USA - In January 1922 the Orpheum Theatre in Marion, IL, opened its doors for the first time. The flagship location of a vaudeville chain, the theatre offered locals a wide array of entertainment options, even hosting stars like Harry Houdini and the Ziegfeld Follies who performed before standing room only crowds. Although the Orpheum is long gone, having been purchased by the city and renamed from a variety of genres. Only today, performers on its stage are supported by a modern LED lighting system that would have been unimaginable in the Orpheum’s incandescent era. Anchoring that rig is collection of 46 Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures that were added to the theatre’s rig earlier this year. “We purchased the Mavericks after some extensive research and testing against competing fixtures, led by our executive director Josh Benson,” said Kyle Upchur
USA - When Texas country artist Aaron Watson was planning the fall leg of his current Red Bandana Tour, the decision was to go native with Houston-based production company LD Systems. It was a “natural” decision and an “easy choice,” says lighting designer Anthony McCoy, who recently worked with the company with Watson’s shows at the Houston and San Antonio Rodeos, plus a few festivals. In business since 1975, LD Systems specialises in turning a sketch or key concept into a workable, real-world solution - be it for festivals, corporate events or concert tours. So when operations manager Bill Bowers saw a sketch of Aaron Watson’s design concept, he says, “We knew we had our work cut out for us.” Production manager Jared Miller created the design framework using the band’s Red Bandana album artwork for inspiration. “Jared’s idea was to
UK - James Bond tribute band, Q The Music is currently touring theatres across the country, accompanied by an Allen & Heath SQ digital mixing system and 13 “game-changing” ME-1 personal mixers. The current 13-piece band has been performing the 007 hits across prestigious venues, including the West End’s Adelphi Theatre, since 2014. Warren Ringham, who founded the show in 2004, opted for the SQ system after becoming frustrated with the lack of flexibility and reliability offered by other systems. “Our show and the demands on the production were getting bigger so we needed to upgrade. The SQ-6 arrived just at the right time. It had great reviews and did everything we needed and more.” The full setup for the show comprises SQ-6 on FOH, while an SQ-5 acts as a monitor desk for visiting engineers and FOH back-up. SLink and Dante option cards provide recording
UK – Australian three-piece alt dance group Rufus Du Sol headed to London’s Alexandra Palace for the headline performance of their Solace tour and their biggest UK show to date. In a statement, the band said: “We wanted to find somewhere big enough to host a night of electronic music with all the bells and whistles.” TSL Lighting was brought in to make this happen, specifying their latest investments to provide the pizazz befitting of Matthew Smith’s ambitious lighting design and production manager Jonathan Nelson’s requirements. Senior TSL project manager James Davies oversaw the equipment package creation and delivery, which included 25 of GLP’s award winning JDC1 hybrid strobe and control via the company’s new grandMA3 Light consoles, NPUs, a Luminex networking solution and a full rigging package utilising EXE Hoists. “TSL has heavily
UK - Audiovisual production supplier SFL provided a custom-built 10m wide projection screen and stage monitoring for Senbla’s latest film season - starting in September with Star Wars and finishing in December with Love Actually - which sees films screened in HD in venues around the UK, with live orchestras performing the films’ scores. “We supplied a 20m truss screen and our brand new 10m wide custom-built AV Stumpfl screen,” says SFL’s video and projects director, Craig Lawrence, who worked on the project alongside the company’s Sungho Jeong, Sam Wheeler, Paul Medley, Chris Gunner-Lucas, Adam Chisnall, Jack Roberts. “The screen was built specially for these tours at the aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which is specific to film. Projection was done using our Barco UDX and HDX projectors. We also provided onstage monitoring for the conductors and
UK - Shure worked with Wigwam to install a new audio system into the magnificent York Minster building. The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, more commonly known as York Minster, is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The historic Minster building is justifiably seen as a national treasure and unsurprisingly boasts Grade 1 listed status with Heritage England. Church leaders have been refurbishing and maintaining the building and an important part of the project was for the audio in the building to be crystal clear -- both for music and the spoken word. As a result, the installation of a new audio system was commissioned, and the entire sound system has been upgraded. The system had to accommodate the wide variety of uses the building hosts, often with two or more events taking place simultaneously. There are up to 2,500 pe
USA - Audinate, developer of the Dante media networking technology, worked with Utah State University to implement a Dante audio network that helps offer a series of online courses and live, interactive broadcasts where students can remotely attend live classroom presentations - and also communicate with the instructor. This is mission critical for the university in its effort to serve rural areas of Utah, where students may be unable to travel to campus for instruction. A major component to successfully bringing these presentations to all students is utilizing the latest AV technology - and that’s why Utah State University relies on Audinate’s Dante and Dante Domain Manager to ensure students are connected with crystal clear audio. Jim Wellings is the senior systems designer and programmer for the Academic and Instructional Services Department at Utah State Univer
USA - St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, California has added Ayrton Khamsin-TC profile luminaires to its equipment inventory for worship services and special events. St Andrew’s has been in the Newport Beach community for about 70 years and is known as a neighbourhood church with global impact. It holds three weekend worship services, both modern and classic, and maintains a staff to handle AV production needs. “It’s been our long-term goal to offer live streaming on the internet, and our recent camera and lighting purchases are designed to aid us in live streaming services and events,” says Erik Alkire, lighting designer at St Andrew’s. The church has six Panasonic cameras, four of them remotely controlled by the technical director and two manned on tripods. Its extensive lighting complement includes 90 conventional fixtures plus some
South Africa - Few holiday traditions are more treasured in Joburg, South Africa than the annual pantomime, held at The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein. This year, writer, director and South Africa’s queen of pantomime, Janice Honeyman has brought to stage the story of country boy Jack the Joller, and his adventures with a family cow, some magic beans, an enormous beanstalk, an unfriendly giant and an enchanted hen that lays golden eggs. Long-standing technical manager at the Joburg Theatre and industry veteran, Enos Ramoroko, points out that the panto is one of the biggest draws for the Joburg theatre over the December holidays, and is a highlight in the year for cast and crew alike. “The characters on stage are always larger than life, and everyone has a leading role. In some productions, you can switch the followspot from one lead to another –
Austria - Now in its 19th year, the three-day Krone-Fest has been running in the Austrian city of Linz since 2001. This year, once again the free event saw more than 70 acts appearing on 13 stages in different squares spread throughout in the city centre. Promoted by KOOP Live-Marketing and Upper Austrian Kronen Zeitung, a total of around 400,000 people gathered across the duration to hear artists such as Darius & Finlay, Status Quo and Milow headline on the respective days. Last year, a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC) loudspeaker array featured on the second Herberstein stage but this year the scalable resolution and control technology was also promoted to the Sparkassen main stage in the Linzer Hauptplatz (main square), where a WPC system was provided by rental company Z-VT. “The threshold was set at 100dB in the audience areas with Z-VT’
Germany - The German theatrical tradition has always relied on colourful and vivid productions to convey the intricacies of the nation’s intricate language and rich culture. For more than two centuries, this tradition has flourished at the Stadttheater Aschaffenburg, which has played host to countless seminal productions since first opening its doors in 1811. As part of a long term renovation of this bastion of German theatre, Siegbert Blattner, technical director at Stadttheater Aschaffenburg, oversaw the creation of a modern and versatile lighting system that is comprised entirely of Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 26 Maverick MK3 Spots, 28 Maverick MK2 Washes, 56 Ovation E-930VW variable white ellipsoidals, 10 Ovation E-260WW warm white ellipsoidals and 34 Ovation F-915FC Fresnel units. The Stadttheater Aschaffenburg traditionally presents audiences wit
UK - Antony Gormley Studio enlisted the expertise of Unusual Rigging for the sculptor's recent exhibition at the Royal Academy. Gormley's retrospective, which ran until 3 December, has wowed art lovers and novices alike, having been designed to put 'the visitor centre-stage'. It was spread across 13 rooms, all calling for physical and imaginative participation from those who visited the Academy to see his work. Robin Elias, technical director, Unusual Rigging, comments: "This was Unusual's first foray into the Royal Academy. Antony Gormley Studio contacted us based on previous successful collaboration sand, of course, we were delighted to be able to bring our know-how - both to the artworks themselves and the beautiful Royal Academy building." The centrepiece of the exhibition was Body and Fruit in the Central Hall. "The piece centres around two huge rusty stee
USA - As the year draws to a close, Bandit Lites continues its annual tradition of giving back to its local community by participating in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree programme. It is an event the entire office enjoys, as it builds comradery and refocuses the season on giving to those less fortunate. Bandit Lites team members are provided funds and time to come together to shop for those in need. HR Coordinator Cori Link organises the efforts in Nashville by coordinating the staff, transport and Angel Tree drop off, while Lisa Fodge spearheads the Knoxville staff’s efforts. “It’s great working for a company where the owner gives the employees the ability to give back,” says Bandit Lites general manager Mark Steinwachs. “You can forget how easy to get wrapped up in our world worrying about the next prep and the next gig until you are off doing something
Denmark - Nanna-Karina Schleimann has become one of the first sound designers to make use of DPA’s new 4560 Core Binaural Headset Microphone, which gives sound technicians, vloggers, film makes and YouTubers “an accurate and reliable tool to capture authentic 3D audio in realtime”. This new headset allows film, theatre and online content creators to capture exactly what each ear is hearing so that those consuming the content on headphones can experience full immersive sound. The headset features a pair of 4060 Core Miniature Microphones that are mounted on ear hooks and sit just outside the user’s ear canal so that the mics capture the sound being heard by the person making the recording. The ear hooks are attached to a flexible headset that is simple to fit, comfortable to wear and can be easily adjusted to suit the dimensions of each individual head. Earlier
Czech Republic - Dance music fans returned to the O2 Arena in Prague, the home of popular trance party Transmission, to enjoy a line-up of Ferry Corsten presents System F, Blastoyz, Darren Porter, Thomas Coastline, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Key4050, MaRLo, Cosmic Gate and many more. Adding to the occasion was lighting designer Bas Kemper, who likes a dynamic and flexible palette of lights. For this show his spec’ featured over 100 Robe moving lights, with 72 MegaPointes, 19 BMFL Blades and 48 LEDBeam 150s incorporated into the rig. Kemper works closely with a diverse team, including visual artists Vision Impossible who develop the show narrative and create all the screen content, to bring the production alive, uniting all the technical disciplines of lighting, lasers, video and staging. This year’s concept featured a semi-circular stage design that Kemper had conc
Switzerland - Pop-rock band Hecht entertained 13,000 fans at Zurich’s Hallenstadion in an energy-fuelled visual and sonic extravaganza which included zip-lining keyboardists, crowd surfing, inflatable pink flamingos and several tons of confetti. Show and lighting designer Roger Staub was asked to create a big, vibrant and memorable show to end their current touring cycle riding high on their chart-topping third studio album Oh Boy and assisting him to make a massive impact were 98 Robe MegaPointes and 60 Pointes. Roger is also a video content creator and his elegant design combined the media of lighting and video, proportionately putting the band right at the centre of the action on a large (18 x 8m) semi-transparent LED screen. Visually, Roger wanted to create simple and powerful statements and a clean performance space. To keep focus on the band, he p
Italy - Every October for the past five years, over a thousand musicians have gathered together in Italy to perform as the ‘biggest rock band in the world’. Yamaha digital mixing has featured each time, with a Rivage PM10 digital mixing system making its debut in 2018. This year the event moved to Linate Airport, Milan, where a Rivage PM7 system was added for the first time. The scale of Rockin’1000 That’s Live means that the sound has to be managed by a highly professional team. Yamaha Music Europe’s Italy branch were on site in Milan as technical partners, with Alessandro Arturi, Marco Giovanetti and the rest of the crew facing the major task of mixing FOH and monitors for over a thousand singers, guitarists, bass guitarists, drummers, keyboard and wind players. The event’s biggest digital mixing system yet comprised a Rivage PM10 with CS-R10 and CS-R10-S
USA - Keeping pace with Andrew Peterson’s gently winding performance of Behold The Lamb Of God as it weaves its way through a mix of words and music is a supple lightshow designed by Winn Elliot and operated by Jessica Sanders. Elliot and Sanders’ blend of brightness, colour and shadows was on full display Sunday 1 December when the 20th edition of the popular holiday tour played to a sold-out crowd at the Von Braum Civic Centre in Huntsville. Helping them create their flow of evocative looks was a collection of 16 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures supplied by 44 Designs. Flown on upstage, midstage and downstage truss, the 440W moving fixtures were used to spot performers in all sections of the stage as the Christmas narrative unfolded. During dramatic moments, the Maverick MK2 Spot units turned up the intensity level with sweeps and overhead
France - The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, the well-known islet in Normandy, provided an enchanted venue to Laurent Voulzy’s concerts in September. The popular French singer and song-writer performed here for the first time accompanied by a keyboard player and harpist. Lighting designer John Artonne enhanced the atmosphere by using Prolights Starkbar1000 to illuminate the stage and create a set of aerial effects. “Choosing Prolights Starkbar1000 fixtures was a no-brainer for me,” says Artonne. “Among all the products I have seen were those who convinced me the most in terms of light output and effect possibilities, to such an extent that we had the chance to see up close its great potential even when Mont Saint-Michel was shrouded in thick fog. My team was enthusiastic about this choice too. “It’s always a pleasure working with this brand. Thanks
USA - While he officially retired from touring after his 2012-2014 Cowboy Rides Away tour, George Strait was one of the first headliners at Fort Worth’s new Dickies Arena, playing two back-to-back, sold-out shows in late November. With those shows and others now being mixed on a DiGiCo SD12 96 desk at front of house, Strait stays at the forefront of live sound technology. Commissioned by Epicenter Productions of Dallas, the console was acquired by George Olson, who has been with Strait since 2004. “It was the SD12’s compact size, and the power that it packs into that footprint, that really convinced me to go with it,” says Olson, who bumped up the console’s channel count from 72 to 96 with DiGiCo’s latest software, increasing its desirability as a rental unit for his GP Productions company when he’s not using the desk for shows with Strait. “Wh
USA - Although Louisville residents have long associated the term ‘Triple Crown’ with Kentucky Derby thoroughbred horse racing at their own Churchill Downs, this year’s Trifesta may well pose a legitimate threat to that reigning royal trio title. Produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) - the concert promoter behind popular US music festivals like Sacramento’s Aftershock, Columbus’ Sonic Temple and Charlotte’s Epicenter - a Trifesta pass served as the golden ticket to get into three large Louisville music festivals held on consecutive weekends during September, each of which utilised an L-Acoustics K Series loudspeaker system deployed by Brown Note Productions (BNP) of Thornton, Colorado. Staged at the Kentucky Expo Centre’s Highland Festival Grounds, the inaugural Hometown Rising festival packed in more than 70,000 country music fans ove
UK - Silent Disco King, a leading provider for wireless headphone events, helped deliver the biggest ever silent disco event at Lowlands festival. Back in 2017, the festival organisers wanted to increase the size of their silent disco to 10,000 headphones and needed a suitable supplier. Having visited the company’s UK head office, Lowlands turned to Silent Disco King, who, in August 2018, delivered a silent disco for the festival with not 10,000 headphones but 20,000 headphones. In August this year, the supplier provided 30,0000 headphones to light up an arena with three channels of music, keeping festival goers dancing until sunrise as customers were able to switch between two DJs or the on-site radio station. Seven technicians and supervisors from the Silent Disco King team were on site to help set up and manage the event, with a local crew of 90
UK - Anna Valley has announced their purchase of over 500sq.m of 3.9mm Unilumin LED, making the AV and entertainment technology company one of the biggest suppliers of single-batch high-resolution LED in the UK. The purchase was motivated by increased demand for super-sized screens for projects like X Factor: Celebrity 2019 where 200sq.m of Anna Valley’s new stock was used to create the digital backdrop for the live final at the SSE Arena, Wembley. The improvement in LED resolution and the increase in the computing capability of video processors and servers has prompted a surge in demand for large screens to display ultra-high-resolution content for live events and broadcast shows. However, in order to achieve image consistency across these video walls, they have to be built from LED panels that are not only from the same supplier, but from the same production batch
World - Twenty-four Astera AX1 LED battery powered wireless ‘pixel tubes’ played their part onstage with rock band Muse during their action-packed Simulation Theory world tour, which has just played its final show in Chile, having been on the road since February. The AX1s were used in just one song - Algorithm - for maximum impact. They were placed in custom angled holders on the sides of a long runway / thrust during the blackout, and at the start of the song formed 12 illuminated pillars of light behind lead singer / guitarist Matt Bellamy, who was playing keyboards on the B stage right in the centre of the venue. The tubes were then picked up by a troupe of Ninja performers who used them in bō staff-style to make geometric formations and accentuate their distinctive robotic movements as they moved along the walkway and across the stage. Two conjoi
