France - Rapper Dinos played a high-profile one-off gig at Paris’s Accor Arena to celebrate the launch of his latest studio album, Hiver à Paris. For his first show at this venue, lighting designer Damien Dufaitre from BlackMoon Design created a special environment with 90 x Robe MegaPointes at the core of the concept. A prolific collaborator, Dinos appeared on stage with a stream of interesting guest artists as he delivered an action-packed two-hour high-energy performance. Damien has worked with Dinos for some time, and his primary goal for this show was to keep the visuals pacey, lively, and provocative, yet raw and elegant to match the spirit and essence of Dinos’ music, which was very much at the centre of the performance. “It was all about showcasing him and his music,” he confirms. He proposed an in-the-round concept with a central rectang
Italy - A 96-channel audio system powered by 18 Powersoft Quattrocanali 2404 DSP+D amplifiers is immersing riders in the dramatic jungle soundtrack of Jumanji: The Adventure, one of the newest attractions at Gardaland, the largest theme park in Italy. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Gardaland opened in 1975 and is now one of Europe’s most popular amusement parks. The 200,000m² park’s attractions include rollercoasters such as Oblivion, Shaman and Blue Tornado, the water rides Fuga da Atlantide (Escape from Atlantis) and Jungle Rapids, and the child-friendly Peppa Pig Land. Perhaps Gardaland’s most ambitious attraction to date, Jumanji: The Adventure is a multi-sensory dark ride that transports guests through 12 unique environments, bringing them face to face with physical threats including a venomous spiders, falling ruins, a swamp full of hippos an
UK - Pulp, live on stage, a fleetingly rare event in recent years is a moment to cherish, none more so than this current outing. Across the summer months they will visit seaside resorts, towns, cities and parks, playing theatres, arenas and festivals. Just the sort of complex logistical puzzle production manager Joel Stanley enjoys. “Not quite,” he said with a grin. “It's just 13 shows in three months though dates keep getting added. The budget was set a year ago when the band began music rehearsals as a six piece; I came on board at the start of this year and we now have 17 people on stage.” Balancing budget, band and venues saw Stanley reach for some certainty as a fulcrum. “My three core vendors, Neg Earth, Video Design and Skan PA have brought great attention to detail in support of making this adaptable demand actually work. With such a tricky itinerary
Germany - The Guinness World Record breaking German version of long-running musical phenomenon Starlight Express celebrated 35 years of performance in June 2023 and zactrack celebrated its own slightly shorter ‘milestone’ in November 2022 with a Starlight Express five-year ‘show anniversary’ dating back to 2017 when a zactrack PRO system was first specified by the show’s technical director, Peter Lucassen. In that time, he reports, “it’s been fantastic – completely stable and reliable,” and has revolutionised the way the fast-paced roller spectacular has been lit. Peter has been working on the show’s production since 1990, two years after it was first installed into the purpose built 1651- capacity Starlight Express Theatre in Bochum. It is a 360-degree show, and the venue features U-shaped tracks or skateways for the roller-skating action on
Spain - Nexo’s Spanish distributor Sound Means turns festival sponsor this summer, providing full technical services covering sound, light and technical staff for a select number of key events in and around the Barcelona-based company’s home city. “We’re working in collaboration with our key rental company clients to provide the perfect opportunity for them to gain experience and training on the latest Nexo systems, while delivering world class sound at some very exciting concerts and festivals” explains Sound Means technical sales manager Jordi Vaquero Pujagut. Starting with the popular Strenes Festival, the first concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana sold out three months ahead of time, and featured the Catalan band Blaumut performing with the Young Catalan Symphonic Orchestra. Girona-based events services specialists BTM Sound deployed an all-N
UK - Britannia Row Productions provided an L-Acoustics L2 system, control packages and technical crew for West London’s Soho House Festival. After being chosen as the world’s first audio rental company to deploy the new L Series L2 at The BRIT Awards, and following its appearance at the complex, globally-watched Eurovision Song Contest, Brit Row has now supplied the system to an outdoor, urban environment in London. Festival goers - who included many celebrities - enjoyed performances from Kelis, Sugababes, Tom Grennan, Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Gabriels, giving fans a whole spectrum of genres to dance to during the two-day event in Gunnersbury Park. The festival was launched to help raise funds for various charitable causes through The Soho House Foundation, which raises funds for and empowers creatives from underrepresented groups, as well as aiding disaster relie
The Netherlands - When the new upmarket Mooij Alkmaar restaurant opened recently, it complemented its South American cuisine with music produced The installation in the city of Alkmaar was carried out by lighting and sound rental specialists, Bleeker Group using matched pairings of CDD6s and SX210 loudspeakers from the Martin Audio’s CDD coaxial differential dispersion series. . The Heerhugowaard-based company is a customary Martin Audio user, and it was owner, Jacco Bleeker himself who specified the solution as best fit for purpose. And that purpose was to reproduce background music during the week and live music to tape at weekends. “It’s an ideal solution for them,” says Martijn de Jong, product manager (audio) at Ampco Flashlight Sales, Martin Audio’s Dutch distributor. Although the operation is new, the building certainly is not. In fact it is the
Belgium - Jordi Vandekerkhof from production specialist More To Show worked closely with Frank Anthierens and Nathalie Rasschaert from event agency Alice Events and DDMC Event Design to deliver a special live televised festival event to celebrate Belgian National Day 2023 for organisers, the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister. This was combined with the 10th anniversary of Belgian King Philippe’s coronation, and staged in front of the magnificent Cinquantenaire Arcade, an imposing 30m wide, 45m-high triple arched monument in the centre of the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels. The festival featured performances by 12 dynamic and high-profile Belgian artists accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra including rhythm section. The triple arched monument was completed in 1905 in time for the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. Topped by an impressive bronze q
USA - Clifford Michael Spulock lit the Slow Burn Theatre Company’s production of Newsies earlier this summer at the Broward Centre in Fort Lauderdale. The story told in this Tony-winning musical, based on the 1992 Disney film of the same name, is very familiar to theatre goers. And Spulock does this narrative justice with precise lighting that conveys the tale of a group of ragamuffin newspaper kids who strike against the powerful publisher Joseph Pulitzer. However, he also goes well beyond “conveying” by using a rich and delicately balanced blend of colours and dark space to evoke the mood of the world inhabited by these characters. “It all plays back to the newspaper theme,” Spulock of CS Lighting, said of his design. “When you think of a newspaper at the end of the 19th century when this play takes place, you think black print on a white backgroun
UK - Originally opened in 1872 as Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen closed its doors at the end of the last century and quickly lapsed into a state of disrepair. Following a full restoration, this historic Grade A listed building is back to its sumptuous best, housing a 527-seat auditorium, café and gallery. Not satisfied to rest on their laurels, the owners recently approached long-established local rental and installation company CLS Aberdeen to configure and install a new sound system, equipping the landmark venue to entertain the residents of Scotland’s ‘Granite City’ for many decades to come. “When we are faced with matching budget and performance Nexo is our brand of choice” reports CLS owner Charlie Flett. “Appearance and coverage were important considerations at the Tivoli, so we opted for drops of three Nexo Geo M10s on eithe
UK - Located in the heart of London’s West End, the Donmar Warehouse is a key player in the capital’s theatre scene. A 251-seat venue, the Donmar opened in 1977 and has since garnered a reputation for its diverse mix of productions, from musicals and plays to new works by leading writers. This not-for-profit theatre recently underwent a full refurbishment of its audio system. Leading the project were sound designers, Sound Quiet Time, and systems integrators, Stage Sound Services. The project was initiated with a clear brief in mind: to enhance and unify the sound system at the theatre whilst preserving the venue's character and intimacy. Working closely with the team at Sound Quiet Time, who have been responsible for audio management at the Donmar Warehouse for several years, Stage Sound Services collaborated to deliver a seamless integration of EM Acoustics loudspeaker
USA - Large indoor facilities can create a challenge for audio engineers, integrators and installers. These facilities typically have high ceilings, concrete, glass and ceramic tiles, high levels of noise, frequent echoes, low speech intelligibility and issues with moisture and humidity. With such poor acoustics and environmental issues, choosing and installing an audio system that can overcome these challenges can be very difficult. University of Tennessee – Chattanooga found this out first hand. “The Aquatics and Recreation Centre Pool utilised a portable PA system that the department used when needed,” said Ray Soldano, space design technician at University of Tennessee – Chattanooga. “When the Centre’s prior PA was first installed, the pool area was not included. So, when the system began to fail, this space was added so the PA could be heard throughout the e
Greece - Prolights illuminated the captivating cultural event Sky Above Elefsina held at the ship cemetery of the port of Fixia in Eleusis. This event marked the culmination of a series of events organised to celebrate Eleusis as the European Capital of Culture 2023. Eleusis, a significant industrial centre in the mid-20th century, focused its entire programming on the city's cultural revival, envisioning 130 projects and 436 events spread across more than 30 locations, incorporating the remnants of ancient industrialization. Sky Above Elefsina is an ambitious project that aimed to shed light on one of Eleusis' most debated sites from a social and environmental standpoint: the ship cemetery, known for the multitude of wrecks abandoned by shipowners over the years. The organisers requested a lighting installation capable of rejuvenating and transforming the naval cemete
France - Saïd M'Roumbaba, known by his stage name Soprano, emerged as a prominent rapper and musician in 1999 when he joined the rap group Psy 4 de la Rime. Their collective efforts yielded three albums between 2000 and 2009 before disbanding in 2010. Having become a successful solo artist in 2011, he has released seven full-length albums. In June last year, Soprano began the Chasseur d’Étoiles Tour for the promotion of his latest album Chasseurs d'étoiles. Live sound engineer Pascal Rossi, started working with Soprano in 2003, initially introduced the KLANG system during show rehearsals. Since then, the singer and his musicians have been fully utilising the German in-ear monitor specialist’s immersive in-ear mixing technology, using it throughout the tour and beyond. "I first started working with Soprano over two decades ago and began mixing monitors fo
USA - Ayrton Domino fixtures have hit the road with country music royalty accompanying Shania Twain on her Queen of Me global tour. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. “The show is themed around Shania’s new album, which also features a handful of her classic hits. Waking Up Dreaming is the opening song and best describes the theme of the show,” says Nashville-based André Petrus, the tour’s lighting director and console programmer. “It’s a journey through space on a rocket ship which crashes into Twain Town. The show is packed with 3D animations, including an LED floor that really gives every seat a good perspective.” The Queen of Me Tour will play some 80 dates throughout North America, the UK and Ireland this year. The best-selling female artist in country music history kicked off the tour in Spoka
Italy - The Marchionneschi Theatre in Pisa recently announced the installation of a new K-array sound system, part of a creative initiative to define a benchmark for audio quality in live performances. In an effort led by Antonio Aiazzi, a well-known Italian musician, the system upgrade is part of a wider project, aimed at transforming the space into a hub for musicians and reclaiming the Marchionneschi’s position as a cultural centre following the challenges posed by the pandemic. The Arte Residente project began at the end of 2021. Its aim was to revive the local theatre and encourage audiences back for live performances. Recognising the potential of this project, numerous companies, including K-array, decided to support the venue as it worked to set the standard for professional live audio. “When I leave a concert where I have heard good music and experienced it
UK - SLX has announced its partnership with Wilderkind, an organisation that is dedicated to accelerating nature recovery in Great Britain through rewilding. The collaboration aligns with SLX’s commitment to sustainability and to having a positive impact on the environment and local community. Founded in April 2023 Wilderkind collaborates with businesses in South West England to combat biodiversity loss, prevent ecosystem collapse, and foster climate resilience. SLX has been on a journey to evolve its business to become more sustainable and reduce its carbon footprint. Following the release of its Impact Report earlier this year, and the announcement of attaining a B-Corporation status, this new partnership exemplifies SLX's commitment to making a visible environmental impact and aligning with the core values of its B-Corp certification. Under the leadership of
Lithuania - After an eight-year hiatus, the Dinamitas hip-hop culture festival made a triumphant return to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Thousands of delighted fans enjoyed performances of their favourite artists and bands on five stages at the Loft Art Factory, the former electromagnetic device factory Elfa, located in the capital’s new town district. DiGiCo consoles were supplied for the event by Sonus Exsertus, DiGiCo's distributor for the Baltics and Georgia and local rental partner NGR Service, with an SD12 and S21 providing clear sound and workflow flexibility. Tomas Ždanovičius, sound system designer/engineer at Sonus Exsertus, who also worked as a system designer and sound engineer at the Outdoor stage during the festival, explains that DiGiCo was chosen for its renowned sound quality and workflow flexibility. “It meets every sound engineer's demands
Israel - Elad Cohen is a lighting designer based in Tel Aviv who has a zest for music, lights, and creative activities. Since the early days of his career as a club lighting operator, he has always been a big user and fan of Robe moving lights, and when one of his regular clients – renowned DJ Offer Nissim – recently headlined the Tel Aviv Pride Festival, he specified a large Robe rig including MegaPointes, Spiiders and Esprites. The festival, which celebrated all aspects of LGBTQ culture and life, was staged in Ganei Yehoshua Park in north Tel Aviv, and was the culmination of two days of one of the biggest events of the year in Israel. “We wanted to make a massive impact with the show and the whole performance,” explained Elad. The 72m-wide stage and set which featured substantial LED surfaces was designed by a creative team comprising the Rubi & Gal
Spain - Contrasting with the postmodernity of its theme, the recent stage interpretation of Nixon in China for the Teatro Real in Madrid presented a wonderfully traditional production. Adhering to the operatic principle of ‘clarification not amplification’, sound designer Cameron Crosby specified the ultimate pairing for high resolution object-based immersive audio, matching a TiMax SoundHub spatial audio engine with award-winning vocal tracking from TiMax TrackerD4, which delivered the locational coordinates of the principal performers in real-time. Teatro Real’s head of audio visual, Fernando Valiente Uceda, discussed the project and the specification in detail with Out Board’s Robin Whittaker at the ISE exhibition in Barcelona. With a full appreciation of the capabilities and benefits of using the end-to-end TiMax system, the allure was made real with a pos
Puerto Rico – Two Green Hippo Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers powered the visuals for multiple wraparound LED screens which formed the backdrop for this year’s televised Premios Tu Música Urbano. The Awards, which celebrate Latin Urban music, were broadcast live from Puerto Rico capital San Juan’s 18,000-capacity Choliseo and streamed live to fans worldwide on YouTube. Florida-based production house JMT Show Concepts was commissioned by Sora & Company, producer Soraya Sanchez, and the Telemundo TV network to create and provide all of the content visuals for the event. “Awards shows are very intense because you have to do content, show looks and programming in such a short time – for this project, it was just six days,” says Jorge Toro from JMT. “The magic of the new Boreal+ MK2 model is how fast that it is, with the 10G network connection to upl
UK - Latitude Festival offered a wide range of entertainment and interactive activities to its 45,000 audience, July 2023, with Serious Stages supporting the promoters, Festival Republic, with bespoke stages and site structures. The main stage Obelisk Arena, a Serious 22m, six-bay Supanova, adorned with Latitude branding and giant screens, hosted a varied line-up for the Common People with their New Shoes On, on the Green Green Grass of Latitude. There was more live music on a range of Serious staging platforms across the three-day festival, including the BBC Sounds Stage, The Alcove, The Sunrise Arena, the Lavish Lounge (BBC Introducing), The Faraway Forest and the Trailer Park Stage. With plenty of laughs to be had on the 26.5m x 6m Comedy tent stage. Operations manager Abbey Thomas reports, “The décor across the Latitude site creates an aesthetically beautiful fe
Singapore - A modern worship location which demands intelligibility throughout a large and unusually-shaped space to deliver the word, music and all elements of praise - the results of a blind listening test lead to the installation of an Outline system at Wesley Methodist Church. Wesley Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist church in Singapore, with its roots going back to 1885. To provide increased capacity for its ever-expanding ministry, the church has undertaken regular development programmes over many years, which have included improving the sanctuary, adding a four-storey educational block with a concert hall and basement car park, a new baptismal hall with basement rooms and Wesley Plaza. Completed in 2012, another project created a further 36,000sq.ft of usable space, including a new plaza hall on top of the sanctuary extension, additional seating and the c
UK - Henley Festival, known for its refinement and elegance, made a triumphant return this year, commemorating a significant milestone. RG Jones, the provider of sound systems, celebrated four decades of collaboration with the festival. The riverside location presented audio challenges, particularly with the Floating Stage. Overcoming the technical feat of achieving consistent audio coverage for both the audience inside and outside the auditorium, given the relatively short front-to-back distance and expansive space, RG Jones, under the guidance of designer Simon Honywill, tackled the challenge with the acclaimed MLA Compact system from Martin Audio. The advanced control technology of MLA enabled precise adjustments to meet licence conditions, ensuring optimal sound levels and minimising offsite noise. The festival showcased an extraordinary line-up featuring Rag'n'Bon
