UK - Nearly 100 Robe BMFL Spots are on tour with multi-award winning chart-topping singer / songwriter Adele's current Adele Live 2016 world tour, in a stylish and dramatic lighting concept developed by Patrick Woodroffe working with associate lighting designer Adam Basset from design practice Woodroffe Bassett Design (WBD).

The extensive tour follows the release of Adele's record-smashing third studio album, 25, in November 2015 which has established her as one of the most successful recording artists of all time.

Lighting operator / director on the road is Roland Greil, and the equipment for the UK and European legs of the tour is being supplied by west London based rental specialist, Neg Earth, while Upstaging will deliver the rig in the US.

Ninety BMFL Spots are rigged on a series of symmetrical overhead LX trusses above the A-stage, with another four units

UK - Pro-audio provider The Warehouse Sound Services has been named the UK dealer for loudspeaker brand Adamson Systems Engineering. As one of the largest suppliers of pro-audio equipment in Scotland and North of England, The Warehouse has opened a third branch in Lancashire to support their new Adamson partnership. The Warehouse currently has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

To further establish Adamson in the UK, The Warehouse has also employed former Bose national sales manager Craig Buckley as a dedicated brand and division manager alongside Paul Atherton who becomes business development manager. Buckley and Atherton will head up the new Lancashire office in Chorley.

"We are very excited to start working with Adamson," explains Derek Blair, director of The Warehouse. "The product line is very impressive - everyone who has worked on their PA has nothing but great thing

Late Entry - Justin Timberlake will be performing at this year's Eurovision Song contest in Stockholm, Sweden. He will sing during the interval at the grand final on Saturday. In a statement, Sven Stojanovic, one of show's producers said, "This is a fantastic opportunity, we are very happy and excited that Justin Timberlake will perform his new song together with his band in our show. It makes it extra special that the Swedish songwriters Max Martin and Shellback have co-written and co-produced the song together with Justin Timberlake."

Flag Flying - Eurovision bosses have relaxed their flag rules, meaning the UK entry can fly a Welsh flag. It was originally included in a list of banned flags because its red dragon was considered a political statement. Previously only flags of contest members and UN states were allowed due to the event's non-political nature. The UK ent

UK - A selection of DPA microphones have been incorporated into a rig that is designed to bring recording facilities to three Birmingham-based musical bodies.

Richard Meredith, director of London-based pro audio and live sound specialists The Audio Dept., was charged with the task of specifying the rig, which is jointly utilised by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) and Ex Cathedra.

Its portable nature means that it can be easily set up in several venues used by the groups, including Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and The CBSO Centre, and used for other recording duties in the venues, too.

At the heart of the rig is a stereo pair of d:dicate 2011A Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphones. These are mounted on flown DPA UA0387 stereo bars, specifically chosen for the task by Meredith as they give v

Australasia - Shure UHF-R Wireless microphones and PSM1000 in-ear monitoring systems (IEMs) performed an essential role for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo when it toured Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.

A total of 60 channels of Shure UHF-R - the largest number of wireless mics ever used on a military display like this - were used in shows in Australia (where technical services and equipment were supplied by a 12-strong team from audio facilities company Norwest) and New Zealand (where UK company Wigwam Acoustics and Wellington's Western Audio Engineering were jointly responsible behind the scenes).

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, as its name suggests, began life as a geographically limited proposition, normally taking place in August in the grounds of the Scottish capital's castle, where it is typically viewed by around 220,000 people annually. In 20

UK - Prism Sound is extending the reach of its Mic to Monitor educational seminars by holding three of its forthcoming events in conjunction with the Abbey Road Institute, which now has training centres in Paris, Melbourne, Berlin and London.

The 2016 Mic to Monitor tour kicked off on 11 April at the new Abbey Road Institute in Berlin, before moving to Los Angeles, USA, for its second event on 27 April. It will ultimately take in over 10 cities around the world, including Paris in June and Amsterdam in October, where it will be held at Abbey Road Institute's sixth centre, which is due to open later this year.

Targeted at music production students, hobbyists and professionals, Mic to Monitor aims to dispel the many myths surrounding the recording process. The events answer those all-important questions such as what makes great gear great, what does it take to become a succe

USA/France - Paper presentations, both as lectures and/or posters, for the upcoming Audio Engineering Society's 140th International Convention at the Palais des Congr

USA - Elation Professional LED lighting was used in several tents at this year's Coachella Music and Arts Festival with Elation lights also used to uplight the festival's well-loved rows of palm trees in rainbows of festive colour.

Nearly two decades on, southern California's premier music festival still creates lasting memories and exhilarates the senses. Coachella delivered another eclectic experience across two weekends in April with a broad mix of acts from the world of rap, hip hop, EDM and rock delighting crowds with surprise guests like Angus Young, Rihanna and Kanye West adding to the festival's distinctive feel.

Elation lighting has been a staple of Coachella shows over the years and again this year played a large role in the visual experience with over 500 Elation products in action in the Yuma, Sahara and Mojave Tents, as well as around the festival grounds. Fel

The Netherlands - Overlooking one of the Netherlands many wide, sweeping drainage dykes, De Oude Tol (The Old Toll) is a popular restaurant and bar in Oud Beijerland, south of Rotterdam. A new Yamaha installation has radically enhanced the quality and flexibility of the venue's audio system.

Owned and managed by Eric Rhijnsburger and his father in law, Fred Kok, De Oude Tol features three rooms (two with an opening roof) and a small outdoor terrace. The rooms can be individually rented for meetings, parties and presentations, but the existing audio system was very limited in only being able to supply sound from a single source to all four spaces.

Eric and Fred knew that a much more versatile system was required, so they approached Frank Kapogiannis of Yamaha Commercial Audio dealer Marvellous Sound Systems for help.

Frank suggested a new system based on Yamaha Commerci

UK - The Royal Windsor Horse Show (RWHS) plays host to The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration this year which takes place every evening from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 May. The last night will be broadcast live by ITV when The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, along with other members of the Royal Family, will attend.

Sourcing smaller grandstand roofs for a more intimate atmosphere, organiser H Power had to find another means to support the significant weight of lighting required for the birthday broadcast.

The solution came in the shape of a ring of Star Events' new 20m Zee-Towers and 16m T-Towers. Strong enough to carry the 250 moving head lights and eight operated follow-spots, it holds them at the right height to hit the arena floor from behind the grandstands without impacting on sightlines. The towers' tiny footprint was another key feature for the organiser. It meant th

UK - A contemporary arts centre in Bristol has become the first venue in Europe to install the new ETC ColorSource ThruPower system, which launched at the beginning of the year.

The Arnolfini, which is located in a former tea warehouse dating from the 1830s, hosts regular live theatre events, as well as film, dance and university shows, and is also used by drama students at the University of the West of England. So it was important to future-proof the venue when their previous dimmers came to the end of their life.

Nick Ewins, managing director at ETC dealer Push the Button, explains, "We had been working with ETC's Graham Parker and Jeremy Roberts to install a beta test site for ColorSource ThruPower, so we knew it would soon be available for the Arnolfini."

During a three-week shutdown at the end of last year, Push the Button installed six 24-channel power control ra

UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has enjoyed the best six months ever for sales and usage stats of their off-the-shelf design and documentation product range with growth approaching 25% during 2015.

The company recorded its best quarter ever during Q4 2015 followed by an even better Q1 2016. "This is a fantastic result on a number of levels," said Stardraw.com CEO, Rob Robinson. "It's the first time in the history of Stardraw.com (which was incorporated in 2000) that we have had consecutive record quarters. Even more significant is the fact that, like many companies and for cyclical reasons, we traditionally enjoy better Q4s than Q1s, so to have a record quarter after a record Q4 is particularly notable."

The usage stats also bear out the success of Stardraw Design 7: logins on Design 7 have gone from an average of 9,000 per month in 2014 to 11,000 per month in 2015 and

South Africa - Johannesburg-based rental company, LaserX, have taken delivery of four new ProLyft 250kg motors. "Having used them a number of times, the consensus now is how did we ever manage without them," said Troy Bentley, owner of the company.

For close to 20 years, LaserX have entertained both South African and international audiences with spectacular laser shows. "During this time we have tried to keep up with the changing needs of our clients and to stay fresh," explained Troy. Having seen an international trend for other "special" effects at conferences and trade shows, LaserX decided to incorporate a WaterGraphic water curtain.

"When we were planning how to support the WaterGraphic we phoned DWR Distribution and spoke to Robert Izzett, who came out to our premises to advise us on the best way to do this. It was decided that initially we would use a Prolyte trussi

UK - Adlib continues working with Australian rockers 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) - having supplied an L-Acoustics K1 sound system and crew for their recent 5 UK arena tour.

The relationship between the Liverpool, UK based rental and technical production specialist evolved from meeting the band at a Capital Radio Summertime Ball a couple of years ago, an event produced by Production North who now also oversee 5SOS's technical direction.

Adlib first supported their sound team of engineers John Delf (FOH) and Ben Booker (monitors) on the road during 2015's hugely successful arena tour, and this current collaboration started in January with Adlib delivering a control package including the Soundcraft Vi7000 at FOH and DiGiCo SD10 monitor console which travelled round the world with them.

Touring extensively in Asia, Australia and the Far East for the first few months of the

Brazil - An Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing system was used at FOH for Brazil's annual Villa Mix festival, which takes place annually in Manaus. Supplied by PA company, Barra Som, the festival showcases ten of the country's top country music artists, staged in the city's huge Sambadrone.

The system comprised the flagship S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack.

"It was very important that we had one system to manage the whole event, to eliminate any complexities with changing over systems," says William Souza Ribeiro, the system engineer from Barra Som. "dLive did not disappoint. It delivers a big performance, with great headroom and clarity. dLive presents a new level of sound quality - it's amazing! And with the AES3 outputs at a 96kHz sample rate, the processing capacity is astonishing."

(Jim Evans)

A creative show design team from Painting with Light, led by Luc Peumans, delivered the stunning set, video and lighting that helped present a cutting-edge live version of top-rated Belgian comedy TV show Tegen De Sterren Op (Against the Stars) at Antwerp Sportpalais for two performances of the satirical impressionist show.

This year's event was the third time that production company DEDS IT has staged the 'live' TDSO show for broadcaster VTM, and the first time at the massive Sportpalais venue.

Luc created a bespoke digital scenery concept for the first TDSO live show a year ago (at the nearby Lotto Arena) and this was utilized again to replicate the large golden portal / pros arch that is instantly recognisable from the TV show.

In the Sportpalais, this measured 18m wide by 9 high, and upstage was an 18m wide by 9m high block of LED screen which split in the m

UK - The Rogue R2 Wash from Chauvet Professional was selected to light the London Mayor's office for a get-out-and-vote campaign in advance of the recent mayoral election.

SXS Events specified 16 Rogue R2 Washes to illuminate the iconic Norman Foster-designed office building, which sits on the River Thames near the Tower Bridge. The RGBW LED fixtures were used to wash the entire edifice and draw attention to an HD-projected image displaying the words: "5 May: Have your say."

When the PR and communications office of the electoral campaign approached SXS for a solution that would communicate the message of the May 5 vote, the team at SXS looked to Chauvet's Rogue to supply a powerful saturated wash in a bid to draw attention to the unusual cylindrical-shaped building with light.

"We wanted to incorporate the Rogues in this particular installation, because we knew they co

Germany - With Sun Nan headlining, alongside artists such as Jordan Chan (Chan Siu-Chun), Guangzhou-based Ruisheng Lighting & Audio fielded an array of cutting-edge LED technology from GLP, for whom they are the Chinese distributor, at the recent ZhaoQing Dinghushan Music Festival in the province of Guangdong.

The sound and lighting company welcomed the opportunity to participate and equipped the main stage with a series of high-output products from the German manufacturer's X4 range.

These included multiples of X4 LED heads (featuring 19 x 15W RGBW LEDs), the larger X4 L (37 x 15W RGBW LED), X4 Bar 20 (20 x 1-meter long lighting battens) - and other new generation fixtures.

Ruisheng Lighting & Audio's Jianwei Chen comments: "The GLP effects added brilliant colour and lighting stability to the set and produced an outstanding and eye-catching performance."

(LSi

South Africa - Ampere is the latest Cape Town based rental and technical production company to invest in Robe Pointe moving lights, adding eight fixtures to their hire stock.

The company was founded in 2009 by Justin Fish whilst still studying at the University of Cape Town. Graduating in 2011, Ampere's growth trajectory has been impressive and interesting, currently with 30 full time employees and a busy order book ranging from top end corporate events to music festivals.

They have an open policy when it comes to brands, and the Pointes are their first Robe purchase, delivered via South African distributor DWR's Cape Town office run by Bradley Bruchhausen.

"We think Robe is definitely making the best multi-purpose beam fixture right now," confirms Justin.

Ampere has frequently cross-hired Robe products for various projects as needed over the last couple of years,

Singapore - Sands Expo and Convention Centre has upgraded its inventory of AV equipment with the first Meyer Sound Lyon and Leopard linear sound reinforcement systems in Singapore. Located within the Marina Bay Sands resort, the centre has invested in 156 total Meyer Sound loudspeakers to support large-scale corporate events and concerts, representing the largest investment to date in Leo Family technology by any hotel/MICE operator in the world.

"Our Lyon and Leopard systems can be configured for precise sound distribution and powerful projection - even at continuously high output levels," notes Mike Lee, Marina Bay Sands' vice president of sales. "They also provide superior vocal intelligibility and a consistently linear response. From an operational standpoint, we also appreciate the simplified cabling, faster and easier setup, and reduced storage space compared to conventi

UK - Based in the Grade II* listed former Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Centre is a multi-space community, performance and arts venue which plays a key role in Bristol's contemporary cultural scene. An ongoing major conservation and renovation programme has recently seen an L-Acoustics Kara audio system installed in its main space.

The Trinity Centre is one of Bristol's main live music venues but, when funding was made available for a new sound reinforcement system for the 600-capacity main hall, there was a lot to consider for Paul King - proprietor of King Sound Reinforcement, one of the main professional audio installation and rental companies in the UK's south-west.

"We have worked as the venue's audio contractor for over a decade. There was an existing house system but, to be honest, it was so unsatisfactory that for every live show we were bringing in our own rental e

UK - The Theatres Trust has announced the recipients of the Theatres Protection Fund's Small Grants Scheme. Successful theatres in this round are: the Theatre Royal Winchester; Friargate Theatre in York; Tron Theatre in Glasgow; Bridgwater Arts Centre and the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis.

In Round Eight, the Theatres Trust has awarded the following projects:

Theatre Royal Winchester receives £5,000 towards its 'Tower Street elevation - urgent fabric and structural repairs' project, to restore the weather-damaged Tower Street fa

Europe - The production that underpins A-ha's Cast in Steel tour has been driven by the band's predilection for steering the use of entirely contemporary technology, as video director Julien Hogg explains.

"The one thing they didn't want was clean camera images. The show is a mix of carefully chosen content and IMAG, though not the style of IMAG most concertgoers are accustomed to. There are a couple of numbers that are clean, the big crowd friendly songs that everyone would expect and the band realise you have to do that sometimes. But otherwise we work the images hard."

The video system is supplied by Video Design, a total of seven LED screens, all 4.8m square, three across the stage, a pair stacked each side, and a camera package of four operated cameras, minicams and robocams to feed the IMAG.

"I put the tour out to tender and received bids from all over Europe," s

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