Designer Watch

Lighting designer Martin Thomas and LD Don Weeks joined creative forces on the production design for the Yestival tour featuring Yes, Todd Rundgren and Carl Palmer’s ELP Experience. For Rundgren’s digital media content, Thomas literally sought graphic art services in-house — from his 17-year-old son, Avery. “My youngest son Avery has been doing digital graphic art for a couple of years now,” says Thomas, “and I found many of his pieces worked well with Todd’s music. Lots of compliments from the audience and the press about the look of the show; a lot of it was because of his art.”

Robb Jibson put Train on its tracks with their new “Play That Song” tour, which kicked off May 12 and runs to July 15 in the U.S. before heading to Australia. Along with his creative company So Midwest Inc., Jibson designed the production and media content; Brent Sandrock designed the lighting and programmed, while Brandon J. Clark takes it on the road as director.

Lighting designer Tom Kenny filled us in on The Who’s two special dates at the Royal Albert Hall recently, saying it was the first time The Who have played the iconic rock opera Tommy in its entirety in 28 years. Though the band originally billed it as an acoustic performance, they decided in the end to plug in to be more faithful to the 1969 version. On The Who’s website, it was noted: “Our own Tommy (Tom Kenny, lighting designer) made the room look amazing, using every surface as a screen and bouncing light everywhere, not just onstage. What an environment.”

Lighting designer/programmer Paul Dexter of Masterworks Lighting has gone back to the “vault” — designing the production, lighting and programming for the new edition of Raiding the Rock Vault, now at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Kings of Leon Production designer Paul Normandale unveiled a new design for the Kings of Leon’s “Walls” 2017 tour, with Hunter Firth as the operator. U.K. audiences got their first peek at the show in February, with the U.S. arena leg starting March 11 in Broomfield, CO. Normandale graciously shared his design in a rendering of the Kings of Leon’s U.S. arena tour, as press is not yet being approved.

Production, lighting and media designer Justin Kitchenman started the New Year by creating a new company, Align Design Group in Nashville. “The focus of the Align Design Group is going to be live production, mainly concert touring,” he told PLSN. “But, as with all ventures, the future is a great mystery, with many twists and turns! I look forward to the future and all of the opportunities it brings.”

Across the skyline, as dusk settled in, a dynamic beacon of light sparkled, shimmered, beamed and beckoned from atop the London landmark The Shard. Woodroffe Bassett Design created the holiday lighting installation for the second year in a row, illuminating the Shard’s spire, the highest 13 levels of the 95-story building, for the festive season. The Shard, at 309.6 meters (1,016 feet) in height, is the tallest building in the U.K.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? They’re alerting us to other long-running holiday shows — beyond TSO. Designer Watch checked in on Brian Setzer, Oak Ridge Boys, Mannheim Steamroller, Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith, Ian Anderson, and Johnny Mathis tours.

Author and LD Paul Dexter made an LDI appearance to autograph Concert Lighting: The Art and Business of Entertainment Lighting 4th Edition, co-written with James Moody. Dexter says the previous editions are text books on college campuses, and this edition provides even more valuable tips that future lighting designers may need, notably diverse accounts by some of our industry’s most renowned designers.

Peter Morse spent the past two years designing the elaborate lighting for a large German production show, The ONE Grand Show, which runs for two years in residency at the Friedrichstadt Palast in Berlin. The extravaganza, called “the most lavish show in Europe,” started previews at the 97-year-old theatre on Sept. 22, with the world premiere set for Oct. 6 and more shows planned through mid-2018. With a budget of 11 million Euros ($12.3 million), the show aims to take the audience “on a dreamlike journey through time in search of the person who means everything to us: The One.”