USA - Latin pop luminaries Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Pitbull have teamed up for The Trilogy Tour, a North American arena trek taking the three artists out for shows in 37 cities between October 2023 and March 2024. Following a successful first leg of sold-out concerts that ran into mid-December, the second half of the Live Nation-produced, Sound Image/Clair Global-reinforced run picks back up in late-January with four performances in California before sweeping east across the continent. The tour is enjoying a tremendous amount of success thanks to the talent and charisma of its headliners, but three unseen performers - a trio of KLANG:konductor immersive IEM mixing systems - are also doing their part to help the three bilingual superstars and their backing bands deliver a four-hour fiesta at each stop. Eddie ‘El Brujo’ Caipo has worked with Enrique Igles
UK - Visitor attraction Titanic Belfast has used Panasonic projectors to convey the emotional impact of the human tragedy within the Titanic story, through the creation of a new, absorbing immersive space that places visitors at the heart of the liner’s ill-fated maiden voyage. More than 12 years on from the opening of the building, the attraction has refreshed the Titanic Experience for returning visitors and continues to draw crowds from around the world. Working with integrator, DJ Willrich, Titanic Belfast now uses more than 30 Panasonic PT-MZ16K, PT-MZ780 and PT-VMZ71 LCD projectors to deliver the Titanic Experience, a stimulating re-creation of what it might have been like to be a passenger travelling on the liner. The self-guided tour is the most authentic way to discover the sights, sounds, and stories of the ship, as well as the people and city that made RMS Titan
South Africa - Sennheiser SA, in collaboration with Sennheiser electronic, recently concluded a series of successful workshops across South Africa and Namibia as part of the Meet the TeamConnect Family Roadshow. The workshops, which took place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Windhoek, were aimed at showcasing Sennheiser's latest innovations for higher education, corporate meeting spaces and auditoriums, including its latest TeamConnect conferencing solutions. Designed with integrators and business owners in mind, the workshops featured Sennheiser's newly introduced TeamConnect Bar S and TeamConnect Bar M video bars, the first product of its kind in the Sennheiser portfolio, as well as the popular TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC 2) and TeamConnect Ceiling Medium (TCC M) ceiling microphones. “We are excited to share these new products with our clientele,” expresses Ashley
Slovenia - Crt Birsa from Slovenian design studio Blackout recently utilised Robe moving lights to realise the raw lighting aesthetic wanted by Slovenian vocal orchestra Perpetuum Jazzile for a video shoot in Ljubljana. The artists have won international acclaim for their acapella versions of famous songs and for their lively and invigorating live performances. This video shoot was directed by Rok Maver and took place in the new VPK Mediapark Media Centre nightclub in Ljubljana which has just opened. The Robe elements were 16 x Fortes, 28 x MegaPointes and 22 Spiiders, all supplied by Ljubljana based rental company Intralite – who invested in Fortes at the start of the summer which were delivered by Robe’s Slovenian distributor, MK Light Sound. These were all rigged quite closely together on three overhead house trusses and the deck which boosted the intensit
Mexico - Sound, light and AV automation specialists, Oncue has designed and installed more than a hundred Nexo systems in bars, restaurants, hotels, superyachts and even homes around the country. With offices in Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City, the company is headquartered in Cancún and has established a reputation among local hospitality venue operators for providing systems that meet and exceed what is typically a demanding set of requirements. “It’s a party atmosphere in Cancún and (nearby) Tulum, so sound systems are required to handle much more than simply background music” says Oncue director general Héctor Ortega Valles. “The Nexo systems we install are typically operating at over 100dB for up to 15 hours a day.” Oncue’s latest installation is at the BRASS Modern Grill House, part of the Fish Fritanga Group, where a Nexo ID and ePS Series sys
UK - After a 10-year hiatus, indie rock band, Hard-Fi, made a triumphant return this October with a 13-day nationwide stour, including dates at the Junction in Cambridge, O2 Academy in Liverpool, Rock City in Nottingham, and the Troxy in London. Front of house engineer, Sam Parker, and monitor engineer, Bertie Hunter, deployed a DiGiCo Quantum 225 and SD12 digital mixing console respectively, supplied by CS Audio. Reflecting on his induction into the band, Parker recalls being recruited by Hard-Fi’s management before their debut album release in 2005. “I remember receiving a demo CD of songs, and then I was formally introduced to the band,” he says. “During those early days, the touring setup was limited to a two-person crew - myself handling FOH duties alongside a tour manager/driver. Within the first year, the band upgraded to a tour bus and an expanded crew, which
Japan - Hiromi Go celebrated his 50th anniversary in 2022. He toured all the country throughout the whole year to meet his fans and share the celebration. In the final month, December 2022, a special prestigious tour - Hiromi Go 50th Anniversary Tour - The Final Countdown in 2022 - took place. Mainly composed of his ballads, this proved extremely popular, and was performed with an especially luxurious stage setting. This special concert was revived in 2023 for a special one-night show at Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, this time not only to celebrate Go’s 50th anniversary, but also to commemorate the concert venues’ 50th anniversary and its very last year. The Sun Plaza Hall, which had served as a landmark concert venue for many famous artists in Tokyo for half a century, finally closed in the summer. Naomasa Kajiura, an award-nominated lighting designer for PRG Japan, who
UK - Christie HS Series projectors powered a sparkling seasonal projection mapping experience at Waddesdon Manor, a 19th century Grade 1 listed National Trust site in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Yes Events deployed 11 Christie DWU23-HS 1DLP laser projectors – supplied by Christie partner A.C. Entertainment Technologies – to map the 10-minute content designed by mapping expert Jamie Shiels. The content, inspired by the festive season and popular children’s books, was projected onto the façade of the French Renaissance-style Loire chateau for festive revellers to enjoy as part of a ‘Christmas at Waddesdon’ experience. “Yes Events has been working with the National Trust at Waddesdon Manor for several years, and they previously explored the idea of projecting onto the building, but everything came together this year to bring it to life,” says Stuart Burdet
USA - Big Nite DC, which bills itself as the largest NYE convention hall party draws around 10,000 party goers, spread out over two ballrooms and 12 additional spaces. The main ballroom, which serves as the hub of the evening’s festivities, measures 45,000sq.ft and has 270-degrees of floor-to-ceiling glass windows affording stunning views of the Potomac River. Animating the big event this year, as it has in the past, was an upbeat and colourful lighting and video design from Evan Kirkendall and the team at Harford Sound LLC. “Every year we challenge ourselves to create a fresh, new design in the primary ballroom,” said Kirkendall. “We get to design this large rig from the ground up, so we really like to push ourselves each year.” Although lighting Big Nite DC is “loads of fun”, it is not without its challenges. “The overall stage size is quite sma
USA - The Warren Haynes Presents Christmas Jam returned for its 32nd year, partnering with the Asheville area Habitat for Humanity and BeLoved Asheville. Bandit Lites provided the lighting system for the 9 December showcase which featured a line-up including Slash and Myles Kennedy, Billy F Gibbons, Gov’t Mule, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Clutch and Karina Rykman. The winter spectacular began in 1988 and has raised more than $2.8m over the years, helping those in the area who have been unable to be homeowners due to financial setbacks. "To take something as simple as playing music, which we all love to do, and turn it into building houses, it's an opportunity that I can't be more thankful for," Haynes told area news. Bandit Lites provided over 100ft of Tyler Truss and more than 165 fixtures for the epic jam night including Ayrton Khamsin S, Chauve
South Africa - Hendrick Nemalili of Murangi Productions collected 12 new Claypaky Axcor Beam 300s and four Robe LedBeam 150s from DWR Distribution which went straight onto the 16th Crown Gospel Music Awards held on 26 November at the 10 000-seater Dome marquee based at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg. The Crown Gospel Awards celebrates excellence in the South African gospel music industry. Traditionally taking place at the Durban ICC, it was hosted in Johannesburg for the first time. Having worked on the production on two different occasions, Hendrick was appointed to design the set and to provide the full technical comprising lighting, audio (including backline) and screens. With three months to plan and prepare, he came up with the concept. “As the Crown Gospel Awards were making a debut in the City of Gold the idea was to integrate a suspended crown centre
USA - Lighting for the recent legs - including the USA and Canada - of popular and prolific Indian singer Shreya Ghoshal’s All Hearts world tour was programmed by Manu Jacob using an all grandMA3 control system solution for this section of the tour, and the first time on a touring project. Brought onboard as programmer by Mumbai based show producers BToS Productions, he worked closely with the lighting design team from LAGFL Designs on ensuring that the show they had crafted was programmed in the most efficient, logical, and flexible way, enabling the showfile to be swiftly updated to deal with different sized venues. “It was to facilitate this and also for the networking capabilities that I decided to make the switch to all grandMA3 for this project,” he stated, adding that he has been working on the grandMA platform for the last 10 years, and appreciates its
The Netherlands - De Tocht is a new ice-based musical production staged in the purpose-built 1475-capacity Friso Theatrein Leeuwarden. Directed by Eddy Habbema and choreographed by Marc Forno, the production design was created by Luc Peumans, artistic director of Painting with Light (PWL), whose brief encompassed lighting, video and scenography, an ambitious collage of visual disciplines to capture all the skating action presented in “spectacular” style. Luc utilised over 200 Robe moving lights for the show including 120 Esprites, 83 LEDBeam 350s, 16 T2 Profiles and 13 iFortes running on a remote follow spot system, supplied to the production by RentAll. The Dutch-language De Tocht story follows five former skating friends on their adventures skating the Elfstedentocht - an 11-city, 200 km long-distance tour on natural ice over rivers and canals in the Netherlands
UK - After the release of her sophomore album The Good Witch in June this year, Maisie Peters, a British artist and songwriter signed with Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records, embarked on a tour to support her album. She has recently completed the latest UK leg, with further dates across Europe and Australia scheduled for 2024. FOH engineer Nathan Kennedy and monitor engineer Michael ‘Fitz’ Fitzsimons, both seasoned DiGiCo users, utilised a DiGiCo SD10 and DiGiCo Quantum 225 respectively, benefitting from what Kennedy describes as “natural and uncoloured sound”, while Fitzsimons highlights the console's customisable programming, which he believes surpasses any other console manufacturer in the industry. Kennedy started using DiGiCo consoles in 2012, and says the workflow immediately resonated with him, stating, “What goes in, comes out exactly as yo
USA - A combination of Holoplot’s sound control capabilities and creative sound design by Jonathan Deans let the vocals shine for this new off-Broadway production. Based on the true story of the legendary Cuban ensemble, Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) brings the 1966 Grammy-winning album to the Atlantic Theatre Company. Produced by Cuban American playwright Marco Ramirez, the show debuted mid-December at the Linda Gross Theatre and has received rave reviews. Sound designer Jonathan Deans, known for work on Broadway hits and Cirque du Soleil productions, collaborated with music supervisor Dean Sharenow and director Saheem Ali to create the auditory experience, with global technology provider PRG furnishing a comprehensive audio and lighting solution for the production, including the first Holoplot X1 system to grace a musical theatre production. Working with a
Saudi Arabia - Prolights fixtures have transformed the Wonder Garden amusement park in Riyadh into a spectacle of light and colours. The park now boasts a captivating illumination setup featuring the Astra fixtures. The project features 150 Astra Beam260IP and 50 Astra Hybrid420IP units, arranged to enhance both large and small stages. This extensive installation ensures a comprehensive and immersive lighting experience, highlighting the park's magical and whimsical themes. The fixtures have been provided by Prolab, Prolights’ distributor in Saudi Arabia, and the lighting project, overseen by lighting designer Houssein Ramadan. The client expressed their utmost satisfaction with the project's outcome: "The ambiance achieved through our strategic use of Prolights' fixtures has exceeded our expectations, creating an unforgettable experience for our visitors."
UK - Gamesys London, an international online gaming operator, wished to modernise and collaborate in their office space. The plans for the new office included 30 meeting rooms and two all-hands meeting rooms, as well as corporate messaging throughout the building. Everything had to be compatible with Gamesys' existing platforms and programmes. They required a dependable and experienced partner who could collaborate with them throughout the construction process, deliver high-quality products and services, and meet their deadlines. Marquee One, a company that provides audio-visual solutions to various industries, was recommended by a previous client who had worked with director of Marquee One, Luke Nowacki. Marquee One created a variety of audio-visual solutions for Gamesys London, including video conferencing and collaboration systems for all meeting rooms, enab
Italy - Milan-based production service Moviechrome has recently introduced its Moviechrome Pixel Reality Studio LED Volume, a cornerstone in virtual production and the first studio in Europe that features Absen PR technology with a 2.5 pixel pitch resolution. Powered by Brompton Technology LED processing, it is suited for a wide array of productions, from high-budget blockbusters to indie films, automotive inserts, packshots and consumption shots. “The idea for the Moviechrome Pixel Reality Studio LED Volume stemmed from a desire to revolutionise the film and production industry with cutting-edge technology combined with our SFX team and Bolt robot motion control,” says Edoardo Mari, CEO at Moviechrome (Milano). “The initial concept was not solely client-requested but emerged from our foresight into the evolving needs of the industry. We recognised the increasing deman
Sweden - Established in 1941, Stockholm-based Berghs School of Communication offers an advanced curriculum that covers everything from brand strategy to content design, illustration, marketing and art direction. When the school made the move to the newly developed Gasverket – a former gas plant in Stockholm that is now home to a growing community of cultural, educational, and social enterprises – it required a reliable and flexible audio solution. Working alongside Stockholm-based integrators Scan AV, Berghs chose a Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker system for its new venture. “We moved to a new building and needed high-quality audio in the open areas,” begins Bosse Hjerpe, facility manager at Berghs. “We turned to Scan AV for a solution that was flexible and – due to cost reasons – networked. The building was empty and needed to be equipped with everything, so a ne
USA - When lighting designer Mitch Mueller wanted a profile fixture for key and front lighting for country singer Lainey Wilson’s debut performance at the outdoor Red Rocks Amphitheatre, he chose VL3600 Profile IP luminaires from Vari-Lite. The Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an open-air performance space built into rustic natural surroundings in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Mueller’s design included 32 Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IPs, whose high output and premium features made it ideal for the design of the outdoor performance. “When I was programming the show, I was looking to do a lot of spot breakup looks with gobos layered with big pan and tilt effects, and the VL3600 played the role perfectly,” explains Mueller. “Not only are they relatively quick for their size, they also have a multitude of different ways to add that texture I look for. “The most
UK - The National Theatre has extended its long relationship with GLP fixtures by becoming the first theatre in the world to take delivery of the manufacturer’s new impression X5 Bar 1000. This has been added to the rig in the Olivier Theatre in time for the staging of The Witches – a musical version of the timeless Roald Dahl tale – which runs until 27 January 2024. The X5 Bar 1000 is a linear LED batten with 18 powerful 40W RGBL LEDs, a wide zoom range and the new GLP iQ.Gamut colour calibration algorithm, which creates ‘perfect white spectrums with excellent colour rendering’. The new squared lens design ensures maximum lumen efficiency and gives an unprecedented curtain of light at its narrowest angle of just 3.5°, while delivering smooth and homogenous washes all the way out to its widest 60° wash. These were among the features that caught
USA - UK manufacturer Prism Sound will be attending NAMM 2024 with a range of audio conversion products to suit the demands of professional users in music, broadcast, film and live sound. On booth 16016 at NAMM, Prism Sound will be showing its recently launched Dream ADA-128 modular audio conversion system, along with its award-winning range of interfaces such as the Titan, Atlas and Lyra. In addition, it will highlight the recent – and significant - price reductions across these products, which means that there has never been a better time to invest in Prism Sound technology. “These savings are substantial, and we have only been able to make them by looking carefully at our own costs to see where we could streamline our operation and improve efficiency,” says Prism Sound’s sales director Mark Evans. “What we haven’t done, however, is reduce the quality o
UK - Grammy Award-winning global super star, Burna Boy, brought his Love, Damini stadium tour to the 80,000 capacity London Stadium last summer in front of his largest solo audience to date, simultaneously becoming the first ever African artist to headline a UK stadium. The tour celebrated his sixth album Love, Damini, with his electrifying performances, and dramatic production and lighting designs from Anthony Hazelden of Live Lighting. Hazelden chose a quantity of Ayrton Huracán LT, Eurus Profile and Domino LT fixtures as the mainstay of his London Stadium rig, which were supplied by London-based Colour Sound Experiment. Ayrton is distributed exclusively in the UK by Ambersphere Solutions. “We went with all-Ayrton gear because their products are all LED-sourced,” he explains. “Another major reason for our choice was our need for high powe
USA - Lone Star Lights is a family-friendly Christmas light experience hosted at Carolina Creek, the Christian camp located an hour north of Houston, TX. ADJ was selected by Carolina Creek as the exclusive supplier of entertainment lighting for the event, with equipment supplied via Alabama-based Team Wilson Media. Its various areas, exhibits and attractions are illuminated by a variety of ADJ IP65-rated fixtures, including Hydro Series moving heads, HEX Series static washes and battery-powered Mirage Q6 uplighters. Established in 2002, Carolina Creek offers overnight summer youth camps as well as year-round retreat facilities for churches, youth organizations and civic organisations, as well as corporate team building events. Hosting thousands of young people in the summer and busy most of the rest of the year, the holiday season has historically been a quiet time for the
