Germany - Wacken fans don't let the weather stop them. It's not for nothing that ‘rain or shine’ is the rallying cry of party-loving metal fans who travel to northern Germany from all corners of the world for Wacken Open Air (WOA).
This year, metalheads had to be particularly strong. Days of constant rain had so softened the ‘Holy Ground’ of the festival site that a travel stop had to be imposed for the first time in the festival’s history. Anyone who made it onto the grounds though still got the full Wacken experience, including knee-deep mud.
Lighting designer Jerry Appelt, who has been associated with the massive metal festival for 20 years, has also experienced a lot in Wacken. “I am emotionally attached to the festival,” he said. “It was remarkable how the organisers dealt with the very difficult situation this year.”
More than ever, Elati

USA - At times it seemed that everything that could go wrong would go wrong at the one-day Desert Sky Music Festival in Chandler, AZ. Not only did rain delay the 2pm start of the first act by over 30 minutes, but once the music started playing, bumps in the road kept threatening to derail the best-laid plans.
“The event gods were not smiling on us,” said John Garberson of Creative BackStage, who set up production for Desert Sky. “It rained off and on for eight hours, creating a lot of mud. There was a power outage, a medical emergency, though fortunately that turned out ok, and networking issues that disrupted the sound and lighting.”
Still, no one in the sold-out crowd of 15,000 was thinking about any of these snafus when the curtain went down on the festival late that night. They were too busy savouring the good times, and the rollicking music they just enjoy

USA - We Came As Romans recently wrapped the fall leg of their Darkbloom II headlining tour, a 30-date run with a lighting system from Bandit Lites. The metalcore band kicked off on 10 October in Indianapolis and made its way throughout the country, culminating in Nashville, Tennessee on 19 November.
Lighting designer Corbin Alvae worked with guitarist Lou Cotton and bassist Andy Glass who sought to recreate a ‘black hole’ style stage design and update it with a space feel. A 10ft diameter circle truss was outlined with Elation ACL 360i fixtures as well as Elation DTW Blinder IP 65 fixtures.
“The band played around with different ideas and concepts, but the final look that was seen on this tour was absolutely solid looking and how everything panned out at the end looked wild,” said Alvae.
The large circle truss required them to adjust depending on

France - ETC’s automated fixtures range Halcyon has been selected by the noted Parisian theatre, la Comédie-Française.
A total of 27 Halcyon Platinum fixtures and 12 Halcyon Gold fixtures have been installed at the famous theatre, which has several productions including French plays by Molière, Racine, Corneille and others. A cultural institution, la Comédie-Française is the only French national theatre since 1680 to have a permanent drama troupe.
Sales manager for France Nicolas Da Canal comments: “la Comédie-Française already has High End Systems SolaFrame Studio, SolaFrame 2000 and SolaFrame 3000 moving lights installed which have been particularly appreciated for their colour-mixing quality. The team at the theatre were therefore happy to again proceed with High End Systems automated lights in their process of further transitioning to LED.”
The H

UK - LSi is sad to report that Richard Pilbrow, the pioneering lighting designer and theatre consultant, passed away on 6 December, peacefully, at home, surrounded by family after a short battle with cancer, writes Rob Halliday.
Richard’s remarkable 90-year life was truly a life well lived. He took a passion for theatre developed at an early age and turned it into a career through the formation of his company, Theatre Projects, as a way of subsidising and supporting his lighting design work. In doing that, he played a large part in creating the profession of lighting designer in the UK from 1957 onwards.
The timing of this meant that Richard was perfectly placed to be selected by Laurence Olivier as the lighting designer for the opening of the National Theatre company in 1963, which put him in the right place to become the theatre consultant for the new Nation

UK - The LiGHT23 expo, staged in London for the second year, stepped up several levels according to the team from specialist architectural LED lighting brand Anolis, which showcased its three current main product lines - Calumma, Ambiane and Eminere - at the two-day event in Islington’s Business Design Centre.
The show, which launched in 2022, has been developed as a forum and a meeting place for the design community. Manufacturers can demonstrate their latest technologies and lighting designers, architects, interior, exterior and visual designers can gather to see the latest innovations and attend a full programme of talks, panel discussions and seminars embracing topics and issues relevant to the built environment world.
“Visitor numbers were definitely up, especially on the first day, and we saw a steady stream of high-quality people on both days from a broad s

UK - ABTT’s popular Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness Training was a sell out in September 2023, and booking is now open for the 2024 course which takes place on 11January at The Elgiva Theatre, Chesham.
Equipment and devices used, demonstrated or viewed during the course include products from: Le Maitre: Pyroflash - ProStage II - Virtually Smokeless (VS) - Illusion - Skyhigh - Torch - Blakes - Viking - Theatrical Pyrotechnics - Wells - Ultratec - LunaTech - PyyroPak.
The course will provide candidates with an opportunity to keep ‘up to date’ with ‘considered best practice’ and familiarise themselves more readily with new and current regulations, alongside forthcoming UK/EU legislation.
The course will also serve as a refresher for technicians who have to produce certificates of awareness, to keep themselves ‘in date’. The candidates will also receive a

Germany - The artist Alligatoah is not easy to pin down. He marries rap with catchy pop melodies, slips into ever-changing personae and has been delighting large audiences for years with his overall package. The theatricality certainly suits him, and in 2023, this phenomenon of German rap will continue with the latest leg of his Retour, which will introduce tracks from the current album Rotz & Wasser.
Christoph Schneider is responsible for the lighting design on this tour, which is promoted by ibb Booking and Boldt Berlin. He specified 46 GLP JDC1, 10 JDC Line 1000 and five impression X5 Wash to fulfil the artist’s vision.
“Alligatoah is a very creative person who is heavily involved in the show design,” states Christoph. “He designed most of the set himself, as well as the intro and choreography for individual songs. To complement this, I cre

UK - LSI Projects director Bob Peill has left the company after three decades. The company expresses its gratitude for his pivotal role in achieving significant milestones that have defined its success from the first projects in China in the early 90s up to and including one of the company’s largest projects to date in the form of the New Cairo Opera House in Egypt.
Stepping into the role of projects director is Nick Broad who has a proven track record in systems integration, project management and consultancy.
Nick joins the company as LSI completes projects at Bristol Beacon, and Sadler’s Wells in Stratford East, and continue work on Hertford Theatre, Theatr Clwyd in North Wales and the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh.
Brenda Dunsire, managing director of LSI, comments: “We will be forever grateful to everything Bob has committed to LSI over the years playi

USA - Bandit Lites has announced that an original Bandit, Brent Barrett, has moved into his retirement. Brent, along with founder Michael T. Strickland, first met in grade school in Kingsport, Tennessee. Neither knew this meeting would culminate in a strong bond and friendship that would last both a full career and a lifetime.
While Bandit began in junior high school, the real work began as Barrett and Strickland attended The University of Tennessee together. Barrett was pursuing a degree in food and lodging with an intention to be in the hospitality industry. After a Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn tour while in college, Barrett never looked back. Both Strickland and Barrett indeed finished their degrees, and at the same time toured and ended up in their lifelong careers.
“Brent and I grew up together,” stated Strickland. “We have been best friends since grade sc

UK - Exterior lighting solutions provider DW Windsor has unveiled its Light Responsibly initiative to support and promote responsible lighting practices.
Announced at the LiGHT 23 Expo in London, the new initiative aims to provide lighting specifiers with the tools and guidance needed to eliminate light pollution, conserve energy, cut waste and help protect biodiversity. It consolidates several long-standing principles the British luminaire manufacturer upholds and underlines its commitment to delivering sustainable lighting solutions.
The initiative outlines five key areas where DW Windsor can assist lighting professionals, helping to educate key stakeholders and support considered lighting designs. It includes the adoption of precise optics and light shields, warmer colour temperatures, adaptive lighting controls, highly efficient LEDs, and the embracing of circular

UK - Manchester-based dbnAudile has served as event technology providers for The Warehouse Project ever since the series of popular club nights debuted in 2006. This year, seeking a new linear lighting effect that could do more while ensuring operation in wet conditions, the company turned to Elation’s versatile Proteus Rayzor Blade.
The Warehouse Project, which runs from September through New Year’s Eve, features acclaimed DJs and musicians as well as less established artists, and is continually rated as one of the best dance/DJ club venues in Europe. dbnAudile handles audio, lighting, video and rigging for the project’s run, which has been held in the refurbished Mayfield Depot in Manchester since 2019.
Pete Robinson project manages the operation for dbnAudile and has served as lighting designer since The Warehouse Project’s inception. He explains that the

Denmark - Hip hop band, Suspekt, appeared in a one-off date at Copenhagen's 47,000 capacity National Parken Stadium in September. Suspekt is renowned for playing with cool lighting effects and Ayrton was delighted that its Zonda 9 fixtures were chosen for the dramatic lighting system that included 168 Zonda 9 Wash and Zonda 9 FX fixtures.
Zonda 9 Wash is the first luminaire in a new family of Ayrton products devised for stage lighting, equipped with a high-performance 40W LED source with RGB+W additive colour synthesis. The lighting was supplied by VIGSØ, Denmark, and the striking lighting and stage design was provided by Johnny Thinggaard of CMY.
Thinggaard elaborated on his choice of lighting: “The concert was a one-day event and the band's biggest show to date. I chose to use the Zonda 9 Wash because of its large light surface - I really like the way that the la

USA - Alongside showcasing a selection of fixtures from the company’s existing catalogue of professional luminaires through a lightshow programmed by concert LD Steve Kosiba, ADJ Lighting will use the LDI tradeshow to exclusively introduce many exciting new products.
Visitors to the expo will be the first to discover the new Vizi Beam CMY automated beam luminaire, the ElectraPix series of lime-infused hex LED wireless bars and par, the next generation Aria X2 wireless DMX system, and the much-anticipated IP-rated additions to the popular Jolt Series of multifunction LED strobe/wash fixtures.
Popular with concert lighting designers and nightclub integrators alike, ADJ’s Jolt Series features a collection of potent fixtures which each feature brilliant bright white strobe/blinder LEDs combined with multicoloured chase effects in the same versatile unit. Taking the se

USA - GLP (German Light Products) will showcase its innovative portfolio in a future-oriented design, on stand #194. The company invites trade fair visitors to climb aboard its all-white ‘GLP Spaceship’, which will also provide the setting for ‘a very special world premiere’.
GLP's JDC1 Hybrid Strobe is a popular standard that set new standards when it was originally introduced. The JDC2 upgrade will be shown for the first time at LDI.
Larger, significantly brighter than the JDC1, IP65-certified and equipped with a still under-wraps secret special feature, the JDC2 is ‘set to revolutionise the world of professional show lighting again’. Visitors to the stand can look forward to a newly designed show that breaks from the classic light shows at the exhibition stand.
After the successful market launch of the impression X5 Wash 2021, the impression X5 IP

USA - Claypaky is returning to LDI again to present its recently launched products. The joint display, in Booths (179, 279, 285) in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Centre, will feature the company’s top-of-the-line products for the entertainment industry.
Besides all the new products and innovative technologies shown, it is also the first time since ARRI’s acquisition of Claypaky, that the two companies will be exhibiting together at LDI, thus presenting a broader product portfolio in addition to the entertainment-oriented product range.
On debut will be Rhapsodya - a high power, low-noise multi-spectral - LED based fixture designed for a variety of applications such as theatre, TV production, touring and live events. It uses a custom 1200W multicolour RGBAL LED engine, capable of a 24,000-lumen output.
Rhapsodya incorporates AccuTone, a sophistica

USA - Vari-Lite has announced a new, higher output light engine upgrade for their workhorse VL2600 Series fixtures. The light engine upgrade provides significantly higher output to the popular line of moving head luminaires while aligning with Signify’s commitment to sustainability by promoting circular economy, minimising waste by extending the existing product lifecycle rather than making iterative new versions, for a positive impact on the environment and society.
Originally released in the spring of 2018, the VL2600 Series is, to date, one of the most popular Vari-Lite fixtures ever produced. Boasting a profile, wash, and spot version, the VL2600 Series is a full family of fixtures with a broad colour palette, a wide range of features, and a consistent light engine across the series. It’s possible to rent a VL2600 Series luminaire on every continent on the globe, and

Switzerland - The Zurich Open Air Festival, held over three days in suburban Glattbrugg, features artists from an array of genres, from ballads to electronic beats, and hard rock anthems to indie tunes. Jazz, blues, and folk join the diverse mix for good measure. The artists on stage at this year’s (10th annual) rendition of the festival, included Robbie Williams, Zara Larsson, Bastian Baker, The Killers, The Chainsmokers and Paul Kalkbrenner.
The production design on the 2023 festival’s substantial main stage also embodied a very diverse range of creative inputs. Defined by two high towers, each with a large vertically-oriented video wall at its base, the towers were connected by horizontal rows of lights. Other rows of lights extended from each wall and sloped down to smaller stage left and stage right columns.
Contributing to the rich visual panorama was a colle

Greece - DirectOut and Audio & Vision have joined forces to establish an exclusive partnership for distribution in Greece. With this strategic alliance, Audio & Vision will now serve as the official distributor of DirectOut products in Greece.
Audio & Vision has established itself as a reliable provider of premium AV products and services in Greece since the beginning of their activities in 1998.
"We are proud to add DirectOut to our distribution portfolio in Greece," says Mr. Alkis Kotsifas, general manager of Audio & Vision. "With a 25-year track record in the professional audio, video and lighting solutions sector, we have been committed since the foundation of our company to provide our customers with the highest quality of products and services. We seek the best partners worldwide to achieve our goals, and our new partnership with DirectOut is a te

Europe - Prolight is reinforcing its commitment to excellence in cable manufacturing through a substantial investment in cutting-edge testing equipment. The collaboration with Distro Design yielded a remarkable achievement when tasked with developing a new cable tester.
The Cirris powered tester manufactured by Distro Design for Prolight is the largest to date with over 380 test points. This tester was a great challenge, something we relish doing. Working with Prolight was seamless and very easy something we hear a lot around the industry. They are a growing company with a great reputation we are immensely proud to have been asked to work with them in designing ‘the beast’,” says Distro Design MD, Ben Stearn.
Chris Beesley, product sourcing manager at Prolight says: “As the cable department grows here at Prolight, our need for a centralised, rapid test facility

USA - City Theatrical will be introducing three new solutions available for demonstration in Booth 809 at LDI, including the DMXcat-E, Multiverse Connect Module, and Wing Nut Socket. These products are expansions of City Theatrical’s award-winning DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool system, family of Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM technology, and expansive hardware collection.
City Theatrical will also be offering an LDI event giveaway of one DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool or RadioScan Spectrum Analyser, at the winner’s choice, to one randomly selected event participant who registers with the City Theatrical team in Booth 809 before the event concludes. The winner will be announced via email one week after the show.
Available to demonstrate at LDI Show 2023 and shipping in 2024, City Theatrical’s new DMXcat-E (P/N 6100) is an expansion to City Theatrical’s DMXcat Mu

USA - Creativity is set free when it reaches the edges of the physical world. This spirit is at the heart of Chauvet Professional’s LDI booth (1261), which is dedicated to the goal of converging physical and digital worlds.
Designed by Studio Lab, the booth utilises disguise, Unreal Engine and other emerging virtual production technologies to celebrate the fusion of the physical and digital. In the process, it also highlights the latest innovations from Chauvet Professional, ChamSys, and Kino Flo that will help designers ‘Reach Across Worlds’ to create transformative productions for concerts, tours and broadcast applications.
Entering the booth, visitors will be able to see and feel the immersive, reality-bending effect of new, innovative products like the REM series of video panels. Featuring two products: the cinema-grade REM 1, an 800 NITS indoor panel with a

USA - Masque Sound has once again teamed up with sound designer Joshua D. Reid to bring the travelling productions of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical to life with a custom audio equipment package, for both its East and West Coast tour.
Featuring the hit songs You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch and Welcome Christmas, The Grinch discovers there’s more to Christmas than he bargained for in this heartwarming holiday classic. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” as he decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos.
In designing the sound for this year’s Grinch tour, Reid's goal was to create a flexible and efficient touring sound system that could capture the magic of Dr. Seuss' classic holiday narrative while providing the highest level of clarity for aud

Austria - For its global premiere on the stage of Vienna's Ronacher Theater, the musical Rock me Amadeus - The Falco Musicalwas illuminated using Prolights' Astra Wash.
This musical, with evocative scenes, intricate choreography, and dazzling costumes, demanded an extraordinary lighting setup to properly showcase the spectacle and celebrate the life of the musician Falco.
The design, crafted by the lighting designer Howard Harrison and musical lighting supervisor Lucas Berger, featured various mobile wash lights from Prolights' Astra Wash series - specifically, the Astra Wash19Pix and Astra Wash7Pix.
Harrison's choice to incorporate the Astra Wash19Pix into the lighting rig on both the ceiling and side walls was not only for their versatile light effects but also for their decorative potential, thanks to the integrated pixel ring.
Meanwhile, the Ast

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