“It was definitely a swingin’, rockin’, and shoutin’ of a good time, as the sensational, iconic and legendary band the Stray Cats prowled their way to the Greek Theatre,” writes The Music Connection’s Daniel Seylum of the band’s recent Los Angeles appearance.  Forty years after their debut album, rockabilly fans worldwide found out why the…

After 21 years in the dark, the classic Grain Belt Beer sign is once again brightening the Minneapolis skyline.  Built in 1941, the 50×40-foot landmark was the largest free-standing sign in the region, but since 1996 the old incandescent lamps have been dark.  A recent renovation by S.M.L. Electrical, supported by JTH Lighting, features over…

How many gigs can a 19-piece rockabilly band do in 48 days?  This year, the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s 14th Annual Christmas Rocks Tour will play an impressive 35 dates from Nov. 10 to Dec. 28.  Opening in Minneapolis and closing in Bellingham, WA, the US tour will be followed by concerts in Japan early next…

It’s summer in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. 200,000 people are enjoying three days of live Rock & Roll, and more. . . No, it’s not the Summer of Love, 1967, it’s the tenth annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, where the crowds are cleaner, and Flower Power is now a sustainable, green business….

Daryl Hall and John Oates kicked off their 2017 summer tour last month at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The whirlwind tour across America’s heartland includes 30 dates through July.  The lighting design team of Matt Geasey and Jesper Luth specified 140 Solaris Mozart fixtures, as well as 600 IMS Mk2 RGBW lamps on…

The Historic Masonic Theatre is an architectural treasure nestled in the Allegheny Mountains.  Since opening in 1905, the historic venue has boasted eclectic billings over the last century, including Roy Rogers (and of course Trigger), Gene Autry, Count Basie, and even political blunderbuss William Jennings Bryan (“What has been will be again”).  Now a performing…

London, England This year’s Reading Festival in the UK had some additional colour, courtesy of Colour Sound Experiment, Ltd. of London.  Two weeks prior to the event  the organizers decided to add lighting decoration to the general audience area.  They called on Colour Sound, whose design solution added 1,500 metres and 1,500 lamps of TMB’s…