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Reflections on Touring with Jeff Beck

After British rock guitarist Jeff Beck died unexpectedly on Jan. 10, 2023, Debi Moen touched base with three lighting professionals, David “Gurn” Kaniski, Michael Keller, and Chris Stuba, who were all involved with Beck’s last tour. They share their thoughts with Designer Watch about working with the rock legend.

From Budapest to Auckland, Robe Shines for George Ezra

George Ezra’s Lighting Director Chris Taylor and Production Manager Jake Vernum were very happy to see Robe on the lighting specs for the recent Australia and New Zealand legs of the popular UK singer / songwriter’s Gold Rush Kid tour. Eleven Robe MegaPointes on the upstage truss have been present throughout the whole tour which kicked off in Spring in the UK and Ireland, then extended into a lengthy festival section as Ezra and his highly talented band delighted audiences across Europe. Read More »From Budapest to Auckland, Robe Shines for George Ezra

PRG Invests in New LED Innovations from INFiLED to Advance the Live Entertainment Experience

Revolutionary LED gear TITAN-X and Deep Black Series from INFiLED now accessible to PRG clients and partners

INFiLED’s TITAN-X, which was co-developed with PRG.

Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG), a leading provider of production solutions for entertainment and live events, announced that it is making a significant investment in two new LED products from INFiLED. The new products, the Deep Black (DB) 2.3 Series for high-performance indoor displays, and the TITAN-X Series, the rental LED system designed with unique transparency and acoustic permeability for outdoor touring, will be added to PRG’s rental inventory for customers and partners beginning Q2 of 2023.Read More »PRG Invests in New LED Innovations from INFiLED to Advance the Live Entertainment Experience

Vari-Lite VL1600 Profile Adds Textures and Effects at Northwest Bible Church, Dallas

“Being able to manipulate color temperature at the source of the fixture allowed me to approach each scene with a greater level of control and precision,” says Lighting Director, Matthew Hughes. Photos: ©Northwest Bible Church

The multi-generational Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, TX, ramped up atmospheric looks and festive lighting effects for a series of concerts in December, rigging Vari-Lite VL1600 Profile luminaires from Signify. The church’s Lighting Director Matthew Hughes worked with Tyler Gannaway, Vari-Lite Business Development Manager Central and Eastern Rental & Touring at Signify, to source the VL1600 fixtures. Hughes’ aim was to utilize the VL1600’s VL*FX wheel to add movement to the textures projected on the walls, and the tunable white engine and wide color range to create the perfect atmosphere for the concerts.Read More »Vari-Lite VL1600 Profile Adds Textures and Effects at Northwest Bible Church, Dallas

CMA Touring Awards Celebrate Excellence

Winners of the 2022 CMA Touring Awards were honored during an industry celebration at Marathon Music Works in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 30. (L – R, back row): Morgan Pitt and Chrissy Hall (Ryman Auditorium), John Huie, John Stalder, Austin Neal, Chris Kappy, Dan Hochhalter, Robert Scovill, Jill Trunnell and Brian O’Connell. (L – R, front row): Michael Zuehsow, David Farmer, Keith Urban, Stephanie Mundy Self, Tyler Hutcheson and Jerry Slone. Photo Credit: Hunter Berry/CMA

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Country Music Association’s CMA Touring Awards took place Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. We at PLSN congratulate all of the winners of this year’s CMA Touring Awards. Previously known as the SRO (Standing Room Only) Awards, the CMA Touring Awards were originally created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990 to honor outstanding professional achievement within the touring industry. The SRO Awards were renamed the CMA Touring Awards in 2016.

Read More »CMA Touring Awards Celebrate Excellence

CHAUVET Professional Helps Alec Takahashi Connect Thomas Rhett To Crowd

Location, they say, “is everything” in retailing; well, it’s pretty important in live touring too. Just ask Alec Takahashi, the long-time lighting designer for country superstar Thomas Rhett. Lighting the multi-platinum singer/songwriter’s Bring The Bar To You tour, the LD could sense the crowd enter different emotional spaces as his client moved from one location on the set to another. “We had a B stage that Thomas Rhett walked on for a few songs,” said Takahashi. “This allowed us to create stripped down moments for him to get closer to fans. When he did this, the crowd subconsciously relaxed and became a little loose. You could literally feel the crowd relax and engage when he moved to that stage, and then you could feel the energy skyrocket with no walls when he returned to a full band performance on the main stage.”Read More »CHAUVET Professional Helps Alec Takahashi Connect Thomas Rhett To Crowd

ADJ Introduces New Pixie Driver 8000 for Pixie Strip Series LED Battens

The ADJ Pixie Strip Series is a collection of LED pixel battens which combine vibrant LEDs with intelligently designed housings to create a powerful and versatile system. That system has now become even more flexible with the addition of the new Pixie Driver 8000. This powerful unit receives a KlingNet, Art-Net, or sACN control signal and powers up to 8,160 pixels of Pixie Strips.Read More »ADJ Introduces New Pixie Driver 8000 for Pixie Strip Series LED Battens