USA - Blackberry Mountain sits among The Great Smoky Mountains with eight miles of protected ridgetop and 5,200 acres. Touted as an immersive experience that “seamlessly infuses wellness, outdoor adventure and hospitality into every experience”, the resort entrusted Bandit Lites to illuminate a three-day wedding that spanned multiple venues and events.
The Beall family opened Blackberry Mountain in 2018 after years of success with their property Blackberry Farms. They called Bandit Litesto bring their expertise, preparedness and creative adaptability to their guests. Wedding

USA - An Audient ASP4816 is at the heart of a new studio setup at Kofa High School in Yuma District, Arizona, which happens to be the only school in the Yuma district to offer a Music & Audio Production programme. Career and technical education (CTE) Instructor, Adrian Matthews, describes it as “an incredible opportunity for our students”.
“We are currently in our second year of the program and it is going extremely well,” says Adrian, who since the new studio opened has been overwhelmed by the feedback from other staff members. “Reactions have ranged from complete a

Australia - The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) recently committed more than AUD$50m to a substantial upgrade to its 100,000-seat stadium.
This included an AUD$25m contract for a new site-wide PA, transport and connectivity, masterminded by two eminent technology companies. Australian sound & AV consultants Auditoria conceived the system, and Diversified (who in 2019 acquired Rutledge AV in Australia) undertook the complex integration at the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).
Premier pro audio brands, including fibre network specialists, Optocore, were vital to the imp

China - Christie is continuing its long-standing partnership with the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) for the 12th consecutive year.
The 2020 festival, which runs from 25 July to 2 August, is the first major international film festival to be held in China since the COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of this year. Christie cinema projection systems will be used for movie screenings in theatres across Shanghai’s metropolitan area throughout this nine-day event. In addition, a Christie cinema projector will also be deployed for adjudication of films nominated for the Go

New Zealand - Auckland-based lighting designer Rachel Marlow of Filament Eleven 11 created an ‘edgy and exciting ambience’ with Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle, an immersive lighting and audio installation work staged over four days in Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber.
This was part of the Auckland Live Fringe Town aspect of the city’s annual Fringe Festival event, an independent and popular open-access arts festival which took place earlier in the year, just before the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the industry for an indefinite period.
Rachel used the

UK - Situated in the Dundela district of Belfast, St Mark’s Church has a remarkable heritage. Historically, it has strong links with the author CS Lewis, whose grandfather was the first rector of the Parish.
Designed by celebrated Gothic architect, William Butterfield, in 1876, it recently underwent a complete overhaul of its sound system, with Martin Audio partners, Rea Sound (under the project management of Roger McMullan), installing the manufacturer’s discreet O-Line software-optimised micro line array, which is purpose designed for houses of worship.
Rea Sound had i

UK - Live music is back on the Channel Island of Guernsey. With lockdown restrictions on the island completely lifted on 20 June due to the eradication of all Coronavirus cases, the St James concert venue in Saint Peter Port is in the fortunate position of being one of the only live music venues to have re-opened its doors. And when it did so, the 350-capacity venue had completed its first phase installation of a new JBL VTX A8 PA system, a key component in an ongoing series of upgrades to the historic venue.
The search for a new sound system began in August 2019 when St James' ex

UK - A new outdoor sound, lighting and effects event is coming to Hopetoun House near Edinburgh this October and November. Named Wondrous Woods, this lighting trail event is being launched by 21CC Group.
The event will take place in the picturesque private grounds of the Hopetoun Estate and is described as a sound, lighting and effects extravaganza which promises ‘a safe and family friendly experience’. Guests will explore on foot some 2km of winding trails of Hopetoun, exploring the hidden pathways and discovering secrets of the grounds, with some surprises along the w

USA - Jazz infusion trio Spaga may draw inspiration from deeply embedded roots, but the band also isn’t shy about pushing forward in new directions, both musically and in terms of performance platforms. The latter was evident earlier this summer when they played a virtual set on a 3D stage at Quarantine Comes Alive, a one-day fundraising festival, presented by Live For Live Music, the COVID-19 Relief Fund, and nugs.tv.
Andrew Cass of C2 Design & Drafting created the virtual show, supporting the band with immersive looks that flowed as seamless as the music on their two-song

UK - Five high profile buildings around the UK were lit with Anolis fixtures in the recent #LightItInRed lighting action organised to draw attention to the special requirements of live performance, entertainment and events as the economy re-starts after the coronavirus lockdown.
The five – the O2 Guildhall and the Mayflower Theatre both in Southampton, Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, Knebworth House in Hertfordshire and Somerset House in The Strand, central London – all feature permanent Anolis lighting schemes to illuminate their facades and intricate architectural detail

Croatia - With its seaside villages, white beaches, hilltop views, and Mediterranean climate, Croatia’s Istrian coast is a popular holiday destination on the Adriatic Sea.
The five-star Istra Premium Camping Resort in the coastal village of Funtana is one of the area’s most-sought locations.
The resort recently underwent a major renovation project including all new audio and video systems featuring Biamp DSP and powered by Linea Research amplification. As Tomislav Stubičan of Hust d.o.o. in Zagreb explains, the resort’s many different spaces and diverse requirements

Europe - Grammy-nominated and contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle was 10 dates into an arena tour when COVID-19 forced its temporary suspension.
It was her first collaboration with the lighting partnership of Seth Jackson and Nathan Alves of Darkroom Creative, and easily her biggest production tour to date. The arena setting allowed the two men to create a partial rolling stage, giving the design a curved front extension and allowing greater sight lines to be exposed that was vital due to the high demand for tickets.
Helping them to fulfil their creative objectives

UK - Like many individuals passionate about the live events and performance industry, Philip French of Aldershot, UK-based rental and technical production company Peachy Productions was badly missing shows, gigs, and the camaraderie of delivering live events.
He decided to do something about it, and with the support of the Surrey Event Professionals headed by Hannah Sheppard – which includes some of Surrey’s finest live event experts – the Peachy Playhouse was born.
It offers two weeks of socially distanced, drive-in, COVID-compliant live entertainment, encompassing c

UK - “We’re in this together,” has been a common rallying cry for communities throughout the world as they deal with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Andy Tugby took this to heart when he turned his home into an inspiring symbol in the Cornwall town of Camborne
With business at his company, SoundONE Disco, halted because of the prohibition on events, Tugby brought some of his idle Chauvet DJ lighting fixtures home to his 160-year old house and created a Light It Blue display, the kind normally seen on landmarks and public buildings.
“I felt t

Sweden - Östermalms Saluhall in the Swedish capital of Stockholm is one of the world’s premier food halls and a cultural institution in its own right. First established in 1888, the beautiful building is classified as a historical monument. It has recently reopened after the most extensive renovation project in its 130-year history.
Four years on and 130m euros later, the food hall has regained its former glory and developed into a modern and sustainable trading venue, complete with a Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker solution for the Saluhall’s largest trader, Lisa Elmqvist.

Greece - Located in Porto Rafti (near Athens) Nakal is one of the city's most popular beach bar restaurants. The seaside restaurant offers a fusion and multi-cuisine dining experience with the signature of executive chef Dimitri Skarmoutso, the bar an endless list of classic and signature cocktails prepared by bartender/mixologist Aris Chatziantoniou and sounds are selected and spun by Maria Papidaki and VKD Djs.
The idyllic venue recently had a leading edge Outline sound system installed by the Italian manufacturer’s Greek distributor, Mega Event.
London-based sound desig

USA - What once was a 300-seat movie theatre Bristol Riverside Theatre (BRT) is located in the historic district of Bristol Borough in Eastern Pennsylvania. The theatre itself, built in 1937 and reopened as a performance hall in 1986, is well-known for bringing local and national artists to the stage, producing over 200 performances each year.
Earlier this year, BRT invited Eric Tucker, of New York City’s Bedlam Theatre to direct a production of King Lear with a fresh interpretation of the Shakespearean classic. The show ran for several weeks, starting 28 January and end


Austria - Since its inception in 2011, the Woodstock der Blasmusik festival has been attracting crowds of up to 60,000 brass music fans each June to Ort im Innkreis in Austria. With brass aficionados obliged to stay at home by COVID-19, this year the organisers treated them to an evening of livestreamed performances from the festival site, featuring eight bands and mixed from an Allen & Heath dLive system.
The FOH and broadcast audio rig for this online incarnation of Woodstock Der Blasmusik was supplied and managed by Martin Bröll of Greenbee Records Studios, working

UK - Hastings-based rock heavyweights, Kid Kapichi, stamped their name firmly onto the hide of the UK rock scene last year, and just before lockdown they played their local venue, The Printworks.
The band is fronted by Jack Wilson and Ben Beetham and for this gig sound engineer Alfie Rolph made sure that they performed to 200 ecstatic fans upstairs through a Martin Audio Blackline XP12 / XP118 PA rig, supplied by partners Old Barn Audio (OBA).
“The Martin Audio speakers represented a huge upgrade,” said Wilson, “and we’ll now be looking to use them for all future eve

Rwanda - The first S12T Streamline OB van for the African continent has been successfully delivered to Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA). Built and outfitted by Broadcast Solutions in Germany in just three months, the Streamline S12T is a truck/box body combination with one extension for up to 14 workplaces. Accommodating up to 12 cameras, it also features the first Lawo mc²56 MkIII console for the African continent.
Arthur Asiimwe, director general at Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, comments, “We were looking for a flexible OB truck that is easy to deploy and to operate. The vehicl

USA - The owner of Life Is Art Studios, Daniel Thibault created the lighting design for No Parking On The Dance Floor, a drive-in concert by Top Ten dubstep artists Subtronic and Boogie T. Just under 2,000 fans (in 500 cars) attended the sold-out show, which took place at the Hounds Drive-In Theatre in Kings Mountain, NC, with each vehicle being separated by a wide distance.
Normally, when designing for a crowd that size, Thibault builds his rig for an intimate venue, focusing on tight angles, back lighting, side lighting, and close-in specials. But given the generous space betwee

UK - Audio manufacturer Powersoft has supported Leeds-based audio integrator, Audioserv, in creating a vast audio system for Roxy Ball Room, Roxy Leisure’s bowling alley and bar experience in Birmingham.
The American style venue harbours a 10-lane bowling alley, which also includes a bar, creating a vibrant experience with the help of a modern audio system. Audioserv, who have also provided audio systems for over 15 of Roxy Ball Room’s locations, took on the task of providing and installing audio equipment for the venue, with support from Powersoft audio distributor CUK.

USA - Anaïs Mitchell’s hit musical Hadestown has worldwide attention since making its Broadway debut at the Walter Kerr Theatre last April. Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show boasts an all-star audio production team, led by sound designers Jessica Paz and Nevin Steinberg. Included among the show’s audio gear are DPA Microphones’ 4066 mnidirectional Headsets, 4061 Omnidirectional Lavaliers and 4099 Instrument Mics.
When Chavkin expressed to the pair that her direction for Hadestown was to have the theatre feel like a concert hall, they immediately knew that microph

USA - It was easy to get caught up in the excitement of the Riverview School’s annual fundraising gala with its spirited live auction, stage shows and convivial company, all set against a 16-acre Cape Cod campus in Derry, NH. The Events United team experienced this first hand last year when they provided the lighting, audio, video and scenic elements for the popular affair at the boarding school, which serves 11 to 22-year old students with learning challenges.
Tim Messina and his team at Events United knew that they would have their work cut out when the school turned to them t

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