South Africa - From its modest beginnings at the OppiKoppi farm in 1994, this diverse festival has now celebrated its 21st anniversary by welcoming 162 artists to perform over three days on seven stages, to around 20,000 revellers.

Located in Northam, Limpopo province, north east of Pretoria, this South African festival boasts an unrivalled reputation as the live music event of the season. OppiKoppi 2015 welcomed the opportunity to embrace the latest software technology in the form of ArrayProcessing, from d&b audiotechnik.

Blue Array Productions from Pretoria supplied the audio equipment on all but one of the stages; The James Phillips Stage and the Skellum Stage were both rigged with a d&b Q-Series system, while the Bruilof Stage was kitted out with V-Series L/R. On the Main

Lebanon - Opened in the summer of 2015, Seven Sisters has fast become one of the trendiest venues in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. An oasis in the skyscraper-packed city, the day-and-night hotspot is located on the waterfront in downtown Beirut and clients can relax in a green environment, watch a show in the outdoor area, chill out under a tree, or savour a breath-taking sunset while having a drink at

To ensure the audio rig installed was up to the high standards set for the venue, the management team called in local system integrator Sound Pressure Level.

Headquartered in Beirut, SPL was founded in 1993, has a lengthy experience in touring, and now focusses on audio installation and rental. Thanks to its 24 hour, seven days a week year-round service, the company has built up an enviable client portfolio, installing systems in theatres, cinemas, hotels, ballrooms, conference c

Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie, one of the most influential artists of his era, died on 10th January at the age of 69 following a private 18 month battle with cancer. The news was announced via the artist's official Facebook and Twitter pages, with Bowie's son Duncan Jones later confirming the news on his own Twitter feed. A true creative to the very end, his death came just two days after the release of his latest album, Blackstar which has been heralded as a 'parting gift' to his fans by many, including Bowie's friend and producer, Tony Visconti who writes: "He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life - a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordi

UK - LSi magazine has teamed up with Production Park, Nitelites and RCF to give readers exclusive access to a tour of the largest facility of its kind in the UK. This brand new, £2.5m Phase One development is a cluster of live event production resources spanning over 300,00sq.ft and incorporating five LS-Live rehearsal studios, three of which are mega-sized spaces, each over 17,000sq.ft.

The park is also home to a variety of other industry brands including: Brilliant Stages, Perry Scenic Creative, Litestructures, LS-Live, The Music Consortium, Knight Rigging Services, Tek LED, J&C Joel - and, of course, the renowned live events university centre, Backstage Academy.

Across the three open days, from 1-3 March, you can also meet the Nitelites team, who (using LS-Live's 17,500sq.ft Studio 001) will demo their new turnkey arena touring package from the specialist Italian lo

France - Robert Juliat has announced the appointment of two new distributors at the start of 2016.

ACT Canada, has become the new exclusive distributor of Robert Juliat products in Canada, following the conclusion of a successful relationship with MDG which has chosen to focus on developing its own brand. The new arrangement with ACT Lighting takes effect from 1 January 2016.

"We have worked with ACT Lighting in the USA for the past year and have been exceedingly happy with the relationship that has formed between our companies in this region," says Robert Juliat CEO, Francois Juliat. "It is a logical transition for ACT Canada to take on our distribution in Canada following MDG's decision to cease all distribution of other brands. ACT Lighting has offices in Toronto as well as Los Angeles and New York and we are confident the new arrangements in Canada will pr

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