PARIS, France – The Accor Hotel has played host to its share of high profile sporting events, such as the World Indoor Athletics Championships.  Recently, the 18,000 capacity venue was the site of another sports spectacular as it welcomed the Meeting de Paris Indoor, a one day track and field event that featured some of […]

PALMARES, COSTA RICA – There are many good reasons to visit Costa Rica, which is why close to two million tourists descent on the Central American country each year. Among the nation’s most popular attractions is the annual Fiestas de Palmares, which honors Saint Cristo of Esquipulas. Music and merriment fill the air at the […]

LIMA, PERU – It’s been four years since Justin Bieber performed in the Peruvian capital, and fans of the Canadian superstar have built up quite a case of Bieber Fever during that time. Some 30,000 of them jammed into Lima’s National Stadium when the singer’s worldwide Purpose tour stopped in Peru this spring. Bodies swaying […]

PHOENIX – It’s been said that “experience is what you get when you were expecting something else.” John Garberson, owner of Creative BackStage, picked up some valuable experience recently when he worked a Hello Arizona-produced show by the legendary Niles Rodgers. Garberson had created a design for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer that […]

LOS ANGELES – Combining various musical styles such as jazz, house, folk and soul with African, Asian, and Middle Eastern influences, it’s clear to see why Bonobo has been described by Electronic Beats magazine as one of the most prolific “genre shunning” producers. Fittingly, the lightshow on this iconoclastic star’s world tour was given an […]

WASHINGTON, DC– Awe-struck. That sums up the feeling that visitors experience when they step into The National Building Museum. Located a short distance from the U.S. Capitol, the stately Italian Renaissance Revival structure that was built in 1887 is breathtaking in its scope and elegance. Its vast central hall has housed presidential inaugural balls from […]

BELGIUM – The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (‘Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid’) has a very important task: to collect, preserve and make audiovisual heritage accessible for future generations. In addition to an archive containing more than one million hours of television, radio, music and film from 1898 until the present day, the […]

PETERSBURG, FL – Following a poet through three fanciful stories of unrequited love, Tales of Hoffman has held sway over audiences since it debuted in Paris 136 years ago. Its bright, lively music and a clever libretto are only two of the qualities that have earned this fantastical work a prominent spot in opera company […]

NEW YORK – It was a happy union for metal fans when Killswitch Engage and Anthrax, two of the genre’s most influential bands, announced earlier this year that they would be joining forces on the Killthrax Tour. The 34-city tour, which concluded in May, more than lived up to its advance billing, serving up heaping […]

BALTIMORE, MD – For seven days in April, the night sky over the city that gave birth to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” glowed in a rainbow of colors, as Baltimore celebrated its Light City Festival. Over 400,000 visitors crowded the city’s downtown streets to enjoy hundreds of illuminated sculptures, building projections and interactive exhibits. At the […]

WATERVILLE VALLEY, NH – The six-campus Granite United Church has never rested when it comes to spreading its message and touching lives. By 2014, its three day Warrior Conference for men had already established itself as one of the largest religious gatherings in the Northeast, but the church was looking to make the event even […]

CHANDLER, AZ – Lighting designers all have their own individual styles, and they go about the business of reflecting their clients’ music in slightly different ways. As a designer himself, John Garberson fully appreciates that, which is why “flexibility” was one of his primary goals when he put together the West Stage lighting rig for […]