Germany - 01099 are currently one of the most successful up-and-coming rap/hip-hop acts from Germany.
In 2021, the successful EP Dachfenster was released, and the following year the four musicians from Dresden (01099 is the postal code of Dresden Neustadt) produced the LP, Altbau. Recently, their almost completely sold-out tour, Schnelle Brille, came to an end.
Designer Felix Seidel developed a simple but very adaptable light and stage design for the 01099 tour, using the creative possibilities of the GLP JDC1 and impression X4 Bar 20.
In the spring of 2023, he first exchanged design ideas with the band and developed various ideas from them. “My goal was to design a stage that creates a unique and captivating atmosphere that immerses the audience in the musical universe of 01099,” he explains.
Ultimately, when building the set, he decided

Austria - The legendary Woodstock festival of 1969 remains etched in the annals of music history. Fast forward to today, and the Austrian Woodstock of Brass Music (WoB) pays homage to that event with a playful twist.
Held annually since 2011 in the town of Ort in Northern Austria, WoB has earned its reputation as the largest open-air brass band festival in Europe. Drawing inspiration from its American counterpart, this four-day extravaganza in late June welcomes over 80,000 music enthusiasts who revel in the performances of 130 bands, spanning traditional to contemporary brass music. Notably, since 2015, the festival's highlight has been the Ensemble Playing, a spectacle that unites a staggering 20,000 musicians.
Austrian recording studio tonzauber took care of the twinned main stage with its own recording / OB truck. The heart of the vehicle’s audio equipment is a

Switzerland - Held in Interlaken on the slopes of the Jungfrau, Unspunnen Festival is a celebration of Swiss traditional dress and culture. Featuring historic games, wrestling matches and traditional music, the festival attracts revellers from across the country.
In order to provide music and live commentary, a versatile audio configuration was required. Event technology provider, Stagepro Veranstaltungstechnik, consulted with local Wharfedale Pro distributor, Sacher Music, to select an appropriate system.
A solution based on Wharfedale Pro’s WLA-112 line-array loudspeakers was chosen, and the design of the system was undertaken in collaboration with Wharfedale Pro applications and solutions manager, Alex Lane. “The primary scope for the system was speech intelligibility and a predictable but even coverage of all seating areas,” explains Lane. “The main challen

Austria - When the director of this year's Linzer Klangwolke, Francesca Zambello, brought the internationally renowned Austrian lighting designer Manfred Nikitser onto the creative team as a specialist for the colossal lighting looks, it quickly became clear to them that the project would require lights of a special format. He found what he was looking for in the Proteus series from Elation Professional.
Organised by the Brucknerhaus Linz congress centre, the Linzer Klangwolke (Linz Cloud of Sound) is an open-air spectacle that attracts around 100,000 spectators each year to Danube Park in the town of Linz. This year, a moving, somewhat dystopian yet hopeful piece entitled Odyssey. A Journey Through Worlds was performed on 9 September. The odyssey, a little girl's journey on the river of life towards the source of renewal, literally took place on the waters of the Da

USA - So successful was the inaugural Iron Blossom Festival, in Richmond VA, that the organisers have already confirmed that it will be repeated next year.
Contributing to this success was the sound quality provided across the two stages by Soundworks of Virginia, and featuring Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision optimised line arrays. This ensured a quality experience for headliners, Hozier, Noah Kahan, and Lord Huron - and the rest of the artists performing.
The Bon Secours Training Centre provided the venue for the festival, organised in a joint venture by Charlottesville's Starr Hill Presents, Virginia Beach's IMGoing and Richmond's Haymaker Productions.
Working in conjunction with Haymaker Productions owner, Tom Beals Soundworks chose Martin Audio’s large-format WPL for main stage and WPC for the second stage - run in two-box resolution from Martin Audio

Germany - Paulus-Chormusical (The Choir Musical) by German church Evangeliums-Christen Gemeinde e.V is a project produced with only community resources for both its creative content and performance. With a limited budget, but challenging technical requirements, Markus Gorges of AV Support Nümbrecht, Germany, who acted as technical advisor and head of audio for the musical, recommended a combination of a DiGiCo S31+ and KLANG:vokal for the project’s monitoring requirements.
“In the end, 151 participants volunteered over two years to put together their own musical, in their free time, and that’s what makes this unique,” says Gorges. “In terms of numbers, 53 were choir singers, 11 musicians and 43 actors, and the rest did all the work around it.”
This was no small project. The show had to be performed five times in three different locations and,

Slovenia - The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) - the largest multi-sport event for young athletes aged 14 to 18 - came to Maribor, Slovenia’s second city this year.
Lighting designer Crt Birsa from design studio Blackout was asked to be part of a team creating a spectacular opening ceremony in Ljudski Vrt football stadium by show director Nejc Levstik, a project on which he worked closely with set designer Greta Godnič and nearly 200 Robe moving lights.
Crt and Greta are known for their design collaborations which always push the barriers of innovation and what is achievable. “I was extremely proud to be asked onboard,” commented Crt, “It is always interesting and exciting working with Greta and Nejc, and everyone involved wanted to deliver an outstanding show fitting to the occasion.”
Their biggest challenge was producing the show - complete w

The Netherlands - The Markt (town square) in Kerkrade - the home of ADJ Europe - recently witnessed a symphonic spectacle that blended music and light seamlessly, as The Maestro & the European Pop Orchestra hosted their annual open-air extravaganza.
Utilising more than 100 ADJ lighting products, the event, aptly named The Maestro & the European Pop Orchestra Open Air Kerkrade 2023, captured the hearts of attendees with an enchanting performance that intertwined contemporary pop melodies with the richness of classical compositions.
Behind the scenes, XYMIO Event-techniek, founded in 1992 by Paul Pelen, orchestrated a technical marvel encompassing lighting, LED screens, and audio.
Guido Dieteren, known as ‘The Maestro’, is a famous orchestra leader, violin soloist, arranger, and composer from Limburg in The Netherlands. His European Pop Orchestra perfo

USA - Metallica’s M72 world tour is playing to sell-out crowds across Europe and North America. The eight distinctive towers that lend a dramatic flair to the production came about when production designer, Dan Braun, had to find an alternative to his initial vision of creating tensegrity structures for the show.
“I have been interested in tensegrity sculpture for a while and was working on this concept for an indoor show,” said Braun, who has worked closely with lighting designer Rob Koenig on the production. “Our world changed when the tour went to stadiums in the round. My first thought was ‘we can’t do that.’ But after careful consideration, I said ‘why not?’”
Adapting to the necessity of working within the parameters of an outdoor 360-degree stage, the designers dropped plans for a tensegrity rig and combined “a study of proportion with param

Europe - Prolights Sunblast 3000FC illuminated Swedish singer Håkan Hellström's summer tour. Creative Technologies Sweden provided 32 of these fixtures, which powered a series of 15 shows nationwide.
The tour's lighting designer, Calle Brattberg comments: "I needed a punchy and bright strobe that could add both extra strobe effects and provide a fantastic wash with vivid colours.” Having previously used over 100 units of the Sunblast 3000 at Hellström's arena shows last year, Brattberg had full confidence in their capabilities.
Challenged by the unpredictable Swedish summer weather, notorious for its abrupt shifts in temperature and conditions, the Sunblast 3000 strobes showcased their resilience through their IP65 rating, consistently delivering. Calle Brattberg underlined their remarkable performance, emphasising their ability to shine flawlessly under ever-chan

France - With their first album Un air de rien certified triple platinum and more than 300m views on YouTube, Trois Cafés Gourmands is one of the most popular groups in France.
Last month, they brought their distinctive blend of traditional folk music and modern pop to a free concert in front of thousands of people at the Théatre de La Mer in Valras-Plage, on the main square next to the sea in the south of France.
A Nexo STM system owned by the commune of Valras-Plage remains installed at the summer events site and includes side-by-side suspensions of nine STM M28 line array elements with six STM B112 bass extension speakers, and STM S118 subs ground stacked at the front of the stage. Nexo ID24 speakers are used for front-fills and PS15s for out-fills.
The team from local company Decibel Event (equipment supplier for the city) was present to operate the

USA - Show designer Scott Holthaus of Happy Machine Design wanted “a big and bright fixture” for metal band Disturbed’s Take Back Your Life tour, and the Vari-Lite VL6500 Wash “checked all those boxes with flying colours”. The large format wash fixture from Vari-Lite, offered “a gigantic source of power” to the Disturbed show according to Holthaus, placed in a direct view position on stage where its high output stood out even against the pyrotechnics and other effects on stage.
“Lights have to compete with a thousand pounds of propane a show!” said Holthaus. “If the lights are not killer bright, leave them in the box.” The VL6500 Wash offers over 50,000 lumens of power, a large 14” aperture and distinctive Dichro*fusion blades, allowing it to stand out in the design. Ten VL6500 Washes were placed against the upstage wall, with four more hung in

China - An ultra-compact Pixera mini media server is punching above its weight at a new interactive exhibition focusing on the world's largest infrared space telescope.
Launched in July, Golden Eye on the Cosmos is a new permanent exhibition at the Hong Kong Space Museum spotlighting the innovative technologies and scientific goals of the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest infrared space telescope ever built. The exhibition features a model of the Webb telescope, along with projected displays of images captured by its cameras and exhibits demonstrating the science behind infrared astronomy.
As an exhibition that relies heavily on projected images and video, Golden Eye on the Cosmos required a media server solution that would ensure stable video playback and flexible projection mapping and geometric correction capabilities, explains Jason Yeung of Hong Kong-based s

Portugal - Nearly 40 Christie projectors and LCD displays brought Vogue’s Iconic Party to life, held in September in Lisbon to celebrate the magazine’s 20th anniversary in Portugal, with technical production by ADLC Audiovisuais.
The Vogue Iconic Party, attended by a host of local celebrities, aimed to honour all those who produce, buy, and support the publication. The concept of the party was to bring together everything that makes people want to go out in one space, from meeting friends, and movies, to art exhibitions, nightclubs, and bars.
The organisers recreated a small city divided into two streets in the warehouse of the Champalimaud Foundation in Lisbon. Each street had its own flavour: one inviting people to go out and the other to live more quietly.
Twenty-two different projections were made on screens, walls, and floors, and LCD displays were also

The Netherlands - Production and rental company For Live supplied lighting for multiple stages across five halls of Amsterdam’s RAI for the 2023 World Gymnaestrada – a quadrennial global non-competitive gymnastics extravaganza – organised by TIG Sports, with all-Robe moving lighting rigs installed in Halls 11 and 12 which were also utilised for special shows.
Three high-energy 1.5 hour gala presentations were staged in Hall 12, produced by Patricia Kok and Roxanne Wilders from Medialane, choreographed by Stanley Burleson, featuring some of the best gymnastic / acrobatic acts from 20 countries. Lighting for these shows – based on the theme of water – was designed by Henk-Jan van Beek from Netherlands-based design studio, Light-H-Art.
For Live took the opportunity to invest in 24 new Robe Esprites for the project that was organised and produced by their client

UK - For three nights this summer, Princess Gardens Park in Edinburgh, a 37-acre oasis of green in the middle of a downtown shopping district, took on the air of an EDM club as thousands of fans piled in to see stars like Kerri Chandler, Shanti Celeste, Mr. G, and DJ Boring, perform at the Fly Open Air Festival.
Setting an appropriately intense tone for the proceedings was a bright, bold, and fast moving 14-universe lightshow run by Steve McCracken on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium that featured a massive 40-meter-long EDM-club-worthy wall of light.
Working with a lighting design by Nick Jevons of NJ Designs, and fixtures supplied by LITE-UP Productions, McCracken, busked the entire weekend. He relied on the big wall to create chase sequences, intense colour washes, and other effects that transformed the park into an immersive club setting.
Like all such seemi

USA - The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley recently converted its elevated monorail track – closed for years – into the Treetop Trail, providing zoo visitors with a fresh perspective on the zoo’s natural environment. True North Consulting Group, headquartered in Waco, TX with a local office in Stillwater, MN, was hired to design a new security and distributed audio system for the trail, the latter incorporating 56 Electro-Voice EVID-S5.2X loudspeakers.
“Throughout the year, temperatures range from -25 to 115 degrees (F) with snow, ice, rain and sun – it was of extreme importance that we utilize loudspeakers that are designed to withstand the harsh weather environment in Minneapolis,” explains Jiggs Lee, technology consultant at True North Consulting Group. “The trail will be open year-round. The EVID-S5.2X offers exceptional audio quality and is known for its reli

Turkey - Istanbul’s Maiden’s Tower, which stands on a tiny islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, 200m from the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey, has recently re-opened after restoration, complete with a new permanent lighting scheme designed by Martin Kuhn and featuring over 75 Anolis LED luminaires.
Martin was working for AV specialist Astel and end client, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He won a competition to design lighting for the newly renovated monument, also well known for its appearance in the 1998 James Bond Movie, The World Is Never Enough.
For the pitch, Martin researched the history of the structure and role in Istanbul’s culture and heritage. Parts of the current Tower date back to 1721, although way before then, a wooden tower was likely the first ever construction on the islet as part of a custom ship s

USA - Sphere opened to the public on Friday 29 September in Las Vegas. Two of the venue’s signature features – its 160,000 sq. ft interior LED display plane, and its 580,000 sq. ft. exterior, the Exosphere – are powered by technologies from 7thSense.
At 16K x 16K resolution, Sphere’s interior LED display plane is the highest resolution LED screen in the world. Soaring to a height of 240ft, and with over three acres of display surface, the screen wraps up, over, and around the audience to create a fully immersive visual environment. Behind the scenes at Sphere, 7thSense's new suite of products, collectively known as the Performer Range, collaboratively breathes life into the LED displays.
“Sphere’s LED displays redefine the meaning of immersive,” said David Dibble, CEO of MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment. “On the interior, never has an LE

Germany - Echelon Festival, one of Germany's foremost techno and house music festivals, was illuminated with an impressive display of Prolights fixtures. This event took place at the historic Ehemalige US Kaserne, a former NSA Satellite Tracking Station, and showcased a line-up of top-tier techno and house music artists, captivating a throng of dedicated electronic music enthusiasts.
Revolution Rental designed an innovative lighting setup at the festival's Main Stage, elevating the overall experience for both performers and attendees. An array of 130 Prolights fixtures, including the LumiPar 12IP, LumiPar 7IP, Solar 27Q, and Solar 48Q, was suspended, crafting a visual spectacle that harmonized seamlessly with the musical performances.
"The essence of Echelon Festival has always been pushing boundaries and delivering an unforgettable experience. Prolights fixtures playe

Argentina - A facility named after a living legend must uphold the highest standards of production. Such is the case with the Héctor Cavallero Auditorium, at the Argentine Business University (UADE) in Buenos Aires.
Providing a practice and exhibition room for students of the Bachelor of Performing Arts, the facility is named in honour of Cavallero, current director of the Bachelor of Performing Arts at UADE. Héctor Cavallero is among the most renowned theatre producers in the history of Argentina. Bringing Michael Jackson to the country and inaugurating the shows at Campo Argentino del Polo with Luciano Pavarotti, are just two of his many accomplishments.
With a total space of 500m2, a stage of 80m2, and 190 seats, the new facility at UADE lives up to the challenge of doing justice to this legend, thanks in part to a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures suppl

South Africa - There is a very special community living in Brixton, Johannesburg who regularly come together to bridge the gap between social groups with the emphasis on love, art and compassion, all with the aim of creating the kind of neighbourhood people want to call home. Throughout the year they present various events like their Youth Day Fashion show, a rally called Feast of the Nations, workshops and even things like watching movies on the tennis court, braais in the street, and reserving half an hour every Tuesday to pick up rubbish in the area.
In early September, the community of Brixton, Johannesburg celebrated the third annual Brixton Light Festival. The SOS Charity Fund sponsored the wages of 12 crew members who worked tirelessly to make the festival a reality, while DWR contributed Robe lighting fixtures to create mesmerizing special effects and illuminations

USA - Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projectors are bringing bright, vivid colours to the performance spaces at The Smith Centre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. Recently installed as part of a projection upgrade, the new projectors are helping performers, speakers, and musicians engage audiences with dynamic visuals.
The Smith Centre opened 11 years ago in downtown Las Vegas and provides Southern Nevada with a cultural foundation, presenting music, dance, Broadway, and theatre performances outside of the Las Vegas Strip. The centre houses three performance venues: Reynolds Hall, touting 2,050 seats, Myron’s with 248 seats, and Troesh Studio Theatre, which can host an average of 220 seats depending on the configuration.
In 2021, The Smith Centre embarked on a path to upgrade its projection technology throughout the venue. R. Warren Bishop, head video engineer,

UK - Bringing its customers a mix of classics, musicals, blockbusters, and family films, and visiting some of the most picturesque locations in the country - from medieval castles and sports arenas to country estates - Adventure Cinema is the UK’s biggest open air cinema tour.
The company has enjoyed success immersing audiences in the magic of the movies across more than 70 venues since its formation in 2019. The need for exceptional audio is particularly important in an outdoor cinema setting, and Adventure Cinema has exclusively used HK Audio systems since its inception.
As a travelling outdoor cinema company running pop-up events the length and breadth of the UK, Adventure Cinema covers significant mileage and seeks to mitigate costs and environmental impact by obtaining premium quality sound from compact audio systems, as director Mark Thompson explains:

Latest Issue. . .