RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO – As a rule, Andrew Cass prefers to stay away from having a single massive video wall behind the band, but like all rules, this one can be bent, especially in the interest of collaboration. Such was the case this December when Cass served as lighting designer and programmer for Closer to […]

NEW IPSWICH, NH – The ability to think outside the box is often the lifeblood of a successful production design, even when that “box” is the actual stage itself. Such was the case recently for the team at Events United when they had to come up with a way to light the artists performing at […]

WINDOW ROCK, AZ – When asked what he attributes Megadeth’s enduring success to, Dave Mustaine, frontman and founder of the iconic, Grammy-winning band quips, “stubbornness.” Of course, fans, like the 10,000-plus who packed the fairgrounds at the 75th annual Navajo Nation Fair would respectfully disagree. For them, there’s much more than mere tenacity behind the […]

Bačka Topola, Serbia –  The circle, that most mystical of shapes that philosophers have describe as a “reflection of eternity,” served as an ideal design motif for the main stage at the recent Lake Festival. Like the circle itself, which has no beginning or end, and embraces all, the three-day festival encompassed a diverse mix […]

SCOTTSDALE – The big crowd oohed and aahed when they witnessed extreme rider Clint Ewing do his wheelie stands and rolling endos at Arizona Bike Week, just as they marveled at the 30-foot-high motorcycle acrobatics by the Brigade Freestyle Motorcross Extreme team. But these weren’t the only jaw-dropping feats at the annual event, which drew […]

MEXICO CITY – Luke Stratton didn’t have to read between the lines when he saw the creative brief for Smashing Pumpkins’ “The World Is A Vampire” festival, which took place in early March. He knew that the stage was going to be massive. “When I got the stage dimensions from the promoter and the lighting […]

OCALA, FL – When Mammoth WVH, the rock band formed by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, released their debut album in June 2021, their sound was hailed by critics as being, fresh, original and unique. Or, as one scribe described it, “no two tracks feel the same.” Around the same time, “Pawns and […]

MONTERREY, MEXICO – “We have broken paradigms,” Sergio Lizárraga, leader of Banda MS once told an interviewer, referring to his band’s popularity, which has transcended all expectations to prove that banda music has unlimited appeal in today’s market beyond Mexico. Sold out shows before wildly appreciative crowds from Nashville to Las Vegas have provided convincing proof […]

MILWAUKEE – Some venues just lend themselves to creating evocative looks on stage, believes Glenn Ottenbachker. That’s one reason why the lighting designer from A.G. Entertainment USA was only too happy to take on the project of lighting a shared headline show at The Pabst Theatre recently. Opened in 1895, the Renaissance Revival style theatre […]

Willemstad, Curaçao – Singer Raynor “Raey” Laufer recently performed a song entitled “Kaminda tin Huma, Tin Kandela,” which translated from Papiamentu, the language of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (the Caribbean’s “ABC Islands”), means “Were There is Smoke There is Fire.” Many were warmed by the glow of the Curaçan artist’s own fire when he performed […]

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Garrett McConchie experienced a brief moment of disorientation recently, and was both confounded and excited by what he saw. The project manager of CNXN Live, a real-time in person and livestreamed corporate event that took place simultaneously at two sites, McConchie was watching a panel discussion occurring at the Armory […]

LONDON – “When I make my music, I want people to feel good, I can really feel that when they sing the lyrics back to me,” house heavyweight Sonny Fodera told an interviewer from Forbes earlier this year. The Australian-born star must have had no doubt that his music was having the desired elixir effect […]