John Kennedy liked to tell people that when written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ was composed of two characters, one representing danger, the other opportunity. Today, this fellow New Englander is demonstrating the wisdom of the late president’s words in the way he has been responding to the coronavirus’ impact on business at his Derry, […]

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong thrives on contact with their large, loyal base of hardcore fans. Feeding off the energy of the crowd powers the psychedelic funk jam band through a relentless touring schedule that includes about 200 shows a year. But a wildly cheering audience was nowhere to be seen when the irrepressible quartet took […]

At 7 pm on Saturday, March 21, the four members of Feed the Dog found themselves someplace they never thought they’d be a few weeks earlier: standing before microphones ready to perform their high energy blend of rock and bluegrass music. There was no audience present, but the jam banders, who have played at clubs […]

Expectations were high when Code Orange announced plans for their Underneath album release party. It wasn’t only fans of the award-winning metal band who were licking their chops; the excitement level for Sam Jimenez, their new 20-year-old lighting designer and production designer was through the roof, too. Describing himself as an “extreme fan” of the […]

Creativity takes courage. These words, learned long ago, came to mind when we were talking to the founder of the aptly named “Never Fear Shadows.” In any endeavor, especially one as complex as lighting design, the process of calling forth new ideas is fraught with peril and uncertainty. Inspiration alone will never do. It must […]

A lighting design, particularly one done for an outdoor festival never takes place in a vacuum. Enveloping the stage, and extending far beyond its reach are its surroundings. They may be rural or urban, aesthetically beautiful or unnervingly jarring. They may even be nothing more than wide open space and sky. One thing is certain […]

Jeff Maker racks up a lot of frequent flyer miles. As the designer and board operator for bands like All Time Low, Dropkick Murphys, Dresden Dolls and Our Last Night, he travels the world doing shows. When he’s at home in Boston, he keeps busy as a house LD for House of Blues in Boston, […]

Paul Siebert makes no bones about it: every night, as soon as punk rockers Menzingers strike the first snarling note in one of their Hello Exile Tour sets, he kicks his lightshow into fourth gear. “I really try to introduce a lot of energy into the room as early as possible,” he explained. “This is […]

What difference will it make if the road crew can get an hour or two of extra sleep every night? This is not the sort of question typically posed to us in our discussions with designers. But coming from this Philadelphia-born LD, it seemed a perfectly natural extension of the thoughtful, holistic approach he takes […]

Like other LDs, Brent Schmidt routinely creates magic with his lighting. In some cases, though, when he’s working live performances with his client, famed TV magician Rick Smith Jr., he actually has to light magic itself. Lighting does more than contribute to the illusions that magicians like Rick Smith Jr. use to enthrall audiences. Borrowing […]

Patience, technical skills, a willingness to listen and help… all are necessary traits in a successful house LD to be sure. But to this list Gerry Dintelman would add another attribute, “musical memory.” Running the lights at St. Louis’ red hot Ready Room, Dintelman welcomes a steady stream of touring and local bands to the […]

Defy the expected order of things, and you treat the imagination to a liberating experience. This principle lies at the heart of the creative spirit in art, literature, and music. It also fueled the evocative power of Theis Wermuth’s design for Alphabeat when the Danish pop stars did two arena shows in November. Departing from […]