Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

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Europe - Production manager Gareth Russell is marking 10 years of touring campaigns with First Aid Kit, aka Swedish musical duo, sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg. Taking the new album Palomino out to audiences across the world, he’s running a tight ship.
“Everyone's hard work is appreciated by this artist, which is fantastic,” he begins. “The quality of crew that we have on this tour is in demand, so it's testament to the artist that our people continue to make themselves available. Everybody really wants to be here.”
First Aid Kit’s close-knit team has welcomed Britannia Row Productions into the fold for some years now, and Russell notes this is partially down to the consistency the audio rental house provides.
He continues: “The kind of personnel available to us from Brit Row, such as our tech, Mario Bianchi, well those details are crit

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USA - LD Ignacio (Iggy) Rosenberg has become another early adopter of GLP’s new impression X5 IP Bars, having successfully commandeered 136 units from PRG for Karol G’s recent 13-date American stadium tour.
Part of a multidisciplinary design collective called Lightswitch, which specialises in visual design for live entertainment and architectural projects, the lighting designer first became involved with Karol G several years ago. “After two tours with her we were invited back to design the lighting on her Mañana Sera Bonito stadium tour,” he says. “It helps I’m originally Argentine, so there is a language and cultural bridge that helps the design process and transfer of ideas.”
Karol G’s reputation has grown quickly since winning the Colombian version of The X Factor back in 2006, and later being awarded a Latin Grammy for Best New Artis

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UK - The triumphant return of 90s Britpop poster boys Blur rocked the music world at the end of 2022, as Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree announced that they were back together for the first time in eight years to headline two dates at Wembley stadium.
Built to exceed the ambitions of touring productions, DiGiCo’s Quantum7 was the mixing desk of choice for the band’s biggest ever headline shows, ensuring that the 180,000 fans that flocked to Wembley felt the full force of Blur’s influential back catalogue.
The mammoth gigs marked 35 years since the band’s formation, which was followed by a lengthy career of catchy chart-topping hits, numerous music awards and bust-ups with fellow Britpop stars. Alongside the Wembley shows, Blur also announced intimate warm-up dates in Colchester, Eastbourne, Newcastle and Wolverhampton, as well as festi

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Italy - Lucca Summer Festival is one of Italy’s most highly anticipated live music events, which takes place annually in the city’s famous Piazza Napoleone.
This year Robbie Williams returned to the Bel Paese to light up one of the most historic cities in the Tuscan region. He performed to an audience of over 20,000 people on the Festival’s final evening, closing a season which again brought to the location major names in contemporary rock and pop, including Blur, The Chemical Brothers, Norah Jones, Placebo, KISS, Simply Red and Sigur Ros.
Martin Audio partner, Amandla Productions, has been a reference rental company for the Lucca Summer Festival for many years, and again provided technical management, including a full audio and lighting package.
System engineer, Tommaso Bandecchi, and Amandla CEO, David Lapini, recognised the challenges in meeting the ever

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The Netherlands - The inaugural edition of Deviate Festival took place on Saturday 26 August at Abbey Hotel Rolduc in Kerkrade. With a number of techno heavyweights on the bill, the sound and lighting had to be spot on. SL Productions’ Glenn Weckseler was on hand to help put together an optimal setup that included many products by Infinity, Showtec, DAP and Showgear.
For this event, the Deviate organisers managed to secure names such as Héctor Oaks, I Hate Models, Klangkuenstler, Lee Ann Roberts and Patrick Mason, among others. The location chosen to host the event was the Unesco-listed Abbey Hotel Rolduc.
The main stage was built in the courtyard with SL Productions putting together a lighting setup with more than 100 fixtures that covered the entire 104-metre length of the Rolduc building. There were 60 Infinity B401 Beam moving heads that combine fast, precise m

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Europe - K-array has recently launched a range of audio solutions for the theme parks and visitor attraction market.
Building on years of experience in problem-solving for theme park environments, K-array has identified various application-specific challenges that it aims to solve with its latest package of solutions, which include its Python loudspeaker, Pinnacle system and innovative Anakonda line-array loudspeakers, the latter of which has sold more than 10km (10,000m) since its creation.
A series of installations in the Middle East, as well as successful projects in France, the USA and Asia have proven K-array products to be suited to face the challenges of these environments thanks to the brand's dedication to ensuring IP certification on many of its discreet, yet powerful, loudspeakers.
“Our solutions for theme parks represent the convergence of cutting-e

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Australia - Based in Adelaide, Novatech Creative Event Technology has been providing technical production services for major corporate, arts, music, and sporting events for over two decades. Novatech is set to unveil its latest turn-key offerings in vision, audio, and lighting for live events at this year's Entech Roadshow from 10-24 October. This showcase will feature demonstrations of LED processing solutions from Brompton Technology.
Leko Novakovic, managing director at Novatech, states: “As a full-service production rental company supplying turn-key event technology solutions for three major sectors, concert and touring, corporate, and special events, our high-end vision offerings in particular encompass everything from projection mapping to large-scale LED screen solutions for live events. We have relied on Brompton Technology LED video processing products for many ye

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USA - In a historic night of volleyball and music, Proteus Lucius profile moving heads and Proteus Rayzor 1960 wash effects from Elation Professional, supplied by TMS, illuminated the stage for a captivating post-match concert by country music artist Scotty McCreery.
The event took place on 30 August at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the Volleyball Day in Nebraska celebration.
The University of Nebraska is known for its passionate support of its women’s volleyball team and the event drew an astounding crowd of 92,003 spectators. It marked a significant milestone for the world of women's sports and, according to the University, broke three records: Largest Volleyball Game Attendance Ever, Largest Attended Women's Sporting Event in the U.S., and Largest Attended Women's Sporting Event in the World.
Production company Theatrical Media Services

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UK - The Architect is a celebratory and stirring immersive theatrical experience, taking place entirely on a London bus. Commemorating the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence 30 years on, and inspired by his ambition to become an architect, the show uses performance, music and spectacle to explore the lives of black Londoners, imagining the potential of uninterrupted black lives and the hopes, ambitions and dreams that accompany this.
The lighting for this special project was designed by Chris McDonnell, who approached White Light, a d&b solutions company, to supply her lighting equipment.
Unlike more traditional pieces of theatre, The Architect sees its audience members board a London double-decker bus which then travels to different parts of the city, as well as back and forth through time. So how did Chris approach such a different production? She explains:

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USA - With an enduring legacy spanning more than five decades, the members of Chicago rock band Styx are still showing no signs of calling it quits. In fact, the group is currently out on the road supporting its 17th studio album, Crash of the Crown, in the final stretch of a 95-date 2023 US tour that runs into November.
And while Styx may be relying on local “racks and stacks” at the various host venues on their latest trek, the band’s audio crew has opted to carry a Solotech-supplied control package built upon twin DiGiCo SD12-96 consoles for FOH and monitor mix consistency.
Chris Hoff, better known as ‘Cookie’ has worked with the band on and off for more than half of its history, originally starting out as a stage patch/monitor tech in 1997. Following eight years as the band’s monitor engineer, plus various stints as systems engineer, Hoff has spe

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Italy - More than 70 Claypaky lights were used to illuminate the inaugural Eurovolley match at the Verona Arena. The project was conceived by Mequadro Service’s lighting designer Andrea Coppini and the company owner Emanuele Mazzi, with support from Claypaky product specialist Alessandro Melegaro.
The event marked the return of top sporting events to the temple of Italian opera, which was transformed into an open-air sports stadium in less than 24 hours. Emanuele Mazzi explained how the idea for this rig came about: “We were asked to include something awesome for this unusual event. In addition to illuminating the field, we put together lighting effects on the stalls and the audience, and created beams visible from afar to make the Arena look even more impressive.”
“To create these effects, we chose the Skylos and the Arolla Aqua," Andrea Coppini continued. "We

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UK - Creative Technology are a long-term provider of Audio-Visual services to the Ryder Cup with the 2023 edition being the 10th European competition the company has supported. Over a 36-year period the scope and complexity of delivery has increased massively from a single screen measuring 48m2 in 1985 to a 2023 equipment inventory including 2,500m2 of ROE LED display modules configured as 28 screens ranging in size from 21m2 to a massive 180m2 on the stage in the village used for the opening ceremony and as a central viewing area throughout the competition. All together a total of over 100 million pixels were delivered across the Maro Simone course.
The screens however are only half the story, an additional 600 televisions (typically 55” and 65”) are deployed throughout the corporate hospitality and retail/merchandise facilities, all connected on a course-wide IPTV netw

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UK - HIVE is celebrating the end of a busy summer. Over the past months, HIVE’s products, including its newly released BeeBlade series, have been deployed across a variety of projects from music festivals to interactive experiences.
HIVE’s media engines have powered visuals to accompany several big-name acts at festivals in several countries. This summer, renowned electronic artist, Eric Prydz, took to the stage at Tomorrowland in Belgium, Sonar Festival in Spain and Coachella in the USA. His show, aptly named HOLO, utilises high-resolution, high frame-rate 3D animation. HIVE products played a pivotal role in enabling the playback of these visuals, with four Player_2 media players responsible for silky-smooth playback across enormous screens.
Two Player_2 units powered the main show machines, while the other two served as backups, guaranteeing a flawless p

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Hungary - Described as a “powerhouse of music and visual arts”, the four-day Hungarian INOTA Festival was a joint initiative between the European Capital of Culture (this year Veszprém-Balaton) and the electronic music scene of Budapest (Electronic Beats) - thanks to a collaboration between promoter collective NVC and video and 3D projection company Centrum Production.
The objective was to establish Hungary’s largest audio-visual festival, focusing not only on top music acts but also light installations, pixel mapping and unique visual works.
Located a short distance from Lake Balaton in Várpalota, the venue was the thermal power plant of Inota - the largest industrial investment in Hungary back in the 1950s, with its three cooling towers. Closed since 2001, and set on a 225,000 sq.m facility, the INOTA Festival brought the 6,000 sq.m Turbine Hall back to life

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UK - The original Sugababes made their moving O2 homecoming on 16 September. The 15,000 fans in attendance on that Saturday night not only eagerly embraced that chemistry, they expanded on it as well, creating a warm, emotional glow that transformed the entire arena.
Ed Warren felt the energy too. “I just loved how the whole thing came together,” he recalled. “It wasn’t just the lighting, but also the choreography, the music, the lasers, the confetti - and most of all, the beautiful harmonies of the three iconic singers.”
As the show’s lighting and stage designer, he supported the stars’ performance with a production that reflected the redolent moods that ran through every song in their 90-minute set.
Running his Colour Sound Experiment supplied rig on his ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, Warren created myriad looks that ranged from flashy disco-like

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USA - Joshua Schultz wasn’t overly enthused about lighting a show against a large, deeply rippled curtain background for his client, Turnpike Troubadours when they performed at New York’s historic Beacon Theatre. That quickly changed, however, when he saw how this billowy background played off against light.
“I was sceptical, but I quickly fell in love with having another canvas to incorporate looks onto, said Schultz. “Too many times having just a black backdrop deadens the stage. This curtain added another dimension.”
A big reason why the curtain worked magic for this Top 20 country rock band from Oklahoma can be found in Schultz’s inspired colour mixing. Overlaying light in subtly different shades of the same colours, he created deeply nuanced and redolent monochromatic looks that beautifully complemented the music and the venue.
“I like to think

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UK - The Hangar at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall has recently undergone a major audio-visual upgrade with a DMT Alpha Series A3.9i screen and DAP Odin Audio Systems line array. The venue’s long-term supplier and production partner, the Dreamwave Group, designed, installed and commissioned the upgrade.
The Hangar in Suffolk is a versatile venue and is renowned for hosting weddings, parties and corporate events throughout the year. The brief from the co-owners of Kesgrave Hall was to update The Hangar’s AV facilities after almost 10 years to enable the venue to deliver its own immersive event experience. The main requirements were a large LED screen to give guests a better visual experience, an upgrade to the audio system and a redesign of the entertainment lighting.
The AV installation was designed and implemented using products from Showtec, Infinity, Odin AudioSystems by

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USA - With the National Football League’s 2023-24 season underway, San Francisco 49ers fans have already enjoyed access to live Spanish language game broadcasts thanks in part to Audio over IP technology from Barix. The technology was embraced by 49ers Studios to create a simple remote broadcast workflow for away games, allowing engineers to plug in a Barix Instreamer device and return live gameday audio to studios in Mexico and San Francisco.
The Instreamer is Barix’s ‘classic’ Audio over IP encoder and is used worldwide at origination points to encode and stream program audio to studios, transmitter sites and other end points where audio is received. In sports, the Instreamer is a popular choice for remote broadcasting, where the producer or engineer needs only an Instreamer, a microphone, and a laptop to reliably move high-quality audio back to the studio. Some cu

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USA - Lighting designer Kyle Kegan of Voyage Productions enthusiastically embraced a full grandMA3 platform for lighting control whilst DJ duo Two Friends delivered two hi-energy sets in the Sahara Tent at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
Kyle, who works with many high-profile international clients, adapted the lighting design and showfile he had created for Two Friends’ recent tour to work with the Sahara Tent production lighting rig, collaborating closely with Michael Sheck who was the LD and helped program the show.
Their show was based around the same spaceship DJ booth designed by Kyle and built by Dark Moon Design for the tour, complete with over 3,000 LED pixels across 24 DMX universes all running through their grandMA3, plus some onboard practical lights.
All of this was integrated with Coachella’s house rig which was coincidentall

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UK - When Entec Sound & Light was asked to provide technical services for Afrobeats legend Wizkid at the near 63,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it found itself making one of the first deployments of the new weatherproof impression X5 IP Bar from GLP in a concert setting.
The Nigerian Made In Lagos star became the first African artist to headline a concert at London’s largest club stadium. But it was his LD, Shepherd Lowrey, who had specified GLP battens.
Expecting to see the older impression X4 Bar 20s, he discovered Entec had gone a step further and lined up the next-generation impression X5 IP Bars: “What a pleasant surprise when I arrived to a rig full of X5 IP Bars… like stomping the gas pedal of a Porsche 911!” Referring to it as “the spice”, he adds: “It provides that little sizzle of excitement.”
Entec project manager Patch Cle

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Portugal - World Youth Day is a celebrating event that Pope John Paul II initiated in 1985, every edition of which has been held in a different country; after repeated rescheduling due to Covid pandemic, 2023's finally happened last August in Lisbon, Portugal, before a 1.5m pilgrim audience.
Ensuring live audio coverage to a gathering of such magnitude isn't a small technical achievement, in terms of event technology, over an area of 3-by-1km, pilgrims prayed and sang and danced at the sound of 109 PA towers hosting a total of 1,100 loudspeaker systems driven by 327 amplifiers, whose signal reached through 103km of optical fibre, across 300 network switches.
In order to safeguard the signal being matrixed and transported to this plethora of audio systems, two Outline Newton FPGA-based signal processors had been specifically custom-modified by their very Italian manufac

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Hungary - The Sziget Festival celebrated 30 years in 2023, earning its place as one of Europe’s largest, most popular and diverse music and cultural festivals which is staged annually in August on Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda Island), a leafy green 108-hectare island on the Danube just a stone’s throw from central Budapest.
Robe moving lights had a big presence this year across three major performance areas - the Main Stage, the massive FreeDome Tent and the dropYard rap stage - as well as on some of the other venues around the site that hosted over 1,000 performances on the ‘Island of Freedom’ as it’s known for the duration.
Headlining the Main Stage this year were a host of internationally acclaimed artists like Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Billy Eilish, Florence + The Machine, Lorde and Macklemore, plus a plethora of other top level artists, together with ev

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Germany - The Rockharz Festival, originally started under the name Rock gegen Rechts (Rock against the Right), has constantly evolved and adopted new, important values: sustainability, environmental awareness, regionality, and inclusion.
At the beginning of July 2023, almost 24,000 music fans descended on the grounds of the Ballenstedt airfield for four days to enjoy the performances of Blind Guardian, In Flames, Arch Enemy, and many more for the festival’s 30th anniversary edition. To make this year’s Rochharz a great experience for all visitors, the organisers decided to use cable protectors from the Defender Midi 5 2D modular system.
"When it comes to accessibility, most people only think of wheelchair users," says Marco Spiller, chairman of Lebenshilfe Braunschweig and organiser of Rock in Rautheim, a metal festival that was awarded the Lower Saxony Inclusion

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Georgia - A wide range of Claypaky lighting fixtures dominated the rig at the recent Imagine Dragons concert at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi. 62 Claypaky Arolla HP, 32 Sharpy Plus, 12 Mini B Aqua and six Sharpy Plus Aqua were provided by Black Sea Arena for the event.
Grammy Award-winning Imagine Dragons are currently on their fifth world tour. Their appearance in Tbilisi was part of Starring Georgia, a two-year campaign promoting the country as a venue for entertainment events. It showcases diverse visiting artists who demonstrate the ability of music to unite people of different generations. Bruno Mars is the next to appear in the Starring Georgia series.
Imagine Dragons performed before an audience of more than 30,000 at the stadium. The new stage, also from Black Sea Arena, was transported to the venue on 35 trucks for the show.
“Imagine Dragons wa
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GLP - MPU - May-June 2024
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