UK - The European leg of Arcade Fire's Reflektor tour came to an emotional end at this year's British Summertime Festival, held in London's Hyde Park. Audiences danced to the band's rhythmic indie-rock, superbly magnified by lighting designer Chris Bushell's impressive light show programmed and controlled using an Avolites Sapphire Touch.

Bushell's stage lighting worked seamlessly with the multi faceted set, devised by set designer Richard Stembride, and the on-stage video content. Combined, these factors brilliantly echoed the bombastic mood of the band's art-house electronica with the mass enthusiasm of the crowd.

Nevertheless this show has been no easy ride for the creative team, which has seen them deliver a complex show design capable of fitting into every kind of venue from big US sheds, to European arenas and weekend music festivals, often with limited time and not alwa

Australia - The State Library of New South Wales is one of the major locations on the Sydney tourist trail, having opened in 1910 thanks to funding from David Scott Mitchell. Its location in the heart of Sydney means that as well as housing one of Australia's premier collections of books, it is also the start of many of the cities sightseeing tours.

LumenRadio, working with Enttec and Sylvania Lighting Australasia provided a wireless control scheme to update the building facade lighting and add color controls, wireless monitoring and integration into the building LAN. Enttec supplied the LumenRadio products along with a selection of their Aleph product portfolio to the project, which installed during the heat of the Australian summer.

Steve Furzey, technical manager at Sylvania Lighting Australasia commented, "The LumenRadio products are well constructed, simple to setup,

South Africa - Canadian singer / songwriter Tamia played three dates on her recent South African tour and for the two Johannesburg shows staged at the Carnival City Big Top Arena, lighting was designed by Magz Schoeman who used Robe moving lights at the core of her rig, including the venue's new Robin Pointes.

Schoeman is head of lighting at Carnival City and lights many performers visiting the venue with a schedule that includes a steady flow of international artists.

For Tamia, Schoeman had a free rein to come up with the design, and started with the music, which embraces multi genres including R 'n' B, pop, hip hop soul, neo soul and gospel jazz - and so has a wide dynamic range for lighting as well as the performance.

"R 'n' B / pop suggested to me lots of crystal pastel colours, gobos and texturing and flowing movement so that's the way it went. It was huge fun lig

USA - Before Joe Bonamassa hit the road this spring for the initial North American leg of his latest world tour, the production team at Special Event Services (SES) knew they needed a highly versatile loudspeaker rig that could handle anything they could throw at it over most of a year and three continents. To ensure that they were well prepared for everything - acoustic sets, electric sets, large theatres, small arenas, the US, Europe, and Australia - SES chose to specify L-Acoustics' new K2 system for its first official tour as a main PA.

Jason Farah of SES says that the venues on this tour made K2 the right rig for the gig and that there are zero sonic compromises due to the K2's smaller size compared to the vaunted K1. "The K1 with its 15s can feel a bit deeper, but there is no shortage of low end in the K2. In fact, the 12s in the K2 are so potent that they can easily

USA - Country music icon Tim McGraw embarked on his Sundown Heaven Town 2014 tour in May, with Silent House production designer, Baz Halpin orchestrating a typically inventive set that evolves as the show unwinds.

Having been approached by production manager, John 'Lug' Zajonc and tour manager Nick Cua, Halpin was soon discussing concepts with the artist himself. "He wanted this show to look unlike anything he had done before - moving away from the traditional imagery of country music and into something more modern looking." He also wanted to display abstract 'light and shape' imagery and integrate the lighting with a multiple LED screen canvas."

To help him implement this, Halpin, in conjunction with lighting director Pat Brannon, selected 134 of GLP's impression X4 LED moving heads to create a highly imaginative lighting dynamic.

Along with colleagues

UK - Utopium contributed to the stunning setting for the inaugural Bristol Summer Series, 25-26 June, 2014, for Metropolis Music when it supplied a comprehensive lighting production, including newly acquired fixtures.

These were the first major music events in Bristol's Harbourside for 10 years: open air concerts featuring Paolo Nutini on 25 June, with The Pogues 26 June and the promoters have since announced their intention to establish an annual Bristol Summer Series event.

The stage was framed by a tall ship, the Kaskelot, where Paolo Nutini played a combination of his hits with tunes from his latest album Caustic Love to a sell-out crowd of 5000, while The Pogues were also a huge hit, attracting 3500 people who danced the night away to Irish punk-folk classics.

Utopium's Colin Bodenham and John Newman combined their skills to design and deliver the stage lighting

New Zealand - Park Road Post Production, a premier post production facility based in Wellington, has recently invested in a new MADI solution from DirectOut Technologies to improve working conditions in the mix area.

Owned by Academy award-winning film director, Sir Peter Jackson, best known for having directed and produced The Hobbit' and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Park Road was established as a one-stop shop with world-class integrated picture and sound departments all under one roof. Park Road is uniquely placed to supply all post services for a feature from on-set support, rushes, stereoscopic alignment, digital intermediate, foley and sound mixing through to the final completion of all film and digital deliverables for distribution

The facility forms part of a creative community that includes the Academy award-winning Weta Digital and Weta Workshop and t

Switzerland - Set high in the spectacular Graubünden Alps, 1600m above sea level, the new InterContinental Davos luxury hotel offers the very best of Swiss hospitality and business facilities. A major Yamaha audio system has been installed to deliver the optimum in sound quality and flexibility.

The hotel features 216 rooms, 25 suites, nine meeting rooms, a business centre and conference facility, fitness centre, spa and three restaurants. With extensive alpine views, the hotel's state-of-the-art facilities are matched by the extensive Yamaha audio system.

The system was designed and the equipment chosen by German AV company Macom, working closely with the hotel builders TU Arge to guidelines supplied by InterContinental Hotels. Hünenberg-based AVS Systeme AG was appointed to supply and install the equipment.

The system features 107 VXC6W, 16 VXC4W, 10 VXC8W and two VXS5W

Germany - Since July 2014 HB-Laserkomponenten GmbH is a member of the Laserworld Group and underlines Laserworld being the world leader in the field of manufacturing and distribution of show laser light systems.

Martin Werner, CEO at Laserworld, has overseen several acquisitions and new foundations of companies in the Laserworld Group in the past years, where he sees an obvious trend: "In an increasingly difficult niche-market, consolidating is essential to configure in a way to be competitive and at the same time provide products that perfectly meet the requirements of the customers. Achieving this in such a specialized industry like ours is only possible with a strong team of highly qualified individuals; Laserworld provides the ideal framework for this."

The company network already spans the whole world. The various companies maintain their independence, identity

USA - Free registration is now open for PLASA Focus: Austin 2014. Taking place at the Palmer Events Centre on 9-10 September, this will be the second time PLASA Focus has returned to Texas since the launch of the event series in North America in February 2012.

PLASA Focus provides visitors with the opportunity to check out the latest products from some of the biggest names in entertainment technology. Companies already signed up to exhibit include: d&b audiotechnik, Chauvet Professional, TMB, Altman Lighting, Drape Kings, Harrington Hoists, Lightronics, Elation Professional, and Big House Sound, among many others. With many other applications being processed, companies interested in exhibiting are advised to move quickly to secure a spot.

Running alongside the exhibition is the PLASA Professional Development Programme which offers attendees free access to seminars. The program

South Africa - From humble beginnings, JMVR restaurant owner, Mike van Reenen, had the right idea when he opened his first venue, Soccer Shack in Pretoria 15 years ago.

Today he owns and manages five very successful venues in the city, one of which is Europa Night Club situated in Sunnyside. Europa has been going strong for the past eight years and the time recently came for Mike to up his game and upgrade the sound and lighting for the venue, making it on par with international specs.

He started with the audio system and involved Wild & Marr who did what they do best!

DWR Distribution was approached to manage the lighting upgrade. Schalk Botha from DWR worked with Mike and Henno van Wyk, regionaly manager for JMVR, on the solution to highlight the key areas.

After a few meetings and demos the choice was made. Robe's Robin 100 LEDBeams and Robin CYCFX 8's have been install

Australia - When Darlinghurst Theatre Company, The City of Sydney and architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer set about to renovate and repurpose Darlinghurst's Burton St Tabernacle as The Eternity Playhouse, there were always going to be a lot of technical and physical challenges. The building was originally constructed as a Baptist church in 1887, and now had to be adapted to run lights, sound, power and flybars, as well as accommodate clear sightlines for the audience.

With the Tabernacle's heritage came beauty and workmanship, including the decorative timber ceiling. Intricately worked and carved, the timber inlays are original to the Tabernacle and are a masterpiece of an almost lost art. Beautifully restored, they are a highlight of a visit to the theatre. But how do you run a functional lighting rig and grid without blocking the view of the ceiling?

Working with Darlinghurst T

USA - Production designer Steve Cohen's association with Billy Joel dates back an astonishing 40 years. Based on this vast experience he has conjured up some further magic for the artist's latest tour, which takes in an open-ended monthly residency at Madison Square Garden. By becoming established as the fourth franchise at MSG the artist has reaffirmed his close association with New York City, and has been delivering some stupendous performances.

Along the production journey, as technology evolved into LED, so Cohen encountered the world of the GLP impression series - using both the original impression 90 and 120 RZ zoom as well as the Volkslichts. But it was the later introduction of the X4 that confirmed his love affair with the impression LED platform.

"I saw the X4 for the first time on the GLP stand at LDI when Mark Ravenhill showed them to me. The technology and co

UK - Carnaby Street - The Concert took the sounds of the 60s up and down the UK, from the south coast of England, into Wales and up to the north of Scotland. Capital Sound was there every step of the way, providing an audio system fit for the best of the rock n' roll era.

With the tour playing small theatres, Capital's challenge was to supply a system, complete with independent front of house and monitor desks, that would fit into a self-drive panel van, but still provide the punch and coverage the show deserved.

"We opted for the very small, compact Meyer Mina/USW sub system with a pair of Yamaha LS9 32 consoles and rack of Shure PSM900 IEM systems to provide dedicated monitoring for the seven-piece band on stage," says Capital's general manager, Paul Timmins. "With our compact packaging, we managed to get the complete system to weigh in at 1300kg and be

USA - The CVS Caremark Charity Classic is known throughout Rhode Island for bringing big name golfers to the state (20 PGA pros were at this year's event) and raising much-needed funds for local causes.

This year's edition of the event, which has raised well over a $1m annually since it began in 1999, also brought something else to the area - big name entertainment in the form of Lady Antebellum. The multi-Grammy winning, platinum recording artists performed before over one thousand invited guests at the Rhode Island Convention Centre, illuminated by a zesty lightshow created by Derek Iorfida, using a variety of Legend moving head fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"This is a major event throughout the state," said Iorfida, president of JDI Productions in Johnston, Rhode Island. "The gala at the convention tops off a charity golf tournament that generates a lot

UK - Leisuretec Distribution is gearing up for an interactive seminar on Multi-Format Vision Mixing, in partnership with Roland Systems Group on Wednesday 23 July.

Following the success of their last event, Demystifying Web Streaming in June, Roland Systems Group and Leisuretec have designed this seminar to specifically highlight some of the daily challenges that live event professionals face with different video standards, connections and formats. Focusing on the practical application of managing video production, the seminar is designed for live event equipment users, operators and technicians.

As a market leader in multi format integrated audio and video products, Roland Systems Group has evolved the concept to embrace SD, HD, 4K, audio embedding/de embedding and AV streaming from a single unit. The innovative design of the latest multi format products from Ro

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied an extensive lighting specials package - including 140 new Philips Nitro LED strobes - for the Prodigy's show-stopping headline performance on Friday night at Sonisphere 2014 in Knebworth Park.

Show designer Andy Hurst has developed the latest spectacular look for the band who are playing a series of festival headliners and own shows throughout Europe across the summer, where they are maintaining their reputation for high production values and epic visual and sonic experiences.

HSL is also supplying a standard 'floor specials' lighting rig for the entire tour which is being used in conjunction with a festival / venue 'house' rig at all gigs and which is built to Hurst's specification.

HSL's project manager Mike Oates comments, "We love working with the Prodigy. They are one of the most innovative artists and put huge

UK - The Royal Opera House in London has recently invested in SpectraCyc 200 units from Altman Lighting for their Linbury Studio Theatre. The new cyclorama wash fixtures, which have replaced existing tungsten fixtures, use an LED source with RGBA colour-mixing to achieve a nearly limitless colour palette. Designed for both theatrical and architectural applications, the Spectra Cyc blends colours via a patent pending LED lens and can be adapted for either floor mounted or sky-cyc uses.

Before deciding on the Altman fixtures, Paul Hornsby, lighting systems manager at Royal Opera House, researched several technologies and product options. With the Linbury hosting a wide variety of performances during the regular season as well as private events and functions, it was essential that the new lighting fixtures provide a wide array of colours without compromising on brightness.

"

Germany - Germany had a lot to celebrate at this year's Football World Cup - including victory over Argentina in the final - with event technology supplier sld mediatec of Nuremberg turning to an Elation Professional lighting package to highlight the viewing party of German national team matches at Kennametal Kick and Groove Festival Park at Nuremberg Airport.

Some 20,000 fans gathered at the park to witness live the success of the German team on the big screen. Complementary lighting effects from Elation Platinum Series, Design Series and LED moving heads, along with Elation LED Par lights and white light luminaires were used to decorate the open air park and provide a festive atmosphere for the gathering of friends and fans.

Lighting designer for the Kick and Groove event was Sebastian Gross, who commented on his lighting requirement, stating, "I needed lights that were

Nigeria - With bases in Nigeria and Ghana, TV production company, Ultima Studios are responsible for developing high viewing television programmes such as the music talent show, MTN Project Fame West Africa and the territorial franchise, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

As a premium media production organisation - one of the most prolific in sub-Saharan Africa - they are backed by their own cutting-edge production inventory to service their studio work - and this includes nearly 50 discharge and LED moving heads from Chinese manufacturer PR Lighting.

As they gear up for season seven of MTN Project Fame West Africa they will again turn to their large stock of XS 1200 Beam, XL Beam 300, XR 300 Beam, XR 200 Beam, XPar 360, XLED 1037, PR 5000 Spot and XR 230 Spot.

Both MTN Project Fame West Africa and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? are recorded

USA - When San Antonio's Tobin Center for the Performing Arts opens in September, its H-E-B Performance Hall and Alvarez Family Studio Theater will boast Robert Juliat Cyrano and Buxie followspots, respectively.

The new Tobin Center rises behind the façade of the former San Antonio Municipal Auditorium along the famed River Walk downtown. The 1,750-seat multi-purpose house will be the home of the San Antonio Symphony and other resident companies; its inaugural 2014-15 season will feature such diverse performers as comedy legend Bill Cosby, radio icon Garrison Keillor and "The Prairie Home Companion" and the Scottish Ballet's production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."

The four-level H-E-B Performance Hall is the largest of the Tobin Center's performance spaces; it has installed four Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots whose narrow beam angle makes them the perfect

USA - George Strait holds the record for the most number one country music hits - 44 top charters since 1981 - of all time. So it only makes sense that the final show of this music icon's national touring career would also set a record for attendance. Nearly 105,000 fans attended Strait's 7 June concert at AT&T Stadium, eclipsing the Rolling Stones' previous attendance record of 87,500 for the venue in 1981, coincidentally the same year the singing cowboy launched his professional career.

Dallas-based Onstage Systems, which has been rigging sound reinforcement for Strait's tours since the beginning of his performing days, pulled out all the stops for the final date on the tour, dubbed The Cowboy Rides Away, powering up a massive L-Acoustics K1/K2 loudspeaker system to fill the stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys.

"K1 is the premier stadium line array system and we'

Europe - Lighting designer Jamie Thompson has again turned to GLP's LED impression series to help create dramatic stage impact for this year's world tour by Bastille.

Three years after successfully integrating the impression 90s (and Zoom) into The Script's show design, his company MIRRAD, which he runs with experienced co-lighting designer Bryan Leitch and Dave Cohen, specified 60 of the German manufacturer's popular X4 moving heads. The inventory was supplied by PRG after first providing a demo of the fixtures.

Technology has advanced a long way in three years, and Thompson admits, "I'm really loving the X4 . . . I feel that GLP has made another huge leap with this new range. Combining both power and effects, this range has really come into its own."

The London-based band, fronted by Dan Smith, has been playing a range of successful shows, including the massive C

Opening Acts - Rod Stewart is set to perform at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow later this month. He will be joined by Susan Boyle, Amy MacDonald, Julie Fowlis and violinist Nicola Benedetti. Glasgow 2014 organisers expect 40,000 people at Celtic Park on 23 July to watch the games kick off and millions more will watch on TV around the world. Chief executive David Grevemberg said the announcement of Stewart on the line up would take "excitement and anticipation to a whole new level".

Theatres In Perspective - Venues funded by Arts Council England are failing to attract new theatregoers and are instead relying on a core regular audience, the findings of a new report have shown. Data collected by theatre analytics company Purple Seven has found audiences attending national portfolio organisation venues and those visiting commercial ones are becom

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