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22 January 2025

France - At the Parc du Sautour in Les Mureaux, aerial hoopers, jugglers, clowns, and other acclaimed acts from all over the world entertained the Festival du Cirque International crowd with their virtuosity. Contributing to the magic was the event's lighting, which like the artists it illuminated went beyond the ordinary to find new ways to engage people visually.

Light technician Frederic Sportiello and the entire team accented every dramatic acrobatic move and enlivened every humorous antic at the circus with their colourful and dynamic lighting. Key to helping them accomplish this feat was a collection of 40 Chauvet Professional Maverick, Colorado, and Rogue fixtures supplied by Remote.

"In lighting this event, we were looking for new and different effects that were completely unheard of at other circus festivals," noted Sportiello. "We especiall

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21 January 2025

USA - With a stop off in Las Vegas for an intimate residency, the band's hometown shows brought a sophisticated nostalgia to fans in North America. They heard Smile Like You Mean It and Somebody Told Me through a d&b audiotechnik KSL PA system from Eighth Day Sound's LA location, overseen by account executive Meegan Holmes.

Out front, the band's long-time FOH engineer Kenny Kaiser has been part of the alt pop/rockers’ crew for some years, starting out as a PA tech before eventually taking his mixer position. He begins: "There's a lot of trust between the band and me, and that comes with time. The show must sound the way your artist wants it to, but thankfully, I'm lucky to work with a band that trusts me with the decisions that I make for them.

“Each album has its own sound and ethos, so you must stay true to those songs and

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21 January 2025

Denmark - Allround Lyd & Lys (Light & Sound) based in Struer, Denmark, purchased Robe iForte LTX Follow Spots ahead of its busy 2024 festival season, so – in conjunction with its existing RoboSpot systems – going forward, it could offer “outstanding follow spotting facilities with dynamic festival stage lighting packages”.

Head of lighting, Martin Breinholt, and his team designed a quick-to-rig festival production lighting setup based on Robe LEDBeam 350s and Esprites for over-stage lighting, with the fixtures installed in pre-rigged trussing sections. These were deployed on a string of festivals around the country throughout summer.

Denmark’s music festival scene is one of the most vibrant and prolific, starting in mid-May and running until the end of September.

Eight units of each fixture type were rigged to a standard run

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21 January 2025

Iceland - Located in downtown Akureyri, Hof Cultural Centre is at the heart of the northern Icelandic music and performing arts scene and provides visitor services across the entire north-east corner of the country. Architecturally, the circular building also provides one of the town’s landmarks. Inspired by the Icelandic igneous rocks, Hof Cultural Centre attracts tourists all year round.

Owned by the Municipality of Akureyri, and with operation of the Centre in the hands of Akureyri Culture Company, one of the key features is its new Martin Audio sound reinforcement upgrade in the main auditorium, provided by Reykjavik-based Atendi –the manufacturer’s territory distributor.

According to Atendi project manager, Gunnar Gunnarson, his company bid successfully on a public tender put out in December 2023 and were duly awarded the contract in Septe

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21 January 2025

France - UK-based tech provider SLX was awarded the tender for supplying broadcast lighting and rigging across a range of venues at the Paris Games this past summer, and chose Obsidian Netron data distribution devices as the backbone of its data management strategy.

“We needed a system that was rock solid and could keep us going in case of critical failure,” stated Russell Payne, managing director at SLX. “We were looking for something that we could use not only for the Games but something that could go into our business for the long run. Stability was important, but also availability and return on investment.”

While evaluating available signal distribution products, SLX technicians and engineers took some Netron devices to the SLX facility in Bristol for extensive testing. “We ran them through their paces, stressing them with large amounts

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21 January 2025

Australia - The Unity high-performance power switching and dimming system from LSC Control Systems is delivering a secure and reliable solution to one of Australia’s leading performing arts centres, the Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC).

CTC’s technical director James Tighe explains: “Our previous system was at the end of its life, and we were seeing intermittent faults, which were becoming less intermittent. Random dimming curves, channels powering up without control, and an increasing number of failing modules meant we were no longer able to reliably support performances to the expected standard.”

The search for a dependable replacement was also driven by the need for a system capable of supporting and powering a range of moving, LED, and incandescent lighting fixtures. “The existing system wasn’t capable of hot-powering circuits,” contin

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21 January 2025

Cambridge Blues - One of the oldest and most prestigious folk festivals in England has been cancelled, for what would have been its 60th anniversary. Organisers of Cambridge Folk Festival said they would use the resources from this year's event to explore new opportunities ahead of its return in 2026.

The annual four-day folk and roots music festival, organised by Cambridge City Council, first began in 1965 and has been hosted on the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall. Labour councillor for the area, Robert Dryden, said the festival had lost money in 2024, but the cancellation came as a "big shock" that would "disappoint lots of people". The decision to cancel a folk festival in its 60th anniversary year has been described as "surprising" and "disappointing" by fans and musicians.

Singer-songwriter Fran Lusty, who played at the festival for the f

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20 January 2025

The Netherlands - A new installation of Robe T11 Profiles in the 200-capacity Small Hall at the Theater de Bussel in Oosterhout, southern Netherlands is helping to save electricity and enhance the scope of lighting shows and events there, explained the venue’s head of technical, Evelyn van ‘t Hof.

The 32 x T11s are the first Robes in the house, and they are replacing a larger number of ‘conventional’ profiles and PC luminaires.

The new fixtures are part of a general drive to reduce energy consumption, an initiative shaping new investments in all venues across the Netherlands.

Adaptability was also a key consideration here, as the programme encompasses theatre productions, musicals, symposiums, parties and assorted other performance genres.

Evelyn has been working at this busy producing and receiving house since 2008. The 450-c

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20 January 2025

UK - “I enjoy being the wild card. I enjoy being the outsider and being different," rapper Sainté declared in a recent interview.

He kicked off his Still Local tour at the All Points East festival supported by a powerful, fast-moving Elliot Baines lighting design that effortlessly balanced grit and grace.

Representing a city-street basketball court with custom-made controllable ‘streetlamps’, a brick-and-fence facia, and a graffiti wall backdrop, the distinctive set evoked powerful images of an urban landscape. Baines, owner of Spiralstage Lighting, intensified this mood with a bold lighting design that featured ample amounts of atmospherics.

Helping Baines achieve these evocative looks were 24 Color Strike M motorised strobe-blinders and an equal number of Maverick Storm 4 Profiles. Part of the house rig, the Chauvet

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17 January 2025

Germany - Singer Helene Fischer hosted her annual Die Helene Fischer Show at the end of 2024, with a host of guest stars and a total of 21 separate LED surfaces all powered by tvONE’s Green Hippo Hippotizer Media Servers.

A total of nine Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 and two Hippotizer Tierra+ MK2 Media Servers were specified to run 21 LED surfaces, alongside two Hippotizer Play licences to manage the systems. The content primarily consisted of pre-rendered visuals, provided by Gravity Germany, which were designed for the multitude of performers.

“The video materials were delivered as individual loops, which were then programmed and assembled within the Hippotizer Media Servers,” says Christian van Deenen from trust.event group, which specified and supplied the Hippotizers. “Throughout the show, more than 1.5TB of data was played back, cons

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17 January 2025

USA - German DJ Bunt is touring with a "barrier-free" production design. "Bunt shows don't follow your typical format, where fans are barricaded off from the stage," said Tony Caporale, lighting designer for the current global tour, which ends later this month in Australia. "There are no boundaries. Bunt’s DJ booth is smack dab in the middle of the venue floor with the audience surrounding him. He wants to share the experience with the fans up close and personal."

Reflecting this philosophy, Caporale, of Infinitus Vox, creates a "perimeter of light" around Bunt and his fans. This, he says, "allows everyone to be in the moment with him from start to finish."

This openness has made it easy for the good vibes to flow between Bunt and his fans, but lighting an in-the-round DJ booth on a multi-city tour is not without its challenges. "We've had to retro

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17 January 2025

UK - Lighting designer Elliot Baines from Spiralstagelighting reached for some Astera PixelBricks to help create an imaginative, memorable, and high-value lighting effect for the London show of Canadian indie band Wild Rivers, a showcase gig at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire that was part of their 2024 UK tour.

Introduced to their tour manager Ben Pollard by Portsmouth, UK-based lighting rental company LiteUp, the brief was to create a homely and warm vibe onstage, whilst also impressing fans who packed out the London show, which was a great success.

Baines achieved results by using a careful combination of the 20 x Astera PixelBricks which were used as ‘specials’, the venue’s house lighting rig and the band’s own touring lighting specials.  

Wild Rivers were already touring a number of filament light bulbs on stands for additional

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17 January 2025

Switzerland - Clear-Com successfully delivered a high-capacity, secure communication network during the 2024 Street Parade in Zurich, one of the world’s largest techno music festivals. Partnering with MGM Audio AG, Clear-Com provided vital communication tools that helped ensure real-time coordination and operational safety across the event, which attracted over 920,000 attendees. 

The Street Parade spanned Zurich’s city centre, posing challenges for communication across large, densely populated areas. Clear-Com’s Gen-IC virtual intercom system, known for its IP-based capabilities, robust signal integrity, and flexibility, was deployed to support reliable communication for teams stationed throughout the city. 

Gen-IC played a key role in facilitating tactical coordination, including the ability to issue real-time announcements and updates fr

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17 January 2025

UK - Nugen Audio has announced the immediate availability of its new Reverb Map on the brand’s website. Inspired by the brand’s Paragon and Paragon ST reverb plug-ins, the Nugen Audio team created an interactive map of the world that pinpoints spaces with unusual acoustic characteristics.

From churches and subway stations to concert venues and tombs across the globe, audio enthusiasts, audiophiles, backpackers and those with a passion for interesting architecture, among other hobbies, now have a unique exploration checklist for their travels.

“Our team worked hard to put the map together, and we look forward to hearing from Nugen customers who manage to visit some of these locations,” says Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe, product specialist, Nugen Audio. “What better way to impose your audio fascination onto friends and family than by dragging them

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17 January 2025

Mexico - In designing the reality show La Casa de los Famosos, the Mexican version of Celebrity Big Brother, lighting designer Miki Molina uses innovative Elation lighting technology to transform the set into an impressive visual spectacle that blends aesthetics with emotion.

For Molina, whose career in film, theatre and television stretches to collaboration with giants such as Amazon, Disney, HBO, Netflix, Sony, Telemundo, and more, lighting design is not just technical but more akin to “painting with light”. His work on La Casa de los Famosos, which airs on TelevisaUnivision, has elevated the reality show to remarkable visual levels while tapping into the emotive facets of the show. 

Since beginning his collaboration with Endemol Shine Boomdog, Molina has worked to capture the key moments of the show through a desig

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16 January 2025

UK - Rag’n’Bone Man has been enjoying using KLANG-DMI, inserted into the DiGiCo Quantum 338 console for his latest What do you believe in? UK and European tour. Monitor engineer, George ‘Sol’ Solidakis, explains how KLANG’s technology, supplied by Britannia Row Productions in London, played a key role in delivering precise monitoring for the musicians, helping to maintain the energy on stage.

“My objective was to create intimate, natural-feeling IEM mixes, because the music covers a really full range, from quieter emotional songs to full on rock,” he says. “Rory (Graham, Rag’n’Bone Man’s real name) is all about making sure there is a real vibe and giving the audience an exciting time, so my mix has to reflect that energy too. My job as monitor engineer is to create an environment where the artists can perform and express themse

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16 January 2025

The Netherlands - A leading theatre organisation has chosen Unitour racks from LSC Control Systems to provide power management and dimming solutions. With five Unitour racks specified for its three auditoriums in Heerlen, Parkstad Limburg Theaters (PLT) is one of the latest performing arts hubs to adopt solutions from the Australian manufacturer.

PLT operates seven venues across the cities of Heerlen, Kerkrade and Sittard in the country’s south-eastern region of Limburg. Ranging in capacity from 120 to 1,100, these venues play a significant role in the cultural lives of the communities they serve. Across the organisation, PLT hosted almost 1,500 events in 2024.

Amid this busy environment, PLT’s head of lighting, Rob Debets, recalls his team looking for a “very flexible and reliable rack” when they saw the Unitour on the LSC booth at Frankfurt

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16 January 2025

USA - The Luckman Club, an exclusive lounge space at Soho House in West Hollywood, offers members a sophisticated bar and lounge with musical performances while serving as a venue for hosting events.

The management sought a sound system that could support a variety of corporate events, private parties, and more, all while seamlessly fitting into the room’s aesthetic. Pinnacle Audio, Video, & Lighting spearheaded the installation of the distributed 1 Sound system, resulting in an audio upgrade that prompted the Soho House operations team to say: "The sound quality is amazing. The form factor and the custom paint and fabric match our elevated aesthetic. The combination of both is exactly what we wanted as we elevated the space for our members."

For the two main lounge areas audio design, 1 Sound’s Cannon coaxials were the loudspeaker that fit t

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16 January 2025

USA - The NFL’s highly anticipated 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show, dubbed the ‘Beyoncé Bowl’, during the Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans game on Netflix, showcased not only a breathtaking performance from Beyoncé but also innovative wireless technology, courtesy of Professional Wireless Systems (PWS).

This event required intricate planning and execution from all parties involved in the production. “The speed and scale of the Beyoncé Bowl were unprecedented,” says Jimmy Van Winkle, general manager, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS). “It was every bit the size and complexity of a Super Bowl Halftime Show, condensed into less than two months of preparation.”

Pre-production was a race against time, with confirmation only six weeks prior. The PWS team conducted a site survey to determine optimal antenna placement and gathe

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15 January 2025

UK - A new UK Festivals Data Map has been launched, mapping over 850 festivals that took place in England, Wales and Scotland in 2024, where music was a key part of the entertainment.

The free, publicly available UK Music Festival Resource is designed to be updated and help the industry count festivals, artists plan tours, and fans discover new events in their area.

Commissioned by retiring Association of Festival Organisers general secretary Steve Heap in partnership with EIF and LIVE, this UK Festival Data tool has been created by Chris Carey of FastForward Events, with funding from the Events Industry Forum (principal funder) and LIVE (supporter).

Launched on 14 January 2025, on the EIF website, the content will be monitored and updated by the Fast Forward Events team for the first three months, then its upkeep will transfer to th

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15 January 2025

UK - The Roof Gardens in Kensington, West London, has re-emerged as a social club, featuring a bespoke L-Acoustics professional sound system.

Perched 100ft above London's bustling streets, The Roof Gardens has been a constant in the city's ever-changing skyline for over eight decades. Now, with a renewed mission and purpose, this nearly acre-wide Art Deco oasis opens a new chapter. The Roof Gardens celebrates London’s modern diversity while honouring its rich history rooted in community and cultural evolution.

Tasked with bringing the audio vision to life was L-Acoustics certified provider, Marquee AV. Its challenge was to design a system versatile enough to complement the diverse areas of The Roof Gardens while maintaining the venue's aesthetic integrity.

The result is a technologically ambitious yet discreet and sophisticated installation

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15 January 2025

Germany - Carolin Kebekus – comedienne, singer (Beer Bitches) and actress – has been touring German arenas with her new programme, Shesus, since the beginning of September.

Contour Veranstaltungsservice from Bergisch Gladbach has for many years been the artist's tour supplier on behalf of Bühnenkunst Ulhaas & Co, and as such is responsible for the audio, lighting, rigging, logistics and, since 2024, also for LED walls and camera technology.

Contour has established itself as a respected provider in the comedy market and specialises in tailor-made solutions that meet the specific requirements of this industry. In order to place the artist as ‘Shesus’ in heavenly light, the Contour team is using, among other things, 50 GLP impression X5 Bar 1000, which were purchased specifically for the tour in summer. The lighting design

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15 January 2025

UK - Gateshead’s Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Baltic) – a repurposed flour mill along the city’s scenic Quayside – stands as a premier arts and cultural venue in Northeast England.

Opened in 2002 as part of a local regeneration effort, the gallery has hosted work from celebrated artists including Yoko Ono and Anish Kapoor. Now, Baltic has worked once again with integrator ArtAV to showcase a bold new exhibition by British artist Hannah Perry. Utilising Genelec's 8330 studio loudspeakers, Perry’s work delves into themes of labour, motherhood, and class in an experience that is ‘as auditory as it is visual’.

A long-standing collaborator with Baltic, ArtAV specialises in integrating audiovisual components into artistic presentations. “Our focus is always to provide high-quality equipment that matches the vision of galleries and ar

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14 January 2025

UK - Inspired by the hit movie The Greatest Showman, Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is an immersive production that opened its doors last October at the Empress Museum in Earls Court, London. Visitors are invited to explore a vibrant backstage world for an interactive pre-show experience before entering the 700-seat Big Top for a spectacular show where circus blends seamlessly with musical theatre.

Woodroffe Bassett Design (WBD) was tasked with the lighting design for the new production. It partnered with White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to provide the lighting equipment.

Come Alive! offers an immersive pre-show experience that gives visitors a peek behind the scenes of the Big Top, featuring secret performances and intriguing characters, all while enjoying delicious food and drinks. The m