Lighting Vet Killed

The body of Dino DeRose – who designed concert lighting for bands including Earth, Wind & Fire, KISS, Eric Clapton, and Widespread Panic – was found along an Austin, Texas, interstate September 29th. He was 49.

Police were investigating the death as a hit-and-run, but the Travis County medical examiner’s office had not released a cause of death, according to the Austin American-Statesman at press time.

“Dino DeRose was a veteran of not just our camp, but of the industry as a whole,” Widespread Panic production manager Chris Rabold said on the band’s Web site. “He was loved by all of those he worked with and all of those he worked for.”

DeRose was in Austin working on Widespread Panic’s September 24th Austin City Limits Music Festival performance. Friends reportedly started to worry when the group left town September 27th and he was nowhere to be found.

DeRose was last seen at the city’s Radisson Hotel at about 6 p.m. September 25th.

“Dino was not the type to miss a show or even be late for one,” Austin lighting director Richard “Scooter” Oi told the American-Statesman. “He was so incredibly dependable. We didn’t have much hope that he’d suddenly turn up after a few days.”