Production News

Richard ‘Wookie’ Whitley Connects to Fans on Cody Johnson’s 2026 Tour with Chauvet Professional

USA – There is one fixture that Richard ‘Wookie’ Whitley wished he had on his rig, but didn’t, for CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, Cody Johnson’s 25-city arena tour, which jump started with a bang in early February at the Legacy Arena. “If they made a PXL Curve 6, I could have put them in a lot of various places,” Whitley exclaimed! 

There is no PXL Curve 6, but no worries, Whitley made excellent use of the 20 Chauvet Professional PXL Curve 12 battens that are in his actual Bandit Lites supplied tour rig. He’s calling on them to lend more dynamic movement to his show and enhance the strong crowd connection his client thrives on, all while having a good time lighting one of country music’s brightest stars.

“Really, it’s been a lot of fun having them on our show,” he said of the motorised pixel mappable fixtures, each with 12 independent heads. “They are located on the downstage edge and on our custom thrust edge from the downstage right corner to the downstage left corner. They’ve really helped create some depth and cool moments and they give me the option to use them as a footlight as well.

“Being able to ‘bend light’ is really catching on with the tour and the crowd,” continued Whitley. “I have also noticed that from the perspectives of fans at various seats in the arena, they kind of give you a whole different view of the show. If they made a PXL Curve 6, I would have used them too!”

Joining the COLORado PXL fixtures on Whitley’s rig were 80 Strik Array 2 units, which flanked the massive centre-stage video screen and ran along the 31ft by 50ft wide upstage trim. “On this year’s tour we went a bit lower than usual with the trim so we could cut a row off the video wall and have a true 16:9 ratio,” explained Whitley. “Also, our torms vary in length from nine-feet high and 20-feet long to 14-feet high and 15-feet long, to 19-feet and ten-feet long.

“Adding the Stike Array 2 to this year’s rig helped in quite a few ways,” he continued. “I used the fixtures to create some nice patterns and effects and to light the audience seated on the hard stage left or right side. We’re committed to maintaining a strong visual connection to all fans in the crowd. Having 80 Strike Array fixtures allowed us to do this job perfectly.”

Whitley worked closely with his team (crew chief Eli Ahlers, technicians Dan Morgan, Jessie Hochinyavong and Jacob Cottrell, account rep Allen Deneau, head project manager Andrew Ellis and head rigger Devin Halsey), to keep the visuals on stage fresh and vibrant from the opening number to the encore. For example, at times he turned off the Strike Array 2 fixtures, while at others he blasted away with strobes. He also varied colour palettes.

Another change in the tour this year was the modification in Cody Johnson’s well-known geometric logo. “After a few meetings last year, we decided we really wanted to try and replicate the logo but without any crazy rigging, automation or custom truss,” said Whitley. “We also changed up our riser set-up and thrust, both end with a centre point just like the logo. So, it only made sense to invert the aerial rig that we had last year, connect everything with no gaps between truss runs, and then added the torms on the side of the video wall to come down to a point. The Strike Array 2 and PXL Curves really helped line it out.”

Modifications notwithstanding, the beloved logo evoked the same vibe and the genuine music wrapped fans in a familiar good feeling, which is why they will continue to fill arenas for this dynamic and engaging start throughout 2026 and beyond.

6th March 2026

Claypaky Volero Cubes and Sharpy X Frames Support Cambridge University Punk-rock Production of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”

Europe – Claypaky, in collaboration with Entedi, its official distributor for the United Kingdom, sponsored the Cambridge University European Theatre Group (CUETG), a totally student-run theatre company which has been touring Shakespeare plays in Europe, with Volero Cube and Sharpy X Frame fixtures for its punky, farcical production of “The Comedy of Errors.”

CUETG was founded by famed actor Derek Jacobi in 1957 and has established a reputation for its technically ambitious and brilliantly creative productions.  Director James Allen’s punk-rock “The Comedy of Errors” was acclaimed as "flawless" and "a delight to watch" (Varsity, 2026), bringing out the absurd and bizarre of the play with plenty of energy and fight scenes. The production toured Europe last December, ran educational workshops at schools in Switzerland and Belgium and wrapped up with a home run in Cambridge at the end of January 2026.

The Claypaky Volero Cubes and Sharpy X Frames supported the play with punchy lighting and great flexibility.  “The addition of these lights made an inestimable impact on the professionalism and quality of our performances,” says lighting designer Peter Baker.

“The Volero Cubes brought character to our visuals, both as a pseudo-set piece and lighting fixture. These
lightweight moving heads were able to produce many complex and distinctive effects through the use of the Cube’s four RGBW pixels and eight strobe cells, co-ordinated through Claypaky's layer management system,” he explains. “Sustaining energy through scene transitions was a central focus of the production. The Volero Cube’s intense saturation and dynamic movement, combined with the show’s heavy metal soundtrack, carried the momentum without interruption.”

Eloise Davis, production manager and technical director for CUETG, says: “I was very glad to see how the Volero Cubes could be simultaneously so lightweight and so powerful, this was particularly useful for the tight turnarounds at get-ins and get-outs and for the limited storage we had on our touring coach.”

Baker notes that the Sharpy X Frames “allowed the creation of incredibly striking lighting states. The combination of prisms, gobo and animation wheels allowed me to create some beautifully textured lighting and to produce the magical atmosphere of Ephesus on stage.

“The X Frame’s CMY colour mixing was a perfect fit for this theatrical production,” he adds, with its ability “to achieve a range of saturations as well as nailing the less intense warms and colds. An additional tool that came in for use was the colour wheel, which allowed me to create beautiful split colour effects.   

“The Sharpy X Frame’s versatility, large zoom range and speed allowed it to be the workhorse of my touring lighting rig,” Baker points out. “They were everything I could have asked for in a moving head hybrid fixture.

“All in all, Claypaky produces high quality and featureful lighting fixtures; they have been a delight to work with,” he reports.

Alena Turiakova, marketing director at Claypaky, commented: “At Claypaky, we are always proud to support the next generation of creative talent as they take their first steps into entertainment industry. Supporting their passion, ambition and artistic courage is part of our DNA. Initiatives like the Cambridge University European Theatre Group are not only an investment in education, but in the future of our industry.

www.claypaky.com

6th March 2026

GLP MAD MAXX makes major impact at premier arenas and festivals

USA – GLP report increasing demand this summer and autumn for GLP’s mighty MAD MAXX skytracker, billed as the world’s first super-fat LED beam and designed to emulate the legacy 3kW and 7kW xenon searchlights of yesteryear.

With a massive 750mm beam diameter, promoters, production designers and creatives generally have been incorporating the MAD MAXX into stage sets and scenography to provide an additional wow factor. The fixture utilises 19 individually controllable 90W white LEDs, generating a total output of up to 68,000 lumens. Those pixels can be controlled individually or grouped into three segments (centre, inner ring and outer ring) for dynamic effects and pixel mapping.

Based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Gateway Productions was one of the first adopters, investing in ten MAD MAXXes after previewing them first in a GLP video and then in the flesh at InfoComm, an experience which was the deal maker.

Owner, Alex Sommerfeld, a long-standing GLP customer, admits that he fell in love with the MAD MAXX. “We are a small company, a regional shop and when I go to trade shows or am out in the field, I want to bring something to the table that is completely different. I’m not looking for the same meat and potato product that happens to be a bit brighter. I want to encourage lighting designers to use regional shops more and show a bit of foresight. MAD MAXX is next generation in size and will enable me to drive that market and hopefully offer touring clients some sprinkles on their ice cream!”

Fixtures quickly went out on T-Pain’s TP20 tour, celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga. The LD present was Noah (Nappy Boy) Lucas.

“I first saw [the fixtures] last year on Instagram and was very intrigued with the unique possibilities they have for eye candy as well as fat beams,” Lucas states. “I was looking for a fat beam, especially for our amphitheatre shows and Red Rocks. I wanted the light to go as far as the lasers would.”

The MAD MAXX first went out with Lucas at a Radio City Music Hall Show in September. “We used six inside an upstage line behind four cars to get huge searchlight and beam impact for the show. They really stood out. All the local crew were amazed at the fixtures and couldn’t stop talking about them, especially when I asked them to remove them from the cases,” he laughs.

“For touring purposes, we used two on the downstage edges. We actually built custom scenic to go around the case bases, so we didn’t have to lift the fixtures out every day.”

Lucas’ verdict was unequivocal. “They exceeded my expectations. And for their size, I was surprised at just how fast they move.

“They were very easy to program, and I used them in the full extended mode. I had moments where I wrote out the name of songs on them. I also made them look like casino dice for our Got Money song. In fact, I loved the different effects we could get out of them.

“I will for sure be specifying these fixtures for our future tours,” promises Lucas.

Chris Ruppel and Michael Smalley (of PHNTM Productions) are further creatives who deployed the MAD MAXX recently on the Zodiac (second stage) at the Valley of the Seven Stars Festival in Arrington, Virginia, highlighting a diverse line-up of artists.

“We first saw the MAD MAXX in person at a GLP roadshow after we had already spec’d them for this project,” said Ruppel. The fixtures were sub-hired from Volt Lites by Christie Lites, PHNTM’s primary vendor.

 “We chose the MAD MAXX predominantly because of the size and shape language of the face of the fixture, which matched to the language we established in some of the scenic elements for the stage,” added Michael Smalley.

The scale of the fixture also played well with the approach they took to scale with the stage as a whole. “Ultimately, it acted as a beacon of sorts to call attendees to the stage, but the original emphasis was on the size and shape of the lens faces,” he added. A pair were mounted atop 25 foot-high towers on the far stage left and stage right, just behind the PA, and they were programmed in mode 3 multi beam (170 DMX channels).

This deployment was a total success. “They definitely achieved the desired mirroring of shape language and the desire for a giant fixture to match our creative approach to the scenic design,” Ruppel summarised. “We got unlucky with the weather on day three, but one happy surprise was that they looked incredible in the air, bouncing off the rain drops and illuminating the low cloud cover.”

Aside from Ruppel and Smalley, the production team included Elliott Little (technical director), William Kessler (production manager) and Chris Olivieri (stage manager).

Another prominent LD, Marcus Jessup, also used a pair of Gateway Productions’ MAD MAXXes on Playboi Carti’s Antagonist 2.0 tour in support of his album Music (2025). Next year he will increase the quantity considerably when he accompanies Bad Bunny on a world tour.

Other major MAD MAXX deployments from Gateway include Falling In Reverse plus Ice Cube’s Truth To Power 40th anniversary tour.

photo: @shawnriddlephoto

www.glp.de

6th March 2026

Sound That Carried the Crowd: DAS Audio on the Capital One Music Stage at the Orange Bowl

USA – The Capital One Music Stage at the Orange Bowl is a high-traffic, open-air environment built around energy, crowd noise, sponsor expectations and the experience for college football fans supporting their team at this annual event. As a cornerstone of the postseason and a nationally recognised tradition, the Orange Bowl draws massive crowds, passionate fan bases, and significant media attention year after year. The production goal for this event was simple and unforgiving: deliver polished, intelligible sound that feels premium and consistent across a wide audience area, without sacrificing deployment speed or reliability.

Audio for the Capital One Music Stage was provided by Interface Sound and Production, the long-standing Orange Bowl audio provider, deploying DAS Audio ARA Series MARA for the January 2026 audience experience. The effort was co-ordinated with Illuminate Production Services, who have historically supported lighting and video for the FanFest area and Capital One Stage. For this year’s event, Illuminate partnered with Interface on audio, supplying the DAS system that Interface deployed for the stage.

The sound package for the Capital One Music Stage featured DAS Audio’s ARA Series, including:

• MARA line array speakers
• MARA-SUB cardioid subwoofers
• ARA-P28 front fills

“As the PA provider, I’m tasked with specifying and providing a PA that fills the band’s rider requirements and works within the scope of the job: weight, performance, ease of deployment and budget,” said Michael Betancourt, of Illuminate. “The DAS Audio MARA system checked off all the requirements, and then some.”

With Orange Bowl and Capital One branding on the stage, the audio had to support the experience in a very intentional way.

“The system had to feel powerful, polished and premium, not just ‘festival loud,’” Betancourt said. “We needed high SPL, strong vocal clarity over crowd noise, even front-to-back coverage to avoid dead zones, and to be able to cover a large open area. This meant prioritising intelligibility and tonal balance, not just output. All of that is what MARA delivers.”

From a system design perspective, the team leaned on MARA’s even coverage and onboard tools to keep results predictable and tuning efficient.

“By design, the waveguides of the MARA system keep the audio consistent horizontally across the entire audience area,” said Carlos Henao, senior sales engineer for DAS Audio. “Not only because it’s a line array, but thanks in large part to features like Atmospheric Correction, HOS EQs, and DASaim, all found onboard the boxes themselves, without external processing. Perfect sound and perfect coverage for the entire audience is made possible by these features.”

On the ground, that translated into a system the crew could deploy quickly and confidently. Daniel Fernandez, lead system technician, shared feedback after deployment: “The system is awesome, it sounds so good. Thank you for organising everything and preparing it so the cabling and the whole setup were easy.”

Interface Sound and Production has deployed DAS Audio at the Orange Bowl for two decades, evolving through multiple product generations as event needs and expectations have grown.

“We have had amazing support from DAS since day one,” said Ralph Alavaez, Interface Sound and Production. “The technology gets better every year and the software gets friendlier. As I’ve been spearheading the annual show, I will always go to DAS Audio as my first choice.”

5th March 2026

From One Republic to Lil Baby and Bad Omens, 4Wall delivers unforgettable live experiences with Brompton Technology

Worldwide - From arena tours and festival stages to live broadcasts and high-profile brand launches, 4Wall continues to deliver the kind of LED-driven moments that audiences remember, with Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED processors at the heart of its workflow.

“We rely on Brompton’s Tessera SX40 LED video processor as one of the key tools in our arsenal, whether it’s for a concert experience, shooting a television show in an LED volume, or other forms of entertainment,” says Wayne Romanowski, VP of LED Services at 4Wall. “It’s not only dependable under any circumstances, Tessera software features also give us a lot of creative flexibility we might not otherwise have.”

Over the past year, 4Wall has utilised Brompton processing on a host of productions, from major concert touring to large-scale broadcast and live event work. Some of the notable live events included Lil Baby, Lewis Capaldi, Metallica’s World Tour, NFL Draft 2025, One Republic and Tom Grennan. Additionally, the company supported productions such as Delta Airlines’ Centennial Gala, Glastonbury Festival, Netflix Fanatics Fest, New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, Parklife Festival, Pier 80: Non Plus Ultra, and Saturday Night Live. With momentum building, 4Wall is also set to support a busy run of 2026 tours, including Bad Omens’ ‘Do You Feel Love’ European Tour, Barry Manilow, Bon Jovi and Pitbull, alongside many more LED-driven projects already in the pipeline.

One of the standout annual productions supported by 4Wall is New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, a major hybrid event combining a free, large-scale public celebration with a live television broadcast from downtown Nashville, demanding robust, weather-ready systems and highly efficient workflows. In a very different setting, 4Wall also supported a high-profile brand activation for Jeep, which unveiled its 2026 Jeep Cherokee at Domino Park in New York City. The large-scale event spanned the entire length of the park with multiple stages and rigs set up with large video walls. The majority of the walls were powered by Tessera SX40 LED processors due to their ability to process 4K content with precision colour accuracy and image quality. “The ability to support up to 9 million pixels in full 4K at 60Hz with 12-bit colour depth made the SX40 essential for the content we displayed on screen,” Romanowski notes.

4Wall has also been a key partner in providing lighting and support services for NBC’s iconic Saturday Night Live (SNL), including its 50th Anniversary Celebration episode. Each week, the 4Wall team works closely with the crews from both SNL and the week’s musical guest to meet the show’s tight deadlines, finding creative solutions to keep operations smooth and efficient.

With locations across the US and UK, 4Wall is a full-service rental company specialising in audio, lighting, video and rigging, spanning applications from television to concert touring, corporate events and more. Operating with a commitment to bespoke client support, 4Wall’s suite of services includes production services from pre-show to on-site, building out custom LED volumes for virtual production projects and equipment rentals and sales. Since its founding in 1999, 4Wall has maintained a reputation for excellence, reliability and technical innovation thanks to close partnerships with both hardware and software manufacturers.

“The SX40 has become an integral part of our video solutions,” says Romanowski. “Our technicians appreciate their flexibility and ease of use with massive video displays needing 4K content. If there is ever a question or support needed, Brompton’s technical team is always available to us. 2026 has already started with a bang and we look forward to what the rest of the year holds for us!”

“That 4Wall continues to rely on Brompton processing for the high profile projects it works on is extremely gratifying and a testament to the usability and reliability of our products,” concludes Webster Moyle, technical sales manger (western US). “It’s always a pleasure to work with companies such as 4Wall. It makes the effort we put into ensuring both our hardware and software deliver in these high pressure environments worthwhile, and it’s what drives us to continue innovating in ways that ensure we meet the expectations and demands of our markets.”

photos: Matt Eachus

5th March 2026

Marc-Antoine Pelletier Embraces Damien Robitaille in Light with Chauvet Professional

Canada – As a designer, Marc-Antoine Pelletier always strives to reflect his clients’ music in light. But the Quebecois designer is taking things a step further on the current tour by the Juno-nominated multi-instrumentalist Damien Robitaille. Lighting is not only supporting the music on stage, it’s also often the subject of the songs themselves.

“The design process for this tour started with the release of the album, ‘Ultraviolet’,” explained Pelletier. “In addition to being named after a colour, this pop-dance oriented album talks a lot about lighting. So, I wanted to have a show where the audience can feel the energy on stage from not just the band, but also the lighting.”

With this in mind, Pelletier created a design that wraps Robitaille and the band in lighting from customised LED strips and Chauvet Professional COLORado 2 Solo fixtures, both from Viviane Giguère and the team at Softbox. Moving from high energy peaks to minimalistic moments, the lighting changes the dynamics of the stage to match them music, while always maintaining an intimate connection to the artist, as if it too were part of his music.

“The lighting design is not there to flash and impress,” said Pelletier. “It’s there to enhance the emotions of the different songs and place Damien in the centre of his musical universe. It also allows the crowd to really listen to the lyrics without being disturbed by the light show. The show is built and programmed to fit all types of crowds. It’s also easy to scale up or down to fit in different types of venues.”

Given that the album/tour is Ultraviolet, Pelletier focuses his colour palette around violets and pale blue, generally limiting himself to no more than two colours at the same time. A notable exception was when the show focused on Robitaille’s time in Spain. At those moments, the stage is covered by a broader array of hues that suggest the Iberian coastline.

Adding an extra dimension to the stage are the rotating gobos from the COLORado fixtures. “We use gobos to reflect a lot of different moods, from slow and atmospheric to high-beat songs with faster rotations,” said Pelletier. “I also use gobos when I light the audience. This allows me to dim down the light beam and creates a beautiful immersive look for the crowd. There is a song (Limousine) during the show where the gobos represent the rays from the sun, which is a very nice effect.”

Pelletier relies on his 18 COLORado 2 Solos (12 overhead and six on sides), along with ten COLORado 2 Quad Zoom fixtures to achieve his all-embracing vision for this design. “The Solo fixtures on the side are critical to killing the unwanted 2D look,” he said. “As for the 2 Quad Zooms, they are placed on the floor and their great output allows me to use them during some of the songs to create shadows of the band.”

At times, Pelletier relied on the six COLORado 2 Quad Zooms placed in front of the risers to isolate Robitaille and hide the band for solos. “By placing the musicians behind, I am able to play with the 2 Quad Zooms to make them appear and disappear,” said Pelletier, who re-emphasised that he wants his client to be the centre of attention; a centre surrounded by a sea of light that runs through his dynamic music.

4th March 2026

GRiZ Goes Cross Country with Ayrton Kyalami and Rivale Fixtures

USA – Denver’s Voyage Productions chose Ayrton Kyalami and Rivale fixtures for a wide range of recent shows featuring longtime client GRiZ, the DJ, songwriter and electronic music producer from Southfield, Michigan. Thornton, Colorado’s Brown Note Productions, Inc. provided the Ayrton fixtures from its extensive inventory of the brand. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

Voyage has worked with GRiZ for 13 years and the turnkey production design and consulting firm has a long history with Ayrton fixtures as well. “We’re always looking for innovative fixtures and Ayrton has been in the picture for us many times over the years,” says Kyle Kegan, who served as production designer for the GRiZ projects and co-show director with Ian Davis, who was also creative director and operator. “The Kyalami and Rivale made big impacts on GRiZ’s shows.”

Ryan Knutson, President of Brown Note Productions commented: “When we bring new technology into our inventory, it has to make sense for our team, our workflow and the kind of shows we’re supporting. We chose the Kyalami because it’s a fixture that delivers real output and control in a compact footprint. It allows our crew to deploy efficiently, gives designers flexibility and performs consistently under pressure.”

“For a production like GRiZ where the visuals are high-energy but also detailed and intentional, the Kyalami and Rivale combination was a natural fit,” Knutson continues: “The Kyalami gave us density and precision without adding unnecessary weight or complexity and the Rivale brought the punch for key moments. Just as important, they integrate cleanly into our process from prep to show day.”

For the outdoor Valley of the Seven Stars camping music festival, Cassady Miller-Halloran, who teamed with Kegan and Davis on the design of the shows and handled programming, says they needed “something small and light that was a great beam. Kyalami was a perfect fit. It’s also super-fast, which is very important for this genre of music.” Eighty-eight were deployed in the rig.

The team also found “a great modern spot fixture with clean optics” in 76 Rivale, he notes. “They were compact but had all the features we needed: gobos, animation wheel, framing shutters.” 

A few weeks later, Voyage reprised Kyalami and Rivale for their design of GRiZ’s Re:Connect arena shows in Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area. “The geometry of the rig with the Rivale’s strong spots and Kyalami’s strong gobo looks, vivid colours and colour mixing was very important,” Davis says. 

In the Chicago Wintrust Arena ten Kyalami were mounted in linear arrays while 48 Rivale fixtures were distributed throughout the rig as workhorse fixtures. “The Kyalami fixtures are so small that we could pack them tightly together on the truss to deliver a unique look like a curtain of beams,” recalls Miller-Halloran. “That would have been impossible with another fixture.”

The larger size of the Cow Palace required Voyage to increase that venue’s fixture count to 140 Kyalami and 64 Rivale, adding eight pods, each mounted with five Kyalami and two Rivale fixtures, in the audience to “bring the show out to the crowd with texture and gobo moments,” Davis explains. 

A Detroit holiday tradition since 2014, The 12 Days of GRiZmas is an annual charity fundraiser during which GRiZ participates in citywide events and plays two shows at the city’s Masonic Theater. “These are smaller-scale shows, but we made the same fixture choices: 60 Kyalami and 40 Rivale fixtures, which were easy to scale to this smaller stage,” Davis reports. 

The Voyage team also used two other brands exclusively distributed by ACT Entertainment in North America: grandMA3 consoles and MDG theONE atmospheric generators.

“We have used grandMA3 running MA3 software for several years now, and it’s definitely the framework around which we build shows,” says Miller-Halloran. For GRiZ’s tour Brown Note provided three full size consoles, a grandMA3 light as a tech desk on stage, plus six processing units to handle some 80,000 parameters.

Brown Note also supplied a pair of MDG theONE atmospheric generators. “They are always our top choice for atmosphere,” says Miller-Halloran. “We switch between their hazer and fogger modes for the shows, filling the room with haze and cueing the fog for cloud effects.”

The Voyage team has been so pleased with the Ayrton fixtures that they plan to keep them busy with GRiZ’s upcoming Re:Connect tour dates, spring and summer festivals and one-off shows at the end of 2026. “We will want to implement these fixtures on our designs for other artists, too,” Davis notes.

He adds: “Brown Note has been a great partner for us over the years in making our shows come together, and we’re excited to continue working with them.”

“At the end of the day, our decisions come down to people, process and packaging. We want gear that supports our technicians, streamlines deployment and shows up every night. The Ayrton line-up checks those boxes and that’s why it earned its place in our inventory, adds Knutson

“We’re also eager to see what Ayrton continues to add to its arsenal and the new ways we can use their fixtures,” concludes Kegan.  

4th March 2026

DJ Dimension Downtown LA Show Powered by Elation and Bending Lite

USA – Lighting designer Aaron Attarzadeh delivered a high-impact, visually tight design for DJ Dimension’s downtown Los Angeles performance, using a full Elation rig supplied by SLX Productions. As a designer with Bending Lite – the team behind Deadmau5, Tiësto and Insomniac events – the designer adapted Dimension’s UK tour aesthetic to the outdoor Factory 93 setting.

Aaron, who tours with Dimension in the US, collaborated closely with the artist’s creative team, manager Aaron Goldberg, Dimension himself and Ariel Afar, principal and creative director of SLX Productions. Given that Dimension doesn’t often play the US, the project was especially meaningful for the team.

“This show was really close to our hearts,” says Aaron. “We’re all longtime friends, we all love drum and bass, and we wanted to replicate what Dimension does in the UK as closely as possible while still making it work for this venue and this market.”

The designer says he favours fixture flexibility over excessive variety and loves running shows on the fly. That philosophy guided the lighting design from the start.

“We don’t like to throw salads at shows,” he explains. “We like large amounts of consolidated fixture types. Keeping it tight and concise means that when someone captures that one everlasting moment, everything looks consistent: beam divergence, colour temperature, all of it across the entire rig.”

The lighting package included 36 Proteus Rayzor Blade S, 26 Smarty Max moving heads and 16 SŌL I Blinders, all from Elation. SLX, a full-service production company and rental house based in Los Angeles, also supplied haze and fog, along with moving LED panels. Data networking was handled via Netron EN12 and NS8 nodes for communication from the stage to the front of house, running three VLANs for lighting, video and show control.

The design process began in Capture and Vectorworks, where Aaron and the team previsualised the concept in detail. “We absolutely love Capture because it’s quick to get a design in front of the client,” the designer states. “We then build a full 3D virtual environment for the artist in Depence and use it as a selling tool. Everyone can immediately see the vision.”

Working with Dimension’s UK-based creative direction, the team focused on preserving the artist’s signature visual moments, with the Proteus Rayzor Blades playing a key role.

“We like to approach shows by focusing on what makes the artist look the coolest,” Aaron said. “With Dimension, it’s him smoking a cigarette. That’s his thing. So, the whole question became: how many ways can we make him look cool while smoking a cigarette? We used a ‘God’ light from above, plus Rayzor Blade fixtures in different variations to highlight him in multiple ways. That was the initial vision behind using the Blades.”

Arranged in a straight line behind Dimension at neck height, the LD says the Rayzor Blades were perfect for this show as they’re essentially three fixtures in one. “You have two lines of white LED, which is the strobe, the RGBW LED engine and white LEDs for a twinkle effect. Everything is more concentrated and efficient, but still incredibly dynamic.”

That multi-functionality allowed Aaron to create high-impact looks without overcomplicating the rig. “The Blades let us do more with less,” he says.

Ariel Afar adds: “The Rayzor Blades are incredibly versatile. It lets us create a variety of looks from one fixture, which makes for a cleaner-looking rig. At SLX, we’ve used them on everything from Coachella to Ja Rule’s 2025 tour. The IP rating is huge as well, especially when you’re setting up the night before.”

The designer made heavy use of the Rayzor Blade’s SparkLED background effect, creating a twinkling grid behind the artist. “I’m a big fan of twinkle effects,” he explains. “I left them on at 30–40% for most of the show so the rig would still look full from any angle. It’s not bright to the point where it’s bleeding out the show; it’s just a tiny bit of twinkle that's shooting through the haze. Any photo, any angle: you always see the rig alive, without it overpowering the moment.”

The Blades’ wide zoom range was also key to shaping the show’s atmosphere. “Again, they are multi-purpose,” Aaron explains. “You can zoom them in tight to get a nice beam but I actually zoomed them all the way out and shot them down through the crowd on stage. It looked like the crowd was glowing in UV.”

Mounted at the same height as the Blades, Smarty Max moving heads delivered tight, focused beams that added punch and contrast to the rig. Aaron leaned on the fixture’s hybrid design for its optical precision and flexibility rather than sheer quantity.

“You don’t get the same beam quality from LED,” he explains. “The arc source gives you a more condensed, pinpoint beam that cuts through the haze. With two stackable prisms and dual gobo wheels, there’s a lot of variation available without needing to overbuild the rig.”

Using the 16-facet prism, Aaron created effects resembling fine laser-like beams radiating outward. “That arc source is key for projecting through a prism like this,” he adds. “It’s about clarity and control, not just brightness.”

The SŌL I Blinders, with its tiny housing and full-spectrum RGBL+AW LED engine, were placed behind a blow-through video wall to create a glowing under-stage effect.

“From the sides of the stage, the blinders shot through the haze to make it look UV, warm white, red; whatever we needed to match the visuals,” the designer says. Strategically placed Entourage fazers (ADJ) beneath the stage turned the shaded haze into an active element of the show.

For SLX principal Ariel Afar, Elation fixtures have become a staple of the company’s inventory. By pairing versatile equipment with design expertise, the company crafts unique staging solutions that are both flexible and quick to deploy, an approach that proved integral to the project.

“Ariel and his team at SLX made this an easy load-in,” says Aaron. “They prepped everything at the shop and had it show-ready in three hours from trucks dumped to programming.”

The designer concludes by emphasizing that strong vendor relationships are critical to modern touring. “Our relationship with Elation is so important to the execution of these shows,” he says. “Having local support, quick turnaround and people who understand how fast showbiz moves makes all the difference. Ariel’s relationship with Elation played a huge role in the success of this show.”

photos: Kurt Miller

4th March 2026

GLP Creos makes theatre debut at Almeida

3rd March 2026

Nico Riot Reflects Power of Perturbator on Tour with Chauvet Professional

France – Art has a wonderful way of feeding on itself, inspiring the creative spark in those who encounter it, even as it crosses different times, places and genres. Just ask Nico Riot and his collaborator Camille from Clair Obscur. They were developing set design ideas for dark-synth icon Perturbator’s 2025 fall and winter EU tour, which recently concluded at the iconic Le Bataclan, when they saw that their client was doing a photo shoot at the Rudolph Tegner Museum and Statue Park.

Viewing the photos from the site, just north of Copenhagen, the designers could see the same creative forces at work in their client’s music and the stark, massive sculptures of Tegner, a pioneer in the early 20th century brutalist school of art and design.

Like Perturbator’s cyber punk music, the work of the Danish sculptor was big and imposing, but, more than just frightening, it was also reaffirming. “Perturbator did a photoshoot with photographer Andy Julia at Rudolph Tegner’s Museum and when I saw the photos, the direction of the design was basically settled,” said Riot, who used 20 (or 28, depending on the venue) Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL 16 motorised battens from Pan Tilt of Rennes, to translate the mood from sculptures to stage.

“The details and gigantism of the sculptures called for a video monolith to recreate that vibe on this tour,” said Riot. “There are two musicians on stage: Perturbator and the drummer, and I wanted them to be close together, centred around a strong central piece. In the museum, there’s a glass ceiling with an octagonal shape. This was the perfect direction to tie everything together on stage. The octagonal shape became the riser and we tried to recreate the look of the glass ceiling.”

The distinctive riser served as a springboard for transformative looks throughout out the show. At times it glowed with intense light, at others it disappeared into the darkness and fog. It pulled the artists on stage closer together, then moved to separate them creating a different mood.

“The show is divided into acts, so we only used parts of the monolith until the risers opened,” recounted Riot. “That’s when the monolith was revealed at full size. Opening the risers also revealed new lines of beams, creating a new perspective during the show and multiplying the number of sources and possibilities. The first movement of the risers happened mid-show. It’s pretty crazy for the audience to see the two musicians being split apart across the stage. Essentially, the riser allowed me to re-centre the audience’s attention on a single point whenever needed. The monolith is always present but not fully revealed at first.”

To accent the octagon, Riot surrounded the centrepiece structure with 20 COLORado PXL 16 battens. (On the tour’s festival stops, he used eight additional units for side lighting.)

“They gave us a beautiful layering element to create a mask between the band and the audience,” he said of the battens. They also interacted with the beams working on the Y axis, while the bars themselves were mostly on the X axis. They’re a great tool!”

Declaring that he wanted to create something “the opposite of any regular metal and EDM shows,” Riot relied on colour changes from his fixtures to  evoke a sense of movement without relying heavily on moving fixtures.

“There is barely any movements, FX or quick position changes,” he said. “Perturbator’s music can be really intense, so I was looking for ways to keep that intensity without shooting light straight into the audience. I tried to aim the strobes upstage or keep them in their home position for example.

“I also used an insane amount of haze and smokes,” added Riot. “It helped tons to calm the strobe, since they have more haze opacity. Colours helped make them feel a bit smoother as well. Being very cautious while playing with frequencies and dimmer effects at the same time can create great craziness without being overwhelming. Another thing I did was play a lot with dimmer intensities. An element can be running at one percent, waiting for the right musical moment to explode in this kind of show.”

Working with his LX crew chief Léna Marinot, Riot ran his ten-universe show on MIDI. “I’d never had the chance to program an electronic act before, so I called my good friend Pierre-Claude and he advised me to go with MIDI. I found MIDI to be a better workflow: easier to move parts around if the artist decides to make changes within songs during the tour. Now, I can’t wait to do another one with Perturbator and keep pushing this design further.” 

3rd March 2026

People Light Invests in Colombia’s First Martin Audio WPL System

Colombia – People Light, a premier sound and light rental house based in Bogotá, has recently upgraded its inventory with a landmark investment in Martin Audio’s large-format WPL, the first system of its kind in the country.

Established in 2007, People Light has grown into one of Colombia’s largest production companies. When the time came to overhaul their flagship audio inventory, their ambition was clear: to meet the uncompromising riders of the world’s most demanding international festivals and tours.

This vision led the People Light team directly to the Martin Audio portfolio and to Martin’s Latin American distributor AVCOM, supported in the region by Proactive LATAM. Following a series of rigorous field tests and demonstrations, the company subsequently invested in a full-scale Wavefront Precision large-format array.

As the flagship of the Wavefront Precision Series, WPL is a three-way, bi-amped system featuring dual 12” LF drivers. It is designed to deliver stadium-level output with extraordinary pattern control, further enhanced by Martin Audio’s scalable resolution optimisation.

The comprehensive system now in People Light’s inventory consists of 24 WPL line array elements, complemented by 12 SXH218 dual 18” high-power subwoofers, all driven by iKON iK42 multi-channel amplifiers.

Since the system’s debut, the company reports that feedback from both internal technical teams and external promoters has been exceptional. Alongside the signature sonic quality, particular praise has been reserved for the streamlined workflows, specifically the ease of system configuration, tuning and rigging, which has significantly simplified on-the-ground operations.

Camilo Aranguren, CEO of AVCOM, comments: “With People Light’s acquisition, major events and festivals in Colombia will now have access to a system designed to deliver power, uniform coverage, and absolute control in large-scale productions.”

People Light have already successfully deployed the WPL rig for leading artists including Yeisson Jiménez, Luis Alfonso and Hebert Vargas. In a significant milestone, the system is also set to make its debut at Bogotá’s famous El Campín stadium – the city’s largest and most renowned venue – later this month.

Alejandro Puentes, CEO of People Light, concludes: “This is an important step in our history, positioning us as one of the few companies in the region with this level of large-format technology. This is a world-class system, proven at the most demanding international festivals and tours.” 

3rd March 2026

Disturbed Spread “The Sickness” on 25th Anniversary Tour with Cohesion PA in Support

USA – Disturbed took to the road for “The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour,” celebrating their sensational career with sold-out arenas in every corner of the United States and Europe. Their two sets, one of their 5x-platinum album The Sickness plus a set of their greatest hits, were supported each night by a Cohesion PA.

The heavy metal quartet, known for chart-topping hits such as Down with the Sickness, Stupify, I Will Not Break and Bad Man, Disturbed wanted their fans to experience riveting shows with clear, impactful sound in each market and in each seat. The chosen Cohesion PA provided a powerful and consistent sonic experience, as FOH engineer Brad Divens attested: “The arenas all sounded different, but I knew that the PA was going to deliver no matter what,” he said. “My mix was dialled in, but the test was working with the PA in different environments. I had everything I needed around me to deliver a great-sounding rock show.”

Clair Global deployed the audio system, which consisted of 16 Cohesion CO12 per side on the main hangs and 14 Cohesion CO10 on each side hang, as well as six Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofers flown and three ground-stacked per side.

Eight Cohesion CF28 were deployed on stage as “super-versatile point and shoot” fill, as described by system engineer Scott Jarecki. “By far, they’re my favourite speaker Cohesion has made. They sounded incredible with a small footprint. I’m a nuts-and-bolts SE and with how similarly voiced the CF28 is to the CO12, I knew they’d mix exactly. That gave me peace of mind and my engineer knew it would sound the same in the front rows as 120 feet away. The CF28 ripped.”

“You have to make sure the audience down front hears every bit of the mix. That’s the problem with the expensive seats: no one pays attention to the job of the front fill,” added Divens. “With these CF28, the voicing was identical to what I was hearing in the air. I agree with Scott 100 percent. I went from in front of the hangs and walked into the front fill, and the voicing never changed. It was incredible, it sounded just like the CO12.”

Jarecki said Sickness was his first tour with Cohesion. “From show to show, it was a very consistent PA. I lined up Brad’s traces and they looked like one line. Another thing I appreciated: I could tilt Cohesion back more than any other PA out there. Some of these upper bowls, I reached them with the CO10 outfill better than with competitors and they sounded really consistent.”

Disturbed’s post-intermission set each night comprised a collection of their most popular songs from a career spanning three decades, including Billboard #1 covers of Land of Confusion and The Sound of Silence, a crowd favourite.

“There was this moment during The Sound of Silence where Brad dropped the PA down and brought in the whole crowd,” said Jarecki. “I brought up the front fills and the CF28 handled it just right. They didn’t even sweat.”

“It was just the piano and [frontman] David [Draiman] singing, and it was sitting around 83dB. Everyone leaned in to listen and the crowd started to sing along, so I pushed it a little bit,” explained Divens. “Mixing a live show is about dynamics. How could you ever mix The Sound of Silence at 100dB?”

Divens described how the Cohesion PA allowed the show to be clear and spectrally consistent, even at low volume. “I made those dynamic range changes because I could turn my mix down where the PA was barely on and yet I can hear every bit of my mix at my level. That’s a by-product of the efficiency and clarity of Cohesion.”

The team also appreciated Cohesion’s rigging capabilities. “I liked the way it went together quickly each day,” said crew chief and monitor technician Liam Tucker, who helped fly the stage left PA. “We could get it up and to trim within an hour, and it packed in one truck nicely.”

“Cohesion’s three-point style was very easy to rig,” said Jarecki. “The physical deployment was fast.”

The ultimate judges, as the audio crew resoundingly noted, were the audience. Disturbed’s fans poured their passion into each show on the 34-date American run of Sickness, described as “a flashback for older fans and a wildly new experience for the noticeably significant amount of younger fans” (Consequence of Sound).

“There were mosh pits, circle pits, walls of death. Everyone was up and singing, all the way to the 300 levels,” summarised Tucker. “Fans were going home smiling!”

After that spring tour across the US, Disturbed returned to Europe on a 30-day, 17-date run, which was also supported by Cohesion. Divens once more gave loyal followers a stupefying show.

“My philosophy is that I’ll get the mix as close to the record as I can, but I keep the power and impact of live sound,” Divens said. “It’s about the cohesiveness of the mix in relation to the level I’m mixing at. Loud is just loud; it doesn’t make it better. I could mix this show at 98dB and I got the perceived loudness. I mixed 98–100 and the crowd got to 108–110. In San Antonio, it was 112. You have to let that crowd erupt! The 18,000 in the arena deserved a great show. I was excited to come and mix every night because the band gave 100 percent, I gave 100 percent and the PA was firing at 100 percent.”

photo: Britt Bowman

2nd March 2026

Bad Bunny Tour Shines with 286 Claypaky Ultimo Sharpys

Worldwide – International superstar Bad Bunny is using 286 Claypaky Ultimo Sharpy fixtures on his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour,” which continues this year after hugely successful runs in Latin America, Europe and other destinations around the world. Inner Circle Distribution (ICD) is the exclusive distributor of Claypaky lighting fixtures in North America.

Fresh off his groundbreaking performance on the Superbowl LX Apple Music Halftime Stage, where he became the first Latino solo artist to headline a show sung almost entirely in Spanish, Bad Bunny resumes his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” stadium tour in support of his latest album of the same name. The tour has resonated with audiences worldwide and reflects his dynamic blend of Latin trap, reggaetón, hip-hop and pop.

“The ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour’ isn't just a concert, it's a living environment where light, culture and emotion move together to tell a deeper story,” says lighting designer Marcus Jessup, the tour’s lighting designer and founder of Miami-based Moving Through Space.

“My overall vision was to create an impactful, unique design with the parameters given,” he explains. “I really enjoy having straight lines and keeping things consistent throughout the rig. Creatively, I wanted every part of the audience to feel involved, whether it be in the bleachers on stage, in the VIP pit or in the stands, I wanted every person to feel like they were a part of the show. On top of that, I needed to depend on one specific fixture to make the show feel impactful, and that’s what led me to the Ultimo Sharpy.”

Jessup selected 286 Ultimo Sharpys for the rig, which are provided by 4Wall.  Sturdy.Co is the design firm for the tour with The Burner Company handling programming.

“The role of the Ultimo Sharpy was to create big beam looks: Since most of the shows are outdoors, I needed something to pack a punch,” Jessup reports. “Also, with the high intensity of the show, I needed a fast fixture which Claypaky engineers very well. I initially chose Ultimo Sharpy due to its light weight and phenomenal output. All of its other features were a cherry on top!”

Jessup notes that one of the main challenges he faced was finding a lightweight fixture to mount above the stage’s videowall. “I think personally a massive standout moment is at the top of the show when the Ultimos are focused centre stage as Bad Bunny comes up the lift,” he says.

“It was a real pleasure for ICD and Claypaky to take part in this incredible project,” concluded Diego Becerra, marketing manager for Inner Circle Distribution. “Large productions such as these require products that can complement and enhance their shows, and we are pleased to have provided this one with our Ultimo Sharpy!”

About Inner Circle Distribution:

Inner Circle Distribution (ICD) is a leading distributor of professional lighting technology, proudly representing world-class brands across the film, broadcast, and entertainment industries. With a commitment to innovation and hands-on support, ICD delivers cutting-edge lighting solutions and expert service across the U.S. market.

photos: Eric Rojasand Edwin Rodriguez

www.claypaky.com       

2nd March 2026

No Rest for Robe on Halestorm Tour

Worldwide – American rock band Halestorm are on the road supporting their latest Everest album (which was released in August 2025) with the ‘nEVEREST’ world tour, complete with an epic lighting design by Mathias Kuhn matching their drama, energy and great music with Robe moving lights among other fixtures on the rig.

Mathias has worked with the band for three years and for this tour, they wanted a slightly retro aesthetic and a raw, ‘in-your-face’ light show. With no video or other potential distractions, all eyes were on lighting, plus some scenic elements – also designed by Mathias – to provide an eye-catching visual backdrop to their gripping performances.

The LD was inspired by the original 1980s high parcan wall-of-light rigs made immortal by the likes of Queen, AC/DC, Judas Priest and more in the 1980s. To replicate this classic look using the power and dynamics of 2020’s tech, he added 78 Robe MegaPointe moving lights, eight FORTES (BMFL WashBeams in the US) and 30 LEDBeam 350s to the plot.

The tour kicked off with some support dates for Iron Maiden, so Mathias also wanted some sort of distinctive set that could be swiftly deployed and cleared from the stage.

Inspired by the original Spinal Tap movie, he and the band’s guitarist Joe Hottinger came up with four custom mobile stage carts containing Marshall stacks, modelled on the idea of Stonehenge, but full size!

The higher Marshalls are scenic, but the lower ones are a working part of the backline set-up. Upstage of this is a scenic curtain complete with rock formations, mountains and a magical curving stairway.

These dollies have six LEDBeam 350s on top (ACL style) and four MegaPointes in the base. The amps and their lights all travel together and are simply wheeled in / out of the trucks and on / off stage, and they were the starting point for the rest of the lighting design.

Both LEDBeam 350s and MegaPointes were chosen in this context for their compact size and power.

Central to the concept was being able to scale up or down to fit an eclectic array of venues on the first legs of the tour, so the challenge was to ensure it looked equally good in small or large performance spaces and was practical and adaptable to work day-to-day in these different situations.

The overhead rig was defined by six flown, raked lighting pods that complemented the four mobile stage carts and Mathias chose lighting fixtures that he knew well for the design, which included the Robe products.

“LEDBeam 350s are so small and light with a massive output, and they work brilliantly alongside MegaPointes in beam mode; they are a great match and super-fast,” enthused Mathias!

MegaPointes are an all-time favourite of his and were perfect for this design and for Halestorm’s desired look due to the intensity and gobos effects.

The MegaPointe aesthetic is mirrored in the roof with each of the six flown pods populated with a three by three grid of MegaPointes, making a total of 54 in the air, joining the 18 in total on the floor.

Mathias also comments on how these two fixture types work extremely well together.

For front lighting and specials on the front truss are eight FORTES or BMFL WashBeams, chosen for their brightness and solid performance.

On the recent UK and European dates at the end of 2025, these luminaires were FORTES, and the full lighting and audio package was supplied by Liverpool-based Adlib, together with audio.

The floor set was supplied by Go Audio from Hamburg (also Mathias’ hometown) for the European tour and in the US by Bandit.

Mathias personally hates leaving anything in the truck because it won’t fit in the venue, so a lot of pre-planning and thought went into making the lighting and set flexible enough to deal with everything from the most intimate rooms to massive stages, always filling the space and looking cool.

While no video meant all the pressure was on lighting to make the visual impact, this was a challenge appreciated by Mathias for the opportunity to work with additional SFX: low fog, bubbles, confetti, etc, which he loves for the additional texturing and dimension it brings to live sets.

He enjoys working with Halestorm because they are always open to ideas and suggestions, they take an active interest in how they look on stage and he loves the music, so gigs don’t come much better than this!

The tour is being production managed by Joe DiLeo, the lighting director out on the road in Europe and the UK was Alina Schmidbauer, and in the US the lighting director and programmer was Rodger Pugh.

photos: Alan Evans

27th February 2026

Guadeloupe’s Cultural Weekend starts with a bang, thanks to DiGiCo Quantum 225 and SD12

Guadeloupe – Mouvement Mas K Klé are a musical collective that celebrates the modern and historic culture of Guadeloupe. As part of Guadeloupe’s Cultural Weekend, the group performed with others from across the archipelago in a huge celebration of Caribbean culture with music, dancing and live performances. Sono Scène supplied the event with a DiGiCo Quantum 225 at the front of house position and SD12 at monitors. Sono Scène is a well-established hire company, owned by Maurice Cely, who mixed front of house for the weekend and has supported every festival since the first edition in 2013.

Engineer Mikael Benjamin (Benj), a French sound engineer based in Guadeloupe, was the monitor engineer. He originally trained in chemistry and physics but developed his love of sound into a career and has never looked back. He has also been involved with the event since its start and explains why DiGiCo is such a great fit for the busy line-up.

“The DiGiCo system was deployed with two D2-Racks acting as stage boxes, one dedicated to FOH and one to monitors,” he says. “Given my years of experience of the event, my knowledge of traditional drums, local bands and artists, plus my familiarity with DiGiCo consoles, Maurice felt I was the right person for the job. Sono Scène has used DiGiCo consoles on this event for several years and my prior DiGiCo training was an important factor in this collaboration.”

The main traditional drums used by Mas K Klé are called Tanbou Mas and this family of instruments hold a powerful significance in Guadeloupe culture. For Benj and Maurice, the dynamic EQ of the Quantum 225 was particularly useful for targeting the specific frequencies in the resonance of these drums, maintaining the sonic clarity of the mix.

“The Quantum 225 handled the drums extremely well thanks to its flexibility, processing capability and sound quality,” he continues. “The Tambour basse generates strong low-frequency energy, while the Tambour contre basse creates low-mid frequency build-up and the Tambour chant occupies the higher frequency range. The Quantum dynamic EQ allowed us to target these frequency ranges very precisely, engaging only when defined thresholds were exceeded. This approach preserved the natural energy and character of the instruments while keeping the mix clean, controlled and musical, delivering precise sound shaping with excellent clarity and minimal background noise.”

For busy, outdoor shows like these, the DiGiCo workflow is also a bonus. Key features that are available across the ranges, like Copy To functions were integral to the smooth running of the weekend, as Benj continues.

“On the SD12 for monitors, features like Mute Groups via Macros and Copy To were

essential for handling multiple performers and constant stage changes,” he says. “I also created a custom EQ preset bank, allowing fast recall of drum EQ settings and ensuring consistency across performances. A well-organised desk layout and consistent channel structure made it possible to manage very different musical dynamics smoothly.”
These features also came into their own for including last minute guests. The Cultural weekend is an inclusive event that always involves the whole community, so making sure everyone can be seen and heard was key to the success of the 2026 weekend. Having a smooth and reliable workflow really aids engineers, with Benj being able to react quickly to any last-minute changes.

“We deliberately chose not to use Snapshots,” he expands. “Instead, we relied on a clear desk layout, a consistent channel structure and real-time control, which made transitions faster and more predictable. In a cultural show context where additional musicians, especially percussion, can appear without being present during soundcheck, this workflow proved essential. The Copy To function was invaluable again, allowing us to quickly duplicate processing and routing to spare inputs when unexpected instruments were added, ensuring continuity without interrupting the flow of the show.”

Working with DiGiCo has been a very positive experience for Benj and the Sono Scène team, as they also benefitted from DiGiCo training prior to the weekend. Benj travelled to DiGiCo HQ in the UK to chat with the team and learn more about how to get the best from the consoles. This combination of skill and DiGiCo consoles has ensured consistent, professional results for the show. It has also given Benj the confidence to keep pushing the sonic boundaries of performance, something that has been good for him, but delivered even better results for Mouvement Mas K Klé and the Cultural Weekend.

“For the undecided, don’t be afraid to use, explore and truly understand DiGiCo products,” he concludes. “The eco-system is extremely versatile and the Quantum series offers outstanding flexibility for both FOH and monitor applications. DiGiCo consoles are clearly designed for real-world live production. Their routing, processing and control capabilities allow engineers to adapt quickly to complex situations. Taking the time to learn and experiment with these tools directly improves workflow efficiency and overall show quality.”

photos: Joel Dubourd and Sydney Augiac

27th February 2026

Alex Mungal Evokes Fierce Imagery on Slaughter to Prevail Grizzly Winter Tour with Chauvet Professional

Europe – Russian deathcore monsters (the term is most definitely a compliment) Slaughter to Prevail earned universal praise from critics on their recent Grizzly Winter tour of the UK and EU. But the chart-topping band from Yekaterinburg were not the only ones garnering accolades on the 18-city run, which concluded 8 February at Prague’s Forum Karlin. Music critics from Bristol to Berlin had nothing but good things to say about the Alex Mungal design that supported the red-hot band along the way.

“Slaughter To Prevail’s Grizzly Winter tour rolled into a sold-out O2 Academy Birmingham and delivered a show that was as visually imposing as it was sonically brutal,” wrote one reporter. “Lighting pulses violently with the music, strobes snapping across the room in blinding bursts that freeze moments of impact mid-collision,” added another.

Mungal and his team weren’t seeking praise on the tour, however, their goal was more direct: to create a design that translated the bone crunching power of the menacing, masked band’s in-your-face music with a matching level of ferocity.

“This show was built to emphasise the monstrosity that Slaughter to Prevail has already built with their individual members,” recalled Mungal. “There are some killer players with terrifying masks on stage. We wanted to bring the themes of their songs to life while keeping the emotions powerful and energetic.”

Scaling his show up or down, depending on the venue, Mungal and his crew were able to fit their show on every stage, creating a starkly intense look that drew fans into the music. “We scaled up and down over the course of the EU tour with varying sizes of venues, but for the most part the crew and I made this beast fit everywhere we went,” he said. “My crew’s support and flexibility made them the real heroes of the tour.” 

Helping Mungal and his team accomplish this were 32 Chauvet Professional Color Strike M fixtures supplied by Victory Event Stage & Tour. They positioned 12 of the Color Strike M units in the air and relied on them for top washes, snare bombs and big hits at dramatic moments. The other 20 units were call upon to create layered uplighting throughout the grated depth, in addition to serving as cyc washes for some songs.

“We really leaned into uplighting on this one through a combination of top/keylight and under riser lighting featuring the Color Strike M and batten fixtures,” said Mungal. “It was an additional challenge to simplify light sources for some of the trade-offs, but also it looked cool.”

The Color Strike M also helped Mungal unfold narratives for individual songs through the use of colour changes. “Several of the songs follow Slavic folklore tales, so following themes and moods via colour choices and source placement to make the ‘characters’ pop was important,” he explained. “Songs like ‘Babayka’ tell of a creature that comes after children if they misbehave or don’t go to bed, this one we used cold dark tones to bring this nightmarish feel to life. Another song ‘Baba Yaga’ tells of the bogeyman, so a lot of the lighting choices throughout the show bring a horror combining effects and the band’s masks to elevate everything.”

Beyond light angles and colours, Mungal relied on atmospherics and distinctive inflatables to capture the essence of the music on stage. “We used both flames and fog throughout the show,” he said. “There is a certain percussiveness that comes with the impact of these moments. We had a couple varying sizes of inflatables we’d use depending on space. In the end, everything was built out of the music.”

photos: @petrov.visuals and @moonvibesx

26th February 2026

Robert Juliat’s SpotMe Tracking Technology Drives Lighting for Broadway’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”

USA – Broadway’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” and lighting designer Jon Clark are deploying Robert Juliat’s SpotMe performer tracking system to drive keylighting for the production. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Robert Juliat lighting in North America.

The show is a prequel to the events of the popular Netflix series, “Stranger Things.”  It tells the original story of Henry Creel in 1959 Indiana and features dazzling effects and suspense for fans and newcomers alike. It opened at the Marquis Theatre in April 2025 and has since won a Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Play.

“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” originally debuted in London’s West End at the end of 2023. “They utilise another remote followspot system so when the show was preparing to come to New York we needed to find a system that would work with our infrastructure and SpotMe was the right choice,” says Jessica Creager, associate lighting designer for the Broadway production.

“ACT provided demo units to us during shop prep and we have three active SpotMe systems on the show and one backup,” she explains.  “SpotMe is used as a guide to point the keylights in the rig to the performers at any given moment. It works with an operator and Robert Juliat’s Arthur LED long-throw followspots.” PRG is providing the SpotMe systems.

Robert Juliat SpotMe combines the best of fully-automated and manual tracking systems in translating the skills of a followspot operator into real-time data the rest of the lighting rig can use. It consists of sensors mounted on the followspot’s tripod and yoke, and a server.  With a fast and easy calibration, SpotMe takes input simply and efficiently from the movements of a Robert Juliat followspot to produce tracking data in real-time, without requiring emitters, cameras, or tags on stage or on performers. SpotMe generates high-quality positional data, calculated through advanced algorithms to communicate with any console or devices using the PosiStageNet standard. In this case, the console then co-ordinates the movements and other attributes of other fixtures in the rig, even conventional fixtures, based on the position data being sent.

SpotMe enables a wide range of creative possibilities, allowing performers, lighting and effects to stay in critical sync and wow audiences exactly as designed during each and every performance.

“We are thrilled with the product and how well it’s operated for the last year,” reports Creager. “It’s a phenomenal tool for designers and offers extreme flexibility and reliability.  SpotMe’s initial calibration process was incredibly simple and very straightforward. Robert Juliat representatives were available to answer any questions we had, but the process all made sense.

“I’m eager to be able to use SpotMe on another show,” she declares. “It’s such an incredible tool that I can’t wait to use it again!”

26th February 2026

Brompton Hydra calibration adds years to ETS's ROE LED inventory

USA – Brompton Technology, an industry leader in LED processing solutions, has successfully enabled the deployment of its Hydra advanced measurement system through its US-based partner Red Rock OPS, to revitalise ETS's LED panel inventory. The Las Vegas-based consulting firm Red Rock OPS used Brompton’s calibration technology to restore and enhance the performance of the full-service audio, video and lighting solutions provider’s existing ROE Visual LED panels, extending their lifespan and avoiding the need for replacement.

Using Brompton Hydra and ROE BO3 tiles, Red Rock OPS recently completed a full re-calibration for ETS on inventory that, under most industry norms, would already be considered end-of-life. Instead of facing forced replacement due to colour degradation and uniformity loss, the panels have been refreshed to a level that extends their usable life by an estimated three to five years.

The entire Hydra recalibration and refinement process was completed in just four days. This included full measurement, batch processing, system validation and final tuning. The quick turnaround allowed ETS to keep their inventory operational and revenue-ready with minimal disruption.

“Notably, the panels now look even better than they did when they were factory new,” says Angel Banchs, owner and lead colour engineer at Red Rock OPS. “Hydra’s ability to take a panel’s colour performance and pixel to pixel uniformity to the next level gave us smoother gradients, improved low-level detail and more stable grayscale performance than was originally possible at the time of manufacture. Colour uniformity, greyscale tracking and luminance consistency weren’t just restored,  they were meaningfully improved beyond the original factory state.”

Following the Hydra re-calibration, the entire system was finished with an additional PureTone calibration pass. This final step further refined colour accuracy, tonal separation and visual coherence across the full canvas, resulting in a level of image quality typically associated with new-generation LED systems rather than legacy inventory.

“This project demonstrates the real-world value of the Brompton ecosystem when paired with the right calibration methodology,” continues Banchs. “We were able to take inventory that most would consider obsolete and restore it to better-than-new condition in just four days. The portability of Hydra means we can bring this capability directly to our clients’ facilities, eliminating shipping costs and downtime while delivering results that extend asset life by years.”

“Hydra was designed to help users keep great LED performing at the highest level for longer,” says Webster Moyle, technical sales manager (western US) at Brompton Technology. “Working with partners like Red Rock OPS, we’re seeing how advanced measurement and calibration can protect customers’ investments, reduce waste and deliver results that stand up to today’s production standards.”

The partnership highlights the financial, operational and environmental advantages of Hydra calibration in real-world inventory management. ETS avoided the expense of purchasing new tiles, new road cases, new headers and footers, and the operational disruption that comes with inventory replacement. They also avoided shipping costs entirely, as Red Rock OPS deployed Brompton’s travelling Hydra calibration suite directly to the customer site. No tiles were shipped back to a manufacturer, reducing downtime and helping ETS avoid freight costs and production gaps. There is also a meaningful environmental benefit, as eliminating the need to transport large quantities of LED tiles for refurbishment represents a real reduction in carbon output.

“The results exceeded our expectations,” exclaims Kevin Gorman, owner of ETS. “We were facing a significant capital expense to replace ageing inventory, but Hydra gave us another path forward and the image quality is now superior to what we had when these panels were new. For a company that values long-term asset quality and sustainability, this was an all-round win. Extended equipment life, enhanced performance, minimal disruption and a future-proofed inventory that remains competitive.”

“Projects like this underline Brompton’s commitment to product longevity and sustainability,” concludes Moyle. “Our aim is to support customers in protecting their investment by refreshing performance rather than replacing hardware, helping to reduce electronic waste, lower long-term operating costs, and keep LED inventory competitive for years. We’re excited to see Red Rock Ops supporting us on this journey!”

As a direct result of this success, ETS is now preparing to recalibrate its ROE CB3 inventory as well, with the goal of restoring those tiles back to factory-new performance using the same Hydra-driven workflow.

26th February 2026

Clear-Com’s Arcadia Central Station and FreeSpeak Icon Beltpacks Keep Red Bull’s Wheels Spinning

South Africa – Clear-Com kept the action on track at Red Bull Shay’iMoto, an adrenaline-fueled motorsport spinning event that transformed the streets of Durban, South Africa into a live performance arena.

To manage communications in the extreme noise, speed and complexity of live motorsport, production specialist Showcom invested in a new Clear-Com system, deploying two Arcadia Central Stations, multiple FreeSpeak Icon beltpacks and FreeSpeak II  transceivers, supplied by Clear-Com partner DWR Distribution. Arcadia delivered broadcast-grade performance while meeting the fast set up and tear down demands of outside broadcast and live event production.

“What we’ve just invested in is opening a whole new world for us,” said Nickolas Chapman, managing director of Showcom. “In our business, set up and tear down time is brutal.” Chapman continued: “We can’t afford full complex matrix systems that take hours to rig,” he said. “This modular Clear-Com system gives us high-end flexibility without the heavy lifting. It’s fast, efficient and built for high-pressure environments. The game-changer for me specifically is the VI12 key push-button panels that can IV inject straight into Arcadia.”

Arcadia gave Showcom freedom to scale communications dynamically across the event footprint, supporting multiple production teams while maintaining clarity and control. Its design allowed rapid configuration changes as needs differed throughout the event.

“This was one of the largest Clear-Com deployments we’ve seen in South Africa,” said Kyle Robson, sales support specialist at DWR Distribution. “Red Bull Shay’iMoto was the perfect proving ground. The system handled the intensity of live motorsport with ease and demonstrated how Arcadia can support serious broadcast workflows in a compact, efficient package.”

For Showcom, the investment in Clear-Com technology has already delivered tangible business impact. “This system directly led to our first broadcast contract,” Chapman added. “We can now scale up or down depending on the job, expand channel counts and reduce setup time dramatically. Arcadia’s plug-and-play design makes it incredibly powerful for OB and live events.”

Chapman, who has been a Clear-Com user since 1985, emphasised the evolution of the platform. “Clear-Com has always been rock-solid, but what they’re doing now is next level. I can break a large system into smaller ones or link systems together depending on the show. It’s exactly what modern productions need.” He also recalled how quickly things evolved. “We started small with two Arcadias, a 32-port and a 48-port, and I’m already running out of space. I’m linking channels, integrating older FreeSpeak units, pushing everything to the max. It’s modular madness in the best way possible.”

26th February 2026

Nick Jevons and Ross Chapple Create Compelling Imagery for I Hate Models with Chauvet Professional

France – The beautiful people who grace the covers of lifestyle and fashion magazines can rest easy. “I Hate Models,” the stage name of the red-hot French techno music producer has nothing to do with them. Guillaume Labadie, the extraordinary talent behind the name, says that he chose it because of his abhorrence for literal models or genres that put creativity into boxes.

This artist’s passion for transcending easy categorisations and expanding creative vision in every direction animated every moment of “Refract: I Hate Models All Night Long” this January. Taking place in a 12,000-square metre space at Hall 1, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the show served up an incredible journey of imagination that kicked off at 10pm and last until the wee hours of the morning. 

Enhancing the experience at the spacious venue was a visual production by Nick Jevons and Ross Chapple of Auratecture that flowed with the music note for transcendent note. Immersing the entire room in its dynamic lighting displays, the production design seemed to bend space and time as it transported fans to new levels of reality, precisely what the music intended! 

Describing the show with its 360° stage and asymmetrical design, Jevons referred to it as a combination of “brutalist asymmetry and Mayan-like scenography”.  

Elaboration on this point, he said: “For us Brutalist asymmetry meant raw mass plus deliberate imbalance. It is the look of a structure that is too heavy, too stubborn or too functional to bother aligning itself perfectly. We wanted to prioritise function over visual comfort. We reference Mayan civilisation because architecture and how they used sheer size in their structures it to show power and the doorways of their temples often represented a cave which were seen as portals to the underworld, while all set in a scene from a movie set.” 

A collection of 60 Chauvet Professional Strike Array 4C blinders, placed in the “inner sanctum” of the massive central DJ booth, were instrumental in bringing this vision to life. Visible to the audience only from the booth’s tiered platforms, the high output fixtures created glowing reflective light of the metal set, which accentuated the brutalist aura around the stage.

“Our vision was to create a chaotic and industrial energy underneath the booth’s walkways,” said Jevons. “The Strike 4C was the perfect choice for this, as we got the wide, bright throw of a blinder combined with the ability to chase and strobe them at high speeds. The fixtures’ intense output, combined with their colour rendering (RGB plus amber), gave us the ability to apply the overall colour palette of the show around the booth through the dense fog and haze. This greatly enhanced the transformative atmosphere in the room.” 

Jevons, Chapple and their team (Jean-Denis Rolland, TD and PM) and rigger S Group Live Event spread strobe lighting throughout the room to accentuate the starkly intense mood. Their shared vision was to create a “desert -scene, much like you would see in the Dune movies with scorched sunsets, deep reds, sandy CTOs, bold open whites,” said Jevons.

Elaborating on this ambition, Jevons added that their ultimate goal was to create a “shared vision” as opposed to a simple lighting configuration; an ideal aspiration when lighting an artist who’s fiercely committed to breaking down barriers. 

25th February 2026

Robe Helps Dubai Welcome 2026 in Style

UAE – As the world welcomed 2026, Dubai once again staged one of the biggest, most epic jaw-dropping mixed visual media extravaganzas as lighting, video, lasers and fireworks fired off the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa tower in an event organised by EMAAR and produced by Our Legacy Creations.

Robe was also part of it, with 86 iFORTE LTX on the lighting rig for a spectacle staged on the Burj lake that led into the fireworks, lit by Dom Smith and Paul Johnson from UK-based design studio, NeonBlack.

The Burj Khalifa NYE event this year started with this dramatic, full-tilt, all-action 20-minute show staged across a 450-metre open performance space on a large section of the Burj lake in front of the 828-metre-high building that dominates the downtown Dubai skyline.

Twenty-five custom floats, boats, waterboards and jet-skis were involved, with a cast of 570 including a tightrope walker traversing a high-tension cable strung between points of the adjacent shopping mall in a slickly choreographed performance.

Dom and Paul met the numerous challenges involved in lighting this epically proportioned show, creatively directed by Tiziana Pagliarulo (OLC), choosing Robe iFORTE LTX moving lights to provide all key lighting for a thrilling entertainment programme. The spectacle then led into the famous ‘traditional’ 60-second NYE countdown that cued the firework grand finale on the Burj.

This new pre-fireworks segment added an extra visual layer and great value to the annual pyrotechnic event at the Burj Khalifa, watched in awe by tens of thousands live and streamed to billions more.

The main issue for Dom and Paul’s lighting design was getting enough powerful and good quality keylighting rigged in the right places to register properly and illuminate the cast across this vast area, so the 36 broadcast cameras, directed by Marcus Viner, could get the best shots.

Additionally, for the tightrope artist, 24 iFORTE LTXs were placed on the roof of the Dubai Mall to light the line. The only available positioning for tracking followspots was on top of the souk market, around 150 metres away from the location of the wire.

“We were somewhat concerned about how much light we could get into this area,” commented Paul, “and were pleasantly surprised when we opened out the iFORTE LTXs from that huge distance away and they proved absolutely perfect for the job, both creatively and practically.”

Dom commented: “Robe’s iFORTE LTX was the only option to light the 150 to 200-metre longest throw distances involved, the only luminaire that could give us the consistency and quality of lighting to make it look great on camera and for everyone watching live.”

He added that, for the last two years, the iFORTE LTX has become a go-to keylighting tool for their work.

The 86 iFORTE LTXs were supplied by the event’s technical equipment rental contractor Media Pro, who are based in Dubai and were among approximately 3,000 other fixtures in total used for the show, including the Burj Khalifa’s permanently installed lights.

Most of these iFORTE LTXs were positioned all around the lake, mainly on the permanent PA speaker towers, with some on custom truss towers fabricated by Media Pro.

The tightrope line itself was illuminated by the 24 iFORTE LTXs on top of the souk and another two fixtures were positioned on the roof of the souk bazaar, used exclusively for tracking the artist as she deftly shimmied across the 450-metre span, which was 60 metres high. These were controlled by a Robe RoboSpot control system positioned by the lights on the rooftop to help with accurate targeting.

Most of the 60 iFORTE LTXs around the lake were also on a remote follow system using multiple fixed cameras to cover the enormous field of view that was the stage.

“The iFORTES were absolutely solid,” noted Dom, “not only do they retain their intensity and flat beam field across these very long distances, once you dial in the desired colour temperature, this replicates that perfectly and consistently; very impressive!”

All the show’s key- and white lighting was programmed and directed by David Wolstenholme. The effects lighting was programmed by Eliot Jessep and Josh Musgrave in the UK during pre-viz and Alex Douglas in Dubai.

In addition to the various water-based performance floats, the event also included a series of large Rio-carnival style parade floats that drove down Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard at the start of the entertainment, which also had to be lit, together with the front of the Burj Khalifa facing onto the lake. The fireworks ‘conductor’ was lifted up to 15 metres on a hydraulic platform and was also tracked by iFORTE LTXs.

Dom, Paul and their crew worked alongside a big team to ensure that Dubai started the year with great energy, style and enthusiasm and a world-class show even before a single pyro was fired off the Burj Khalifa in another jaw-dropping display of visual magic to welcome 2026!

photos: courtesy Whatever Live

24th February 2026

Joe Beardsmore Creates Sweeping Looks on Tom Odell Arena Tour with Chauvet Professional

UK – The concert began with a contemplative piano solo lit by a single fixture, no video, no IMAG, just the artist on a shadowy stage before 18,000 people performing “Strange House,” a song about change and the yearnings it brings. As the performance unfolds, the artist is ultimately joined by a seven-piece band and the stage itself is transformed by 150 fixtures projecting bold beams and colourful washes in every direction. 

Such is the broad, dramatic sweep of BRIT Award winner Tom Odell’s recently concluded Wonderful Life arena tour of the UK and Europe. The tour’s stage production, with its profound changes is indicative of the remarkable path Odell’s own career has followed over the past decade, as he’s gone from playing small live music venues to sold-out arenas.

Odell’s longtime lighting designer, Joe Beardsmore of Phosphor-Tec has been with him every step of the way on this decade-long journey. This history endowed his lighting of the 27-city, 20-country Wonderful Life tour with a genuine passion that resonates through every scene in the show, which was lit by 125 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Coloursound Experiment.

“The first London show I did for Tom was at Islington Assembly Hall ten years ago which was seen by 900 people, so to see 16,000 in the O2 Arena is testament to the hard work of Tom and all his crew,” said Beardsmore. “It’s not been an overnight success it’s been hard work and a lot of shows.”

His extensive experience with his client has given Beardsmore as sense of where the music is flowing at any given moment, which aided him in creating the tour design. “I do feel now that I know what him Tom and the band are headed, so there is no backing track, or click track at all on stage,” he explained. “Everything is live and has the ability to change, both in real time during a show and then also songs evolve though the year. 

“For me, the show is all about emotion and all I need to do is work on which songs I need to heighten different emotions on, and then try and use the show design with the lighting video and scenic to emphasise this,” continued Beardsmore.

Colour played a key role in helping Beardsmore reflect the myriad emotions on stage. “We had two large drapes behind the stage that were critical to our design and we did a lot of testing with colours on them,” he explained. “Tom came down to our studio and we built some colour palettes, which I could then track into the show. We made some interesting colours that I wouldn’t normally use but they worked really well: some faded lavenders and lichen green colours, plus five different shades of blue tinted white.”

Although effective in helping him create the immersive looks he was after, the 26m by 8m drape did limit some of Beardsmore lighting options, as he was unable to get any fixtures at a mid or side light positions. His rig’s 21 Color Strike M motorised strobe washes, which were positioned in a row at the base of his backdrop  were critical in helping him meet this challenge.

“The Strike M fixtures for me were key to this show,” he declared. “The tilt function of the strobe – which I have to admit that at first, I really did think was fairly pointless on a strobe – was key. At times, the strobes were used as a super bright cyc washes on the drapes. Their ability to hold a saturated colour like a dark red and then strobe the white tube over the top was really effective. Then for other songs, they could punch pixels through the band up to light the audience, which worked really effectively leaving fixtures in the air to light the backdrop. 

“I used a lot of fans of colour from CTO to CTB and shades of saturated and desaturated colours,” continued Beardsmore. “The pixels on the Strike Ms really helped me achieve a smooth colour fade and with the wide angle of the fixture there were no shadows. It also colour-matched well with the other fixtures in the air if I wanted to double the effect even though they were not matched fixtures.”

Also contributing to the wide range of looks on stage were 33 COLORado PXL Curves. “I designed a massive 33 metre long mid stage truss, which picked up the projection surfaces for the IMAG,” said Beardsmore. “Plus, after the drapes were closed off the stage at the start of the show, I had this lovely massive straight line of 33 PXL Curves and 22 Strike Array blinders.

Beardsmore, who ran his show on two ChamSys MagicQ 500M Stadium consoles with a ChamSys MagicQ 250M tech desk, received great support from a lighting team that included crew chief Nick Barton and network technician Geno Welburn, as well as technicians Ed driver and Chris Brown, in addition to a production team that included rigger Josh Slade, camera director Bob Jaroc, Resolume programmer Giuli Sirianni, video crew chief Will Wright and drape operator Will Wiltshire. 

“This was quite different from Tom’s early tours with a fairly locked-in set list and more people on the shows,” mused Beardsmore, who added it was not the same as the raw energy early shows, but points out that it was “beautifully sculptured and covered an endless array of emotions” in its very varied looks.

24th February 2026

Brompton Technology powers epic LED visuals for Just for One Day – The Live Aid Musical

UK – Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED video processors recently brought the story of Live Aid to life in Just for One Day – The Live Aid Musical, which ran from May 2025 to February 2026 at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre. The production showcased how advanced LED processing technology can transform theatrical spaces into immersive storytelling environments that capture the energy and scale of one of music history’s most iconic moments.

Written by John O'Farrell, Just for One Day – The Live Aid Musical reveals the untold story behind the greatest gig in music history. The production features hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and more of the iconic artists who performed at the simultaneous charitable concerts in London and Philadelphia on 13 July 1985. Booked until 7 February 2026, the show continued Live Aid's charitable legacy with 10% of all ticket sales going directly to The Band Aid Charitable Trust.

The production utilised four Brompton Tessera SX40 LED video processors (two primary and two backups) paired with eight Tessera XD data distribution units, all supplied and integrated by Stage Sound Services. The INFiLED DB2.6 LED wall comprises the majority of the physical set on stage: a three-sided box that is five metres high and ten metres wide, with two sides measuring four and a half metres long, creating a complete U-shape that surrounds the entire set. A band platform sits in the centre of the U-shape, with the cast performing just downstage.

The production's technical requirements are particularly demanding, as video engineer and system designer, Dan Trenchard, explains: “One of the key components for Just for One Day was latency. The production is designed to tell the story of the Live Aid concert, so a lot of the moments in the show are captured on live camera and then displayed on the LED wall. Because audiences are so much closer to the action in theatre as opposed to a stadium, latency between live action and then what’s displayed on the IMAG screens becomes much more noticeable. That being said, we know that Brompton is the fastest we can get.”

The video wall remains on throughout the show, serving both narrative and scenic roles. It displays everything from story-driven content to live camera feeds, with projection on flown gauzes adding further visual layers. The three-sided configuration also significantly impacts the lighting design, as Trenchard notes: “By virtue of it being a three-sided box, it also has a huge effect on lighting. It emits so much light at the cast that it was important for us to work with the lighting design team to balance this out.”

The production demands exceptional colour accuracy at low brightness levels, utilising Brompton’s advanced processing features throughout. Trenchard explains that theatrical applications require a different approach than traditional live events: “In theatre we don't run these products bright; we actually run them at 20% most of the time. So, the Dark Magic, Studio Mode and Extended Bit Depth features are being used all the time.” This low-brightness operation allows the production to fully exploit Tessera’s capabilities while maintaining the intimate atmosphere required for theatrical storytelling.

Meanwhile, dynamic brightness control is essential for the show’s varied visual moments. “We always use the Live Control of brightness,” says Trenchard. “We tend to hover around maximum 1,000 nits as a default, but we also like to bring it all the way down and all the way up to full brightness in some moments. We want all of that to be controlled by our media server on cue over time, so live IP control is very important to us.” 

The production team has also developed a custom control interface using the Brompton API, enabling show operators to quickly fail over specific parts of the system, plus monitor freeze status, blackout status and other critical parameters in real-time.

“We’re very familiar with Brompton so there were never going to be any surprises for a new show,” notes Trenchard. “We're often in contact with Brompton and the support has always been really great. We always get quick responses. If a problem comes up, we need it fixed ASAP, so having a UK-based company with international support is super useful.”

“Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical demonstrates how our LED processing solutions enable theatrical productions to create immersive visual experiences that honour the scale and energy of legendary live music events, while maintaining the technical precision and reliability required for eight shows per week,” concludes Patrick Goodden, technical sales manager (UK and Ireland) at Brompton Technology. “It’s exciting to see our technology helping to bring this iconic moment in music history to life for new audiences.”

photos: Evan Zimmerman

24th February 2026

Wicked Takes Point Source Audio on International Tour

Asia – Point Source Audio’s SERIES9 headsets and lavaliers are providing the sound quality and flexibility to ensure the current international tour of Wicked is captivating audiences every night for its runs in Saudi Arabia (3 December - 3 January), Bahrain (13-17 January, UAE (28 January - 15 February), India (12-29 March) and Kuwait (21-25 April). The large-scale Broadway production presents a number of miking challenges, but for sound designer Shannon Slaton, Point Source Audio could provide all the answers.

“With all the masks, prosthetics and costumes, it was a challenge across the board trying to find a position where the mic sounded good and wasn’t being covered up by something,” recalls Shannon, with the character of Dr. Dillamond providing a prime example. “There was just no good place to put the mic. He had hair glued to the side of his face, a mask and a hat on top of all of it.” To overcome this challenge, Shannon worked with the wardrobe department to build the GO2-9WL dual element lavalier microphone and transmitter pack directly into the mask and hat to perfectly capture the performance.

A further challenge came from the rapid costume changes for performers in multiple roles. “There are five monkeys in the show and they wear balaclava-style full head masks which are, of course, quick changes,” Shannon explains. “Quick changes can be brutal on mic placement, so we ended up in a similar fashion having wardrobe sew the mic into the costume so it lived on the forehead of the monkey mask and then we actually built the pack into the mask so the actor could take it off and put it back on. The whole mic and pack were built into this giant head thing they wore, and it worked really well. Once they were dressed into the headpieces, the mics stayed put.”

Throughout the production, Shannon uses dual-element microphones across the full cast, a technique he has championed for years. The exception to this comes with the leads, Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero who all required headsets. “It started because Elphaba in this production literally flies into the house in front of the speakers, so I needed to get her onto a headset mic,” says Shannon. “I also had the feeling that with the way this show is, Elphaba, Glenda and Fierro were going to need to hear themselves on stage. And the only way you can really get away with putting any vocals in the monitors on stage is if you have headset mics, otherwise, they just don't sound good. I worked with the music supervisor and the director and explained the situation and we were able to put headset mics on those three people so that we could help with all of these different aspects.”

Of course, the extra challenge presented by Elphaba is the dense green paint that coats the actress’ face, hairline and neck. This would typically destroy microphone elements over time but the SERIES9 GO2 omnidirectional lavaliers and headsets are IP57 rated so they can be colour-matched as needed for camouflage. “There was a lot of back and forth to get the right shade of green,” he states. “Eventually, the wardrobe crew was able to match the mic perfectly to the makeup and wardrobe. Without the Point Source Audio mics, Elphaba would not have been nearly as compelling.”

The tour has already received rave reviews for its stops Bahrain and Dubai as well as the extended run in Saudi Arabia. As one of the first large-scale musical theatre productions to visit Riyadh, Wicked delivered a new experience to audiences in the Kingdom and Point Source Audio enhanced the sound quality to make it a night to remember.

24th February 2026

LD Christina Rupp Lights Army–Navy Gala with Elation Paragon Supplied by Afterglow

USA - In December, the 2025 Army–Navy Gala at the Baltimore Convention Center came alive with dazzling lighting designed by Christina Rupp, using Elation Paragon fixtures supplied by Afterglow Lighting. The event, held ahead of the 126th Army–Navy football game, one of the oldest and revered rivalries in US college football, featured a transformed ballroom complete with a main stage, dance floor and a variety of performance elements honouring those who serve.

Afterglow Lighting, based in Elkridge, Maryland, is a full-service stage lighting company and was an early adopter of Elation’s award-winning Paragon LED profile moving head. Rupp, a lighting designer and master electrician with a decade of industry experience, has worked on Army–Navy collaborations before, but this marked her first time working on the Army–Navy Gala. She frequently collaborates with Afterglow and was brought onto the project by Afterglow and the client, VPC.  

“This was not your standard corporate design with a stage wash and audience wash,” she explained. “We needed lighting to transition from a formal dinner to on stage presentations, to performances by bands, cheerleaders and dance groups, to a late-night dance party. We needed those clean stage washes and audience lighting, but also pickups, accent lighting and vibrant effects while supporting other elements like walkthroughs and videos. We needed a light that could do a lot.”

Rupp led the design and operation of 32 Paragon S, along with 12 Seven Batten 72 and other fixtures. “I absolutely love using the Paragons for their diffusion features and wash aspects,” she exclaimed. “I had used them on the Johns Hopkins commencement and it kind of blew my mind. I knew I wanted to use them on future projects.”

The Paragon’s versatility made it ideal for the Gala’s wide-ranging production needs. On stage, the designer created tailored looks with distinct colours for each service branch as the MC highlighted their accomplishments, then shifted to entirely different looks for other presentations, keeping the visuals fluid and dynamic. A full band also performed on stage, playing throughout dinner and into the late-night dance party.

A central walkway ran through the room, used by the MC, performers like the colour guard and arriving guests. “Anyone walking down it, or when the MC moved into the audience or onto the dance floor, was beautifully lit by the Paragons,” Rupp said.  

The designer created a dynamic walk-in look with slow-moving effects, carrying a red, white and blue theme from the national anthem into the dinner look. “It provided a calm look for dinner in colours that represented both the Army and Navy,” Rupp explained. “They really liked that look and being able to carefully frame and focus the Paragons to place the blue precisely in the centre of the onstage scenic piece added a three-dimensional effect that was really striking.”

The Seven Batten 72 fixtures, six-foot full-colour batten wash luminaires, were used to enhance the scenic from above and below, adding depth and dimension to the look.

Rupp employed the Paragon’s TruTone variable CRI engine, switching between high and low CRI looks to create a more dynamic feel and accessed the fixture’s animation wheel to create diverse looks throughout the night. At dinner for example, she applied slow-moving animations to the walls intertwined with custom gobos, a combination that the designer says drew compliments. Then later, during the dance party, she switched to more animated gobo transitions, exploring the fixture’s graphics capabilities more in depth.

The set-up included an upstage truss, downstage truss and four perpendicular trusses extending into the audience that housed the Paragons used extensively for pickups and accent lighting.

“For any audience or band pickup, or any situation that needed some punch, I went straight to the Paragon because I knew how simple and effective it was going to be,” Rupp said.

Afterglow’s experienced crew played a key role in executing the design. Josh Watson drafted the plot with Rupp’s advice and preferences in mind, while lighting techs Jake Myers, Galen Newell and Ethan Cooper pre-rigged, patched and managed the load-in.

“Afterglow was a big reason this project turned out so successfully,” Rupp concludes. “They've got everything down to a science and helped out immensely. I’ve known Josh a long time and trust him completely, especially with fixture choice. The whole team is prepared, professional, and just genuinely kind. I love working with them.”

The 2025 Army–Navy Gala was managed and designed by Chicken Scratch and executed in collaboration with VPC.

 

23rd February 2026