Lighting

Details

03 June 2025

Switzerland - The Eurovision Song Contest is now one of the biggest, brightest and most colourful live productions in the world, and the 2025 edition boasted the biggest rig in Eurovision history.

Ayrton fixtures played a key role in Tim Routledge’s spectacular and ever-changing, metamorphic design which included the complete range of Ayrton laser-phosphor sourced fixtures Mamba, Kyalami and Cobra, as well as Domino LT, Rivale Profile and Nando 502 Wash, all supplied by London-based Neg Earth Lights. “I had a lot of options to play with in this playground,” says Routledge. Just as well for the number of performances (nearly 50 including half time and opening performances) which happen in such quick succession.

The St. Jakobshalle Arena may have been smaller than traditional Eurovision Song Contest venues, but Routledge’s lig

Details

03 June 2025

USA - Lighting designer Nathan Brittain from Houston, Texas-based lighting rental specialist LD Systems oversaw a major lighting upgrade for the live concert element of this year’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo – AKA Rodeo Houston – which included adding over 150 Robe moving lights to the rig.

Staged at NRG Stadium, Nathan has also created production lighting for the concerts for several years, with LD Systems as the lighting vendor.

Every five years, a major technical upgrade takes place ensuring all the latest and best technologies are available for the benefit of all artists. Lighting is rigged on a bespoke TAIT-designed and built stage / roof structure, and this year Nathan and LD Systems made a major investment in Robe including the addition of 62 iForte, 70 x TetraXs and 16 x iBolts. It was the first time iBolts had b

Details

03 June 2025

USA - Immersive technology specialists, Quince Imaging, recently partnered with professional hockey team, the Anaheim Ducks, to install a permanent, projection-mapping solution at their Honda Centre home arena in Anaheim, California.

The installation aimed to enhance the Ducks’ fan experience through engaging, interactive visuals, especially during half-time breaks. At the centre of this project is Stage Precision’s SP software, which plays an integral part in Quince Imaging’s production workflow, allowing for precise tracking, calibration and real-time data integration. 

“We’ve worked on various types of tracking and motion systems over the years,” says Eric Gazzillo, vice-president of innovation at Quince Imaging. “Integrating SP by Stage Precision was a turning point. It’s faster, more intuitive, and allows us to automate complex

Details

03 June 2025

USA - The Obsidian Control Systems team will showcase the new NXW control wing at the InfoComm tradeshow in Orlando. System integrators and lighting control specialists are invited to visit Obsidian at Booth #7672 for a closer look at this new addition and much more.

The NXW is a sleek, portable, and full-featured PC control wing designed to deliver professional-grade Onyx operation via USB-C. Its responsive hardware surface brings the power of Onyx to any PC system, offering lighting operators the tools they need in a compact and intuitive form. From RGB-backlit motorized faders to customizable multi-function buttons, every detail is engineered for speed, precision, and creativity.

Obsidian offers a complete line of NX consoles, wings, and USB interfaces for professional lighting control. Visitors to InfoComm can get hands-on with Obsidian hardware

Details

02 June 2025

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds 2025 returned to the Royal Armouries on 13-14 May, drawing a vibrant cross-section of the live entertainment technology sector for two buzzing days of connection, innovation and learning.

This year’s show welcomed 2,852 professionals, an increase on the 2024 show. The quality of attendees continues to thrive, with 687 directors, owners, or chairs representing 16% of the audience. Significantly, when combining senior roles and those in sales, procurement and specification, nearly 40% of the professionals on site held final decision-making responsibility, underscoring the event’s commercial impact.

A broad spectrum of industry roles was represented, including sound and lighting engineers, technicians, production and tour managers, lighting designers, venue and operations staff, as well as consultants, buyers, lecturers, conte

Details

02 June 2025

UK - Adlib has been awarded the service and support contract for the Barbican’s theatrical lighting system infrastructure.

The Barbican Theatre and The Pit studio theatre are major venues in the Barbican Centre, the largest performing arts centre in Europe. The Barbican Theatre was purpose-built to host large-scale theatrical performances and has a 1,156-seat auditorium for drama and dance, while The Pit is a smaller scale, fully flexible, black-box studio space dedicated to experimental live performance.

The Barbican Theatre has one of the largest stages in London, equipped with a fly tower and advanced rigging for complex staging and scenery changes. It is renowned among professionals for its technical sophistication and infrastructure, making it suitable for bold and innovative productions.

The technical systems are integral to the opera

Details

02 June 2025

USA - Coachella has always been about stepping into transformative spaces. And over at the Yuma tent it’s clear what that magical zone is all about – an urban EDM nightclub.

Forget that you’re in the middle of a desert, step inside this tent and it’s easy to feel like you entered a hot club in Brooklyn, LA, or Tokyo’s Shibuya district. This effect isn’t due only to the power of the music either, it also springs forth from the space’s immersive club-like lighting design with its intense plays on darkness, brightness, and geometric patterns.

Designer, Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting, who has been lighting the Yuma Tent for years, described the setting this way: “Yuma is not a typical festival design. The approach is more immersive and follows the philosophies of nightclub design. The tent is very long; and this year we added more bays to

Details

02 June 2025

The Netherlands - Muziekgieterij is a lively music hub in the southern Netherlands city of Maastricht with two live performance spaces that showcase a vibrant and varied artist lineup featuring all genres of music. Other music-related facilities at the site include a studio and rehearsal rooms.

The 1,100-capacity large hall and 420-person small hall are both now fully equipped with Robe moving lights, with packages specified by the chief lighting technician Mathieu (Mat) Huveneers and his team to deliver full flexibility and high production values for all performers. During the pandemic, regular livestreams were broadcast from the studio.

Muziekgieterij initially opened in 2007 and has been on its current former ‘Sphinx’ ceramic factory site on the outskirts of the city since 2013, with the large hall built from scratch in 2019. The venue now sta

Details

02 June 2025

UK - Mumford and Sons withdrew from their self-described “almost nonstop touring schedule” to channel a new more organic and personal wellspring of creative energy. Ultimately, this led the iconic band to record Rushmere, their first album since 2018.

"Because we're no longer as rushed as we used to be, the creativity of Rushmere comes from us carving out more space for our best artistic selves," Marcus Mumford told an interviewer after the album was released in March and instantly reached the top of the charts.

Mumford and Son’s longtime lighting designer, Ed Warren reflected this mood in his work for the band’s Tour Before The Tour, a limited run of shows at mid-sized venues before their 32-city North American arena-amphitheatre tour scheduled for this summer.

Like the band’s new creative outlook, Warren

Details

30 May 2025

UK - Follow-Me is inviting lighting industry professionals and venue owners to its inaugural open day at its new meeting and demo space at Underbelly Boulevard Soho. Scheduled for 17 June from 11:00 to 15:00, this special event will offer hands-on demonstrations of Follow-Me's performer tracking solutions, supported by SLX.

The open day takes place at Follow-Me's newly established demonstration facility within Underbelly Boulevard Soho, situated in London's bustling Soho district. This venue provides industry professionals with direct access to Follow-Me's remote follow-spot and performer tracking technology in a real-world environment.

Luke Edwards, designer relations liaison UK at Follow-Me, will lead the day's activities, offering personalised demonstrations, Q&A opportunities, and technical consultations. Visitors can explore Follow-Me's comp

Details

30 May 2025

USA - GLP fielded its largest ever deployment of fixtures at Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival for the recent 2025 event – including all its latest in-demand touring products.

The massive global event has been staged successfully across two weekends since 1999 at its Empire Polo Club location in the Californian desert, close to Palm Springs.

Various stages – including the main stage and Sahara tent, as well as the Yuma club tent – were awash with GLP fixtures specified by international LDs, adding extra floor package drama to the existing generic house rigs.

The industry was eager for a first look at the might of the super-powerful Mad Maxx – used by Dan Norman with rapper Travis Scott on the main Coachella Stage – while production designer Rob Sinclair gave a sneak preview of the JDC Burst 1 in a taste of what to

Details

30 May 2025

USA - Elation invites lighting professionals to Experience Tomorrow at Booth #7671 at InfoComm in Orlando.

Elation will showcase new product lines including the award-winning Paragon, Elation’s new flagship automated lighting series. With TruTone variable CRI technology, interchangeable lenses, a comprehensive FX package, and a weatherproof IP54 rating, Paragon combines multiple fixture roles in a single design, representing ‘a leap forward in intelligent lighting for entertainment’.

Also new is the first luminaire in a bolder breed of workhorse lighting, Rebel. The Rebel Profile is a powerful yet compact LED profile moving-head with IP65 rating designed for attention-grabbing visuals in both indoor and outdoor applications. The fixture delivers intense beams, sharp projections, and a comprehensive effects package for captivating mid-a

Details

30 May 2025

USA - The lighting design community is mourning the loss of Paul Marantz, co-founder of Fisher Marantz Stone, who has passed away. A lighting visionary, he helped to transform the perception of lighting design as a profession.

Alongside Jules Fisher, Marantz co-founded the company that would become Fisher Marantz Stone in 1971, creating a legacy of creativity and genius that continues to inspire to this day.

Paula Martinez-Nobles, president, Fisher Marantz Stone said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Marantz. Paul and Jules founded the company that would become FMS in 1971, creating a legacy of creativity and genius that continues to brighten our lives and the world around us. Thank you, Paul, for your wit and wisdom. We honour your life and legacy.”

Initially working in theatre lighting, Marantz held a strong inter

Details

29 May 2025

UK - Teddy Swims’ record-breaking and sold out I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy tour headed across the UK and Europe with PRG providing video, automation and lighting, including their brand-new GroundControl Multi for the Followspot system.

Having amassed over 8.7bn streams globally, Teddy Swims has captured the hearts of music fans worldwide with his live show and chart-topping hits such Lose Control and The Door. For his 2025 UK and European leg of the I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy tour, the team once again chose PRG to provide lighting, automation and video, but this time upgrading to PRG’s latest followspot innovation – the GroundControl Multi.

The GroundControl Multi is the newest addition to PRG’s GroundControl Followspot family. This system can control up to 16 lights through a single Ground

Details

29 May 2025

The Netherlands - The 3,000-capacity Poppodium 013 concert hall was transformed into a nightclub when NachtCollege brought its all-night party to the Dutch city of Tilburg in mid-April. Technical production was led by the venue’s in-house team, headed by senior lighting designer Paul Cox.

To help deliver the immersive experience the event called for, 48 ADJ Vizi Beam CMY fixtures were dry-hired from local rental supplier Spectrum AV to supplement the venue’s house rig. Paul arranged the fixtures across four trusses – two on each side of the dance floor – running the length of the hall. The upper trusses were mounted near the ceiling with fixtures suspended downward, while the lower trusses hung directly below, with fixtures positioned upright. This layered setup allowed Paul to fill the air above the crowd with intricate, overlapping beam patterns th

Details

29 May 2025

Europe - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera has launched QuikPunch, the latest in its innovative ‘Quik’ series, which started with the QuikSpot launched at the end of 2024.

QuikPunch delivers precise, high-quality light via its Fresnel lens, featuring a 13º – 60º zoom, with no stray light and 8,000 lux at 3m. It is optimised for fast set-up and practical operation and comes complete with a battery-driven PrepBox and ChargingPlate. It delivers Astera’s colour science, based on its high-colour-rendering RGBMA Titan LED Engine – but as it happens with QuikSpot, QuikPunch adds OutputGain for deeper colour saturates.

It does exactly what the name suggests, ‘punching’ high-quality light into the picture while consuming just 75W of power, producing an output equivalent to a 200W LED PAR for stage and event use. All this plus an impres

Details

29 May 2025

USA - InfoComm is offering visitors to this year’s show a ’2030 Vision’ into the future.  Attendees who drop by the Chauvet Professional booth (6453) at the Orange County Convention Centre will be able to experience a sampling of that promising time.

The company is ensuring that the future is bolder and brighter than ever thanks to technologically advanced products like those in Chauvet Professional’s Ovation Rêve family, which includes the Rêve E-3, a full-spectrum LED ERS-style ellipsoidal. With colour temperature presets ranging from 2800 to 8000K, the Ovation Rêve E-3 maintains remarkable brightness and high-quality light with emulated redshift for a tungsten feel.

Also representing the Rêve family at the show will be the ultra-bright Rêve P-3 IP, an IP65-rated multi-colour full-spectrum-white LED PAR with power and quality of light

Details

29 May 2025

Canada - Denis Richard, who unexpectedly died on 29 March 2025, was a pioneer in the Canadian music touring and production industry. During his nearly 50-year career, he made a significant and lasting impact on the growth of the entertainment lighting production and rental industry in Canada. In that time, he toured with and managed lighting and production services for live artists and supported multiple popular TV productions. Christie Lites has paid tribute:

“For the last 30 years, Denis was a key account handler for Christie Lites’ Toronto office. His professional life exemplified his exacting high standards. Denis led by example, always demanding as much from himself as he did of others. He loved and was fascinated by people. His curiosity about what drove others meant Denis got to know those he worked with and what they wanted swiftly. Many of the l

Details

28 May 2025

Switzerland - Tim Routledge became one of the first production designers to specify GLP’s new versatile and supercharged Creos – part of a cornucopia of lighting that animated Florian Wieder’s set design at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Basel.

These washlights were joined in the designer’s toolkit by another newly released GLP fixture, in the shape of 12 Mad Maxx CW fat beam searchlights, along with 200 impression X5 IP Bars and well over 100 randomly dispersed JDC1 hybrid strobes.

But it was Creos, with its 18 × 40W RGBL LEDs, motorised 1:12 zoom and seamless pixel clustering that took the accolades at the 12,400-capacity St Jakobshalle.

Tim Routledge had been seeking a particular fixture to sit underneath the transparent LED screen. He contacted Simon Barrett at GLP UK, who instinctively suggested Creos.

Details

28 May 2025

USA - Ayrton Rivale Profiles and grandMA3 full-size consoles with two grandMA3 Processing Unit L packages played key roles when Wooli made his headline debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on 12 April.

Wooli, the dubstep producer and DJ also known as Adam Puleo, brought his Mammoth Mountain III show to the Red Rocks venue in Morisson, Colorado. The third edition of the production marked his first time headlining at the outdoor amphitheatre where he was accompanied by guest artists.  Red Rocks is on the bucket list for a wide variety of artists,” says Alex Wroblewski, who has been Wooli’s tour director for more than two years. 

“For Wooli’s first show at Red Rocks we wanted to go bigger than we ever have before and use every available foot of that stage. We even added lighting and lasers to the audience bowl to create a more immersive ex

Details

28 May 2025

Slovenia - Making a “simple wall of light” uncluttered by any scenic pieces or barriers, and not disrupted by any restrictions has been a long-held dream of Crt Birsa. “It was on my wish list,” said the co-founder of Blackout Lighting Design. “I’ve always wanted to create a simple wall of light, very populated, mathematical, and clean – that’s it!”

Birsa got the opportunity to create such a wall when he lit EMA 2025, the Slovenian national Eurovision pre-selection event, which was held at Studio 1 of Slovenian National Television in Ljubljana. The results speak for themselves. Working with his fellow Blackout designer Anze Trstenjak, and frequent collaborator, set designer Greta Godnic, he created a 3D light wall that actually acts more like a window – a window that opens the imagination to unlimited vistas of mind-bendi

Details

28 May 2025

Canada - Mr. Light Solutions, a full-service production company based in Toronto and led by founder Matthew Reicker, recently deployed a robust lighting data distribution system built around Obsidian Control Systems’ Netron product line for season one of a yet-to-be-announced streaming series.

Filmed in both studio and outdoor locations around Toronto, the winter-themed series faced some of the harshest weather conditions in recent memory - including temperatures dipping below -20°C, heavy snowfall, and freezing rain.

Reicker has worked on many different types of productions in his nearly 15 years in the entertainment lighting industry - theatre, corporate events, concerts, and film - and in many capacities from lighting designer and programmer to crew chief and production manager. A member of IATSE Local 873, he launched Mr. Light Solutions in 20

Details

28 May 2025

USA - Harman Professional Solutions has announced the appointment of Sebastien Laffoux as director of lighting sales for North America. In this role, Laffoux will drive strategic growth and lead the sales organisation for Harman’s portfolio of professional lighting solutions, with a focus on expanding market share across the live entertainment, install, and architectural sectors.

Laffoux brings more than 15 years of senior leadership experience in the professional lighting and entertainment technology space. Prior to joining Harman, he served as vice president of sales at ARRI, where he oversaw B2B and SMB sales operations across North and South America.

“Sebastien brings a high degree of business acumen to the Martin sales team, as well as a deep understanding of consultative selling techniques and how to grow the sales pipeline,” said Mike Sc

Details

27 May 2025

UK - Sterling Event Group has announced a major expansion in facilities, a strengthened specialist team, investment in the latest production technologies, and a new brand identity.

With an impressive 25-year track record of delivering high-end production for corporate, private, public sector and live entertainment events, Sterling is now scaling its capabilities to support national and international growth. The company has built deep-rooted relationships with clients across the North of England and has consistently delivered strong growth year on year.

Sterling’s move to a new 102,000sq.ft warehouse at Manchester’s ICON Business Park more than doubles its existing capacity. The site will house a comprehensive inventory of professional-grade production technology, which is meticulously serviced and maintained by Sterling’s in-house team, for dep