UK - Trade distributor JHS & Co. Ltd. Has launched its new website (www.jhs.co.uk). The fast, responsive site allows mobile, tablet, PC and Mac users to access a whole host of new features in a fresh and stylish interface - making it easy to navigate all 70+ of JHS' represented brands and almost 6000 individual products with descriptions, comparable specifications, images and masses of video content.

New features also include social media and manufacturer website links to enhance the user experience with further information on products, and an up-to-the-minute news section with additional useful links including products articles, shows & events, designer backgrounds and even career opportunities at JHS.

An interactive Dealership Locator with contact info, directions and street view facility can be accessed directly at product level for consumers to find their nearest stock

USA - Times, tastes and celebrities may change, but the grandiose Beverly Hilton has continuously embodied chic California cool since it opened in 1955. From Marilyn to Madonna and on to Miley and Pink, the rich, famous and beautiful have congregated at this swank spot.

The hotel's AquaStar Pool is where A-Listers fresh from the Golden Globe Awards, Oscar Nominees Luncheon or one of the 100 or so other red carpet events held here annually frequently gather to mingle. Now the famous pool deck has become even more dazzling, thanks to a collection of Chauvet Professional and Iluminarc fixtures installed by AMP'D Entertainment.

The new lighting system is intended to give the iconic pool deck an updated, vibrant look. Given the variety of top drawer functions that take place at the pool, flexibility (along with a generous serving of colour) were the key factors in selecting the

UK - Robe lighting was a technical partner in the 2016 MIRA digital arts festival, staged for the first time in Berlin. The event focuses on the intersection between electronic music and live visuals and presents a selection of invigorating collaborations, special projects and the opportunity for artists working in all areas of music and visual arts to imaginer works that can be enjoyed and appreciated by all.

Lighting designers Alexandr Letcius and Alexandr Sinitsa from the Russian based Tundra Collective utilised 34 x Pointes and 10 x Robe Strobes for their large scale sound and lighting sculpture, Hyperjump, presented in Recording Hall 2 of the Kultursaal Funkhaus which hosted the 2016 MIRA event.

The Funkhaus is a massive former factory building on the banks of the River Spree in downtown Berlin which served as the active HQ of the former GDR national radio broadcaster

USA - As one of the most successful bands over the last 25 years, the Dave Matthews Band has a string of hits to their credit with over 30m in record sales worldwide. The popular jam band is also known as a must-see summer touring act and this year are playing amphitheaters and select arenas across the US beneath a rig that includes Elation Colour Chorus Series LED battens and SixPar 200 LED Par lights.

Lighting and scenic designer is Fenton Williams, who has been with the rock group since the band formed in 1991. He has been handling the designs for lighting, scenic and video since 1995 when the band began to carry its own production.

Draped behind the band and a series of horizontal trusses is a large backdrop curtain that required a wash of coloured light. "We're using Colour Chorus fixtures to uplight the backdrop behind the band and the SixPar 200s as truss toners in

The Netherlands - Philips Lighting has announced the appointment of Philips executive Colin Kavanagh as the company's new head of its entertainment lighting business.

Kavanagh will take on this new role as head of entertainment lighting with immediate effect, which will see him relocating to Dallas, Texas where he is tasked with growing Philips Lighting's presence in the entertainment sector - specifically with lighting for theaters, festivals, experiential retail outlets, theme parks, arts venues, exhibition spaces, leisure venues, holiday destinations and the night club industry.

Kavanagh has extensive commercial and technical experience pertinent to his new role.

"I am developing a sector-specific strategy that will greatly enhance how the Entertainment team works and take the business to the next level," explains Kavanagh. "At Philips Lighting, we have an unparalle

USA - Chauvet Professional is spreading rich vivid colours to more places. Following up on its popular Ovation E-910FC RGBA-Lime ellipsoidal, the company is raising the bar in colour wash and cyc lighting with the introduction of the first Ovation batten style fixtures. Like their ellipsoidal forbearer, the new Ovation B-2805FC and Ovation B-565FC battens feature an RGBA-Lime LED system that creates bolder, more vivid colours and brighter whites.

"Our original RGBA-Lime fixture met with a very enthusiastic reception, because it opened a whole new realm of colour mixing possibilities for designers," said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. "The natural thing for us to do was extend this colour mixing capability from the ellipsoidal to the batten category. Our new Ovation battens offer the broadest palette you can find in a batten style fixture."

Aside from putting a rainbow of

USA - LMG Touring has supplied a full lighting package including over 200 Elation ACL 360i beam effect fixtures for rappers G-Eazy and Logic's co-headlining The Endless Summer tour.

G-Eazy's production designer Sooner Routhier developed the design concept for G-Eazy's set. She comments, "We needed a small, lightweight fixture that we could use to populate a series of pods upstage. Management wanted to see a wall of lights behind G-Eazy that could create a lot of EDM style effects and the 360i ACL fit the bill perfectly."

Each compact single-beam ACL 360i light houses a single 60W RGBW LED and projects a narrow 4° beam. With the ability to rotate continuously 360-degrees, the large matrix of beam fixtures makes for a creative and eye-catching show of ever-changing rays of light.

The all-star rap tour features 568 lighting fixtures in all. "We wanted to make sure tha

UK - Event technical production specialist Central Presentations Limited (CPL) has invested in 80sq.m of new ROE Black OnyX 3.4 mm LED screen plus ROE LED strip product - both of which are going directly onto a job in London and will then be available from the west Midlands, UK based company's rental stock.

CPL project manager Simon Haydon explains that this screen was chosen because as a high quality HD indoor product and in keeping with the company's commitment to stocking premium brands, ROE is one of the best known and most widely used brands in the European rental and staging markets, and has gained a great reputation for being practical and innovative.

"We purchased it as a versatile all-round solution that will be perfect for the range of shows and events we service," confirms Simon.

Robust magnetised magnesium alloy frames and bumper-bars with clamps that hold

UAE - The Lock, Stock & Barrel in Dubai was inspired by the trend of casual, industrial and live music venues all over the world. Spread over two floors and with more than 800sq.m, it focuses on live music events and sports with two bars, a live music stage and eleven screens.

Lighting designer Ben M Rogers of ArchiLX worked alongside the interiors team from mid 2015 to be ready for opening in the first half of 2016. For lighting control he specified an MA Lighting dot2 XL-B console running an Art-Net based network driving all the show and architectural lighting in the venue.

Rogers explained his reason to vote for the dot2: "I have been programming MA consoles for the last nine years. The new software platform and industrial build of the dot2 provided a perfect product for this installations - combining the power and flexibility of the grandMA2 series in an intuitive, acc

USA - Behind the Scenes has announced that lighting designer and theatre consultant Dawn Chiang has accepted an invitation to join its Board of Directors. Upon her acceptance Dawn commented, "Behind the Scenes helps address an important need to technology professionals within the entertainment industry -- issuing grants to those in need due to serious illness or injury. I am honoured to join the board of Behind the Scenes to help support such an important, and often overlooked issue."

Dawn has designed lighting on Broadway, Off Broadway, the New York City Opera, regional theatres across the country, and concert tours. A few highlights include Zoot Suit on Broadway; work at Manhattan Theatre Club, Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Guthrie Theatre; and a Paul Anka tour. Dawn has earned two Drama-Logue Critics' Awards and numerous nominations around the cou

USA - Prior to Major League Baseball's 2016 All-Star Game on 12 July at Petco Park in San Diego, an All-Star Game FanFest took place the week leading up to the annual Midsummer Classic. One of the FanFest's most popular events was the MLB All-Star Bash where top acts Akon, Fall Out Boy and DJ Vice performed beneath a lighting rig that included Platinum Series moving heads, ACL Bar 360 LED effect lights and Colour Chorus Series LED battens from Elation Professional.

Held on 10 July at the Sails Pavilion at the San Diego Convention Centre, Aspect Lighting of Southern California, managed by owner Sid Khera, supplied the lighting and truss structure for the event. Lighting design was by Phil Shearer of lighting and production design company Shearer Entertainment with Aspect Lighting's Larry Doerr providing creative design and layout input. Lighting design assistance was from Nick

USA - Music critics sometimes struggle to describe the sound of CLASSIXX, a production duo made up of childhood friends Michael David and Tyler Blake that achieved widespread acclaim in the early 2000s as remixers for groups like Phoenix and Yacht. Going beyond standard banger-style electronic music, the twosome deliver a blend of house, funk and indie influences into their work - all while managing to sound captivatingly retro without being sentimental.

Lighting designer Noah Sharp captured the intricate spirit of CLASSIXX's music in light at the recent album release show for their much-anticipated second LP Faraway Reach, which was held at the historic 800-seat El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. A key part of Sharp's design was the retro uplighting looks he created with the Rogue R1 Wash from Chauvet Professional.

Sharp used six Rogue R1 Washes in his floor package, c

UK - Drapes, special effects specialist S+H Technical was asked by creative production design practice Scott Callaghan Art Production, run by Sid Scott & Alison Callaghan in Cardiff to provide large quantities of their RGB LED starcloth to the high profile National Eisteddfod of Wales, this year staged in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.

Set designer Sid Scott worked closely with lighting designer Nigel Catmur on crafting the aesthetic for the main hub of the event, the Pafiliwn, an 1800 capacity theatre space which hosts various live performances, competitions and the main crowning ceremonies held throughout the week-long event.

This year for the first time the Pafiliwn was staged in a new venue - a 60m long by 40m deep pavilion structure from staging specialist Neptunus Structures, based on their fully insulated Evolution II temporary building system and featuring around 9m o

Singapore - LD Mac Chan was part of the team led by creative director Beatrice Chia who made every Singaporean burst with pride on their 2016 National Day Parade (NDP) and this year, for the first time, the event was staged at the new National Stadium. With a live audience of 50,000, a TV audience of around 5m plus a few more million tuning in to the live internet stream, there was plenty of pressure on everyone to deliver.

Mac needed to fill the vast space of the National Stadium with light and chose 500 of Robe's powerful and versatile BMFL luminaires as the main moving lights - 400 BMFL Blades and 100 BMFL Spots - all rigged on trusses flown in the stadium roof and supplied by leading Singapore rental company, Showtec Communications Pte. Ltd.

The theme of this year's NDP looked forward to the future and the next 50 years of Singapore - having just celebrated the foundat

Switzerland - After almost 17 years of construction, the grand opening of the Gothard Base Tunnel was celebrated on 1 June with more than 1000 guests.

Winkler Multi Media Events, one of the leading Swiss event service providers, was responsible for equipping the production of theatre director Volker Hesse. Once again, Winkler used Rock Solid Technologies' RockSwitch in order to secure the four light control desks.

"For many years, we have been trustng in our RockSwitches as a backup solution," says Roni Huber, project manager at Winkler. "Being a responsible event service provider, we have to ensure that everything is running as smoothly as possible, not just on stage but also behind the scenes, even in the worst possible case.

"In the light control field, the RockSwitch allows us to obtain the required security. It is definitely a very useful device that should not be

UK - Philips Lighting reports that 40 Philips Showline SL NITRO 510C LED strobes delivered maximum impact on chart-topping British DJ Wilkinson's packed out live performance at Manchester's Parklife festival.

Following on from his live shows at more than 20 venues around Europe, the drum and bass giant has embarked on a string of festival dates. One of the first stops was Parklife, with Wilkinson performing his live show on the Sunday of the Heaton Park takeover.

Lighting designer James Baker of Creative Video Design chose the Philips SL NITRO 510C strobes as part of his dynamic yet flexible floor package. With tight festival timescales and a small amount of space for storage backstage, Baker comments that the compact dimensions yet stunning output of the Philips SL NITRO 510C made it ideal:

"We needed a fixture that was light and had low power consumption but would al

UK - C venues is back at the Edinburgh Fringe for its 25th year, creating and curating more than 20 theatre, performance and exhibition spaces at pop-up venues in and around the city centre. This year, C venues' visiting designers and technicians are using some of the latest products from ETC for a vibrant and packed programme of theatre, circus, cabaret, musicals, dance, comedy and children's shows.

"ETC has been supporting C venues for a number of years, allowing us to improve the capability of our venues and exposing ETC products to young, up-and-coming theatre companies and technicians," says Richard Williamson, head of production, C venues. "ETC has a long reputation for producing well-built, reliable equipment and providing an exceptional level of technical support; and we are thrilled to be using the new ETC ColorSource consoles and lanterns.

"The consoles are a gre

UK - The judging panel of the Knight of Illumination Awards 2016 Concert Touring and Events category has announced its shortlisted designers for the highly-anticipated ceremony next month at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.

The panel, led by new Chairperson for this year Coral Cooper, is made up of deputy editor of Lighting&Sound International magazine Claire Beeson, head of lighting design at creative agency Imagination Jonny Milmer, editor of Total Production International magazine Kelly Murray and formally-trained lighting designer and experienced video content creator Miguel Ribeiro. Beeson, Milmer and Ribeiro are also new to the process for 2016.

"The incredibly high standard of entries for the KOI Awards Concert Touring and Events category made selecting a shortlist a real challenge," says Claire Beeson. "It's been an honour to witness the vast and varied array of wo

USA - X-Laser has completely redesigned and re-engineered their most popular entry-level laser system, the Mobile Beat. The result is the all-new Mobile Beat Mirage. As X-Laser USA's ninth generation of the Mobile Beat, the Mobile Beat Mirage presents a versatile yet accessible system for creating sharp graphics and vividly colourful beam shows.

"We looked at the feedback we received from mobile entertainers using previous versions of the Mobile Beat, and took that into consideration when designing the Mirage," Adam Raugh, X-Laser's president, said. "Our product development team knocked it out of the park and jam-packed as many quality features and components into the Mirage as possible, while maintaining a sharp focus on keeping the unit affordable for anyone looking for a great 'starter' laser."

The components to which Raugh refers include precision 30K graphics scanners

USA - Bandit Lites recently added the new Chauvet Rogue R1 FX-B to its massive touring inventory, making Bandit the first in the world to take these fixtures out on tour.

"Building on the popular automated pixel mappable batten category of fixtures currently in the market place, Chauvet found a way to make it unique to them," explained Bandit's director of technical services Jake Tickle. "The ability to individually tilt each of the five LED cells enables countless creative ways to use the fixture."

The Rogue R1 FX-B can currently be seen on Shinedown's Carnival of Madness tour (lighting design by Sooner Routhier, lighting director Carter Fulghum), which is currently crisscrossing the nation, and country music heartthrob Chris Lane (lighting design by Andy Knighton).

"Creatively, its limits are endless," finished Tickle. "From pixel mapping, to a miniature automated AC

Australia - In the heart of the central business district of Melbourne lies the popular Spice Market bar, ultra lounge and nightclub. Offering an eclectic programme of DJs, live performances, and award-winning food against a stunning backdrop of Indo-Asian design, the chic nightspot draws a diverse cross section of people.

Recently, in hopes of continuing their longstanding success, owners Geremy and Dean Lucas decided to update and renovate their establishment, whilst adding a new dynamic visual spice. Designer Sohail e. Najafi of Najafi Design Group, helped them accomplish this goal with a new comprehensive theatrical and effect lighting system that featured approximately 30,000 pixel-mapped LEDs and DMX-controlled flying automation, all supported by Chauvet DJ Intimidator Spot LED 350 moving fixtures.

Najafi was initially faced with a couple of significant challenges wh

France - DesignScene, a UK and US based creative design and production specialist in live events, was recently commissioned by Lighthouse Creative Works, NYC, to design, realise and deliver an innovative and technical production for an exclusive party for Live Nation at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Lions event is an all-action global event renowned as the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals, designers, digital innovators and marketers.

The DesignScene team of 21, led by Attila Keskin delivered an environment for key influencers and movers-and-shakers who were in town for the Lions.

The party event culminated in a special acoustic performance by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl in a truly magical setting.

DesignScene also created two different innovative and highly visual 'cabana' meeting environments for Live Nation (

USA - Nashville once again held one of the largest Independence Day events in the country, as even with a dismal forecast, event organizers for Let Freedom Sing July 4 in Music City estimated than somewhere between 125,000 to 150,000 turned out to honour the nation's birthday along the river front.

Bandit Lites once again worked with Chris Lisle Lighting Designs to provide lighting for the celebration. In the eight years he has been involved with the event, production manager Chris Lisle has seen the event grow to three active stages across six city blocks.

"This event has become a destination event for tourism, so we are excited for that growth," said Lisle. "Nashville is the "it" city right now and with that comes an increase in residents and tourist. It is our objective each year to out-do the last - whether that be size of shells used in the firework show to the

UK - MDG's theONE, the award-winning, touring dual haze and fog generator, has been bought by Liverpool-based Adlib to strengthen its 'complete package' offering to production managers and lighting designers.

No sooner had theONE atmospheric generator arrived, it immediately joined American blues rocker, Joe Bonamassa, as he toured the UK and Europe this summer paying tribute to three of the legends of the British Blues, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Post tour, theONE will feature at various prestigious events Adlib is involved in after the summer festival season.

For Adlib's lighting & video general manager, Mike Docksey, theONE was the only choice. He explains, "We felt it was the most suitable product on the market with a good reputation to add to our armoury for large scale live events. As we constantly grow our inventory and the scale of events which we unde

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