UK - The seventh annual Outcider Festival, a summer weekend event in Compton Martin in the West Country brought together a blend of over 30 different bands, artisans, food purveyors, and a generous selection of locally brewed scrumpy cider. Although the main stage setting was decidedly rustic (the festival took place on a farm), the lighting kit supporting the high-energy performances was strictly up-to-date, featuring Chauvet Professional LED fixtures supplied by BH Sound & Lighting Hire. James Marshall of BH joined with Finlay Wort in designing the lighting rig. Their focus in this collaboration was on versatility, as they knew they’d have to support a diverse mix of acts from polka punk act The Dreadnoughts and ska bands, to Sunday morning ’cider-obics’ and rock sing-alongs. “Fixture positioning and keeping plenty of options open on the console wer
France - Lighting designer Mathieu Cabanes discovered the new possibilities offered by Robert Juliat's latest 800W LED followspot, Arthur, on Les Folies Broadway, a large symphonic show performed this summer at the Domaine D'O in Montpellier. "I use Robert Juliat followspots very often. I particularly appreciate the artistic touch that a followspot can bring to a live show,” says Mathieu Cabanes. “New products and technologies are offered to us every year and I like to study these and their functions and make sure I use the right tool for each application. "I first used LED followspots on a Robert Wilson show in Indonesia, I La Galigo. They were Japanese models and the result was quite disappointing because the power was supposed to match a Robert Juliat Cyrano followspot, but in fact they were weaker than a Robert Juliat 710 profile with iris. The colour al
USA - Justin Kitchenman of Align Design Group is using some favourite Elation lights on five-time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan’s Proud To Be Right Here Tour scheduled through 16 October with 35+ shows. Kitchenman had just got the Cole Swindell Down To Earth tour design out the door when Covid hit in 2020, then spent a year working on livestreams and other smaller projects. When he got the call in April that long-time client Luke Bryan was planning a 2021 tour, he was understandably ecstatic. The LD, who has been designing for Bryan for a decade, had a design in place from last summer’s cancelled tour, a show he thought he’d never see realized. When the decision was made to pick up from where they left off in 2020, however, the design was back on the table. “I had come to terms last summer that that design was dead,” he said, “so I was thrilled when it
UK - Shure has announced that, in collaboration with Pro Audio Systems and PSA4AV, they have upgraded the microphone system at Lucky Voice’s Holborn karaoke venue, with the new to market SLXD Digital Wireless system. In 2019, Lucky Voice opened the doors to a new 5000ft venue in Holborn, which is home to 10 karaoke rooms and had a requirement for a minimum of 20 microphones. Supplied by Pro Audio Systems and installed by PSA4AV, Lucky Voice had a requirement for a high quality, wireless microphone system that was going to stand the test of time. Craig Walmsley, senior technician, PSA4AV states: “Lucky Voice have been previous users of Shure and we knew that was the only brand that was going to meet all the requirements of the brief. We were really pleased to be the first to get hold of the brand new SLXD Digital Wireless system, in partnership with Peter Butler at
USA - Partech Lighting recently completed an installation package of 12 High End Systems SolaSpot 3000 luminaires in the Andrew Brady ICON Music Centre, a new music venue on Cincinnati's riverfront. The venue features one main floor and two balcony levels overlooking the inside stage. Based in Cincinnati since 1988, Partech’s focus is entertainment lighting production as well as LED video walls, media servers, and related services. Their history with High End Systems goes back 30 years with use of products such as Intellabeam, Studio Spot and Studio Color, Cyberlight, and DL2s. They’ve also enjoyed a long and successful relationship with their client MEMI Music & Event Management Inc., supplying services for multiple venues throughout the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio areas. Partech developed a system specification for The Andrew Brady ICON Music Centre that the
Spain - Luis Ángel Rodríguez's latest business venture Shock Bilbao Club opened its doors in February 2021 in downtown Bilbao with music played through RCF TT+ Series speakers. Since the first conversation with Sonort Audiovisual, supplier of all the sound systems, Luis Angel Rodriguez asked for the best sound quality for his club. Ricardo Carus, founding partner of Sonort Audiovisual explains the design process. "Looking for clarity, uniformity, and sweetness, the only choice for us was RCF TT+ Series. We choose four units of TT 10-A for the dance floor combined with an HDL 12-AS subwoofer giving more power and range to the zone. For the bar zone and the restaurant area, we installed TT 052-A combined with a second HDL12-AS sub getting total coherence and equal timbral in the whole space." Carus continues, "For the processing and management of all the speaker system
USA - When the time came for Colorado’s St Andrew United Methodist Church to evaluate the effectiveness of its installed sound system, it encountered a problem that will be familiar to houses of worship all over the world. While the style of worship practised at the church had changed over the years to fully embrace musical celebration including live performances and playback, the aging sound system was no longer fit for purpose, having been originally designed for more traditional spoken word sermons. Determined to transform not just the sound quality but the overall experience of the congregation, the church’s leadership began the search for a solution. The new system needed to deliver audio quality and flexibility without requiring any major construction changes to the church itself - a challenge that was given to regional systems integrator Equalized Production
Namibia - Located amid the African bush not far from Namibia’s capital Windhoek lies The Midgard Country Estate, one of O&L Leisure’s retreats. The estate, self-described as “a paradise where the earth rises again, fertile and green” appeals to a variety of potential customers, possessing 46 newly decorated bedrooms, a bar, two swimming pools and a host of other leisure facilities. Midgard’s audio-visual technology required an update, ensuring that guests are entertained, and conferences run seamlessly. Stage Audio Works’ Namibian office was responsible for AV design and integration, most recently providing a comprehensive turnkey Audac-based distributed audio system for the restaurant and bar area. SAW Namibia has been involved with the Midgard Estate since 2020 when they were first called in to update the AV systems in Midgard’s conference venues.
UK - The Ford Ranger has been used in virtually every conceivable application since it first appeared in 1983, especially when modified into the more muscular ‘Ironhide’ variety. Now it can add another item to its list of incarnations: DJ stand. Capitalising on the growing popularity of this American vehicle in the UK (its sales there increased by 76-percent between 2015 and 2020), Welsh performer DJ Weekesey joined forces with ASG Audio Visual to shoot a promotional video from the back of a black modified Ranger Ironhide. Laying down the signature mixes that have made him one of the region’s top club artists, Weekesey put on a dynamic four-minute show, using the truck itself as a stand. “It was a 4.5- ton DJ booth,” says ASG’s director Scott Cooper. “The video not only served to highlight Weekesey’s talent, it also drew on the image of the Ironhide to
USA – One of the newest and brightest hubs for Houston’s performing arts scene, The Gordy, has equipped its three theatre spaces with stage lighting technology from Vari-Lite and Strand. Designed by architects Gensler and theatre consultants Charcoalblue, The Gordy is named for philanthropists Russell and Glenda Gordy, and home to performing arts producer Stages. Its three intimate theatre spaces - the 252-seat Sterling Stage, the 220-seat Lester and Sue Smith Stage, and the 134-seat Rochelle and Max Levit Stage - provide settings for a variety of live theatre experiences. “For lighting, flexibility was key, alongside quality of light output, a deep colour range and smooth dimming resolution,” said The Gordy’s technical director, Joel Burkholder, who chose over 300 Vari-Lite and Strand fixtures, including 200 tungsten-source SPX ellipsoidals. “We love
The Netherlands - Construction is underway and progress being made to build a new children’s transitional care unit in Amsterdam, showcasing how the AV community has come together to support the project with donations of product, time and services. In a joint venture between ISE, its co-owners CEDIA and AVIXA, and generous contributors from the industry, The Jeroen Pit House will be furnished with a state-of-the-art entertainment space for chronically ill children and their families to enjoy. The Jeroen Pit House, which is being built within the grounds of the Emma Children’s Hospital, will make the difficult transition from hospital to home easier, safer and steadier for chronically ill children and their families. Over 30 AV brands have committed to providing services and product for free to develop the media space, which will include a sensory room and home cin
France - Audio developer and manufacturer Amadeus has installed an immersive sound system for Le Préau, the National Drama Centre in Normandy-Vire. The newly-designed solution utilises a three-speaker ‘antenna’ system, controlled by the company’s Holophonix spatial sound processor, and offers much higher accuracy of sound localization for the audience in the theatre environment. Le Préau has a mission of artistic creation, dissemination of these creations in regional and national territories, and artist-in-residence programsme. The Centre has been directed by Lucie Berelowitsch since 1 January 2019. In France, National Drama Centers (NDCs) are emblematic institutions of the dramatic decentralization policy pursued by the State for 70 years - the first five centres were created between 1946 and 1952. “Le Préau is a place of creation and sharing, with a
USA - The final touches are being put on the new studio facilities at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Featuring a 24-channel Audient ASP8024-HE with Dual Layer Control (DLC) in its classroom-sized control room, Recording Studio 381 is a fully stocked, 96-track (64 analog, 32 Dante), surround-capable recording facility. When choosing the console for the Music Technology programme, assistant professor of music technology, Seth Shafer was determined that his students should have a fully-featured tracking and mixing experience. “They should have the opportunity to experience an analogue inline console with sufficient bus outs, plenty of auxiliary sends and a lot of insert options,” he explains. “On the other hand, the DLC control surface allows them to work in the box with convenient hands-on control.” During his extensive research, Seth discovered that Audie
UK - The high-profile owners of new £20m penthouse suites at London’s Battersea Power Station have been playing second fiddle to a breeding pair of peregrine falcons. As part of the Grade II-listed building’s £9bn regeneration project it was stipulated that a new tower had to be erected to replace the original chimneys, the natural habitat of these birds of prey who have been nesting there for 13 years. Martin Audio long-term partners Rossco was introduced to the project by Simon Woodward of Polar Bear Live at the inception. As an acoustics consultant and event technical provider, MD Ross Sharples has provided audio support since the original confirmation of the Malaysian Consortium bid back in 2013. “We are fully qualified when considering the impact of sound on the environment,” he said. And this includes the falcons’ wellbeing, where a 1-min calibr
UK - After many months of forced closure due to COVID restrictions, the Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT) has burst back onto the scene with Daniel Evans’s revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, South Pacific. CFT is one of the UK’s leading producing theatres, regularly selling out the 1300-seat auditorium and transferring plays and musicals into London’s West End. The Grade II listed venue recently underwent an extensive renovation project followed by by a comprehensive audio upgrade to an EM Acoustics sound system in 2019. This has since been upgraded again to feature EM Acoustics’ flagship award-winning R10 loudspeaker and the medium format HALO-B line array system. “It was all a bit piecemeal following the renovation, but having replaced our existing outer delay line with EM Acoustics EMS-61s and added EMS-51 front-fills, we wanted to upd
USA - It may well go down as one of the most moving live music moments never seen. At the conclusion of the We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, after a bountiful feast of big looks, New York’s own Paul Simon was to take the stage to sing The Boxer, lit only by a soft tungsten glow. It would have been a very special scene, notes Tom Kenny, lighting designer for the start-studded Central Park show, one that he, like some 80m TV viewers who tuned into the concert, would have loved to have seen had the show not been called off early due to lighting strikes associated with the approaching tropical storm Henri. In addition to cancelling Simon’s performance, the weather washed out appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Cynthia Erivo, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Maluma and The Killers among others. Still, there was much about the evening to celebrate. Over hal
The Netherlands - Schouwburg Kunstmin is a theatre and performing arts venue in the Dordrecht, which has invested in Robe’s T1 Profile LED moving lights. The sale - delivered by Robe’s Benelux distributor Controllux - was just before the pandemic shut down the industry in March 2020, and with re-opening now on the horizon, the theatre is looking to add more T1s to the inventory to replace their aging 2Ks on the FOH bridge with an LED source. Head of lighting Bart Meester and head of technical and facilities Martijn Lohuis were both involved in this latest Robe investment. Bart has been head of lighting at the venue for 15 years. It followed another set of T1s, LEDWash 300+s and LEDBeam 150s purchased in 2019 for M3, a fully flexible ‘bare floor’ performance space just up the road at Energiehuis, a reimagined old power station building now dedicated to cul
Czech Republic - AudioMaster CZ recently upgraded the historic Reduta Theatre in Brno with a Soundcraft Vi2000 digital mixing console to complement the existing Vi3000 mixing system. Originally constructed during the Renaissance, the Reduta Theatre is the oldest theatre building in Central Europe and has continuously hosted concerts and productions since 1620. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Béla Bartók and Thomas Adès are just a few names in the rich history of concerts that have been performed in the Reduta Theatre. In addition to dramatic performances and concerts ranging from jazz and classical to modern pop and rock, the Reduta Theatre hosts a wide range of events, such as TEDx conferences, Opera Europa conventions and corporate events. In 2016, the Reduta Theatre found itself in need of a new front-of-house console literally overnight when their previous analo
UK - As the theatre industry gets back to more regular working patterns, sound designer Ben Harrison has a Yamaha Rivage PM5 digital mixing system working 9 to 5 on a new touring production of the Dolly Parton musical. Playing in venues from Inverness to Southampton and Plymouth, the UK tour of 9 to 5 The Musical runs through until March 2022. It features a new Ben Harrison sound design. With an array of past credits - including Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Starlight Express, Evita, Fame, Hairspray, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Blood Brothers and many more - Ben’s choice of the Yamaha Rivage PM5 digital mixing system for this tour neatly brought his past and present together. He notes that everything he learned about digital mixing came from earlier experiences with Yamaha consoles, both the PM1D and PM5D-RH
USA - When Michael Garrison Associates (MGA) was contracted to upgrade the existing loudspeaker system for Abundant Church’s 3,600-seat main auditorium at its East Campus (AC-East) in El Paso, Texas, president/owner Michael Garrison and his team turned to Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) and its ADAPTive PA system. MGA and Abundant Church have a long working history, as they partnered together back in 2004-07 to design and install the original loudspeaker system for the then new AC-East facility. Ten years later, MGA was on the team to develop plans for a new “satellite” campus on the west side of El Paso, featuring an 1,800-seat main auditorium. The Abundant Church leadership wanted to “raise the bar” for this project, so MGA presented an option to employ EAW’s ADAPTive technology in a true “left, center, right” system, where each of the three arrays individuall
Italy - Riccione is known as the Green Pearl of the Adriatic on account of its tree-lined streets, parks and gardens. The town’s reputation for hospitality dates back to the thirties and it has been a trendsetter since, with clubs in the surrounding hills, beach and spa facilities and its famous main drag, Viale Ceccarini. The noted street recently hosted the opening of The Balena (The Whale) Lounge Bar by the Villa Delle Rose and Peter Pan group, a venue offering ‘a combination of taste, style and design’, in a strategic point once occupied by the Trussardi Boutique. An Outline loudspeaker system has been installed at the Balena. Marco Tiraferri explains on behalf of the group that manages the Villa delle Rose and Peter Pan clubs, “It’s not a disco in the town centre: we cater for a clientele aged from 25-30 upwards who want to pass an evening in a sty
UK - The CPL crew led by Lee Gruszeckyj were back working on a festival site again, providing video design and production for Camper Calling 2021 which took place over four days at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire during the UK’s August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival, organised by Jazz Events, was back with a lively musical megamix and additional fun and adventure. CPL working via Urban Audio Productions supplied a video equipment package comprising screens, cameras, and control. The last event was in 2019, and each year the production values and scale of Camper Calling are increased alongside the great attention to detail that ensures it retains its friendly boutique style. The big change up on the video front from 2019 was rigging the side stage IMAG screens in portrait format, a move suggested early in the design process by CPL to frame artist close-ups and
UK - East London art deco venue Troxy unveiled a substantial restoration project ahead of its 88th birthday on 11 September. The venue, which reopens this month with a series of events, including a gig with ska band The Specials on 25 September, has completed the first stages of an ambitious transformation project. The team has been working for over 12 months, to create a new stage, enabling larger productions, restored the foyer and entrance area and created new facilities for visitors to the venue. The project design has been led by historic building specialists Ian Chalk Architects with on site management by M Bradbrook Electrical Services. The owners of Troxy have invested heavily in the refurbishment with significant support from Arts Council England. The works have been championed by the Theatres Trust and Tower Hamlets Council, ensuring every element is in lin
UAE - AO Drones, part of the AO Creative stable of companies, launched a 600-strong fleet of drones inside Dubai’s 150m-high landmark Frame structure, for a campaign to announce the July unveiling of the UAE’s first Nike Jordan Concept store. The event was specifically designed to be filmed for a Nike Jordan digital and social campaign, with the 600 AO drones programmed to generate a four layered, three-dimensional, rotating facsimile of the Jordan ‘Jumpman’ logo. The logo then morphed into a fully scannable 3D QR code, enabling potential customers to discover more about the store. Owing to COVID restrictions in Dubai, the client could not make the show public, so the activation was designed to be filmed from the get-go. “The huge Dubai Frame provided a spectacular illuminated border for the Jumpman logo and QR Code,” says Marco Niedermeier, show prod
