Denmark - Pascal A/S has announced a buyout of its minority shareholder Camco, by its Danish founding team. The buyout has been executed through a joint holding company, which is now sole owner of the company.

The buyout follows the acquisition of Camco by L-Group, the holding company for L-Acoustics. Pascal CEO and co-owner Lars Fenger explains, "The buyout of our minority shareholder allows us to continue as a fully independent OEM provider of amplifier solutions to the pro audio industry. As far as we are aware, we are the only OEM amplifier module provider solely focusing on the pro audio market, fully autonomous of potentially conflicting house branded product.

"We are thankful for the more than 10 years of collaboration with Camco, who today use our patented technology and designs in all of their Class-D based amplifiers," he adds.

Regarding the company's future

UK - John Young, former head of technical services at Ambassador Theatre Group, has partnered with Gallowglass Training to produce a 'Top 20' suite of training courses for on-site operational staff.

Taking up the role of head of training at Gallowglass Training, Young has compiled a suite of both statutory and technical skills training courses covering all levels of responsibility - from basic Manual Handling to the flagship IOSH Managing Safely four-day course for managers and supervisors.

A specialist trainer in venue and production management, Young has been leading the advisory group working towards the Creative Venue Technician Trailblazer apprenticeship framework, designed for budding technicians in the live performance and screen industries.

"There's been a surge in demand for training from companies wanting to upskill their people and ensure a safe working envi

USA - Founded way back in 1865 as the First Baptist Church of Watertown, Wildwood Church predates the city it resides in - East Moline, Illinois - by nearly 40 years. Its deep history includes several different names and buildings, but that all settled down by 1980, when Wildwood moved into its current 600-seat sanctuary.

Although not original to the building, the church's most recent sound system was nevertheless very old and regularly imperilled services with the threat of feedback, complaints of unintelligibility, and uneven coverage (the front rows got their "hair ripped off" while the back rows asked for more volume!).

That's all changed with the installation of Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers, spurred by the realization that Danley was responsible for the sound quality at nearby Kinnick Stadium and confirmed by a direct A/B comparison of the old system

USA - Regarded nationally as the home of the American Musical, Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut, has produced over 250 musicals throughout its illustrious history. In their current production of Chasing Rainbows, the production team asked Tony Award-winner Ken Billington to oversee the lighting design behind the inspirational musical about the real road to Oz.

Celebrating the story of theatre-darling Judy Garland from childhood to stardom, Billington needed lighting solutions that would allow him to create a powerful yet intimate environment inside the historic venue, and in his design, he chose PHX LED Profile Spots from Altman Lighting.

"To be honest, I was initially concerned that the fixture might not be bright enough, but that was not the case," began Billington. "The intensity of the PHX LED was exactly what I needed and they also provided me wit

UK - PRG XL Video, the UK operation of Production Resource Group (PRG), has announced a major investment in ultra-high brightness Panasonic laser projectors.

The new projectors continue the company's policy of investing in innovative new technology. The PT-RZ31K projectors offer a range of benefits over traditional projector technology. Traditional units average 1200 hours of use per lamp, whereas laser modules have a life of around 20,000 hours. The extended life, and subsequent reduction in maintenance make the units more efficient and cost effective to run.

The reduced heat output from the newer light source also means less cooling is required. Fan units in traditional projectors can be noisy, which is a major issue in theatres, galleries, and for corporate events, and so this efficiency makes the new laser models far quieter to operate than their counterparts.

Lase

USA - Country music sensation Chris Janson is taking Music City by storm, so when the time came to record live from the red carpet for the 50th Annual CMA Awards Red Carpet Show for AUDIENCE Network at famed Nashville honky tonk, he wanted the concert lighting to be extraordinary.

Lighting designer Victor Fable called upon Bandit Lites to supply lighting for the event which featured a full set of Janson's hits, including his famedBuy Me a Boat, which was named the Country Song of the Year by iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Bandit supplied Ayrton Magic Dots, Ayrton Magic Blades, Chauvet Freedom Pars, GLP Spot Ones, MAC Auras and two Grand MA 1 Lite consoles for control.

Four vertical trusses with ACL 360 bars provided the energetic lighting looks needed to match the energy of Janson's enthusiastic performance.

"That guy was on fire," said Bandit crew chief Andy Kni

USA - Typically gifts are exchanged on Christmas Day, but lighting designer Daniel Thibault received one of his best presents of the holiday season on New Year's Eve. Thibault of Life is Art Studios did the Disco Donnie Presents NYE show headlined by dubstep star Ookay at the Fillmore Charlotte.

"The Fillmore did a lighting upgrade this past fall and added a lot of Rogues," he said. "They're flown on the mid-stage and upstage truss. The way they're positioned, they wash out evenly from both truss positions to give you a crazy number of cool looks. I didn't need to rely on help from any floor package; with these Rogues I could immerse the whole stage in light. Ookay and the supporting artist Warez throw down some bold, quick-moving looks, so the intensity and the speed of the Rogues was much appreciated."

Thibault used 20 Rogue R1 Wash and six Rogue R1 Beam fixtures

Thailand - The new Hard Rock Cafe in Chiangmai, Thailand, recently opened its doors featuring an audio system designed and installed by One Systems Global. The company specified the Qu-16 digital rackmount mixer from Allen & Heath to manage all its audio requirements.

The mixer is installed in an AV rack along with the amp and Hard Rock audio server, located in a control room. The mixer controls playback audio sources and any live artists who will perform at the venue. The Qu is accompanied by a d&b audiotechnik PA system.

"Qu-16 is the ideal mixer for this type of venue, as it has enough capacity to manage a live music performance yet compact to store away, with flexible control options so that the user can connect to a wireless router and use the iPad app to mix from anywhere in the venue," explains One Systems Global's Mac.

(Jim Evans)

Europe - LD Luke Edwards is currently touring with Berlin-based Danish singer songwriter and keyboardist Agnes Obel.

The live touring campaign for the newly released Citizen of Glass, Obel's third album, started gently with a six-week bus-and-trailer tour around Europe.

Needing to make a serious visual impact with a few versatile lights that would take up minimal space, Luke specified six Robe DL4S LED Profiles and six of the new Spiider LED washbeams as a floor package, which packed down neatly for stowage in the trailer with the backline.

Positioned around Agnes and her four-piece band on a riser layout created by stage manager Wayne Chapelle, these 12 fixtures provided the bulk of the show lighting, augmented with elements from the different house rigs at each venue.

As quality and quantity of house rigs varied greatly along with the sizes of the venues f

USA - Grand Canyon University, located in Phoenix, Arizona, is on a mission to build 10 new sports venues in the next two years. They kicked off their 10-in-2 initiative with GCU Stadium, a state-of-the-art soccer stadium that boasts a new EAW QX sound reinforcement system designed and installed by Sound Image's Tempe, Arizona-based office.

"The president of the university really likes using audio to generate energy for the fans," explains Ben Davis, project manager, Sound Image. "He wants all of their sporting events to be high energy - the EAW QX system hit all of their check marks for what they wanted for the stadium."

After reviewing the University's public bid, Davis put together a design based on EAW QX loudspeakers that fit their criteria. He also included an EAW SB2001 subwoofer option for consideration now or in the future. The school was so impressed, they decide

Australia - Eighth Day Sound, an early and influential member of Adamson Systems Engineering's global network, has further expanded its inventory with a substantial investment in Adamson E-Series and S-Series products for their Australian base in Sydney.

Headquartered in Highland Heights, Ohio, with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Sydney, Eighth Day provides sound reinforcement for top tours and festivals around the world. Subsequently, the company has invested heavily in Adamson products in recent years to keep up with the global demand for high-performance audio systems.

"Having Adamson available globally has been a part of our strategy since day one," says Jack Boessneck, executive VP with Eighth Day Sound. "With the acclaim it is garnering around the world, we have to be prepared to meet the growing demand."

Members of Eighth Day's Australian team travelled to

USA - The Bowery Ballroom in New York's Bowery section of Manhattan houses an Elation LED lighting rig and attracts a wide variety of musical talent from well-known acts like Coldplay and The White Stripes to up and coming talent. Housed in a 1920's Beaux Arts building, the Bowery Ballroom is a memorable date on any band's touring calendar.

On 3 November, American pop duo Capital Cities played a pair of shows at the venue as part of their fall 2016 tour. Capital Cities production designer Noah Sharp, who also runs lighting for the band, had eight Satura Spot CMY Pro LED moving head spot luminaires, eight Platinum Wash ZFX Pro LED moving head wash lights, and six ACL 360 Bar LED battens at his disposal for the shows, supplied for the Bowery Ballroom install by Christie Lites.

"I was very excited when I saw that the lighting rig was all colour mixing fixtures," said Sharp, w

UK - In demand lighting and production designer Steven Bewley selected the award-winning Claypaky Mythos and Sharpy to create signature lighting looks for alternative rock band Nothing But Thieves on their debut album tour, which ended with a show at London's 02 Academy Brixton.

For the tour's UK leg, Bewley, whose recent production design for rapper Wretch 32 received significant recognition across social media, enlisted 32 x Mythos and 10 x Sharpys from audio and lighting production specialist Nitelites.

"More and more bands are asking for lighting looks that create a strong visual impact across social media platforms," explains Bewley. "I was mindful of this when I took the reins on the design for Nothing But Thieves. I programmed the show on my own set-up and sent them through videos on how it could look. Luckily I pretty much nailed it the first time and we ended up w

USA - Grasshopper Off the Green is a lively Irish pub in Morristown, New Jersey. It manages a cozy feel despite its size: Grasshopper spans three stories that patrons regularly fill to capacity.

The dark wooden décor suggests a much older establishment, but Grasshopper Off the Green came into being only t12 years ago. Its current sound system, built around Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers and subwoofers is even younger than that, with an update in 2011. But the amps that went in with the loudspeakers couldn't keep up with the pub's near-constant use, so local A/V integrator Starview Satellite replaced them with reliable, cost-effective, high-fidelity KLR-3200 and nX 3.02 amplifiers from U.S. amplifier manufacturer Ashly Audio.

"They've got a ton of stuff going on at Grasshopper," said Rich Trombitas, regional sales & product manager with A/V manufacturers rep firm Cardone,

USA - Since its founding in 2001, Reflect has been at the forefront of creating digital experiences that help their clients maximize sales and strengthen brand loyalty. The company recently relocated its headquarters to a new facility in Richardson, Texas designed to fully showcase the scope of their innovative solutions.

Wanting to make an impact from the moment clients walk in the front door, Reflect created two visually dynamic LED displays using FLEXLite NXG technology from Nashville-based PixelFLEX.

"As we were designing our new facility, we wanted to showcase the innovative technologies we are leading with in the field," began Chas Thornhill, CTS, Reflect's Senior Systems Engineer. "Since our previous location didn't really say a lot about us as a company, we wanted a more modern look and for the space itself to showcase what we do at Reflect. Knowing that the first

Israel - Ronen Najar, one of Israel's leading lighting and visual designers has brought his imagination and style to the latest tour by Israeli singer Avram Tal, supporting his latest studio album Now Life.

At the Tzora Kibbutz near Jerusalem, Robe BMFL Spots were at the core of the design.

Between eight and 12 Robe BMFL Spots - depending on the size of the venue - are rigged upstage on the rear truss. These have been newly purchased especially for the tour by rental company Hakol Bakol based in Pardes Hana. This is their second Robe purchase and it was prompted by Ronen's specification.

The stage design for Avram Tal - known for his distinctive voice and powerful stage presence - also features five scenic metal flowers which are flown at the back, and have integral moving beam lights and some static LED blinders fitted in the petals.

Ronen specified BMFLs b

USA - Notorious for their musical improvisation, extended jams and surprise gags, Phish returned to the stage for their annual New Year's Run at the famed Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York.

On 31 December, after performing for three hours, Phish began revealing their surprise New Year's gag at 11:30 pm with a musical production of Petrichor, a track from their latest album Big Boat, accompanied by choreographed dancers, 16 kinetic LED umbrellas that floated above the stage and synthetic rain, made of small crystals, which fell from the ceiling of The Garden.

At the stroke of midnight, as if the kinetic LED umbrella performance wasn't enough, Phish literally made it rain cats and dogs (balloons) as they wished their fans a Happy New Year. With the Garden buried in a mass of colourful balloons and confetti, Phish successfully finished their set with

UK - Clarke Peters' jukebox musical Five Guys Named Moe, featuring R&B pioneer Louis Jordan's greatest hits, has been delighting audiences at the Festival Square Theatre, Edinburgh. Called a Christmas Carol in zoot suits, the dazzling new production of the hit West End and Broadway musical features a cabaret set that includes 32m of the new Digital RGB FloppyFlex by Firefly.

"The rear wall of the set is a slice of an old vinyl record," explains LD Philip Gladwell, "and we use FloppyFlex to simulate the record's grooves, programmed to give a spinning effect. We chose Digital FloppyFlex to bring the scenery alive and achieved fantastic results. The smooth movement and vibrant colour is exactly what we needed. I can't think of another product that could deliver such a stunning effect."

Production electrician Gareth Clowes adds, "I highly recommend FloppyFlex. It

Turkey - LITEC has announced the appointment of Eramita as their new distributor in Turkey for LITEC truss systems, EXE-Rise chain hoists, EXE-Drive controllers and EXE-DST automation equipment.

Eramita's founders are people with an extreme amount of enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of the show and events industry, especially in the area of culture and art centers. They provide their clients with leading audio, video, furniture, lighting and textile products.

General manager of Eramita, Seha Tekinalp, said, "It is with great pleasure that we enter this new partnership with LITEC, a leading-edge company in trussing and rigging. Collaboration is a core value and key constituent of our vision. Turkey is a quickly growing country with a dynamically evolving market. With the help of Eramita, I'm sure LITEC will play an important role in the Turkish entertainment segment."

USA - Panasonic and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts have announced that Panasonic Visual Systems will be the 'Official Projection Technology' of Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

As part of a long-term agreement, these Disney properties will have access to the latest in Panasonic's market-leading projectors with advanced image processing and lens solutions.

The aim of pairing Disney's limitless creativity with Panasonic's leading-edge projection technology, is to provide guests of Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort with even more amazing and new entertainment experiences.

"Panasonic is delighted to work with Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort in exploring new ways in which its high-performance projectors may be used to support the Disney storytelling that has captured the hearts of mi

UK - Tascam UK has announced that with immediate effect, it has taken over the UK distribution of ART pro audio products. ART (Applied Research and Technology) has over 30 years' experience of designing and manufacturing signal processing equipment for the pro audio and music industry.

Used extensively from the studio through to live performances, the ART product portfolio includes vacuum tube preamplifiers and compressors, innovative graphic equalizers, a wide-range of microphones and headphone amplifiers and a full complement of useful tools designed for stage and studio use.

Speaking of the new distribution agreement, Neil Wells, general manager of Tascam UK, said, "We are delighted to be distributing the excellent range of ART pro audio products. Not only does the range offer outstanding value for money but also the quality level very much suited to the professional st

USA - Elation lighting gear is a staple of SJ Lighting designs and the successful relationship continued this past fall on a number of top dance events produced by Insomniac.

SJ Lighting is one of our industry's top production design firms with demanding clients like Insomniac Events, headed by CEO Pasquale Rotella, calling on Steve Lieberman and his team to create spectacular environments for some of the US.'s top festivals, year after year. With the dance music festival season now extending well into the fall and growing globally, EDM revellers can party nearly year-round. Dreamstate, Escape Psycho Circus and EDC Orlando, all fall festivals that included Elation gear, are three successful examples of EDM's continued expansion.

This year's Dreamstate expanded to four stages with new stage designs and enhanced production to go along with the costumed performers and high-en

Belgium - Every December, visitors from throughout Europe visit the old market square of Belgium's largest city, Antwerp, to enjoy one of the continent's most tradition-rich and colourful Christmas festivals. Adding to the warm Yuletide ambiance is the glowing lighting display that adorns the gothic buildings surrounding the square. At the heart of this panorama of light is the magnificent 123m tall Cathedral of Our Lady illuminated by 50 Chauvet Professional COLORado 1-Quad IP fixtures.

Supplied by S2 RENT, the LED wash fixtures were positioned on the balconies of the tower, a UNESCO protected site that has stood proudly in the centre of the Antwerp since 1521. According to Joery Gysen, production director at S2 RENT, the COLORado fixtures were an essential part of his company's vision for transforming the historic tower into the centrepiece of the square's Christmas lighting

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