The Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD, about 10 miles south of Washington DC is a perfect site for any event. The carefully manicured grounds are elegant, and guests can gaze out the main ballroom’s 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy stunning views of the Potomac River. Small wonder then that the […]
With few exceptions, most notably traditional Chinese culture, the number 6 is not considered particularly lucky. Metallica and Rob Koenig might beg to differ, however. For a time, after Koenig started his tenure with the iconic band, they referred to him as “Number Six,” a name chosen because he was their sixth LD in 2008. […]
As a rule, Andrew Cass prefers to stay away from having a single massive video wall behind the band, but like all rules, this one can be bent, especially in the interest of collaboration. Such was the case in December when Cass served as lighting designer and programmer for Closer to the Sun, the annual […]
Does a lighting designer need to have a musical background to create an evocative show? This Emmy winning Muscle Shoals, Alabama-based LD says it isn’t absolutely necessary, but allows that one way or another, musicality and rhythm must find a way to run through the heart and soul of every memorable lighting design. A former […]
“I am part of light, and it is the music,” wrote Nickola Tesla, who once likened a single lightning bolt to a sonata. All lighting designers would likely agree, attuned, as they are, to hearing the transformative sound made by infinite photons every night on stage. Inspired by this magical harmony, Hayden Borgars strives to […]
Today, the 23-year-old from Steyning, UK, is accustomed to performing before much larger audiences, as she draws energy and enthusiasm, not just from family, but from a rapidly growing group of fans around the world. Tom Campbell has enjoyed witnessing this young star’s rapid rise. As her lighting designer, he’s been there as his client […]
Like the Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ “mythical man,” who can never step in the same river twice, lighting design can never go back to where it was just a short time ago. This Nashville-based lighting designer wouldn’t have it any other way. In his view, the need to adapt to the constant changes surrounding design, from […]
Four hours and twenty-two minutes is quite a long time; about an hour longer than it takes to fly from New York to Miami, almost twice as long as the average NBA game, and even longer than Bruce Springsteen’s longest show, a four hour and six-minute performance that took place in Helsinki in 2012. Yet […]
Minimalism can exert its power in the most unlikely places, even at the U2 UV Achtung Baby Live show that opened the much-heralded Sphere in Las Vegas this September. Although the show at the massive structure with a 16k resolution wrap around video wall, enraptured audiences with its immersive and complex design, at its heart was a […]
As a lighting designer for 13 years, Jason Goers has seen his share of unique and impressive venues. He’s been to Red Rock Amphitheatre multiple times with bands like Leftover Salmon, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band, Dark Star Orchestra, The Motet and other clients. He’s also had stops at places ranging from Ryman […]
Matthieu Larivée and the team at Lüz Studio have been relentlessly pushing the envelope of late, driving technology in new directions to transform stages in ways that would have been unimaginable not long ago. So, it should come as no surprise that following their widely acclaimed work on last year’s Jason Aldean tour, when they […]
If there’s one thing constant about the weather, it’s that nothing about it is constant. John Garberson and the production team at Creative BackStage learned this less first hand at Phoenix’s Zona festival. According to the National Weather Bureau, Phoenix is the second driest city in the USA, trailing only Las Vegas. Back in […]