UAE - The 2019 Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival staged at Dubai’s Media City Amphitheatre and presented by Mastercard included a star-studded line up, including Snow Patrol, Alicia Keys and Jamiroquai, which were lit with 72 x Robe MegaPointes and 48 x Spiiders - among other lights - supplied by lighting rental company MediaPro. Produced by Done Events, this was the first time MediaPro has been a technical supplier (lighting and video) for the festival. The event’s production design, incorporating both these disciplines plus set and scenics, was a vibrant collaboration between production designer Miguel Galvao and his assistant Andreas Malan from RAW Concepts working with MediaPro’s Harold Fernandes who was senior LD and set designer. The goal was to create the best possible audience experience by ensuring that the rig looked larger and more impressive than
Switzerland - ICF Mittelland, a non-denominational free church in Oftringen, has recently upgraded its audio system to a full KV2 system supplied by Swiss Pro AV and lighting specialists, Plusmusic AG. The church is housed in the Celebration Hall at the You Event Centre in Oftringen which offers space for 800 standing places or 350 seats, depending on the event. The highlight of the week is the Celebrations service for all age groups. It takes place every Sunday and is always a loud, cheerful and passionate occasion accompanied by a worship band. In August 2018 a new floor was laid in the Celebration Hall. The technical equipment including the audio system also required a complete upgrade. The biggest challenge was to provide optimal sound for a wide, yet not very deep hall. ICF Mittelland called on, Plusmusic AG, to help them with their audio requirements.
UK - Unusual Rigging has been brought on board to handle the rigging for All About Eve in London's West End. Currently enjoying a 14-week run at the Noel Coward Theatre, the production which has received positive reviews stars Gillian Anderson and Lily James. Production manager Anthony Newton comments: "The original plan was for Unusual to join the project and do all the rigging. This consisted of a U shape of walls which were to be dead-hung above the stage surrounding the central performance space." He continues: "Very late in the day, we changed this to a fully automated system that would allow for the walls to rise and fall several times during the performance. Luckily for us, Unusual's Simon Stone and his team aren't phased by such last minute changes. This was my first time working with them but their reputation is so great, I felt confident we were in sa
Chile - The 60th edition of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival was staged from 25 February to 1 March in the open-air Quinta Vergara Amphitheatre, with 500sq.m of Absen LED on stage to ensure the best possible fan experience. Considered ‘the largest Latin event in the world’, the festival has been held annually during the third week of February in Viña del Mar and is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America. This year, the five-day musical event featured both local and international artists including Felipe Abello, Wisin & Yandel, Becky G, Marc Anthony and Backstreet Boys. With more than 15,000 local spectators, the event has been broadcast live internationally on radio over the years, as well as on Chilean television. A total of six semi-circular LED screens, made up of Absen Polaris 3.9 and Absen D4V Outdoor, were assembled u
USA - As part of recent updates at FedExForum in Memphis, Bandit Lites, has installed a complement of Claypaky Axcor Beam 300 LED fixtures above the basketball court. FedExForum is home to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis men’s basketball team. “The intent was to provide the Grizzlies lighting designer with the tools to light more of the arena with new fixtures that were brighter, had larger feature sets and required less maintenance,” explains John Cameron Carter, installation service specialist at Bandit Lites. “With the new fixture install, FedExForum can have bigger and brighter looks for team player intros, timeouts and crowd hype.” The Axcor Beam 300s are the primary beam fixtures in the install. The LEDs are hung from two catwalks running the length of the basketball court. “Entertainment lighting has always relied o
USA - The Pell City Centre for Education and the Performing Arts (CEPA) is the cultural heart and soul of Pell City, Alabama, a mixed economy town and Birmingham suburb of over 13,000 residents. A little over a decade old, CEPA’s 400-seat theatre is used daily by the adjacent Pell City High School, the nearby middle school, several other Pell City-area schools, and numerous community groups. It hosts musicals, dramas, school band performances, concerts, and lectures, but until recently, its sound reinforcement system fell far short of complete coverage, leaving some one hundred seats in nothing but the diffuse sound field. Local AV integration and live sound production company Lost in Sound designed and installed a Danley-based system that now covers all of the seats with highly-intelligible sound. “Given all of the other constraints and challenges around the time
USA - The Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, OH is one of the most revered live entertainment venues in the US Midwest. A year after acquiring the operating rights to the storied space, concert giant AEG Presents unveiled the results of a sweeping $3m overhaul that, in addition to restorative work on some of its stunning interior architecture, included a new audio system from Adamson Systems Engineering for the 2,100-capacity Agora Theatre. Designed by Michigan’s Allen Audio Systems and sold and installed by Cleveland’s own Eighth Day Sound Systems, the Agora’s new solution is built around Adamson’s sub-compact S-Series and was one of the first to incorporate the S10n narrow-dispersion array enclosure. Allen Audio CEO Mark Allen was tasked with designing a state-of-the-art system that could comfortable handle any artist that might perform in the theatre w
Canada - KISS launched their farewell End of the Road world tour in Vancouver in late January and use a multitude of Elation DARTZ 360 effects as key visuals in the dynamic, multi-sensory show. More than 40 years on and KISS can still draw a crowd anywhere in the world with their crowd-pleasing hits and, undoubtedly, elaborate live show. “It’s simple, four-on-the-floor, rock ‘n’ roll music with heavy guitar rifs,” said production designer Sooner Routhier of the music’s continuing appeal. “As far as lighting, it requires an old school light show with simple cuing that accents the music but isn’t overly embellished.” Routhier co-production designed the show with Robert Long, who has been with KISS in various roles for over 20 years. Associate designer/show director is Ashley Zapar. Routhier and Long, who have served as production designer
France - APG’s versatile Uniline series lent its power and precision to the 20th anniversary edition of Raismes Fest, which is held every year in the town of Raismes near Valenciennes, in the North of France. The event has been organised by the Raismoise Association of Culture since 1998 and returned once again to the park of the Château de la Princesse d'Arenberg for another weekend of hard rock and metal. This year saw a variety of international acts such as Rose Tattoo, L.A. Guns and prog metal supergroup Sons Of Apollo bring a wall of noise to the festival’s dedicated fanbase. Established French rental supplier ACS Sonorisation has provided the festival’s full AVL and trussing package for the last 10 years - and enjoys a relationship with APG that spans 20. Whilst the audio requirements for Raismes Fest tend to stay the year-on-year; with the number o
UAE - The International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) opening ceremony took place in a 60m x 350m custom stage set built over a car park overlooked by a grandstand in Abu Dhabi. Protec delivered everything from the initial creative concept and narrative to the original set design, graphics, build, complete show delivery and coordination completely transporting the audience to an active ‘war zone’ where the story takes place. Engaged for the fourth consecutive time to create and produce this grand opening ceremony for IDEX, Protec pulled out all the stops to ensure that the 14th edition of IDEX was one to remember. The show began with a mix of local heritage performances followed by local and international military parades to welcome the crowd before the main part of the show. The scene was set for a battle enactment of a fictitious scenario where an el
UAE - MediaPro International LLC recently provided full technical production in Dubai for The Assembly: a Global Teacher Prize Concert, including lighting, audio, processing, backline and control. The event, which was held at the 15,000-capacity Dubai Media City Ampthitheatre, featured Little Mix, Rita Ora and Liam Payne, with Hugh Jackman as a special guest (along with Loren Allred). Lighting designer Marno Snyman specified a large number of PR Lighting fixtures in his complex rig, including 42 Phantom 440 and 16 PR XLED 3019. All were taken from the large MediaPro inventory that includes around 100 x PR Phantom 440; 60 x PR XR330 Beam; 60 x PR XLED 3019 and 30 x PR 4022. Explaining his choice Snyman, who doubled as the event’s lighting programmer and operator, said, “I chose them specifically for their features. Phantom 440 is a true hybrid, producing stron
UK - Old Barn Audio (OBA) has completed a large sound installation in a Cheltenham hotel complex, using a Martin Audio CDD solution. No 131 Hotel complex is owned and operated by The Lucky Onion Group, owned by Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton, and the extensive work was carried out in three separate stages. Situated on Cheltenham’s Promenade, the hotel itself is a classical Georgian townhouse. According to OBA director and project manager, Phil Clark, “The facility already had an effective sound system installed within the hotel, but the client wanted some weather resistant speakers situated outside the front of property.” His solution was to specify four Martin Audio CDD8-WR, the manufacturer’s weatherised version of the hugely popular CDD Coaxial Differential Dispersion range. At the same time, the former Crazy 8’s Bar - originally fitted by OBA in Septe
USA - When The Commodores appeared at the 39th annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, AZ, outside Phoenix in March, they didn’t disappoint, treating the large, appreciative crowd to an upbeat, free-flowing show that celebrated the full range of their music. Providing visual support was a Creative BackStage-supplied lightshow that reflected the many facets of the group’s sound by running through a rainbow of colours. “The Commodores team relied quite a bit on changing colours at this festival, not just to convey the festive mood of the event itself, but to change the atmosphere on stage in support of the music,” said John Garberson of Creative BackStage. “The Commodores’ LD did this for them, and we did the same for the other headliners, Flo Rida and Andy Grammer, as well as all the local bands. There was a lot of great music on stage, and we wanted to give each so
Australia - The biggest Transmission dance event to date – in terms of audience numbers and Robe moving lights – was staged at Sydney Showground in Australia, where thousands of fans absorbed the music of The Awakening plus visuals courtesy of lighting designer Bas Kemper and the Vision Impossible collective. Over 200 Robe moving lights - 78 x Pointes, 90 x MegaPointes, 10 x Spiiders, 20 x LEDBeam150s and 19 x BMFL Blades - on the rig ensured that this replicated the seminal moments of the Awakening cycle which started in the O2 Arena in Transmission’s ‘home’ city of Prague, Czech Republic last October and was another memorable visual extravaganza. Transmission’s originators, United Music, worked closely with local promoters Symbiotic, whose Janette Bishara and Richard McNeil understood the importance of recreating the defining spirit and esse
UK/USA - Rising British rock band Don Broco have finished a UK arena and club tour, and now head to the States. Dominating their stage production have been impression X4 Bar 20 LED battens from GLP, specified and programmed by Ben Inskip. Ben was asked to join the band’s team in 2017 when they announced a one-off show at Alexandra Palace to kick off their new album campaign, which at the time was the biggest full production show they had done. “Since then we have done shows of all shapes and sizes, but this arena tour was another big step up for them and a fitting end to the Technology album cycle,” says Ben. In keeping with the Technology name, the LD set out to give the shows a futuristic look throughout the cycle “using a lot of straight lines to create interesting shapes”. “The design evolved over many revisions to a point where I
UK - Colour Sound Experiment collaborated with lighting designer Miles Weaver as the lighting supplier for the intimate soul-y funk sounds of UK singer/ songwriter Nao, who has just completed the first UK and European leg of her Saturn tour following the release of her second album last autumn. The tour was project-managed for Colour Sound by Alex Ryan, who comments: “It’s the first time we’ve worked with Miles as a supplier and it was an excellent experience. His design was original and interesting, and it is always exciting to be involved with an LD and artist with a great future ahead.” Miles took a floor package on the tour, stepping up to a full rig for the London showcase at Brixton Academy. The floor package had to offer max versatility yet pack down into a trailer, so Miles chose 12 x Robe Spiider LED wash beams for this. He wanted to achi
Italy - There will be an opportunity to see and hear some of Italy’s leading DJs close up during Music Inside Rimini next month. They will discuss “the fascinating world of musical entertainment”. The event, dedicated to lighting, sound, visuals, integrated systems and broadcast, organised by Italian Exhibition Group takes place at the Rimini Expo Centre from 5-7 May. On Sunday 5 May, the DJ Zone, located in the expo’s Hall C6, will host a series of meetings such as Club Culture’s new venues, from clubs to festivals. The conference, promoted by MIR and SILB (Italian Dancehall Owners Syndicate) and organized by DOC Servizi, will attempt to explain the numerous facets of this trend. The guests will include organisers of events, such as the Nameless Music Festival, Ortigia Sound System Music Festival and Terraforma Festival. The session titled DJs and
Greece - Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, has established itself as a leading entertainment centre in the eastern Mediterranean with a thriving nightclub scene, a highly regarded film festival, popular theatres and a seemingly never-ending schedule of live music concerts. Indicative of the city’s current entertainment panache was the winter concert series at the Pyli A Performance Stage. A highlight of the series was a concert by multi-platinum contemporary Laïkó singer Antonis Remos. Supporting the star’s passionate performance was a majestic George Porros-designed lightshow that immersed the audience with a stunning display of 144 overhead light tubes. Suspended over almost the entire stage and extending out over the audience stage left and stage right, the tubes created an impressive image. Constantly morphing into different configurations as di
Europe - Tears for Fears are back on the road in style, kicking off 2019 with a sold-out UK and European arena tour for which lighting designer Alex Reardon, from LA-based creative design practice Silent House, delivered the lighting scheme. Alex utilised 66 x Robe MegaPointe moving lights as a key element of the rig - among other fixtures - to imagine a memorable looking and flexible lightshow as the band delighted enthusiastic audiences - original and new - and fans with their diverse catalogue and multiple hits. He positioned the multipurpose MegaPointes everywhere in the rig. Thirty - 10 each - were rigged on three overhead trusses, some were positioned upstage behind a row of LED video pixel battens, there were three per side on the deck for low-level cross lighting and another six in the air each side for high-level effects. He described the MegaPointe as
The Netherlands - With a change of frequencies to Europe’s 4G network, one of the oldest and most respected universities in the Netherlands needed help updating its audio equipment system. Utrecht University was the setting for an ambitious three-year audio installation of Shure equipment, with ULX-D Digital Wireless systems being deployed across three main areas: Utrecht Science Park/De Uithof, the University Quarter in the city centre of Utrecht and the International Campus Utrecht (ICU). With more than 29,000 students, 5,500 faculty and staff and 100 buildings – including 45 buildings used for educational purposes and lecture halls – updating the audio equipment to a digital system that delivered superb audio clarity, along with flexibility and ease of use was essential. Award-winning integrator JNV, with support from AV specialist distribution company O
South Africa - Semi Soet is a new music venue which opened its door in Centurion in 2018. The owners turned to DWR Distribution for their audio and lighting requirements and the effective solution included Quest loudspeakers, a DiGiCo console and Robe lighting. Jaco Beukes from DWR recommended four Quest HPI110 Compact High-definition loudspeakers and two Quest HPI18BP Bandpass 18” Subwoofers as the main audio system. “We had to install a system that would offer quality, and it certainly helped that Quest comes at a reasonable price,” said Beukes. The audio installation also included two Quest QM450A Lightweight Active 12" loudspeakers for the monitor requirements. The centre-fill and out-fills comprise of two Quest HPI111 Compact Hight-definition speakers. To cater for the audio upstairs, three HP15 5” High Output Loudspeakers were added. Semi Soet deci
Poland - The first half of The Stand-Up Show 2019 Tour took in the largest indoor venues across 13 major Polish cities, playing to sold-out crowds in every location. Audio production was provided by Poznań-based Gigant Sound Letus who did the initial dates with their Outline GTO C-12 system before introducing their newly-acquired Superfly rig mid-tour. Jakub Mikołajczak fulfilled the dual role of system technician and FOH sound engineer on the tour. He commented, “My first contact with the Outline Superfly system was during the BAJM tour in 2018. I was truly impressed with how powerful and great-sounding the Superfly was. “We changed the C-12 system to Superfly more or less in the middle of the tour and to be perfectly honest, very little changed in the quality of the sound despite the much smaller physical size of system. Coverage, dynamics, and tonality
Spain - Twenty-four Astera AX1 Pixel Tubes were utilised for one of 20 site-specific lighting installations created by individual artists for the first UMBRA Light Festival in Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain. The vibrant and highly multicultural historical capital city and seat of government of the Basque Autonomous Community in Alava, northern Spain, came alive for three days, offering creatives, visitors and lighting enthusiasts from all over Spain, Europe and much further afield a chance to redefine the city and see it in some new, exciting and reimagined urban contexts. UMBRA was organised by ARGIA 3 Asociación Cultural and curated by a new collective comprising Rafael Gallego, the principal of Aureolighting, Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea, founding partner of AGi Architects and stage lighting designer, light artist, and founder of Studio & Light Carlos Torrijos – three
Spain - The Bass Valley music academy is renowned for its first class music production facilities and has opened a ground floor nightclub called The Garage in Barcelona. The space was designed and built for sound lovers and Pioneer Pro Audio’s XY series was the chosen system. The Garage at the Bass Valley enjoys a four-point system with XY-3B three-way full range speakers either side of the stage, XY-2 mid-high speakers at the rear of the room and a trio of XY-218HS dual 18-inch horn-loaded subwoofers supplying powerful low-end. Using presets on the mixer, the club’s management can easily switch to a live gig configuration which uses only the boxes at the front. Local rental and installation company Moduspro Audiovisual Services was enlisted to find the answer. “We knew they wanted the best sound in town,” remembers CEO Jordi Buscà. “We were sure we could ac
