HALIFAX, UK – With its magnificent period sandstone construction and impressive 8,000 square meter courtyard, The Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, is one of the UK’s best-preserved examples of Industrial Revolution- era architecture. Although the courtyard initially served as a marketplace for traders selling woolen cloth from the town’s many textile mills, a recent […]

NEW YORK – An ethereal science fiction vibe emanates from the music of progressive rockers TAUK just as surely as extended guitar riffs and pulsating bass comping. This is plain to see (and hear) in the New York band’s sixth studio album Shapeshifter, which revolves around the theme of artificial intelligence. It’s also very evident […]

BOCA RATON, FL – “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again,” C.S. Lewis once wrote. The English author went on to prove that point with his famed “children’s book” The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Woven like some magical garment, the book envelops the imagination, captivating readers of […]

LAVAL, QUEBEC – Students who study lighting technology invariably dream of the day when they will be able to try out their own ideas in real world applications. For Érik Nowosielski-Lamoureux, this dream came true on Saturday February 9th, when he lit a performance by the world-renowned children’s choir Les Petits Chanteurs de Laval that […]

Someone unfamiliar with Five Finger Death Punch, who somehow happened to wander into one of their recent shows, would realize even before a single note was played that this is one industrial strength metal band. The 16’ tall skull over the drum kit would tell them that; so too would the pair of 40’ baseball […]

You’ve got to love what you do if you’re going to be the lighting designer for Chicago mainstays 7th Heaven. As much a part of the Windy City as deep dish pizza and Garrett Popcorn, the hard-driving rock quintet plays over 150 shows a year at music festivals, block parties, Chicago Bulls games, and at […]

Many people play music when they work out to keep their bodies in sync with their exercise routine. For Danish lighting designer Theis Wermuth, listening to music is a form of exercise in and of itself; one that revolves around creative, rather than physical, fitness. Taking the time to absorb music in all of its […]

GRAND CAYMAN – A beautiful crescent-shaped stretch of glimmering white coral sand bordering shimmering blue Caribbean water, Seven Mile Beach gives visitors plenty of reason to smile. On February 15 and 16, the famous landmark on the western edge of Grand Cayman Island also provided side-splitting laughs as the site of the Humor Me Comedy […]

PITTSBURGH – Space aliens are landing in Pittsburgh! More than a few fans at Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s sold-out Stage AE show in January had this feeling. And why not? The band’s lighting designer, Manny Newman, created an intense panoramic mothership landing look that appeared like something out of a Spielberg film, only more intense, […]

KORTRIJK, BELGIUM –  You can’t beat a good old singalong. Just ask the thousands of impassioned music lovers who gather each year for Belgium’s Nacht van de Schlagers for a night of singing, drinking and good times to rival those of Germany’s Oktoberfest. For the recent incarnation of the infamous Nacht van de Schlagers, organizers […]

LONDON – After bursting onto the scene in 2007 with their debut album Take to the Skies, Enter Shikari established a stellar reputation as a trendsetter as a result of their genre defining “Trancecore” songs. Supporting their unique blend of music, and earning them a passionately dedicated international following in the process, is the band’s […]

PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND – Maybe it’s their easy rhythm. Or the way their mellow sound just seems to make stress dissipate like the morning mist. Whatever the reason, the multi-platinum British reggae band UB40 is going as strong now as they were when they started out in their native Birmingham in 1978. This was […]