Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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USA - The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) brand is a global behemoth, with loyal fans in over one billion households throughout 180 countries. That’s largely because its events are among the most electrifying experiences in live entertainment, taking over the biggest and best-known sporting venues the world over and packing them to capacity on a weekly basis.

On occasion, WWE brings private events home to its new Stamford, Connecticut-based corporate headquarters, where it seeks to deliver the energy and excitement of a sold-out stadium bout at its sunlit atrium for a few hundred select invitees. That’s why the world leader in sports entertainment called in the team at OSA International to design and install a PK Sound T10 robotic line array system for the space. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive North American distributor of PK Sound products.

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USA - Bandit Lites is supporting country music rising star Megan Moroney, who was recently named New Female Artist of the year at the 59th ACM Awards.

Bandit Lites founder Michael T. Strickland witnessed the raw potential and passion for music early in Moroney’s career saying, “I first saw Megan when she was just out of college and was not even a club act. After one show, you knew she had it. There are very few entertainers that have that magical combination of talent, songwriting, charm and charisma and they instantly draw you into their soul.”

Lighting designer Tim Keller crafted a supplemental package that would meet the size limitations of the truck pack, utilising Martin MAC Vipers and Cyc FX fixtures. With venue sizes ranging from intimate theatres to massive stadiums, simplicity has been the key to consistency.

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Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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USA - Before heading out on the road with Metallica for the M72 World Tour, live sound monitor engineers and technicians Mike ‘Mic’ Bollella and Robert ‘Bob’ Cowan looked to expand the band’s RF coverage with a full-spectrum solution that could be used worldwide.

Bollella and Cowan continually look for solutions that provide the best live experiences for artists and fans alike. To achieve this for the M72 tour, which is performed in the round, Bollella and Cowan worked with RF tech Stacey Handley to select Wisycom MTK982 Dual Wideband Transmitters.

“We needed to expand on the RF spectrum that we could use, and we also needed a solid RF-over-fibre system,” explains Bollella, who first discovered Wisycom through colleagues in the industry. “We came to the realisation that the Wisycom gear was really the next step forwa

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Canada - The team at Onedot designed the lighting rig for Fuego Fuego, Canada’s largest Latin Music festival.

Held at Montreal’s Parc Olympique, the two-day event featured an impressive list of stars, including Maluma and Rauw Alejandro. The Onedot team’s goal was to put together a rig that was versatile enough to express the style of each artist. To do so, they had to summon their creative powers to overcome the limitations posed by their stage.

“The stage brought a good deal of challenges regarding limited rigging loads, rigging trims and wind bracing,” said Jean-Sebastien Guilmette of Onedot. “With a total trim height of 28ft, we had to be very conscious of every inch of the stage, and needed to ensure that small details were taken into account.”

Original thinking helped Guilmette and lighting director Louis-Xavier Bonneau co

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Slovenia - The Lent Festival in Maribor (21-29 June) is the largest open-air festival in Slovenia and, each year, attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the former European Capital of Culture. National and international artists from all musical genres perform on the large and small stages, which are strewn about the city centre.

In order to cover the stylistic diversity in terms of event technology, the organisers - together with the numerous local service providers - once again relied on a wide range of Cameo lights and a Maila array system from LD Systems.

Top stars of the Slovenian and national music scene, including Magnifico and the vocal group Perpetuum Jazzile, performed on the Main Stage in the centre of Maribor. Lighting designer Matevz Giganovič relied on an almost identical setup to the previous year: Opus X Profile, Opus H5 IP65 beam-

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France - Those who watched the Paris Olympics on Eurosport had their experience enriched by some extraordinary behind-the-scenes breakthroughs at the Warner Bros network’s studios.

Recently remodelled, the three Eurosport studios in Boulogne that broadcast coverage of the Paris Olympics employ the latest in TV technology. Designed and installed by Arkrys, working with Georges Krystkowiak (director of photography) and Baptiste Arnaud-Benaïs (gaffer), along with the TD of Eurosport France, Florent Marquer, the fully automated studios aired coverage throughout the Olympic sites with 10 commentary positions embedded in a virtual setting.

Controlling the lighting setups at the studios were the ChamSys MQ250M Stadium console, along with two GeNetix 10Scene Gateways and two 10Scene Wall Plates. The performance of the ChamSys products made the transition

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USA - When veteran lighting designer Tom Kenny was called on to light a reimagined NHL Draft at the Las Vegas Sphere - the first live TV broadcast from the venue - he chose multi-dynamic Pulse Panel FX lights from Elation to back the all-important look.  

Evolving from a traditional convention-style draft to a 21st century show at arguably the most talked about venue in the US, the NHL dazzled players and fans 28-29 June with a visually striking broadcast.

“The NHL Draft at the Sphere was just amazing and out of this world,” Kenny enthused. “This was really a historical show and we needed a modern look for this new way to hold a draft. I knew I wanted something that was epic and futuristic looking in that main television shot, and even though you’re up against the biggest backlight in the world with its amazing content, the Pulse looked bea

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Japan - The Shiki Theatre Company has been part of Japan’s entertainment scene since 1953 and has become one of the world’s largest theatre groups with 1,400 actors and team members. Sennheiser Japan has been a partner to the Shiki Theatre Company for many years. In the beginning, all their theatres were equipped with a combination of analogue Sennheiser 3000 series wireless receivers and 5000 series transmitters. After recognising the significant advantages of the Digital 6000 series, Shiki upgraded to the new audio system a few years ago.

Mr. Kaname Morishita from the sound and music department of the Shiki Theatre Company talks about how the new digital system got introduced: “The major turning point was a sound designer in the US implementing the Digital 6000 series when we were preparing to stage new international programmes at Shiki. For internat

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USA - Newark Airport’s new Terminal A is now open. The one million square foot facility with 33 gates represents the largest single investment in New Jersey in the Port Authority’s history. The terminal boasts 21st-century technology, inspiring public art, world-renowned retailers, and locally inspired concessions.

Complementing the public art programme is an immersive digital journey that captivates passengers with the Garden State's renowned landmarks, art, and innovations through a series of permanent large-scale multimedia installations designed to prioritise the New Jersey sense of place that is distinct to the aesthetic and design of Terminal A.

Completed in 2023, Newark's Terminal A now joins LaGuardia's Terminal B as the only two airport terminals in North America awarded the highest Skytrax rating. The terminal served 15m passengers in i

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China - Wilbur (Will) Pan, a Taiwanese American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and entrepreneur, embarked on his 2024 Mad Love World Tour with the help of MaxTeam, one of the largest pop music performance service teams in China, and Chinese AV solutions provider EZPro, which provided the professional PA equipment at a variety of locations including Qingdao, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanchang, Hefei, Xi'an and Chengdu. This PA package included EAW ADAPTive Anya arrays and Otto subwoofers.

The Mad Love Tour kicked off earlier this year in Hangzhou, China at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Indoor Stadium, with a total of 24 EAW Anya enclosures (12 on each side) as the main PA system. The speakers were flown to a trim height of 13m, but easily covered the near and far seating using EAW’s Resolution 2 software to dictate st

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UK/Paris - A UK-based lighting and events company has defied the odds to become Europe’s leading sporting broadcast lighting business as an Official Supporter of Broadcast Lighting and Rigging for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, despite challenges faced from Brexit and the pandemic. 

SLX provided its services to light up 29 outer Paris venues, including the specially built Aquatics Centre throughout the duration of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Such is the scope of this project, SLX has had a dedicated team of 30 people working on the ground in Paris for the last 12 months. It has also opened a 25,000sq.ft space, equivalent to the size of two Olympic swimming pools, to store and supply the multiple venues with lighting, equipment, rigging and cabling to ensure competitors, spectators and media have the best visibility no matter the t

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Poland - Founded over 15 years ago, I Am Music is a trusted supplier of audio, lighting and AV technology to the Polish events sector, and has worked with most major stars in the Polish music scene. The company recently made the decision to make a significant investment in its audio inventory and chose to add a Coda Audio system, supplied by Coda’s Polish distributor Tommex.
I Am Music purchased a system based on Coda Audio’s flagship AiRAY line array (16 units) supplemented by ViRAY (12 units) and SCP-F subs (12 units), complemented by two Linus T-Rack (12-channel touring rack with 3 x Linus 14D amplifiers) and a Linus M-Rack (compact four-channel touring rack with a single Linus14D amplifier). A further 4 x HOPS8T (high output point source) and Linus 12C amplifier provide excellent system expansion, completing a comprehensive solution that can cater for e

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China/Germany - Interest in the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2024) extended far beyond the borders of Europe. Beijing-based programme organisers Hologram Jasmine used Disguise’s virtual production capabilities for CCTV’s Football Connections special telecast series spotlighting the tournament hosted by Germany on 14 June - 14 July.

Hologram Jasmine partnered with Disguise last year on live virtual production broadcasts related to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Building on that relationship and working with a tight production schedule, the Hologram Jasmine team used striking visual effects to attract young viewers for events such as Euro 2024’s opening ceremony, creating an immersive and vibrant atmosphere for the audience.

Powered by Disguise’s virtual

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USA - When The Muny, one of America’s most iconic outdoor venues, kicked off its 106th season, patrons were treated to an enhanced and immersive audio experience featuring brand-new Meyer Sound Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers, provided by Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company.

This state-of-the-art Panther system was specified by resident co-sound designers John Shivers and David Patridge, bringing their creative visions to life with unprecedented clarity and impact.

“Over the course of 10 years as resident co-sound designers at The Muny, John (Shivers) and I had made all of the possible improvements with the audio package we could think of,” says Patridge. “Thankfully, Masque Sound has been an amazing partner and has allowed us to improve loudspeakers, consoles, radios and

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Finland - Established in 2015 in the thriving city of Kuopio in Central Finland, Lumit is the country’s premier performing arts school. In 2022, Lumit - now numbering around 600 students from across Finland - moved into a new, state-of-the-art building with high-tech facilities dedicated to the learning and practice of the performing arts. Earlier this year, the building witnessed a further upgrade, this time to its sound system with a range of Genelec smart active loudspeakers, which power the facility’s four music classrooms and studio.

Ville Heikkinen is a music lecturer and coordinator of the music studies department at Lumit, teaching band playing, music technology, music production, staging and lighting. He is responsible for the maintenance of these spaces and works closely with the school’s in-house AV engineer on the upkeep of the three stages

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Malta - Located in Malta’s nightlife capital, the Paceville district of St. Julian’s, The Playground is a well-established nightclub that specialises in techno and other genres of underground electronic dance music. The club has recently undergone a complete renovation of its audio and lighting system, carried out by local integration specialists FutureTech Pro. Designed to perfectly complement both venue layout and music policy, the new lighting system features ADJ’s Focus Beam LED automated luminaires, pixel-mapped Pixie Strip LED battens, and multi-functional Jolt Panel FX LED strobe/blinder/wash fixtures.

Located alongside the larger Sky Club, which also features an extensive inventory of ADJ fixtures installed by FutureTech Pro a few years ago, The Playground is an intimate venue that has been established in St. Julian’s for dec

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Australia - Specialising in bespoke audio solutions for unique functions, the team at Monitor City were recently entrusted with deploying and driving the audio for the 2024 St Kilda Film Festival launch night. Held within Melbourne’s iconic Astor Theatre, the event was said to be the festival’s largest opening night in recent memory. Monitor City chose cabinets from Nexo’s Geo M12 line array system, deployed with the aid of acoustic modelling software, to ensure the highest standards of sonic performance possible within the venue. Additional solutions from Nexo’s P+ Series and ID Series were used to provide fill and maintain complete coverage within the theatre.

Tasked with providing an audio system suited to both premium 3.1 channel playback for film, and sound reinforcement for speeches, Monitor City’s Daniel O’Callaghan explains that a careful

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South Africa - Within a stone’s throw of the Formula One Grand Prix circuit after which it was named, Ayrton’s laser-sourced IP65-rated Kyalami fixture was celebrated with a big South African launch party on 3 July at the Johannesburg premises of Planetworld, Ayrton’s South African distribution partner.

Over 80 guests attended from across the country, having flown in from as far afield as Cape Town and Durban, all of whom were gifted with Ayrton beanies and scarves to keep out the chill of a South African winter’s night. Representatives from rental and staging companies, houses of worship and lighting designers all gathered to discover more about Ayrton’s new fixture in a convivial and informal evening, which was themed to honour F1 racing driver, Ayrton Senna, the constant source of inspiration for Ayrton’s founder Yvan Péard.

Ayrton’

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Germany - The Friedrichstadt-Palast has been a leading hub for cultural and artistic excellence in the heart of Berlin, with a history that dates back to 1919. One of the largest and most prominent theatres in the capital, its latest production Falling | In Love is a fantasy tale filled with colour, exuberant costumes and an ensemble of 100 artists. Visual design and technology studio, Bright! played a pivotal role in enabling lighting and audio technology befitting such a grand production.

“The Friedrichstadt-Palast team were searching for a tracking solution that could manage both the sound and light tracking needs for their newest Grand Show Falling | In Love,” recalls Philip Neyses, head of the technical department at Bright! “This was the first time the theatre had considered a tracking solution.”

The key requirement wa

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UK - When Yes Events’ Tom Chennells became the first customer for the TT+ Audio GTX line array back in the spring, it was precisely with shows such as the Waddesdon Manor summer concerts that he had in mind.

The Victorian venue - a French Renaissance-style château in Buckinghamshire - provided the perfect backdrop for four nights of concerts featuring various tribute acts. Yes Events provided not only the premium sound, but the complete technical infrastructure, including lighting, video, all rigging and staging, barriers, as well as booking the acts, in what was a total turnkey operation.

TT+ Audio is from the home of Italian loudspeaker giant RCF, with whom Chennells has enjoyed a long relationship.

When GTX, the flagship of the new brand, was demoed earlier in the year he recognised that the smaller GTX 10 would be the perfect replaceme

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UK - Visitors to this year’s PLASA Show (1-3 September, Olympia London) can once again get up close to vintage technology used by iconic recording artists and theatre productions, courtesy of lighting designer and LSi journalist Rob Halliday, and Chris Hewitt of CH Vintage Audio.

In a special area of the show named after the popular, long-running LSi column, archive equipment will be showcased via a display of vintage consoles and fixtures. Additionally, a range of guest experts set to join Halliday and Hewitt on-stand throughout the event to share memories of tech-gone-by.

Kit set to be displayed includes:

  • The custom Cadac mixing console created for Starlight Express in 1984, which pioneered the computer-controlled VCA mixing approach followed by all theatre shows since.
  • The Strand Galaxy lighting console, which i

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Tunisia - Placed second in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Voilà, French singer-songwriter Barbara Pravi performed a special concert in the magnificent gardens of the Résidence de France Dar El Kamila in the La Marsa suburb of the Tunisian capital Tunis for the Franco-Tounsi festival on 12 July.

An all-Nexo sound system was deployed by Tunis-based event production specialists Sybel and comprised main left and right hangs of six each compact STM 2 x 8-inch line array elements with LF extension from ground-stacked STM B112 and S118 subs across the front of the stage. Nexo PS15s were deployed as out-fills with P15 cabinets from Nexo’s latest P+ Series point-source loudspeaker range used for font-fills and returns.

Two days later the Sybel team was in action again, this time with a Nexo Geo M system at the 14 July Nat

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USA - All-female Mexican vocal groups, Pandora and Flans recently undertook a 17-city theatre and arena tour of the US, mostly visiting the Southern States.

The Inesperado (‘Unexpected’) tour was supported by a large inventory of Martin Audio WPL line array, provided by New Mexico-based rental partner, High End-RG Productions. The high-energy show combined the two legendary groups in one spectacular event.

Martin Audio’s successful Wavefront Precision PA was deployed; 12 boxes per side for the group’s FOH sound engineer, Luis Quiñones. High End-RG Productions president, Enrique Ortiz, confirmed that the PA setup had been designed in collaboration with system engineer, Orlando Calzada, with the 12 SXH218 subwoofers set in an L/R cardioid configuration, six enclosures per side, providing the LF extension.

Responsible for outfi

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Hungary - In the Hungarian capital city of Budapest, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge has been given a new lease of life following extensive renovations and the introduction of a decorative lighting system controlled by solutions from Pharos Architectural Controls.

The bridge, which opened in 1849, crosses the Danube River and connects the western ‘Buda’ to the eastern ‘Pest’ parts of the city. The refurbishment works dealt with large areas of rust and deterioration, treating the painting and the railings. The structural elements of the bridge have also been replaced and repaired. Furthermore, the bridge will no longer allow for cars to pass over - instead, traffic is limited to taxis, buses, cyclists and pedestrians.

The improvement works have also seen the modernisation of the bridge’s lighting, with the replacement of 1,180 outdated luminaire

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  6. Onkel Willy's Hutte reaches new heights with Void
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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

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