USA - Barry Manilow is in the midst of a memorable and extensive 'Farewell' US tour for which creative director Seth Jackson specified 12 x Robe BMFL Spots as part of an elegant and stylish design to help ensure the legendary artist exits an incredible performance career on a high note.

Manilow, one of the most prolific and successful singer/songwriters and producers is also celebrating 40 years at the top in show business.

Seth has enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with the artist dating back to 1998 when he started as a 'fill-in guy'. Over that remarkable 27 years, he's

UK - When the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End opened in December 1905, Las Vegas was only six months old, the Wright Brothers had just made the first aeroplane flight lasting more than half an hour and Albert Einstein had just proposed that E =MC2.

Staging a theatrical production weighing in excess of 12 tonnes, with a set of automated sliders that weigh two tonnes alone, was not envisaged by William Sprague when he designed the moderately sized Georgian style theatre, which is now a Grade II listed building.

Turn the clock forward by 109 years and this was exactly the challeng

Keeping Music Live - Small music venues are "operating under significant pressures, both financial and regulatory", a new report has found. The report, called Understanding Small Music Venues, also highlights concerns over the negative public perception of small venues. It has been created by the Music Venue Trust, which was established in 2014 to protect and support independent music venues in the UK.

Chief executive of the MVT Mark Davyd said that the research would contribute to the MVT's understanding of "what we can do to ensure we act together to protect, s

USA - All eyes were on the Worldwide Stage at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, and why not? With a superstar studded line-up of the crème de la crème of the EDM world performing, plus a surprise two-song appearance by Ariana Grande, the thousands of fans at the Worldwide Stage pavilion were transfixed by the scene on stage. This year, the awestruck crowd did more than look at the stage, they had their collective vision funnelled into it, thanks to a commanding lighting and truss design by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting.

Lieberman's design concept was developed around a massive dou

UK - Specialist widescreen projection was one of several video elements supplied by west Midlands based Central Presentations Ltd. (CPL) to show producers Inteva Productions for an annual sales conference staged at Telford International Centre.

It was the eighth year that CPL has worked on this impressive event for utility supplier Telecom Plus which has grown year-on-year and now accommodates over 8000 guests across two days. CPL also supplied HD cameras / PPU and crew to the main auditorium / plenary sessions, with Lee Gruszeckyj leading the team.

As in previous years, they worked

Australia - The original Australian Outback Spectacular was the first show of its kind in Australia and the newest production High Country Legends takes the exciting evening dinner show to a new level.

In the new multi-million dollar production, guests experience a captivating journey to the snow peaked mountains of the high country where enchanted whispers and legendary yarns come alive.

"High Country Legends will be the most breathtaking arena show ever produced under the Australian Outback Spectacular roof," says Shane Phillips, Australian Outback Spectacular general ma

USA - On Wednesday 13 May 2015 at the Cinespace Chicago Film Studios Ballroom on the west side of downtown Chicago, DPA Microphones, Lectrosonics and Sound Devices will host the Sound Summit, Chicago (www.thesoundsummit.org/chicago), the second of many being planned throughout the US as an informal mixing and discussion event for the audio community.

These three manufacturers are on the cutting edge of professional location audio capture, with leading products commonly used in the field, including DPA's d:screet 4061 and 4071 Miniature Microphones, d:screet Necklace Microphone and d:d

UK - Behind the Scenes UK, the new industry charity, has just issued its first grant to a technician who suffered severe injuries from a fall while at work. Dealing with multiple surgeries and a long recovery process was hard enough, but trying to take care of his young family with no income during this critical time proved overwhelming. Then someone suggested he apply to Behind the Scenes UK.

Behind the Scenes UK is modelled after Behind the Scenes in North America which has issued over half a million dollars in grants since its inception. Each application is carefully reviewed by a

UK - After a competitive tender process The Broadsword Production Group is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a three-year contract to The Science Museum as a production supplier. With a diverse range of interactive galleries, located in the heart of South Kensington, the award-winning Science Museum offers a wow-factor backdrop for corporate events.

Matt Green, Broadsword's Sales Director, led the tender process and is excited about the opportunities at The Science Museum. He explains: "It is a bespoke venue, visually stunning, with a unique mix of the modern and tra

UK - Panalux, a leading provider of lighting rental equipment for film, television and media production, recently announced that the company's Broadcast & Event division, Engineering and Product Development departments will be consolidated in a customised facility in Perivale. Allowing for greater operational flexibility, the 48,000sq.ft warehouse and offices located in the Perivale Park can accommodate a greater number of projects and allow future business expansion.

"Panalux Broadcast & Event have experienced consistent growth over the past years; as a result, we've outgrown ou

UK - Following on from the unprecedented success of their first tour in 2014, McBusted are back with a new 21 date arena tour. Captivating fans with a set theme inspired by iconic moments of the late 80's and early 90's including a giant arcade game, the tour is already a huge success.

It was Le Mark's large scale print team who produced the 360sq.m of custom printed floor which became the centre piece of the arcade-themed set. Working together with Production North, Le Mark's design team created a reusable jig-saw style layout. This essentially allowed the floor to be easily installe

UK - London-based technical service company Lightwave Productions this month joined the growing number of rental houses worldwide who are finding SGM's P-5 LED wash light an indispensible part of their production inventories.

A lighting technician since his days at Bristol University, the company's founder, Henry Clarke, hopes that the P-5s - which were supplied by SGM UK along with standard 43° lens - will help build profile for his company as the summer season beckons.

"I realised we needed IP65 rated products for the outdoor events and it seemed pointless looking at old

UK - Audiologic has announced the launch of sister brand Audiologic Connect. The essence of the new brand and website is to supply high quality cables and connectors to both the retail and trade sectors of the AV industry, although its remit is perhaps somewhat wider than that basic premise.

Included in its framework are racks, stage boxes, DI boxes and other ancillary products that are all essential to the success of any AV installation, large or small. Consistent with Audiologic's desire to communicate closely with its customers to ensure their requirements are precisely met, Audiol

South Africa - Rental company MGG supplied over 200 Robe moving lights for a recent indaba at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg for a high profile financial industry client.

LD Kevin Rieck made the bold move of using front and back rigged Robe LEDWash 600s for all his key lighting, following a great success with this methodology during a press conference by US President Barak Obama in Soweto last year, which he also lit. He also seized the occasion to use four of Robe's new BMFL Spots for the first time.

The stage and set design for the main plenary session of the major two

UK - Unity Works is aptly named. A grass roots initiative started by a community that came together with a shared goal in mind has given this historic building a new lease on live. This rebirth is reflected in the structure's cutting edge fittings, including its lighting system, which features the new Rogue R2 Spot moving LED spot and an extensive collection of other technologically advanced fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Well known in an earlier time as Unity Hall, the stately building is a Grade II listed Victorian landmark with all the installation challenges to match. The com

Germany - Berlin-based technical service provider Complete Audio has been touring with five piece Chemnitz band Kraftklub since February. At the centre of the PA system is the rental company's Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) from Martin Audio.

The In Schwarz Tour 2015 was launched initially in Austria and Switzerland, building up to 5,000-12,000 capacity venues in Germany by the end of March. Comments from the band and the audience, coupled with posts on social networking sites, indicate that the tour has already been a great success and acoustically has left no wish unfulfille

Portugal - Elation Professional's Portuguese partner, Apogeu, was chosen to provide a lighting and sound solution for Evolution Hotel in Lisbon and turned to Elation LED lighting products to dress the hotel's spacious lobby area in atmospheric colour and visual excitement.

Evolution Lisboa, part of the SANA Hotel group, is located in the central part of the city (Saldanha) and markets itself as a new generation of hotel. Relaxed and tech-savvy yet still upscale, the hotel clearly caters to young, active and independent urban professionals. Apogeu's client sought a dynamic lighting sol

USA - Radio City Music Hall, the legendary 5,933-capacity theatrical venue of Manhattan, New York, celebrates the premiere year of New York Spring Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes and upgraded Delta Media Server video systems from 7thSense Design in the UK. This is the second Radio City theatrical production to utilise the now refurbished system, following three seasons of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Show on the original installation of 2011.

In 2014, Radio City's display technology systems were overhauled and updated to support the new seasonal pro

UK - This month, the Teenage Cancer Trust marked the 15th anniversary of their annual concert series at London's Royal Albert Hall, where leading names in music and comedy come together to raise money to help young people facing cancer. Closing out this year's event, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls headlined at the venue, with LD Shaun Moore trusting the Avolites Sapphire Touch for the occasion.

Moore, of North-East based rental company Nitelites, has been working with Turner for five years. He designed a lively and dynamic show reminiscent of the band's recent UK tour. He used th

USA - Elation is once again be lighting American blues rock musician George Thorogood and his Delaware Destroyers band, who continue to surprise after four decades. George Thorogood found chart success in the '80s and continues to tour extensively after 40 years.

Out on a Badder Than Ever spring tour through April, lighting designer William Bennyhoff needed a rig that could complement Thorogood's high-energy boogie-blues style and found it in Elation Platinum Beam 5R Pro, Rayzor Q7 and Cuepix Blinder WW2 fixtures.

"Five years ago we were looking to have an ACL look for our show

UK - On Monday 23 March, Sennheiser's newly-formed Strategic Collaborations team, in partnership with Bucks New University and MC9 Music, staged a special event showcasing exciting and emerging new talent Nellie Bell at the Hospital Club in Central London.

The event was organised by Sennheiser's Strategic Collaborations manager - EMEA Phil Cummings and brought together a host of guests from the music and entertainment industries to hear a range of material from Nellie's new album, which is due for release later this year.

Sennheiser e945 microphones were deployed for Nellie's vocal,

Mauritius - UK singer songwriter James Blunt recently played his first show on Mauritius at the 3500 capacity Swami Vivekananda Centre (SVICC) just outside capital city Port Louis in a show promoted by Music Machine & Immedia. Lighting was co-ordinated by his long term lighting & visuals director, Glen Johnson, and delivered by the country's leading rental and sales company, Impact Production.

Eight Robe BMFLs featured prominently on the rig together with eight MMX Spots, six ColorWash 1200E ATs and 14 LEDWash 600s, plus some beam lights, Molefeys and LED PARs, all making up a festiva

Panama - Electrosonic has designed, fabricated and installed audio-visual systems in the Biomuseo in Panama City, Panama. Situated on the Amador Causeway, at the entrance to the Panama Canal in Latin America's only Frank Gehry-designed building, the Biomuseo will offer eight permanent art and science galleries on the origin of the isthmus and its impact on the planet's biodiversity.

In the early design stages of the project, Electrosonic's design consulting team worked with Kubik Inc, the project design/build and management group, on the development of each gallery, whose fabrication

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