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05 September 2025

Germany - On 4 July in the Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena in Hanover, Scorpions celebrated their 60th anniversary under the motto Coming Home, in front of 45,000 spectators, alongside Judas Priest and Alice Cooper. Fans from all over the world travelled to experience the German rockers in the city where it all began.

Manfred Nikitser has been responsible for the band’s visual appearance, as lighting, stage and video content designer, since 2015. For the anniversary show, he created a production design that set the standard for large-scale open-air rock shows: stadium-ready in terms of output and reach, yet precisely tailored to the requirements of a multi-camera recording.

“The unique thing about a stadium show is that the audience in the front row is perhaps three metres from the stage, while the audience in the back is over 100m away – and y

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05 September 2025

Portugal - This summer, as the finale to their 15 Years tour, Portuguese speaking band Calema prepared for the largest ever show from a band with Portuguese origins. DiGiCo Quantum 338s at the front-of-house position and two DiGiCo SD5s at monitors were deployed, supplied by Auditiv Audiovisuals.

Calema comprises brothers António Mendes Ferreira and Fradique Mendes Ferreira, who were born on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe. The band’s name roughly translates to ‘special wave’, which refers to the treasures brought to the island by the tide. The pair relocated to Portugal to pursue their musical careers and their recent show at Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz was their biggest stadium show yet.

“The Calema concert was a true spectacle,” says Joao Escada, co-owner with Daniel Bekerman of Auditiv Audiovisuals. “We wanted

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05 September 2025

USA - Full-service production company Toucan Productions has added Elation’s new Paragon series to its rental fleet, utilising the award-winning LED profile fixtures across concerts, festivals, corporate events, and large-scale branding projects throughout Oklahoma City and beyond.

Toucan CEO Chauncy Harris explained the decision: “They are perfect for any customer that needs flexible and affordable profile fixtures. It is a great product, a versatile solution for a variety of production needs, and with a great price point for our market.”

Toucan first saw the Paragon at the LDI tradeshow last December, where it earned the Best Debuting Product Award. Needing a compact, IP-rated fixture, Toucan arranged a demo for a closer look and eventually invested in the Paragon S model.

“For a rental company, it is built very well and will hold u

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05 September 2025

Canada - Ross Video has announced the acquisition of LAMA, a developer of advanced audio production software known for its live mixing solutions. This move significantly strengthens Ross Video’s audio solution set and core audio technology, while bringing in a highly experienced team in audio-focused solutions.

“We are excited to welcome the LAMA team to Ross,” said Jeff Moore, executive vice-president & chief marketing officer of Ross Video. “Ross Video has built its legacy on giving our customers everything they need to connect with their audiences. This acquisition extends our audio capabilities, both on-premises and in the cloud.”

Proven in real-world use, LAMA powered Eurosport’s Olympic Games Paris 2024 and enabled SK Gaming to simplify esports audio with NDI integration.

“LAMA was built to challenge the traditional co

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05 September 2025

USA - Halsey’s recent For My Last Trick tour concluded on 6 July. The multi-Grammy winner was intimately involved in creating the look for the 30-city tour - a look that interwove the dramatic expectations of theatre with the raw energy of rock (not to mention a rainbow of colours) so naturally, that its various elements seemed to flow from one another.

“My Last Trick was definitely more theatrical than a typical tour,” said John Featherstone, who worked with his Lightswitch colleagues, Hailey Featherstone and Ignacio (Iggy) Rosenberg on lighting the show. “Given that there were multiple acts, it was important for Halsey and her team that there was a strong differentiation between each stage of the show we were in.

“There are moments of real softness and emotion; raw, vulnerable emotion,” continued Featherstone. “Then

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05 September 2025

USA - Billsville House, an intimate house concert venue, has been enhancing the live music experience for a decade, evolving from its roots in Williamstown, Massachusetts to its current home in Manchester Centre, Vermont. Founded by Doug Hacker and Caroline Schneider, with their sons Ethan and Kai Hacker handling production, sound engineering, and ticketing, Billsville has cultivated a space that warmly embraces both audiences and musicians.

The genesis of Billsville stemmed from Doug and Caroline's passion for live music and the challenge of accessing good venues in rural Massachusetts, especially with young children. Inspired by a friend's house concert, they reached out to musician Joe Pug, who agreed to play a small show at their home, leading to a new tradition.

This led to their distinctive operating model: offering musicians 100% of the procee

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05 September 2025

Italy - Part of the K-array ecosystem, KGear has announced the launch of GH4 Marine and GH8 Marine, new IP-rated versions of its compact point source, arrayable satellite loudspeakers, purposely designed for the marine market and other demanding outdoor environments. Building on the acoustic quality and sleek design of the original GH4, the GH4 Marine and GH8 Marine introduce new levels of durability and weather resistance to these crowd-pleasing products.

The GH4 Marine features a 4” full-range driver with a dual-coil neodymium magnet, housed in a corrosion-resistant stainless steel enclosure. Its 16Ω impedance makes the loudspeaker adaptable to a wide variety of system configurations, offering integrators and sound designers greater flexibility. KGear’s signature cabinet design ensures highly controlled audio dispersion, particularly useful in open-ai

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04 September 2025

UK - Prolight Concepts (UK) has been appointed exclusive UK distributor for ADJ. “With the goal of improving customer service, product availability and delivery efficiency, we are pleased to announce we have been appointed as the new exclusive distribution partner for ADJ in the UK,” says Prolight.

Supplying the industry for nearly 30 years and with a solid reputation, large UK-based warehouse, and experienced sales and customer support, Prolight says it is ideally placed to facilitate smooth distribution of ADJ products across the UK. Effective from Sunday 7 September, Prolight will offer the full ADJ catalogue of entertainment lighting, LED video panels, atmospheric effects, and will also provide after-sales support and service information.

"We are delighted to be appointed as the exclusive distributor for this exceptional brand across the UK,"

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04 September 2025

UK - Linea Research, the UK-based specialist in high-power amplification and DSP solutions, has appointed Leisuretec as its UK distribution arm.

The appointment marks a significant step in the growth strategy of Linea Research, enabling the company to focus on its expanding international business while ensuring UK customers continue to receive a cohesive, well-supported sales experience.

Martin Hildred, sales and marketing director, Linea Research, comments: “We are excited to announce the appointment of Leisuretec as distributor for the UK. The company has impressed with the right reach and resources to ensure that, in terms of ongoing customer support as well as sales, our valued customers in the UK remain in the best hands.”

Hildred remarked upon the convenient location of Leisuretec as a partner, just an hour away from the Linea Resea

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04 September 2025

USA - JBL Professional has announced the launch of its 2025 Installed Audio Roadshow, a coast-to-coast tour showcasing the brand’s most trusted commercial audio solutions in real-world environments. From September through November 2025, the roadshow will make 30 stops nationwide, offering AV integrators, consultants, system designers, and facility managers an opportunity to experience JBL sound in the region where they work with their customers. 

Unlike traditional tabletop showcases, the JBL Installed Audio Roadshow delivers application-specific demonstrations that highlight clarity, coverage, and control across hospitality venues, retail spaces, schools, houses of worship, and entertainment environments. Each stop will feature the latest solutions, along with insights into system design best practices, guided walk-throughs, hands-on pr

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04 September 2025

UK - EM Acoustics has announced the return of a comprehensive HALO-B line array-based system to London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which has been in use across the entire 2025 summer season. Following the successful debut of a full system in 2024, audio provider Autograph Sound has committed to the design long-term, purchasing a complete EM Acoustics package that will become an ongoing mainstay of the Open Air Theatre’s programme.

Autograph has a long-standing relationship with Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, having supplied a full audio system for a number of years. The desire to create a consistent, high-quality sound experience at the Open Air Theatre led to the implementation of a more permanent, bespoke solution. Designed by Olivier Award-winner Nick Lidster, the system, which is based around the HALO-B line arrays, along with a complete E

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04 September 2025

UK - Eastnor Castle Deer Park in the rolling Herefordshire countryside is transformed each August into Lakefest, a family-friendly four-day festival for around 18,000 people.

Headliners this year included Echo & the Bunnymen, Groove Armada, Faithless and Busted, performing on the main Abbey Stage rigged as usual by Swansea-based Total Sound Solutions with their Nexo Geo M12 line array, P+ Series monitors and original Alpha side-fills.

Lakefest 2025 was also notable as the UK debut for Nexo’s new Alpha+ hybrid source system, which featured on three stages including the second stage Funkytown, which hosted performances by the Buzzcocks, the Beat, Brand New Heavies, Dub Pistols and So Solid Crew, with DJ sets from Woody Cook and Louis Capaldi.

With his own Alpha+ system arriving in the warehouse in the same week as Lakefest, Sash

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04 September 2025

South Africa - Stage Audio Works (SAW) recently celebrated a successful technology showcase at New Life Church in Bryanston. The event welcomed nearly 150 attendees from houses of worship, live events, theatres and technical industries.

Highlights included the official launch of the Plus Audio FS210L dual 10” line array system, alongside the FS1C and FS1B column loudspeakers with dual 12” bass extension. Guests also experienced the regional debut of Sennheiser’s Spectera wideband, bidirectional digital wireless ecosystem.

In addition to new products from its in-house Plus Audio, Stage Plus and Pixel Plus brands, SAW showcased rider-approved solutions from d&b audiotechnik, Yamaha, Blackmagic Design and Sennheiser, with the SAW team providing hands-on demos and expert guidance.

“Through the range of ‘Plus’ brands we represent,

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04 September 2025

Spain - As one of Ibiza’s best-known clubs, Amnesia has built a reputation for having quality sound. Since opening in 1976, it has hosted many of the world’s leading electronic music artists, establishing itself as a cornerstone of Ibiza’s club scene.

In 2022, the Main Room underwent a major upgrade with a sophisticated KV2 Audio sound system, custom-configured by club sound specialists Plusmusic Ibiza, setting the benchmark for sound quality and impact. On the back of this success, in 2025, focus shifted to Amnesia’s expansive Terrace – formerly an open-air space, now enclosed by a windowed roof. Here, Plusmusic Ibiza was once again entrusted to design a system that would deliver the next evolution of club sound – building on the success of their custom-engineered setup in the Main Room.

“After more than 20 years in the music industry,

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04 September 2025

France - Horse riding show Cadre noir of Saumur took place at the famed seaside resort of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage as part of the Gala of the Squires of the Cadre noir of Saumur.

Highlighting the aesthetic harmony of horses and their riders at the popular event was an elegantly balanced lighting design that relied on the precise performance of 16 Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm 2 Profile projectors supplied by Alive Angers, the technical provider for sound and lighting.

Charley Guitton of Alive Angers served as the project manager of Cadre noir of Saumur, and Esteban Sabatier, lighting console operator for the show who managed all aspects of lighting. 

“We needed IP65 fixtures, given that the shows are held outdoors and there is a lot of dust with the Cadre noir horses, not to mention the potential rain,” sai

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04 September 2025

UK - Disguise has announced the launch of the GX 3+, its most powerful media server yet. Built on NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPU architecture and including a two-year Notch playback licence, the GX 3+ unlocks the full capabilities of Notch 1.0 for generative content playback – enabling video designers to create richer, more sophisticated and responsive event visuals that bring their vision to life without compromise.

With ‘exceptional generative graphics power and a 175% increase in Notchmarks’, the GX 3+ will enable content teams, show designers and programmers to playback Notch blocks with their intended resolution, colour fidelity and frame rate, allowing them to realise the full potential of their creative vision.

The expansion to 96GB of VRAM in the NVIDIA Blackwell GPU eliminates memory bottlenecks that have historically constrained high-resolu

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04 September 2025

The Netherlands - RTW has announced a major new addition to its flagship TMxCore audio metering platform: the Speech Intelligibility Meter.

The new meter helps broadcast and professional audio engineers identify and address speech intelligibility issues in film, television, streaming, and live production. Whether it is unclear dialogue in a drama series, competing background music in reality TV, or crowd noise overwhelming commentators in a sports broadcast, the RTW Speech Intelligibility Meter offers an intelligent, AI-powered solution for identifying speech intelligibility challenges in any production environment.

Developed in close cooperation with Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg, the meter uses objective, AI-based speech intelligibility to deliver an easy-to-interpret measurement of how clearly spoken content is perceived. This empowers engineers to

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04 September 2025

USA - Christie has announced the appointment of Jim Hallas as vice-president, product management. Reporting to president and COO Michael Phipps, Hallas will lead the company’s display product strategy, ensuring Christie delivers customer-centric solutions that advance the cinema, ProAV, and industrial markets.  

Jim holds graduate degrees in engineering and business and brings a wealth of diverse experience. He has served as an adjunct professor and an entrepreneur and has built businesses within leading technology organisations, including IBM and Texas Instruments (TI). Most recently, Hallas served as business and engineering manager for the DLP Cinema, ProAV, and Industrial Group at TI, where his team pioneered the HEP pixel technology and holds five patents for various technology innovations.

Michael Phipps, president and COO of Christie, says

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03 September 2025

UK - Stage Electrics Group has announced the acquisition of Willow Communications Limited (Willow), a specialist in audio-visual integration and the provision of software as a service platform, serving the land-based gaming, hospitality, holiday park, sport and leisure sectors.

This strategic acquisition enhances the group’s capabilities, further enabling the delivery of a wider range of technical solutions to a broader spectrum of customers and sectors.

Willow will continue to operate from its Northampton headquarters, where it has been based since its founding more than 35 years ago by managing director Steve Barlow and finance director Sally Barlow.

“This acquisition is an important step in our strategy to diversify the sectors we serve and expand the products and services the group is able to offer,” said Dave Coull, CEO of Stage El

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03 September 2025

Austria - AV Stumpfl celebrated the opening of its new 2,200m² production hall at its headquarters in Wallern an der Trattnach together with its entire team during this year’s summer family festival.

Fuelled by a good economy in the United States – one of AV Stumpfl’s major sales markets – the company is experiencing a strong increase in demand.

More than 10 years ago, AV Stumpfl strategically established a US subsidiary in Atlanta, Georgia, to bring its innovative systems – developed and manufactured with dedication in Upper Austria – to the US live entertainment, hospitality and film industries.

The new facility adds 2,200m² of production space, effectively doubling the company’s production capacity. Last year, AV Stumpfl invested in new equipment for a second production line and welcomed 20 new team members. Until now, this