was an encounter that would lead two years later to the formation of one of the most successful country duos of all time. The group's current Dig Your Roots Tour gives fans a chance to learn more about the story behind Florida Georgia Line, while enjoying Kelley and Hubbard's latest hard driving country bro music, all animated by a Baz Halpin designed lightshow.

Halpin and his co-designer Chris Nyfyeld, both of Los Angeles-based Silent House Productions, are creating a visual mood that manages to be both intimate and impactful on the 60-city tour with a lightshow that's anchored by 62 Strike 4 multi-formated war

Australia - Vivid Sydney, a festival of light aiming to transform the Australian city into a wonderland of "light art", has recently reached out to Taronga Zoo, and lit up a trail with giant animal multimedia light sculptures.

The project was created by Ample Projects, with interactive lighting, sound effects and moving parts. The sculptures were presented with a great technologically advanced setup - the tender was won by Mandylights who created a colourful and atmospheric setting for the sculptures.

"The zoo is basically pitch black at night and in many areas we really had to start from scratch," commented Richard Neville of Mandylights. "There were some areas where we had complete free reign and others where we were complementing the lanterns."

Crucial to the lighting design were 130 x ShowPro Hex 18 LED PARs and 24 x ShowPro EX36 LED Floods, both of which have an I

Australia - Celebrated hip hop lighting designer Paul Owen - who has illuminated performances by Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash and The Streets - used a range of lighting control equipment from British manufacturer Avolites for the recent Restrung tour by Australian rap act Hilltop Hoods.

A live version of the trio's second orchestral album, Drinking from the Sun, Walking under Stars Restrung, the ambitiously grandiose tour took place in April and quickly sold out. It stopped at all five major Australian cities and featured the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Queensland (Brisbane), Adelaide, Melbourne and West Australian (Perth).

Owen made good use of Avolites' high-performance Sapphire Touch lighting console running Titan v9, which he used to create a stunning array of spectacular visual effects for the tour's larger shows.

"I really loved using the

UK - Penn Elcom has supplied around 250m of Osram Linearlight Flex short pitch power flex LED tape as part of a new, greener and more efficient lighting scheme for one of the UK's best-known university library buildings, The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford.

The striking neoclassical circular landmark, now Grade I listed, was designed by James Gibbs and constructed between 1737 and 1748 to house the Radcliffe Library (as it was known until 1860). It was funded from the estate of Dr John Radcliffe (1650-1714), arguably the most successful English physician of his day, who left his trustees a large sum of money with which to purchase both the land for the new building and an endowment to pay a librarian and purchase books. It was officially opened on April 1749.

Much more recently, Richard Francis of Oxford based electrical contractors Monard Electrical was asked to work on the in

Malaysia - The long-awaited Anugerah Juara Lagu 30 event was held on 24 January 2016 at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam. AJL is an annual music competition, which has been organized in Malaysia by TV3 since 1986.

Besides enjoying the performances by the artists themselves, the audience were impressed by the lights. The swirls and beams from the lighting fixtures formed a show within the show. The crowd saw a total of at least 190 lights, installed throughout the stadium, perform in unison.

The lighting designer skilfully coordinated the lights to merge harmoniously with each other. The most prominent and notable fixtures were the lights from the Clay Paky range. Acoustic & Lighting were able to spot 70 Sharpys installed around the stage and stands. Furthermore, a total of 20 Clay Paky B-EYE K20s, 22 Alpha Wash 1500s and 10 Alpha Spot HPE 1500s were used throughout the event, a

UK - Hawthorn has been awarded the contract to supply lighting and video equipment for New Order's festival tour, which kicked off at Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona on Saturday 18 June. The band are continuing their tour, consisting of 11 dates, visiting festivals such as Glastonbury, Latitude and Electric Picnic.

The concert touring division in Hawthorn is drawing upon its wide range of hire equipment, supplying lighting to specification, including Martin MAC Viper Profile, Clay Paky Sharpy and ETC Source 4 Profile fixtures.

Lighting is controlled using an Avolites Arena console. Glux 10mm LED panels and a 30-inch mirror ball will also feature in the package, along with two Hawthorn technicians who will accompany the tour.

The kit provided by Hawthorn supplements the existing equipment provided by the festivals.

Mick Freer, head of concert touring at Hawthorn,

The Netherlands - Ampco Flashlight Rental BV (AFR) has made a another substantial investment in Robe moving lights - with the purchase of 80 x DL7S Profile LED fixtures and 80 x LEDBeam 1000s.

The new order was delivered via Robe's Benelux distributor, Controllux and the lights have been busy ever since on a wide variety of projects - from TV shows to major live events.

AFR's lighting operations manager Marco de Koff explained how Robe has been on their radar for some time, but it was 2010 when they started looking more closely at the brand with the launch of the Robin range, including the MMX Spot and the LEDWash series.

'It was clear that Robe was taking a very innovative route in its product development, a trend that's continued and impressed a lot of people," says Marco.

As AFR has started receiving more artist rider and event design requests for Robe they have

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