You might say that Derek Heckler was born and raised to be the house LD at the Riviera Theatre. When he was a child, his mother sang in seasonal choruses and orchestral concerts at the 1,200 seat theatre outside Buffalo, NY. Attending these performances, he fell in love with the ornate beauty of the historic […]
It was a magical journey for the thousands of fans who spent five days cruising on The Royal Caribbean Freedom and taking in live performances by the likes of Damian and Stephen Marley, Burning Spear, Ding Dong and Shabba Ranks. Underlying the carefree fun however, was an intense, carefully planned, and well-executed effort on the […]
At the end of our interview with this London-born LD, we asked, as we often do, what was the one thing he wanted people to know about him as a designer. “I’m making it all up as I go along,” was his short, snappy answer. A bit of clever hyperbole? Certainly, given that everyone familiar […]
Seth Jackson might not have expected his conversation with Barry Manilow to end quite the way it did when the singer called him at home one day in 1998. The highly acclaimed lighting designer had been touring South America with Kenny G when Manilow’s tour manager contacted him at his hotel and asked if he […]
Mike Grabowski was thrilled with his experience designing the multiple stages under his purview for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” in Times Square this year, except for one thing. His single regret didn’t involve the rain that fell for much of the evening, either. After all, the “unpredictability of nature,” comes […]
Breathtaking views are everywhere you look at Pier 17. Turn one way, and you feel like you can almost reach out and touch the Brooklyn Bridge, turn the another and there’s The Statue of Liberty, keep going and you’re treated to a breathing taking view of the Manhattan skyline. When the sun goes down, though, […]
It’s safe to say that success has not spoiled The Black Keys. After four Grammy Awards and ten highly rated albums, the Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney still maintain the raw, bluesy garage band feel that brought them together in Akron, Ohio a little over 20 years ago. Perhaps that why the duo is such […]
When Allen Branton and the rest of the production team saw their design concept for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction in place at the Microsoft Theater, their first reaction was something along the lines of “wow, this feels really modern!” This might have come as a surprise to some, given that […]
Not too long ago, when someone asked this Montreal-based creative what his profession was, his response was simple: “Lighting Designer.” However, like his work itself, the answer to this question has become ever-more expansive of late, beginning with “production designer,” and on to “content creator,” until now, he simply described himself to us as “a […]
The power of light lies not only in what it reveals, but also what it conceals. Though, in actuality, revealment and concealment are opposite sides of the same coin as far as lighting design is concerned. Guillaume Fournier and Victor Lagiewski along with their team at Chromatik turned this coin over beautifully when lighting the […]
The “craorag” in this Irish lighting designer’s company name, “Craorag Lighting,” comes from the old Irish term for “crimson.” How fitting, since in Celtic folklore this is often considered the color of magic and fantasy! The words not only aptly describe Douglas’ imaginative lighting style, they also nicely apply to the captivating shows he creates […]
A Bandit Lites supplied rig anchored by 40 Rogue R2X Wash and three COLORado Solo batten fixtures did double duty for two iconic groups as they toured 30 cities together. In the process they demonstrated their flexibility, as they contributed to shows by Breaking Benjamin and Alice in Chains. Here is how they did it: […]