USA - The Bowery Presents, which has built a club empire comprising venues throughout the northeast United States, took its name from perhaps the toughest street in New York history. Its club brands in the city include venerable Webster Hall, Brooklyn Steel - named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by Rolling Stone - and Terminal 5 in the trendy Hell’s Kitchen area. What all these venues have in common is high-fidelity sound, thanks to a variety of L-Acoustics loudspeakers in use at each site. Now, a bit of sonic DNA from each of these spaces has been injected into the newest member of The Bowery Presents squad, Racket NYC, which opened in January, in the Chelsea space once occupied by Highline Ballroom. There, a combination of new gear and repurposed L-Acoustics kit from those other four venues came together to let the 650-capacity Racket continue one
USA - When Mammoth WVH, the rock band formed by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, released their debut album in June 2021, their sound was hailed by critics as being, fresh, original and different. Around the same time, Pawns and Kings, the seventh LP from Alter Bridge was released, earning praise for its consistently thunderous metal power. Creating different looks for two distinctly different coheadliners, sharing the stage on a two-year, two-continent tour, can present a challenge for a lighting designer, but it is one that Westley Palmer relishes. “With the music from the two bands being so different stylistically, the lightshows differ greatly in timing and feel,” said Palmer. “At the same time, though, the two bands share a common vibe, which is why their tours have been so successful. My goal is to reflect the personality of each band, wh
USA - The Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is famous for offering its customers world class entertainment and unforgettable moments. Hosting one of the largest New Year’s Eve parties in the whole of Las Vegas is therefore anything but a standard affair, the goal being to creatively outdo last year’s party each time anew. Julie Palmisano and Keith Floyd have been the creative masterminds of the technical team and have led the charge for many years on the complex production. This year, BC Video Services had the opportunity to support them in designing and executing the highly anticipated 2023 Caesars Entertainment New Year’s Eve party. Brian Crow was invited to the team in order to help them bring their latest creative vision to life, by adding his extensive knowledge and experience of media server technology to the mix. The collaboration led to
USA - Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas has completed the renovation of its worship centre involving a stage remodel and lighting upgrade that marked the first major technology overhaul for the centre since its opening. Unlimited Visibility (UVLD) handled the renovation’s production and lighting design, which included the installation of 32 Ayrton Huracán LT LED luminaires designed for long-range applications and 50 Ayrton Eurus multi-function luminaires. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting products in North America. “Prestonwood was one of our first major Ayrton installations,” says UVLD lighting designer David Seitz, who teamed with UVLD lead designer Matt Webb on the project. “We had been looking at manufacturers with families of fixtures that we could use in venues big and small and which had similar looks across the
Europe - DJ BoBo is a phenomenon. After 30 years on stage and 15 studio albums behind him – many of them gold and platinum – the Swiss artist is still selling out major venues. In 2023 there will be another anniversary tour (which is already almost completely sold out) with Evolut30n. Starting in May, 56 GLP XDC1 IP Hybrid strobes will travel with him. The two-and-a-half-week tour rehearsals – including four advance preview shows – took place in January at Europark Rust. Here, lighting designer Thomas Gerdon had the opportunity to put his design through its paces. Explains Gerdon, “Everyone involved saw the rehearsal phase in Rust as a creative process. Ideas were brought along, but the specific design of the show developed in a collaborative manner during rehearsals. It was demanding, but it was a lot of fun." It is Gerdon’s first lighting design for
USA - After nearly eight years of regular visits on a rental basis, Meyer Sound Leopard compact line array loudspeakers have taken up permanent residence in the Silva Concert Hall of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon. The rental system was provided by locally based George Relles Sound, with Relles returning earlier this year as the integrator for the permanent installation. The new resident system made its debut in the 2,447-seat venue with a performance of Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) by the Eugene Concert Choir with composer Paul Winter as the featured soloist. One week later, the system supplied sound for a showing of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, with a live performance of the John Williams score by the Eugene Symphony. “Everything is going great with our new system,” says Hult Center general manager Jeff Weinkauf, “bu
Finland - To provide the Finnish production of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen with immersive lighting that elevated the show’s video elements, lighting designer Mikki Kunttu deployed a range of Martin MAC Series solutions. An epic story about a girl named Gerda saving her friend Kai from the influence of the titular character, The Snow Queen is one of Anderson’s most well-known and acclaimed fairy tales. The story was first published in 1844 and - like many of Anderson’s classic stories - has inspired countless adaptations including operas, musicals, ballets and even Disney’s 2013 film Frozen. In late 2022, Tampere-talo and Kantelinen Company reimagined the story as ballet on ice that utilised modern LED and video programming to immerse the audience into the world of The Snow Queen. Performed at the 13,455-seat Nokia Arena, the production r
UK - At first glance an inconspicuous cuboid venue, Lightroom presents a blank canvas set to host a varied programme of original creative content. The opening show DAVID HOCKNEY: BIGGER & CLOSER (not smaller and further away) is set to be the first in a series of exhibitions, created in collaboration with leading artists and innovators. The Hockney show features a specially created score written by American contemporary composer Nico Muhly and sound design by Olivier and Tony award-winning sound designer Gareth Fry. Lightroom’s sound system is supplied by Berlin-based pro audio company Holoplot’s revolutionary X1 Matrix Array and was installed by Creative Technology. Four and a half years in the making, Lightroom was conceived by award-winning design studio and production company, 59 Productions, and is a joint venture between them and London Theatre Com
France - Launched last summer, the multi award-winning Chasseurs de Tornades attraction at the Futuroscope theme park in Poitiers is a breathtaking 360-degree immersive experience that follows the adventures of a team of tornado hunters. The landmark project, which cost 21m euros to build, features the largest circular LED screen in Europe. Hollywood visual effects specialist, François-Xavier Aubague, directed and produced the media content, which is mixed with live action scenes. The new ride is experienced from a moving platform that rises, falls, tilts and turns with the action, accompanied throughout by L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology. Originally launched in the ‘90s to showcase futuristic technologies, Futuroscope has evolved into a technology-focussed theme park with rollercoasters, immersive rides and cinematic experiences. The newest a
Europe - Continuing their successful Music of the Spheres tour, Coldplay will embark on another long tour of stadiums around the world, starting this month. Since the FOH control package initial design and build in February 2021, followed by promo and the kick-off of the 2022 live season, DirectOut's audio solutions have ensured maximum flexibility and efficiency. In the process, four Prodigy.MP and one Prodigy.MC are once again playing their part in bringing the band's aspirations for a more sustainable tour production one step closer. “We have enjoyed a close working relationship with Alex (Hadji) Hadjigeorgiou and his colleagues for many years now. Almost all our products have already been used on previous Coldplay tours,” says DirectOut managing director Jan Ehrlich. “For us as a manufacturer, it is always special to see the tour push the envelope together wi
UK - The 2023 BRIT Awards, presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), were held on 11 February 2023 in recognition of the best in British musical talent. Airing on ITV to 3.3m viewers, and watched by thousands in the live audience, London’s 02 Arena hosted the 43rd edition of the BRIT Awards, an event which Britannia Row has worked across for many years. The company supplied a full DiGiCo control package, L-Acoustics PA sound system design, RF management and crew as managed by Britannia Row director, Lez Dwight and account executive Tom Brown. Continuing to facilitate a live sound placement for students from the BRIT School’s Production Arts course, Brit Row also enabled two students to get hands-on with the entire process of delivering a large-scale event. From the warehouse prep to load in and set up, the live performances, de-rig, venue load out and w
India - Reminded of somewhere you’ve been before? Deja Brew, an Indian restaurant and bar situated in the stylish district of M Block Market in Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi, demands attention with its instantly memorable name. Backed up with high quality food, a multitude of brews and five-star service to match, the location has quickly gained popularity. The venue is the brainchild of Naveen Sachdeva, the founder of Cherish Hospitality, along with Parth Chadha and Aashish Goyal. The trio has created a successful concept that is already a favourite spot for many, much like their popular brand, Ministry of Beer. In keeping with the upmarket feel of the new venue, Deja Brew required a compact, yet exceptional sound system to match. Genelec was chosen. With a full house, Deja Brew comfortably seats 80 people across two storeys, with seating areas distributed in small, i
UAE - The multi-million-dollar Firdaus Studio in Dubai opened its doors in early 2022. Van Damme’s distributor in Dubai, NMK Electronics, supplied Van Damme Tour Grade Classic XKE microphone cables, Blue Series Studio Grade speaker cables, Tourcat Cat 6 Single cables and Black Series Tour Grade UP-OFC Overall Braid Multicore as part of the build. Based at the Expo 2020 site, now called Expo City Dubai, Firdaus Studio is the only music studio in the region to be mentored by Grammy- and Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman, and Dubai’s only certified Dolby Atmos HE studio. Equipped with best-in-class audio equipment and in-house instruments, Firdaus Studio’s live room is able to accommodate and record up to 80 musicians at once (a full orchestra). This space is also the home of the Firdaus Orchestra and is where it practises and does most of its work.
USA - A high school senior at Fusion Academy Plano, Texas, Jacob Kaplan is also the lighting designer for NTPA (North Texas Performing Arts) Collegiate Pursuits, a troupe launched in fall 2022 to offer a bridge to the collegiate and professional theatre worlds via a quality performing arts education and staging family entertainment. NTPA is the largest youth theatre organisation in the country. Kaplan was thinking about what kind of lighting fixtures would help showcase the character of William Shakespeare as the rock star of his day in Collegiate Pursuits’ production of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy, Something Rotten!. He made student loaner inquiries to several lighting companies in the Dallas area, including Claypaky’s US partner located just blocks from North Texas Performing Arts. “I expected to get a ‘no’ or no response at all from my out
USA - Having sold more than 25m studio albums and over 100m singles globally, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Armando Christian Pérez - better known as Pitbull - earned his other stage name, Mr. Worldwide. As a relentless entertainer, that moniker is equally appropriate when it comes to the Miami native’s global touring schedule, which keeps the pop/rap artist’s calendar ultra-packed with performances, such as his latest 52-show Can’t Stop Us Now tour of North America. To ensure that Pitbull’s backing band, The Agents, are hearing themselves and each other in the most natural and beneficial way, monitor engineer Matt Holden recently added a DMI-KLANG card to his staple DiGiCo Quantum5 console. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Holden has served as Team Pitbull’s dedicated monitor engineer for the past eight years. However, Can’t Stop Us Now marke
South Africa - Pretoria-based Eventech has invested in 12 Kara II boxes and a further 26 Kara II Panflex upgrade kits. The company has also invested in eight L-Acoustics X12 monitors, all of which were purchased from DWR Distribution. “Our original L-Acoustics Kara investment was back in 2018 and it feels like an eternity ago,” says Wynand Veldsman from Eventech. “At that time, we had a fleet of ageing boxes that served us very well over the years, but as times changed and the focus shifted, we required lighter, smaller, high-performance boxes that could be set up with ease and not consume as much time as the older boxes did. “The luxury of having a few days for load-in was gone, and speed, quality and efficiency were key. After many months of considering our options and many product reviews, the announcement came that DWR would be the L- Acoustics agents in S
Europe - The game of darts has been enjoying a revival in recent years with fans packing large-capacity arenas for competitions and many more tuning in at home. German company Audio Werft Veranstaltungstechnik turns to Elation Professional KL Panel soft lights to provide game lighting at European darts tournaments across Europe. Audio Werft has been the technical service provider of Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) European tour and gala events for several years, which are broadcast in Germany via streaming service DAZN. For the current tour, the Audio Werft team employs KL Panel soft lights and the larger, even more powerful KL Panel XL to illuminate the on-stage action for both the live audience and television cameras. Six KL Panel XL fixtures are used in the front truss, approximately two and a half meters in front of the stage, with another four in a truss di
USA - Winter Jam, the Christian music tour, has returned to cities across America with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. This year’s line-up features Dove-award winning We the Kingdom, Jeremy Camp, Andy Mineo, Anne Wilson, Disciple, Austin French and Winter Jam founding members, NewSong. With a $15 ticket price sold at the door, Winter Jam seeks to include everyone who wants to attend and hear their message of hope. Production manager Jerry Holcomb and lighting designer Kurtis Wheat crafted a system that would give the range of artists the most bang for their buck, starting with the large LED surface upstage. “It is 76ft wide at the top and tiers down to 48ft wide at the bottom and is 32ft tall,” explained Holcomb. “We went through several scenarios and designs based on truck space and budget. One thing we all wanted and worked towards were the angl
UK - Oastlers School in Bradford is a specialist setting that provides support for children and young people who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The school takes an empathic approach and offers a number of therapeutic strategies that sit alongside its high-quality teaching. Music and music technology play an important role in Oastlers’ curriculum and are recognised as being vitally important in adding value to personal and social development, helping to to develop increased self-esteem, creativity and confidence. During a recent evaluation of its facilities, the school decided to overhaul its music room and an adjacent small hall to create a recording/rehearsal facility and a dedicated performance space. A key aim was to give learners the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience of working in a professional studio, including broadca
UK - The Cidermill Theatre is a new performing arts theatre owned and run by Chipping Camden School in Gloucestershire. Built to serve both the school and the wider Cotswold community, the £4m venue was opened in October 2022 at a launch event which featured actor Ben Miller and chart-topping singer Jennifer Paige, who performed a set including her international hit Crush. Centred on the Rockspring Auditorium (capacity 292 seated, 450 standing), the complex also includes a dance studio, black box studio, lounge area, rehearsal spaces, classroom, café and bar. The theatre enjoys a full range of professional facilities and is quickly developing an impressive programme of theatrical performances, live music, dance, cinema screenings and talks. An essential component of any modern, flexible performing arts centre is its audio provision, and the theatre consulted with sp
UK - The market town of Cirencester is home to one of the biggest parish churches in the country: St. John the Baptist, where community members find their home as soon as they step through the 12-century, cathedral-style doors. The church, while visually appealing, doesn’t come without acoustic challenges. Striking stained glass windows and wooden pews lining the space create ample opportunities for reverberation and muffled audio. To overcome these challenges, the church turned to Renkus-Heinz for the sound solution to fit its needs. Together with UK-based supplier CUK Group, Staffordshire-based event and installation specialist Novum Audio Visual worked to specify and install three Renkus-Heinz ICC36/3 column arrays from the US manufacturer’s Iconyx Compact line. As a result of Novum’s work, 12 unsightly box speakers were removed from the white limestone columns of
Australia - Powersoft’s new AES67-enabled amplifier platforms, including the enhanced A+ versions of its innovative, half-size Mezzo range, have made their global debut at the recently reopened Abercrombie hotel in Sydney. The Abercrombie, located in the inner-Sydney suburb of Chippendale, traces its roots back to 1843, when it opened as the Australian Inn. The current, art-deco building, on the old Carlton United Brewery site, was completed in 1938 and served as a much-loved watering hole and live entertainment venue until its closure in 2014. It was acquired by hospitality group Solotel in 2016 and reopened – two years late, as a result of Sydney’s on-off coronavirus lockdowns – with a 36-hour launch party in December 2022. The new-look Abercrombie comprises three venues: a ground-floor club space, public bar and beer garden; late-night cocktail lounge and ro
USA - Miley Cyrus returned to US screens recently for a massive live-broadcast party with a host of star guests. Taking place at Miami’s Telemundo Studios, it featured classic rock ‘n’ roll lighting effects mixed with a Miami club style setting, achieved using Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash luminaires from Signify. The DX7 Design team delivered the lighting design, specifying a series of the VL5LED Wash fixtures which were mostly rigged to the arches of the main scenic structure over the main stage. “This was our third TV show with Miley and on each one, she has opted for a more lighting-based design with almost no video,” explains Tom Sutherland, CEO and lead designer at DX7 Design. “She is a big fan of the more traditional lighting looks, which is why we had a large PAR wall as our background, as opposed to a video wall. Positioning the VL5LEDs on the arches real
Poland - A graduate of Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, sound director Tadeusz Mieczkowski has dedicated his career to not only understanding the art of music, but learning how to bring out the beautiful, natural sound of recorded instruments. Since 1984, he has been primarily recording acoustic instruments and large musical forms, such as oratories and symphonies, for classical and popular music, as well as film. With his current work, Mieczkowski has expanded into recording and mixing in Dolby Atmos, most recently capturing a live performance by trio Surreal Players and Mino Cinélu at the Nowa Miodowa concert hall. Mieczkowski started this immersive project as he does any: identifying the direction of the production. He spent time exploring the acoustics of the famed concert hall, which were designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, director and chief designer of
