BRISTOL, UK – New art and cultural movements seem to blossom most rapidly (and colorfully!) outside the grip of commercial interests. Such was the case in 1988, when the so-called “Second Summer of Love,” sprang up virally in Bristol and other UK cities, as young people flocked to clandestine rave clubs that opened in abandoned […]
WASHINGTON – Last year, David Beebe became one of the first house LDs to add CHAUVET Professional’s Maverick Force S Spot to his rig when he took shipment of six of the then-new 350W lightweight movers from JRLX at the legendary club The Birchmere, where he’s been looking after the lighting since 2004. At the […]
HULL, UK – During a game of racketball in the 1830s, a group of London schoolboys noticed that a punctured ball, which “squashed” on impact with the wall, offered more variety and more intensity of play than its intact counterpart. Thus, to the delight of millions of fans ever since, the game of Squash was […]
WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO – The New York Times hailed him as the “King of Dembow” after a sold-out October show at Madison Square Garden. For the passionate legion of El Alfa fans, this title is more than well-deserved. With his alto, sensual voice, and nonstop energy, the charismatic Dominican singer embodies the essence of the bouncy, […]
GREENSBURG, PA – It is altogether fitting that the image of the waif Cosette sweeping Thénardiers’ Inn serves as the basis (in slightly cropped fashion) for the emblematic image of Les Misérables. Here, within the grimy walls of this old chophouse in Montfermeil, the conflicting forces that are at the heart of the iconic musical […]
SAN BERNADINO, CA – Magical things often happen at the 11th hour; that sometimes harrowing, mythical time when an unexpected turn of events can demand a sudden change of plans. It is at such moments when (hopefully) inspiration and resolve kick in, resulting in an outcome that shines all the more brightly because of the […]
FRANKFURT – The size of the crowd might not have been as large as it was in previous years, but the enthusiasm at Prolight + Sound 2022 was as high as ever. For the CHAUVET Professional and ChamSys teams at the show, that was reason enough to celebrate and look confidently toward the future. “We […]
ROTTERDAM – “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion,” wrote the great French philosopher Albert Camus. The wisdom of these words holds true even when that “turning away” is not voluntary, but brought on by external forces. Erwin Van Lokeren experienced this during the COVID pandemic. Like […]
ONTARIO, CA – Like all artistic achievements, every lighting design, no matter how elaborate and complex it becomes, begins inside someone’s head. The creativity that spawns this process is impossible to define, so too is the feeling that one gets when seeing the final result come to life in the real world. Gus Martinez knows […]
TAMPA – History echoes everywhere, more evocatively in some places than others. One such place is the Tampa Theatre, a nationally registered landmark in the heart of this booming Florida city. The transformative atmosphere of the almost-century-old venue was never lost on designer Peter L. Spadaro III when he lit shows there. So, when Spadaro […]
NEW YORK – It’s been said that every writer works in response to that ancient plea: tell us a story. Claudio Sanchez, for one, has been answering this call since 2004, when he released the first installment of The Amory Wars, a riveting ongoing saga that takes place in “Heaven’s Fence,” a collection of 78 […]
ANTWERP, BELGIUM – Athletic competition thrives on the element of surprise. The race won by a dark horse that comes out of nowhere; the victory achieved against all odds by an unlikely hero, and similar turns of events all etch themselves in the memories of fans as some of the greatest moments in sports. Volleyball […]