USA - Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam marked another successful evening of legendary musicians coming together for a great cause. The annual Christmas benefit began 28 years ago, as Haynes sought to give back to his hometown's Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, which has raised more than 2m dollars to date.

Bandit Lites donated lighting for this year's sold out concert which featured an impressive line-up of artists including Haynes and his band, Gov't Mule, Bob Weir, Michael McDonald, Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss among others. Due to lighting designer Chris Ragan's extensive history working with both Warren Haynes and Dead & Company, he was confident in creating a big rock show that would last from the 6pm doors to the 3am encore.

Bandit provided VL 3000 Spots, Robe Pointes, Robe BMFLs, Clay Paky Sharpys, and Bandit's exclusive GRNLite 8 Lites, GRNLite Par 64s and GRNLi

World - On the heels of his highly acclaimed second album release Skin, Flume is taking his electronic genre on a world tour. The Australian producer has had a successful year of festival performances alongside an extensive headline tour of North America, Europe, and Australia.

"The current leg of the tour uses 26 Solaris Flares," says tour LD Stu Dingley. "We use eight on the floor upstage to push color through the stage, and 18 overhead to melt the audience at key moments throughout the set"

Dingley adds, "Flume is an electronic music producer, but the music isn't EDM. We needed fixtures to reflect this, and the Flares offer the power needed for the big drops, yet still provide subtlety and warmth for the softer, intimate moments. We also use glitchy pixel effects as a great way of highlighting the abstract sounds in the music.

"Controlled by an MA2 console, w

Puerto Rico - After 35 years, eight Grammy Awards and 110m records sold worldwide, heavy metal trailblazers Metallica have nothing left to prove. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who are 61st on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time, aren't resting on their laurels, though. This month the band is slated to release its tenth studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct.

In advance of this release, Metallica kicked off a Latin American tour, opening with a 26 October concert at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, followed three days later by a Saturday night concert at the Parque Bicentenario in Quito, Ecuador. Chauvet Professional fixtures added to the excitement at both venues.

At the 18,500-capacity Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, the Metallica rig included 49 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving heads and

Australia - Elite Event Technology in Canberra provided a full turnkey design and technical production solution for Canberra's 2016 Fashfest extravaganza, staged at the National Convention Centre.

The lighting rig for the main showspace was designed by Darren Russell who needed a flexible and versatile range of fixtures to help deliver the high expectations of everyone involved, so he based this around Robe moving lights - BMFLs, Pointes and LEDWashes - plus a selection of conventional lights.

Darren says that with this many Robes on the rig this year, they could be properly creative with lighting over and above the traditional requirements for fashion events. "The brief was actually to make it more theatrical and edgy this year, so lighting played a much bigger role than previously," he explained.

Fashfest was the vision of founders Clint and Andrea Hutchinson in 2013

Italy - With Showlight 2017 only six months away, plans and preparations are well underway for the next instalment of this industry-favourite lighting quadrennial which takes place from 20-23 May in Florence, Italy.

The first tranche of speakers was announced at PLASA London with Jeff Ravitz, Mikki Kunttu, Al Gurdon and Luc Peumans named as just some of the illustrious designers who will present papers. A list of speakers to date can be found on the Showlight 2017 website and will grow as others are confirmed. The next selection of speakers will be announced early in the New Year. For the first time this year, all papers will benefit from simultaneous Italian translation.

Always quick to go, exhibitor spaces for Showlight 2017 are now almost sold out. The latest companies to join the fun and take up residence around the Palazzo dei Congressi are Altman Lighting, Ayrton, Ci

UK - VER and Aurora have announced the appointment of Ian Charlampowicz to the position of business development manager on their UK lighting team.

Armed with in-depth equipment understanding plus an extensive knowledge of the television and live event markets, Ian joins the VER/Aurora Lighting sales team to further enhance the support and service enjoyed by the company's growing clientele.

An accomplished industry professional with broad experience across all areas of the entertainment lighting business, Ian Charlampowicz has a wealth of understanding of equipment, systems and the entire production process. Ian has a graduate degree in theatre design and has worked in the theatrical lighting field for many years supporting lighting designers and production teams with project management services on a variety of large scale productions.

Head of lighting Europe VER and Au

UK - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) has presented White Light's Jason Larcombe with a lifetime membership. The award, which recognises Jason's considerable contribution in a variety of committee roles, was presented at this year's 24th annual Lighting Lunch, held at the Park Plaza Hotel in London's West End.

The ALD Lifetime membership recognises the contribution members have made to the running of the Association. Jason stepped down from his role on the executive committee earlier this year following a 19-year tenure in which he helped shape the association from various committee positions. Jason first joined the association as a student of Rose Bruford College and amongst his ALD executive roles he held the position of deputy chair until 2011.

Rick Fisher, currently the ALD's vice president, held the role of chairman through the 1990s and into the new centur

USA - The weather may be unpredictable, but the COLORdash Par Q12 IP from Chauvet Professional certainly isn't. The new RGBA LED wash delivers bright, colourful, flicker-free light indoors or out, regardless of weather conditions, thanks to its IP65, outdoor/wet rating (pressure equalizing M12 GORE valve), Powerkon IP65 power cord and IP-rated DMX connections.

"Anyone who lights festivals, amphitheatre productions or other outdoor events will find the COLORdash Par Q12 IP to be an invaluable addition to their inventory," said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. "Outdoor projects have become more common, particularly with the growth of festivals. When you work outdoors, you are going to get bad weather from time to time, but these fixtures are protected against rain damage."

In addition to its IP rating, the COLORdash Par Q12 IP offers designers and production companies multipl

Germany - The AIDAprima, the latest addition to the AIDA Cruises fleet, was christened in Hamburg on 7 May 2016. The ship's many attractions include the Beach Club with Caribbean feel for 365 days a year, and the Four Elements area with water slides and climbing walls, not to mention first class entertainment.

Marcel Dias Vieira, AIDA Cruises entertainment technology supervisor, explained the basic reasoning behind the lighting choices and why they chose Claypaky moving heads. The lighting rig includes Claypaky Alpha Profile 800 STs, as well as many other MALighting products - a grandMA2 full-size desk, two grandMA2 light consoles, two grandMA2 replay units, and one MA Network Processing Unit (NPU).

However, the AIDAprima also boasts professional level technology in all other areas, such as the moving stage elements, LED screens, sound system and ship's TV studio. The effo

USA - For many in the Chicago area, an annual trip to see Ilumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle has become a wintertime tradition. Now in its fourth year, the magical mile-long walk in the woods with its dramatic lighting and colour-changing illumination is a whole new way to experience the Arboretum in winter.

John Featherstone, principal at design group Lightswitch, is the lighting director and creative director for Illumination, and often uses Elation Professional fixtures in his designs. This year, he had the opportunity to be the first anywhere to use Elation's new weatherproof Proteus Beam moving head and incorporated several of them into the show as a harsh outdoor winter test for the recent LDI award-winning product.

"We've had a great working relationship with the Elation team and have relied on Elation fixtures as part of our 'secret sa

UK - Drapes, LED, video and special effects specialist S+H Technical celebrated its tenth season supporting the BBC's popular hit series Strictly Come Dancing with drapes, starcloth and a variety of other 'soft goods' and effects.

S+H was again working with BAFTA Award winning set and scenic designer Patrick Doherty - who is a regular client - helping realise his vision for a spectacular magical environment which he creates for the series, featuring some well-known-and-loved classic 'ballroom' visual elements peppered with a touch of the contemporary.

This season, Ilfracombe, Devon based S+H supplied around 2000 Pea-Lights for the regular weekly Strictly episodes which were broadcast from Entree Studios.

These Pea-Light strings were integrated into the set walls of Patrick's design, together with around 1000sq.m of sumptuous red velvet starcloth from S+H's stock

USA/Europe - Netherlands based Martin Garrix is among the hottest DJ/musician/music producers of the moment, currently playing events and festivals worldwide, sharing his sounds and building a vast international fanbase.

He premiered a large part of his debut album this year during a main stage set at ULTRA Miami which was also the first show to feature a new production design by Michael Fullman, creative director of LA-based design and interactive technology specialist, VT Pro Design.

The lighting specification for this design is based on Robe moving lights, with 28 x BMFL Spots and 68 Pointes topping the rider. Currently, the tour is working as an 'advanced' design, with all kit provided worldwide by local vendors.

The BMFL Spots make up the bulk of the overhead fixtures while the Pointes are mainly located on the multi-tiered deck. Between them, the two sets of lumi

USA - It was a once in a life time performance as. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum 2016 induction ceremony. The evening, which featured performances from Peter Frampton, Kenny G, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Warnier, Melinda Doolittle along with the inductees at the Municipal Auditorium 24 October, saw Garth Brooks and his band, The G-Men, inducted as Hall of Fame Performers.

Bandit Lites is not only Garth's lighting vendor of choice since he began touring, but counts him as a cherished member of the Bandit Family. Utilising Mark Carver's design from previous inductions, lighting director David 'Gig' Butlzer was able to craft an evening fit for the musical icons being honoured.

Bandit supplied VL 3500 Spots, VL 3000 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, GLP X4S and a Grand MA 1 full console for control. Additional inductees included the late musician

USA - Stevie Nicks has gone solo for the 24 Karat Gold Tour playing more than two dozen arena dates in North America before the end of the year. Production designer Paul Guthrie of Toss Film & Design Inc in Minneapolis chose 88 Claypaky Mythos fixtures for the lighting rig. He previously deployed Mythos on tours for Miranda Lambert and Macklemore.

Nicks's latest tour, in support of her album, 24 Karat Gold - Songs from the Vault, launched in Phoenix and will wrap in Los Angeles. While the singer/songwriter appears as a solo artist, she tapped the Pretenders to open for her - delivering a powerhouse show for ticketholders.

A veteran of Nicks's tours, Guthrie endeavoured to "create something new and a bit more modern" for her new show. "Stevie enjoys using video content so the tour features a lot of video on an LED videowall backdrop and L-shaped scenic pieces," he ex

UK - The contents of the internationally-renowned Fountain Studios in Wembley, north London, will come under the hammer after the recent final of the 2016 X Factor brought the curtain down on 90 years of film and broadcasting history.

The studio has been sold to property developers, and sound and vision equipment, lighting, scenery and memorabilia are all being offered in an online sale between 30 January and 7 February. The sale is being organised by auctioneers Charterfields (www.charterfields.com) and a viewing day is being held on 1 February.

Among the broadcast equipment for sale are Sony HDC cameras, pedestals along with various control units and pan and tilt heads; vision mixers; sound desks and microphones; lighting desks and a large quantity of hoists and pantographs.

In addition, there is also a selection of scenery and drapes, dressing room furniture,

USA - Similar to many worship families across the United States, the congregation at the First Baptist Church in Thomasville, Georgia, recently underwent a sanctuary renovation to offer both contemporary and traditional worship services.

Working with Thomasville's S&L Integrated on a complete audio, lighting and LED video renovation, the church wanted to make sure that while the technical systems received an update, the traditional aesthetics of the sanctuary were not affected. Desiring a solution that would enable the use of a dynamic LED video system for the contemporary services while discreetly hiding it for the traditional, S&L Integrated teamed with JR Clancy to create a roll-up LED video system using FLEXCurtain HD from Nashville-based PixelFLEX.

"We've developed a wonderful relationship with First Baptist Church over the years, so when they approached us about conc

Russia - The three-act melodrama Simon Boccanegra is characteristic of Giuseppe Verdi's determination and modernity. It was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre, which is fitted with a number of Claypaky lights, and broadcast live on a giant screen in front of the theatre itself. This Verdi opera rounded off the La Scala summer tour in Moscow.

Simon Boccanegra is an opera by Verdi based on a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, inspired by the play of the same name by Antonio Garc

USA - Even those with only a passing interest in the performing arts are familiar with The Nutcracker. A holiday tradition with many families, the show accounts for some 40 percent of ticket sales for ballet companies in the US. Tchaikovsky's score, with its sprightly melody punctuated by occasional staccato cords, is instantly recognizable to almost everyone, as is the stoic little nutcracker character at the heart of the ballet's storyline.

The adventurous spirit of this Christmas classic is alive and well in the Continental Ballet Company's 2016 production of the show at the Bloomington Centre for the Arts' Schneider Theatre. Lending an added and very evocative dimension to the production is a vibrant lighting design by Joseph Bingham, using a collection of CHauvet Professional Rogue R2 Washes supplied by Monkey Wrench Productions.

For Bingham, using the Rogue fi

UK - Artistic Licence recently devised a solution for the complex lighting control requirements at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, a conference venue in Westminster, London. The centre was in the final stages of a major refit. Main contractor, Overbury had brought in Delmatic to install a sophisticated house lighting system using DALI fixtures.

The difficulty was that, on a regular basis, the DMX512-based production lighting system would need to take control of aspects of the house lighting. This would enable the overall visual effect to be controlled for a production. This presented a problem in that the DALI house lights were not compatible with the DMX512 controller.

Artistic Licence was brought in to provide a solution. Testament to the diversity of Artistic's technology range, this was achieved through a combination of standard products. First, a Rail-DMX-DALI unit ena

UK - Lighting designer Louisa Smurthwaite has selected Claypaky's super bright hybrid luminaire the Mythos to break through the saturated LED wash on indie rock outfit Glass Animals' latest tour, which was given four stars and described by The Independent as a "brilliant second album show".

Hailing from Oxford, the four-piece have played such venues as London's The Roundhouse and Brighton Dome in support of the critically-acclaimed How to be a Human Being. Smurthwaite specified 10 x Mythos from rental operation SES NC to carve out the playfully geometric set and hold their own against the backlight to provide a strong contrast.

"The creative brief was extremely detailed with a strong focus on colour," explains Smurthwaite. "The goal was to make the band feel like they were within the album cover so I used the same colour palette of sunkissed, pale hues, along

UK - A.C. Special Projects (AC-SP) has specified, supplied and installed a multi-purpose, energy-efficient LED lighting system for Pearson Hall - a historic community hall in the village of Sonning, Berkshire.

Situated at the heart of the village, the much-loved Victorian building has acted as the local community's social hub since 1889. It continues to be used for all variety of functions and productions, including events linked to the bi-annual Sonning Festival in May.

The project brief for Pearson Hall was to provide a low-cost yet high-performance, multi-purpose lighting solution. Flexibility and energy-efficiency were key. The system not only had to work for everyday activities, but also had to be able to provide a range of sophisticated ambiances through the use of colour, for premium social events.

Thanks to a specification tailor-made for the architectural deta

USA - Every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas over 500,000 people (more than the entire population of Kansas City or Atlanta) stop at 611 Fifth Avenue to take in the Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Display.

It's a safe bet that none of them will leave disappointed this year. Created by American Christmas, the luxury retailer's 2016 Land of 1000 Delights extravaganza dazzles visitors with a magical winter candy land that features 4,678sq.ft of foliage, more than twice that amount of garland and over 2000 jumbo candy ornaments, plus a Chris Werner-designed lightshow that makes the 10-story department store building glow with holiday cheer.

The owner of Los Angeles-based Chris Werner Design, Werner uses an extensive collection of fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment to create over 300,000 individual points of light on the stately building. Playing a key role in this

The Netherlands - André Beekmans from creative lighting design practice The Art of Light based in the Netherlands produced three stunning lighting schemes and supplied programming / operating crews for the three major live venues at the 2016 Amsterdam Music Festival.

AMF is an integral element of the wider Amsterdam Dance Event conference, a five-day EDM extravaganza staged in the spiritual hub of electronic music and culture. It is a collaboration between organisers Alda Events and ID&T showcasing some of the best EDM talent on the planet.

The Art of Light specified over 500 Robe fixtures across the Amsterdam ArenA, the Ziggo Dome and the Heineken Music Hall, most which were deployed in the Amsterdam ArenA. André and his team also looks after the global creative visual requirements of several leading dance artist including Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Nicky R

USA - Bandit Lites once again participated in the Angel Tree Christmas assistance programme. Started in 1975 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Angel Tree began with the simple idea that under privileged children also deserve a visit from Santa Claus. Making their wishes on paper angels that adorn trees in local malls, food stores and businesses, patrons are encouraged to choose a child's wish list and make their Christmas dreams come true.

Bandit's director of philanthropy Allison Burchett, controller Shay Simpson and HR coordinator Cori Link combined their efforts to orchestrate the day of giving across multiple Bandit Lites locations. Bandit provided each team member the opportunity to choose an Angel, where gifts ranged from the practical, such as jackets and shoes, to the ever wished for toys and games. Shop Foreman Erich Hudgens graciously spent the day shuttling groups of Ban

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