USA - Overtime Elite (OTE) is a new basketball sports league that offers talented young basketball players a better pathway to becoming professional athletes. Their new 103,000sq.ft facility is where OTE’s players train, study and compete. The facility is outfitted with the Aero, Artec, HQ, UX, and CL series by DAS Audio. AG Production Services of Las Vegas was contracted to build and outfit the new OTE facility. Andrew Gumper, president and chief project manager, oversaw the operation of the project. “It was important to OTE management that in addition to being a cutting-edge sports facility, the venue be outfitted with the best audio reproduction equipment. This is because the announcements and other information must not only be suitable in terms of volume but also be clear and articulate. This led us to deploying DAS Audio”, Gumper explains. “The baske
USA - Alternative metal band Deftones, wrapped the North American leg of their OHMS tour, delivering a show that fans felt was worth waiting for. Lighting, production and set designer Jon Eddy used Claypaky RGB laser source Xtylos tight beam and Claypaky ReflectXion compact moving mirror to give a different look to the show. The six-week leg of the tour kicked off in Portland and included a setlist that spanned Deftones’ nine studio albums and three live debuts. Deftones released their album Ohms in 2020 along with a 20th-anniversary edition of White Pony and earned Grammy nominations for the songs Ohms and Genesis. The band is currently touring Europe playing a roster of festival dates. Eddy designed the band’s 2020 tour, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. He completely redesigned the new tour, putting the COVID lockdo
USA - Bandit Lites is providing the lighting for Jackson Browne’s Evening With full band 2022 tour which launched in June and runs through September, supporting his album Downhill From Everywhere. Lighting designer Greg Classen began working with Browne in 2021 during Browne’s tour with James Taylor. “For Jackson’s band tour, I knew that I needed a design with some depth that would showcase the music without distracting from his music,” explained Classen. “I decided I wanted something that would replicate the depth and movement of a video wall without actually having to carry one. “I knew that I needed a design with some depth that would showcase the music without distracting from his music,” explained Classen. “I decided I wanted something that would replicate the depth and movement of a video wall without actually having to carry one.”
Korea - Klang Studios, launched by mix engineer Jong-Pil Gu, produces mainly K-Pop music but occasionally joins forces with both hip-hop and R&B artists. It has also collaborated on songs for a TV series. His philosophy focuses on the process of “creative-collaboration” between the musicians, producers, and engineers working on a particular song and also having the ‘right gear’ and infrastructure – including Van Damme cables. Blue Series Studio Grade Multicore Cable was used for the equipment connected through the patch bay. For direct connection between equipment, XKE Microphone Cable and XKE Starquad Microphone Cable was selected. Digitour Series AES/EBU & DMX 110ohm Cable was utilised for AES/EBU or S/PDIF equipment. The project took three months to complete and was finished just before the global pandemic took hold. Working with Gearlounge,
Greece - The Desmond Child Rocks the Parthenon show took place in front of a 5,000-strong audience at the historic Roman amphitheatre of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens at the end of June. This massive ancient theatre, located on the slopes of the Acropolis, has a history going back over 2,000 years and has hosted many artists who have played against its magnificent backdrop. Lighting designer George Tellos and his team from Lighting Art in Athens created the lighting design for this evening of rock music that celebrated the songs of Desmond Child. Guest artists included Alice Cooper, Bonnie Tyler, Rita Wilson, Sakis Rouvas and The Rasmus, as well as Lena Hall, Kip Winger, Chris Willis, Tabitha Fair, Justin Benlolo and Andreas Carlsson. “Our work became even more important when we realised that we need to visualise these awesome songs like
UK - Electronic music pioneer and innovator Gary Numan is on the road again showcasing his topical climate crisis highlighting studio album Intruder – his 19th – which dropped in 2021, combined with back catalogue material. The UK leg of the tour featured a performance at Wembley Arena in London for which lighting designer Dustin Snyder used large quantities of Robe MegaPointes and LEDBeam 150s together with other lights supplied by rental specialist, Siyan. Dustin has been working with the artist since 2014. The Intruder tour started in the US with Dustin taking the three fractured lines of face paint from the album artwork as a creative starting point, which translated into columns of asymmetric and fragmented video panels onstage. The UK tour was designed around Wembley being the largest gig, which was also a DVD record, and to be scalable to fit i
UK - With artistes ranging from the Rolling Stones to Elton John and the Eagles gracing the new d stage and fascia at this year’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park the quality of sound needed to raise the bar at AEG Live’s flagship event. Martin Audio rental partners Capital Sound (part of the Solotech group) have been the exclusive suppliers of the manufacturer’s MLA since the event’s inception in 2013, and were able to respond by providing enhanced site coverage. This year, with its expansion across three weekends, the event broke all records, selling 530,000 tickets across the nine shows. Taking note of the additional 5m height gain of Star Group’s new Titan stage (which now reaches 19m off the ground), Solotech extended the two main PA and side-fill hangs and streamlined the 11 delay towers, introducing their recently acquired WPL scalable line arra
Italy - In May 1972, two young, emerging folk singers got together in Rome to record Theorius Campus. Although the album had only limited success, the raw talent of Antonelli Venditti and Francesco de Gregori left an impression on all who heard it. Great things were predicted for both singers, and great things they achieved in Italy and beyond, but not together. The two parted ways shortly after that initial recording, never to appear on the same stage again, until this June when, a half century after their joint debut, the pair began an Italian tour with two shows at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. Celebrating the emotional power of this reunion, while also reflecting the different styles and personalities that the two stars have developed over the years, was an expansive and multi-faceted Massimo Tomasino lighting design that featured 34 Chauvet Professional Maveric
Denmark - The 50th presentation of Northern Europe’s largest and longest-running music festival, Roskilde Festival ran over eight days from 25 June through 2 July and featured more than 290 artists. Performers took to eight stages spaced throughout the sprawling festival grounds with headliners including Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Tyler, the Creator, The Strokes, Megan Thee Stallion, St. Vincent, and Haim, plus more than 130 diverse supporting acts including Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, H.E.R., Black Pumas, Kacey Musgraves, and CHVRCHES. Meyer Sound was the official sound partner for the event. “The sound at Roskilde Festival is essential for us to be able to create the communities and the perfect audience experience that we strive for at every festival,” explains Lars Liliengren, Roskilde Festival’s senior production manager. Nearly 1,000 Meyer Sound loudspea
USA - Although he’s kept up with the latest in lighting technology, John Garberson readily admits that at heart, he really likes old school looks with their big ACL specials, deep colours and dimming curves. In other words, good down-home traditional rock and roll lighting. The GM of Creative Backstage, Garberson got to see plenty of these big, in-your-face panoramas recently thanks to a rig he and his team created for Arizona Bike Week. Held this spring in West World of Scottsdale,AZ, the multi-attraction event drew some 70,000 bikers from throughout North America. Highlighting the event were the nightly concerts held at The Rock Yard, an indoor venue on the festival grounds, where the Creative BackStage rig got to roll out its thunderous looks for a line-up of rockers that included Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rob Zombie, and Social Distortion. Key to igniting these intense v
USA - LIT Lighting has added Elation Professional’s IP65 LED luminaire, Proteus Maximus, to inventory, an investment that allows the Tempe, Arizona-based production and rental house to effectively fill more riders and service larger shows and events. “We’re excited to have added a rider-friendly and large-show-friendly fixture like the Proteus Maximus to our inventory,” stated Chris LIT Brodman, founder and director of operations at LIT Lighting. “It’s exciting for us to have grown to this level, from a little company to now having the ability to service big shows. That achievement feels really amazing.” Brodman started in the entertainment technology industry when just a teen, supplying lighting, special effects, props and scenic decoration to the underground electronic music scene in and around Phoenix. After meeting and working for his mentor, John Ga
USA - Hundreds of thousands of people chose downtown Nashville to celebrate the Fourth of July as Broadway was transformed in a free concert event during Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th celebration. Bandit Lites provided lighting for two stages. The main stage on Broadway featured a headlining show from Old Dominion as well as 17 Nashville based artists performances as well as the Ascend Amphitheater where the Nashville Symphony Orchestra accompanied the largest firework show in Nashville's history. 40,000 pounds of explosives and 200 miles of wire became the longest firework show in the city's history when the display hit 31 minutes and 30 seconds. Production manager Chris Lisle entrusted Bandit Lites to supply the Broadway stage with more than 120 fixtures including Chauvet Rogue R2 Beams, Elation CuePix WW4 Blinders, Martin MAC Viper Profiles and
UK - Tramlines festival returns to Sheffield’s Hillsborough Park from 22-24 July 2022, delivered by independent production company Method Events This year’s event builds on the success of the award-winning Tramlines 2021, which was one of very few festivals to go ahead as a pilot event under the government’s Event Research Programme last year. For this year, the team at Method have planned a record-breaking event for 2022, which sold out its 50,000 capacity faster than ever before. The five-stage event will host a line up including headliners Sam Fender, Kasabian and Madness. As a Sheffield festival that is deeply rooted in the city, there is a continued effort to make use of as many local suppliers and staff as possible, ensuring the event continues to bring significant economic benefits to the wider community. Tramlines has donated £103,000 to 20 charit
The Netherlands - The production surrounding two shows at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena by Dutch rising star Davina Michelle featured an imaginative fusion of dance and rock ‘n’ roll. Artistic directors were Sophie and Sander Reneman from multidisciplinary, creative agency TWOFIFTYK and Marc Heinz who was asked to design lighting. Marc is well known for this international theatrical and opera work as well as his high-impact light shows for DJ Armin van Buuren. For these showcase performances he specified nearly 300 Robe moving lights to bring flexibility, impact, and drama to the stage, on which he worked closely with assistant lighting designer, Jordy Veenstra and Koen van Elderen. The set concept was based on perceptions of space and proximity. To make it simultaneously intimate and visually striking in the large arena, a custom 10 x 7m glass riser was installed as a
UK - Truck Festival, the Oxfordshire-based music festival founded in 1998, returns to Hill Farm from 22-24 July 2022. This year, the festival features a number of new elements. It is also supporting UN Women UK’s #SafeSpacesNow campaign to tackle harassment and ensure all who attend have a safe, inclusive experience. Truck Festival’s alignment with the #SafeSpacesNow campaign will see increased welfare provisions on site, including ‘guardian angels’ offering support to attendees, and training for festival staff to respond appropriately to sexual harassment. UN Women UK will have a safe space set up on site which will provide advice, support and information to anyone who needs it. The festival has also published the Truck Ethos, a code of conduct that encourages attendees to “look out for each other, respect each other, look after our home, and go at you
USA -When the Hawaii theatre opened its curtains in the heart of Hollywood in 1940, it offered a different experience. The theatre had seating for over 1,100, a large lobby and lounge, retail shops, a children’s nursery, and much more. The Hawaii theatre was famous for its "erupting" volcanos of light on each side of the screen signalling the start of a movie. For more than 20 years, the theatre personified the Golden Age of Hollywood. Today, Salvation Army Hollywood - with the help of fellow Southern-California company Renkus-Heinz - is bringing a new vision for the theatre to life. The Hollywood Corps of the Salvation Army Hollywood purchased the theatre in 1963 and converted it into a multi-use community centre. Faced today with an alarming growth of homelessness in Hollywood, the organisation was looking for new ways to generate more resources and provide hope wi
USA - Corey Easterbrook likes to go with the flow, whether it’s busking light shows or jumping on new, unexpected opportunities. The owner of Hot House AV has done both during the past 18 months by running a steady series of one-offs by pop/rockers Neon Trees. Coming out of the COVID lockdown, The Billboard Music Award winning quartet was in need of a LD to work the festival shows they had lined up. There was one overriding criteria they had in mind: whoever they brought on board had to be comfortable busking big, bold looks without a lot of repetition – or prep time. This ultimately led them, in round about fashion, to Easterbrook and his ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console. “My good friend Myles Mangino learned what Neon Trees was looking for, and recommended me,” said Easterbrook. “We haven’t looked back since. It’s been a blast for me, doing about a show with
USA - Producers Robert and Elizabeth Muren brought their musical production, David: The King of Jerusalem, back to the Auditorium at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, CO. The musical was enhanced with a lighting rig of High End Systems fixtures. The lighting was designed by John Tabor of Zebra Productions, who utilised a dozen SolaSpot 1000, 18 SolaHyBeam 1000, 8 SolaWash 37, and four SolaWash 2000, controlled by a full size Hog 4 console. Based in Colorado Springs, Zebra Productions is a full service lighting production company, providing gear and support for concerts and festivals, corporate events, and Christian conferences. Assisting Tabor on this annual musical were programmer Santiago Del Valle Garces and lighting technicians Dustin Russel, Sierra Molina, and Jim Baumann. Tabor comment, “I’m a big fan of High End Systems gear. We’ve had the 1000
Austrralia - The Showroom at Twin Towns Resorts in the town of Tweed Heads, New South Wales lies on the border with Queensland’s Gold Coast suburb of Coolangatta, where revellers can celebrate the turn of the New Year twice in one night, simply by crossing the street to a new time zone. For decades, the 1,000-capacity Showroom’s location has made it a mainstay in the region’s live scene for vacationers from around Australia who come to enjoy the climate and the nightlife. The club’s entertainment programme in a typical week may include a stand-up comic, an annual general meeting, a tribute band, or a heavy metal show. When the pandemic hit, Twin Towns’ operations and production manager, Lachlan Donaldson harnessed the club’s downtime to upgrade its audio technology. With a reduced promotional and marketing budget after cancelling all the club's entertainmen
UK - Britannia Row Productions has provided a full audio package and crew for the Young Voices UK tour, which saw the world’s largest children’s choir visit arenas up and down Britain for multiple, packed-out shows. The tour featured an unconventional arena setup, with the stage positioned at the back of each room and the Young Voices choir taking the place of the audience. “It’s a very different kind of show in many ways,” says FOH engineer, Gavin Tempany. “Usually, the stars of an arena show are the band, but this time it’s the children in the choir, who are singing to a crowd of their parents. We have a different set of them each day too, so there are between 6,500 and 10,000 children and teachers coming in and out for their performances each night.” Given how damaging a long day of noise exposure could be for both the children and the crew,
USA - Michael Pagan designed and specified a new house lighting rig for Orangewood Church in Maitland, Florida, and used Elation’s energy-efficient Colour Pendant downlight to improve light quality while opening up for a number of new creative options. The Presbyterian church in Orange County is affiliated with Orangewood Christian School and both church and school share a number of facilities, including a gymnasium, which, on Sundays, doubles as a sanctuary. The space housed an older system of incandescent lights originally designed to light sports and other school activities, a setup that proved increasingly unsatisfactory for the church’s needs. Pagan, an independent lighting designer, works at the church part time programming lighting for Sunday services and events. He comments, “The coverage from the incandescent lights was really dark and blotchy througho
UK - TV, broadcast and event lighting rental specialists, Version 2, supplied the moving lights, control, cabling and power distribution infrastructure for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Party at the Palace, catering for the needs of all four stages and the audience areas, including the Royal Box, which had been built in front of Buckingham Palace. One of the main highlights of the four days of Jubilee celebrations, the Party at the Palace, took place on the evening and night-time of Saturday 4 June 2022. The two-and-a-half-hour event attracted a global audience of 13.4m viewers, with an array of technology, and programme of classic performances that began with Queen and ended with Diana Ross. Produced by BBC Studio Events, and with a multi-stage design by Stufish, the set featured four stages: the Pop Stage and Orchestra Stage which flanked the Palace gates; the Pala
Malaysia - Robert Juliat has announced that the Zepp series of venues in Asia has invested in more RJ fixtures with the addition of six RJ Oz 600W LED followspots delivered to the new Zepp Kuala Lumpur. The Oz fixtures were specified by Yukiteru Hayashi of Sogo Butai, and supplied by Total Solution Marketing Pte, RJ’s partner for Malaysia. Zepp Kuala Lumpur is a multi-purpose venue with a seating capacity of 2,414 which hosts concerts, comedy shows, musicals, drama and seminars. The RJ Oz followspots were selected as the best fixture to meet the varied demands of the venue’s requirements and the types of show Zepp KL puts on. “The flexible features of RJ fixtures will be highly appreciated by our followspot operators,” says Arnan Rahman, Senior Manager for Zepp KL. “I cannot wait to see what wonderful stages they will accomplish in different scenes wit
UK - At this year’s Glastonbury, ChamSys consoles were widely deployed across the festival’s various stages. The MagicQ MQ 500M Stadium, which was introduced during the pandemic in 2020, was the house desk at seven stages, including the Park Stage, (supplied by SWG Events), where Ed Warren used it to run Four Tet’s headline show, and the Acoustic Stage (supplied by Fineline Lighting), where Patrick Sollitt relied on its seamless cloning and morphing to make last minute changes for headliners Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott. SWG Events and Fineline Lighting also provided ChamSys consoles for many other Glastonbury stages. The MagicQ MQ500M was used to support more than just music acts. At the Circus Big Top stage, James Loudon relied on the console to run 14-hours of pre-programmed shows for 30 different acts every day of the festival with to-the-minute precision.
