Living Life to the Full - Stevie Wonder will play his landmark album Songs In The Key Of Life in full in London's Hyde Park this July. The R&B star is the latest act to be confirmed for the BST festival, which also sees Carole King recreate her Tapestry album, as well as sets from Take That and Kendrick Lamar.

Songs In The Key Of Life features hits like I Wish, Pastime Paradise and As, and won a Grammy for album of the year. Wonder has been playing it to rave reviews in America since 2014. Rolling Stone called it "free-spirited, triumphant and huge," while The New York Times described the three-hour show as "a journey of jubilation". Wonder's 30-piece touring band features his first daughter Aisha, who inspired the opening track of the album's second disc, Isn't She Lovely.

Spaced Out - Veteran French co

Denmark - The Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 20 and VDO Sceptron 40 are the newest additions to the popular series of linear, outdoor-rated LED video and lighting fixtures. Designed for the rental and installed markets, these fixtures are available with 20 mm and 40 mm pixel pitches, with an extensive range of optical accessories for a wide variety of video and lighting looks. The VDO Sceptron 20 and VDO Sceptron 40 are driven by the Martin P3 System controllers for easy configuration, mapping and setup, with no external components required. These fixtures are also backward compatible with DMX controllers for smaller setups.

"What began with the VDO Sceptron 10 has quickly developed into a suite of products with tremendous versatility," said Wouter Verlinden, international product manager for LED Video at Harman Professional Solutions. "All addressing is done by the P3 System c

USA - Huntington Beach, California-based Pacific Coast Entertainment (PCE) has added 16 Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Redline loudspeakers to their production inventory. PCE is a full service production company providing rental, sales, audio, lighting, video and installation services throughout the country.

The PCE team had been looking for a powered loudspeaker solution that could serve as both a monitor and a two-way stand-mounted system. The company serves the corporate AV market which oftentimes requires high audio quality that is also simple to use and operate.

"We listened to a lot of products but could not find anything we were really happy with," explains Ryan Steidinger, CEO of PCE. "When EAW's Jonas Domkus suggested we give Redline a listen we figured it couldn't hurt. We were immediately impressed. They have that renowned EAW sound, the quality is terrific and th

Germany - Event technology provider Nallinger Showtime e.K. of Bonn has added Elation Professional Platinum Beam 5R Extreme and Platinum Spot 5R moving head fixtures to its inventory and immediately put the fixtures to work on eSport gaming event ESL Expo Barcelona.

Showtime, who already had Platinum Beam 5R Extreme's in its rental inventory, now stock only Elation moving heads. They chose to upgrade their inventory of Platinum Beam 5R Extreme's with additional fixtures and acquired the Platinum Spot 5R's as replacement fixtures for aging 250W fixtures.

"The Elation fixtures' easy handling, workmanship and compatibility to our current stock were all factors in choosing them," stated Showtime managing director Guido Nallinger. "Their light output is also excellent. We also value the support we receive from Elation and the price fit within our budget."

Nallinger Showtime

UK - British audio manufacturer, Audient and the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) have teamed up to present The Audient Scholarship: a sponsored tuition for a one-year Professional Diploma in Music Production at the prestigious London facility, starting at the beginning of the new academic year, September 2016.

The creation of the Audient Scholarship coincides with a major refit and overhaul of the ICMP recording studios, which are to be centred around a new ASP8024 analogue mixing console.

Facilities manager, Mike Sinnott comments on the new studios, designed and built by Slowglass Creative. "There's one control room with two adjoining live rooms, which will have a traditional analogue set up (tie lines, patchbay, desk), along with ProTools HD, Logic, Ableton, further outboard and a comprehensive mic cupboard. We are also building three production rooms

Spain - With more than 15m visitors since opening, Valencia's Oceanographica is one of the most important marine aquariums in the world and the biggest in Europe.

The park wanted to offer the best experience for their visitors and have just chosen Lynx Pro Audio systems for the park's daily dolphin show. Twenty Ionic-100 column speakers ionic-100, together with 8 DR-N12 subs have been installed in different postions in the dolphinarium, including the roof of the amphitheatre and the borders of the dolphin pool.

The roof of the amphitheatre holds 12 columns in combination with six subs. This combination is done with six groups of two columns per sub evenly distributed under the roof. The rest of the cabinets are fixed very close to the dolphin pool to reach the first rows of seats, with two subs perfectly hidden from view. With a capacity of 1500 people this dolphinarium is

USA - When it comes to naming albums, Lettuce is a band of few words. Following the success of its two previous releases, Rage! and Fly, the group came out with its latest record Crush in November 2015.

Since its release, the album has topped of the US Jazz Albums charts. The recent Crush Tour delivers the big sound associated with its namesake album. It's a sound made all the more powerful on stage by an appropriately potent lightshow by production designer Gabe Fraboni and lighting designer Wiley Cutler, using a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional, provided by 4Wall Entertainment.

"We were using another big name moving head, but the people at 4Wall showed us the Rogue Series," said Fraboni. "The Rogues impressed us with their compact, size, brightness and optics. The fixtures fit our touring needs perfectly."

Fraboni and Cutler

UK - Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing system is currently being employed by front of house engineer Steve Pattison on Wet Wet Wet's UK headline tour, which recently included a date at London's O2 arena.

Supplied by SSE Hire for the tour, the flagship dLive S7000 control surface is partnered with Allen & Heath's DM64 MixRack to handle an on-stage line-up that comprises the Scottish four-piece's traditional backline, multiple vocals and horn section. As a longstanding fan of Allen & Heath's iLive system, Pattison's decision to rely on dLive for the tour was an easy one to make.

"It really feels like dLive is a step on from the iLive system that I've enjoyed using with various artists over the years," says Pattison (whose CV includes a five-year stint with Amy Winehouse, Ellie Goulding, Texas, Glasvegas and Royksopp). "It's very fast to use, despite the amount of control

USA - Football at Colorado School of Mines is a tradition dating back to 1893 allowing the school to boast of the "oldest football field west of the Mississippi". And, in September 2015, Mines celebrated the opening of its new, 5300-seat Marv Kay stadium with meeting and event rooms, a large press box and VIP suites, dedicated sports medicine and strength training spaces and a new sound system with Community R Series loudspeakers.

Tom Falgien of consulting firm WJHW designed the stadium's new sound system. Falgien says the planning and needs analysis began in August of 2013 and involved the stadium's architectural firm and the school's athletic staff. The school wanted even coverage for the field and for both home and visitors seating with high voice intelligibility and plenty of level to overcome crowd noise. They also wanted a modern system with extended frequency range and

UK - Adlib supplied an L-Acoustics PA for US pop-punk band All Time Low, for their recent Back to The Future Hearts UK Tour, plus a support package for special guests Maryland rock band Good Charlotte, back after a long hiatus.

The PA system technician for Adlib was Alan Harrison, working alongside Adlib's Hassane Es Siahi, with Jay Petch looking after monitor world. An experienced and enthusiastic crew, who all worked closely with All Time Low engineers Phil Gornell (FOH) and Ricky Fernandez (monitors) plus Good Charlotte's Jim Carmichael at FOH and Chris Cotten on monitors. Against The Current was the other support act.

Both Phil Gornell and All Time Low production manager Dan Nickleski are big Adlib fans, and were keen to get the Liverpool company on-board for this leg of the tour - with Phil specifying the L-Acoustics K1 system complimented by K2 side-hangs for the (mo

UK - Bristolian band Coasts rocked London's Roundhouse in February with a captivating, atmospheric lighting show created by Tom Campbell using an Avolites Sapphire Touch and networked Tiger Touch II.

"This was a stripped back version of the bigger shows we've got planned for later in the year, designed to suit the iconic Roundhouse and create the right feel," says Campbell. "I'm using a lot of tungsten in the show, and a video wall of Ereimul Elidy 'S' matrix fixtures and Clay Paky Stormy CCs, which curves around the band in a 'C' shape."

Campbell's consoles are loaded with Titan v9 for the tour, and he's utilising an array of the new and powerful features available in the software.

"The show is packed full of Key Frame Shapes-powered looks, which allow me to get a wide variety of textures and feels," Campbell continues. "Key Frame Shapes is an extremely powerful featu

USA - Howard Jones and Nate Alves, who co-designed the lighting for Brantley Gilbert's Black Out World Tour, have selected an array of Clay Paky fixtures - including the new Scenius moving head spotlight - for the current leg of the arena tour

Gilbert, the country rock singer and songwriter, kicked off the US and Canada leg of the Black Out World Tour playing to capacity crowds in Saginaw, Michigan. After the tour wraps this spring Gilbert will take a breather before launching the Take It Outside summer tour. The current lighting rig will be reprised for the summer tour.

Howard Jones, is president of DCR (Digital Console Rental, Inc.) in Nashville, which provides the sound, lighting and video for the Black Out World Tour. He also designed Gilbert's previous two tours: Hell on Wheels in 2011 and Let It Ride in 2013-14.

"I've been with Brantley since early in his career,

UK - Continuing a long-running relationship with Waltham Services, producer for Autosport International's Live Action Arena, PRG XL Video has supplied a state-of-the-art high brightness projection solution for the 2016 show, held at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.

Autosport International is a globally renowned trade show, exhibition and performance car show created and managed by Haymarket Exhibitions at the NEC every January.

Alongside appearances by current and former drivers and teams from a variety of motor racing series, one hall of the NEC holds the Live Action Arena, where members of the public can see an array of current and classic racing cars put through their paces by a team of expert drivers.

For more than five years, PRG XL Video has worked with Malcolm Forbes of Waltham Services to provide projection in the Live Action Arena. For the 2016 show, t

Qatar - As it prepares to become the first country in the Middle East to host the landmark football championships in 2022, Qatar is investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure and technologies for the stadiums at which the matches for different sports will be held.

Among these is the successful implementation of world class wireless microphone systems from Sennheiser at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which played a vital role in enabling handball fans across the world enjoy the televised broadcasts of live matches. This stadium will be used for boxing, handball and basketball championships and also for live in concerts in the future.

Sennheiser, which also supplied microphones for the football stadiums in Brazil, highlighted the importance of its audio solutions. "With several hundred million TV viewers watching live, there is no room for error," said Mig Cardamone, director

USA - Nearly six months into operating under its new structure, Harman Professional Solutions has announced its participation in Miami Music Week 2016. This partnership demonstrates the division's commitment to its customers in the nightclub market, along with appointing Bradley Drummond as nightlife solutions manager in October 2015. Providing solution expertise in key markets is designed to help customers, like nightclub operators, advance their businesses by providing unique experiences and improvements in quality, procurement, design support, installation, programming, commissioning and customer service.

"Nightclubs used to be about one thing only - music," said Drummond. "But today, nightclubs are driven to provide audiences with unique and memorable experiences. Every night, they must create a visual and auditory masterpiece. Not only does the audio quality have to be su

USA - High End Systems has announced Hog Factor 2016. Following the response to the first edition and the extremely exciting live finals held at LDI 2015, this year's competition kicks off right now. The competition is open to all college and university students in the USA and all information, rules and most importantly the programming package can be obtained by going to www.highend.com/hogfactor.

Just as in 2015, all students are able to take part by downloading Hog 4 PC and the special Light Converse show file by registering at the link above and there is no charge to take part.

Following Phase 1 of the competition (closes on June 30th 2016) three teams will be whisked away to the Live Finals. These will be held on Friday, 21 October at 5pm on the High End Systems booth at LDI in Las Vegas, where they will compete to win a $20,000 scholarship and Hog 4 for their Universi

UK - Ever since the first use of a PA system beneath its domed roof, London's Royal Albert Hall has been a famously difficult gig for mixing engineers, due to its circular construction, which results in a highly reverberant space. Thanks to L-Acoustics, however, Amaluna is maintaining a grand tradition of great-sounding Cirque du Soleil shows at the venue.

Running from mid-January to early March, Amaluna marks Cirque du Soleil's 20th anniversary of Albert Hall productions. A re-telling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, female performers make up the majority of the cast and the entire accompanying band. The set is as lavish as one would expect from Cirque du Soleil, with stylised trees hanging from a central truss which, as well as supporting airborne acrobatics, also accommodates the main L-Acoustics hangs.

The production's head of sound, Fran

Germany - The FEGIME Group, the European-wide collaboration of 230 electrical wholesalers, has added the Aurora Group, global manufacturer of energy saving LED lighting solutions, as a preferred supplier of lighting products in Europe.

The announcement, made at Light + Building Frankfurt, will see Aurora Group products being made available to thousands of electrical contractors across Europe via FEGIME's 1,150 sales points and presence in 27 countries. FEGIME currently has a 10% share of the European electrical market.

David Garratt, managing director of FEGIME, says, "Currently, the lighting business is in a state of constant change. Consequently, it is important for FEGIME to have a wider range of partners to better exploit the opportunities arising. We regard Aurora as a highly innovative, motivated, flexible and distribution-oriented partner. We are happy to welcome th

USA - When Jennifer Lopez decided to return to her musical performance roots with a residency at Planet Hollywood's AXIS Theatre in Las Vegas, she and her team left no stone unturned in their efforts to create an outstanding show.

A key piece of the puzzle was finding the right combination of microphone and wireless system for the artist - one that would handle the hostile RF environment of a major production. They found the Shure Axient wireless with the new KSM8 Dualdyne premium dynamic capsule to be ideal.

According to Shure artist relations senior specialist Nelson Arregu

Canada - With two NHL size hockey ice pads, spacious lockers and a well-supplied pro shop, the Garnet B. Rickard Complex in Bowmanville, Ontario is an ideal sports venue. Although the modern brick building also houses a conference room for events, its event space does lack the defining architectural elements that are often necessary to add warmth to a gathering and make it more inviting.

The absence of such finishing touches can present a challenge for anyone lighting an event at the facility. However, Matthew Beauchamp of Mobile Productions met this challenge in stunning fashion at Ontario's Fire and Ice Gala recently by using Well Series uplighting fixtures from Chauvet Professional to create a more inviting atmosphere in a lacklustre space.

"This is what I would call a blank canvas," said Beauchamp. "Although the room is comfortable, there aren't a lot of architectural

Russia - Lighting rental house, Global Show Trade (GST) has set up a massive showroom at its HQ in Moscow, enabling many manufacturers, including PR Lighting, to demonstrate their products.

Initially, GST began with a standard showroom for lighting equipment, but this developed into a full production area for some of the best practitioners in the city.

The initiative of lighting specialist, Alexey Zhuravlev, the move has been welcomed by one of the company's key lighting designers, Roman Vakulyuk.

He explained, "We are inviting all lighting designers, 3D designers, lighting engineers and programmers - in fact anyone that has an important role to play in designing a light show.

"When visualising a new stage concept it is very useful to be able to connect up lighting fixtures and try something different and incredible. And of course when customers visit the showroom

UK - Lighting designer Phil Supple (of Light Refreshment) has again turned to SGM's P-5 IP65-rated wash light to create a mesmerising lighting 'trail' at the Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow for East Renfrewshire Council's Electric Glen Festival.

As the event's creative director, for three years his inspired design concept created the same wow factor as it had two years previously with a similarly memorable night time trail illumination of the Palm House at Kew Gardens - again using P-5s at the famous London World Heritage site.

Meanwhile, the self-guided illuminated trail at Rouken Glen followed the woodland paths to the holy grail - the waterfall, which was brought to life over the two weeks by 24 of the low-profile, carefully concealed P-5s. With this cavalcade of colour as a backdrop, many visitors took the opportunity of a selfie.

The fixtures were supplied to main tec

South Africa - Lightship Productions, owned and run by the enterprising Ni-Lou Breytenbach, is the latest South African lighting production, design and delivery specialist to invest in MA Lighting control with the purchase of an MA onPC command wing, delivered by SA distributors, DWR Distribution CC.

Lightship Productions works across all industry sectors including corporate and live events, TV productions and theatre shows, the latter hailing back to Breytenbach's industry roots. His varied workload includes designing and programming his own shows, providing operating and FOH co-ordination, support services for others and working as a lighting systems engineer.

"With business expanding, the time was right to invest in a powerful industry standard control surface," he explained. "With MA being an obvious choice - it's what most top level shows are using." As a systems tech

South Africa - Shattered Glass AV & Staging, a respected South African rental audio visual company active in the corporate realm, has invested in 12 Robe Robin DL4X Spot, eight Robin Pointes and a new Le Maitre MVS Hazer.

"We are terribly excited," said Richard Horwell of Shattered Glass. "It was time to upgrade, but we didn't want something that would be discontinued in two years' time, but rather equipment that would have a long shelf life."

Richard came across the DL4 Range at the Robe stand at Mediatech 2015, Africa's largest advanced technology trade expo. The Robin DL4X Spots were purchased from local Robe supplier DWR Distribution and delivered a couple of weeks ago. The units have gone straight onto shows and are being enjoyed by the crew. "The Pointes have all the usual selling pointes," added Richard. "They are multi-functional and that makes them very appealing.

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