UK - Following the re-boot of Top Gear, the team behind the series are back in the driving seat for another round of the high-octane motoring magazine show.
Filmed in front of a live studio audience at the show’s studio home at Dunsfold Park, Top Gear features a high-tech, semi-industrial installation by designer Rudi Thackray, lit by award winning lighting director Gurdip Mahal. Encircling the studio floor with crisp, bright lines and bold, vibrant colours, the set uses the audience as an integral part of the design and features a sele

UK - ProLights LED fixtures are helping shows to shine at the Elgiva Theatre in Buckinghamshire, with the venue recently upgrading their house lighting rig from the brand's extensive range to cover the diverse day to day production needs of their lighting rig.
Located in southeast England, The Elgiva presents a wide-ranging programme of professional and amateur productions, top comedy, musicals, ballet/dance, one night shows, professional pantomime, movies, and private events.
Initially the theatre invested in ProLights' StudioCOB FC LED PARs and later decided to further upg

UK - Sound and communication specialist integrators T.G. Baker have transformed the entertainment experience for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC fans, updating the PA/VA system at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton with a Nexo solution.
Molineux, the club’s home ground since 1889, was the first stadium ever built for the Football League. It was one of the first grounds in the UK to install floodlights, and one of the founding hosts for European club games in the 1950s. Now owned by Fosun International, a Chinese conglomerate and international investment company, this 31,000-capacity

UK - Paul Heaton’s lighting designer on his current UK tour, Patrick Sollitt has over 70 tunes on his current song page, with new ones being added all the time. “With such a large back catalogue going back 20-plus years ago to Paul’s days with the Housemartins, onto The Beautiful South and his current hits, we draw on a wide range of music,” says Sollitt. “It’s a nice challenge to have to create unique looks for so many songs.”
Sollitt is meeting this challenge with a robust, fast-moving and very flexible six universe lightshow that features 34 wash, 24 spot and six

USA - Psychedelic rockers, Portugal. The Man, have been on a charge. Fresh from collecting a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with the song Feel it Still, they're currently on a world tour promoting the band's eighth studio album, Woodstock. Front of House Engineer Charlie Izzo has chosen the SSL L300 live console as the right tool for this dynamic, multifaceted show.
On this tour Izzo deals with anything from 40 to 60 inputs per show, depending on factors that include a steady stream of guests, choirs, and/or orchestras - variable according to the city they

USA - Some of the biggest names in Latin music landed in Las Vegas in January for a night to remember at the Calibash mega-concert. Held at the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena, the spectacular staging featured an array of 18 LED screens with content fed from by Avolites Ai Infinity RX8 Media Servers.
YC3 Lighting Design supplied the Ai servers to VJ director Richard Vicens, who oversaw the visuals for Latin/Urban music stars including Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Ozuna, Maluma and Bad Bunny.
"All of the artists wanted to give their audiences an awesome show," says Vicens. "A

Iceland - The new Lava Centre in Hvolsvöllur is an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity and earthquakes that traces the island’s creation over millions of years.
The idea that gave birth to the Centre originated when one of the founders/owners of the exhibition was stuck in Florida in 2010 as a result of all flights being cancelled over the Atlantic Ocean (and in most parts of Europe) when Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in April 2010.
The location was chosen because it sits at the heart of some of the major Icelandic vol

USA/Europe - Marilyn Manson and his band embarked on a series of pan-European arena and theatre shows at the end of last year followed by a US tour with French LD Nicolas Riot of Chirac Design.
Riot, also known for his work with French metal band Gojira, has been using LED fixtures from GLP, including 15 x JDC1 hybrid strobes and 35 of the award-winning X4 Bar 20 battens in the set design.
All inventory was supplied by the band’s regular vendor, experienced UK rental company Entec Sound & Light, while North American supplier Delicate Productions provided the gear for t

USA - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, specified two KLANG:fabrik 3D IEM mixing systems from KLANG:technologies for both the church’s new main sanctuary and a second space.
The KLANG systems were purchased through Raytown, Missouri-based Progressive Electronics, Inc. (PEI), which did much of the systems integration for the 3,500-seat main sanctuary at the church’s flagship broadcast location in Leawood, Kansas as well as the renovation of its former sanctuary, which is still under construction but

USA - When Justin Preston was called upon to provide lighting for Budweiser Live during NBA All-Star Weekend, it really represented two projects in one. The brewing giant’s pop-up entertainment centre for the big game was the first event ever hosted at City Market Social House, a restored 16,000sq.ft industrial space opened in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles.
Preston not only put together the ground package for the weekend extravaganza, he also created the permanent lighting system for the new event facility, loading in both rigs simultaneously in advance of the NBA

USA - Rock band Halestorm is gearing up for a huge year, kicking off 2018 with a tour across North America with a lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites.
The Grammy Award-winning band comprised of guitarist and vocalist Lzzy Hale, drummer and percussionist Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith are also wrapping up recording their next studio album and have already announced another tour for this spring.
The expansive design by lighting designer Craig Richter features towers equipped with ClayPaky Sharpys and GLP X4S fixtures, offering versatile looks

UK - The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) commissioned West Midlands-based Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) to design and deliver all the technical elements for their 2018 annual staff conference and awards, inclduing sound, lighting, video, staging and rigging.
The high-profile event for 400 delegates was staged in Warwick Hall at the NAEC, Stanleigh and comprised a seated conference presentation that was transformed into a glamorous setting for the evening’s dinner and awards.
The client wanted to use the width-ways orientation of the venue for sightl

UK - Working with lighting designer Stuart Pring, illumination rental and installation specialists LED Creative provided their Sigma Pulse Wand fixtures to add some neon colour to the BRITs Official After Party held at the O2 InterContinental in London.
Pring artfully suspended a number of Pulse Wands to create a layered look to the ceiling at the venue.
Talking about the installation, he comments: “For The Brits Official After Party we used around 170 Pulse Wands built into frames and hung over the stage and dance floor area. This created a ‘big’ look which was part

UK - Technical production supplier Blitz has installed a DiGiCo SD7 sound desk at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, for Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group’s production of The Phantom of the Opera.
The DiGiCo SD7T replaces a Yamaha PM1D, which was retired after 10 years of service. The new system was installed over the course of a weekend, allowing the show performances to carry on uninterrupted.
Mick Potter, sound designer for The Phantom of the Opera, said, “It’s been a great opportunity to upgrade to the latest DiGiCo SD7 sound desk, which has become

South Africa - The new 8,500 capacity Sun Arena in Pretoria features a house moving light rig of 90 dynamic Robe fixtures.
The multi-purpose venue is part of Sun International’s Time Square development and entertainment complex (read the report in LSi March 2018).
The Robe units are integral to a complete turnkey technical package specified and supplied to the venue by Rob

Argentina - The Claypaky Scenius Unico made its official debut in Argentina at the Monsters of Rock (MOR) Argentina festival at Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires. The high-impact light-show for the outdoor festival, part of the global Monsters of Rock movement, was designed by lighting designer Bryan Hartley and featured the Scenuis Unico as the show's high impact workhorse fixture.
Headlining MOR Argentina was heavy metal band Megadeth who were joined by acts including Rata Blanca, Anthrax and others at the day-long festival. Hartley was tasked with designing a versatile rig that could p

South Korea - Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, one of the world’s longest-running musicals, has been touring South Korea since July 2017.
Specialist rental company Eco & Biz has been supplying the show’s audio requirements for the duration of the South Korea run, which centres around an L‑Acoustics Kara/Kiva II system, chosen for its ability to provide consistent quality and even coverage for the wide variety of venues on the tour’s itinerary.
Eco & Biz’s Kim Ki-young has been a sound designer since 1992. He has a long association with Cats in

UK - The annual X Factor Live arena tour recently completed a 14-date UK run with Nick Warren (The Prodigy, Bryan Ferry, Elvis Costello) as FOH, who specified an Allen & Heath dLive for the production.
Supplied via Wigwam Audio, the system consisted of a dLive S7000 surface with a DM64 MixRack, handling up to 12 simultaneous live vocal mics and 24 channels of playback.
“Barney Vickers (Wigwam technical manager) introduced me to dLive initially,” explains Warren. “He left me alone with a surface for an hour, by which time I had it pretty much all pieced tog

UK - Tiny Rebel is one of South Wales’ biggest success stories in recent years. A microbrewery founded in 2012, Tiny Rebel is now a fully-fledged brand in its own right, not just for their award-winning beers, but also for their bars and kitchens that serve a wide range of food, and host regular events including live music.
The company currently boasts three sites: the first in Cardiff town centre just across from the Principality Stadium; another in the centre of Newport; and finally, the flagship Brewery Bar in Rogerstone, Newport, which is part of a brand new bespoke brewing

New Zealand - The annual music awards ceremony known as the APRA Silver Scrolls Awards was held in Dunedin. Silver Scrolls recognises and celebrates the success of NZ music creators across all genres of music and honours those that have had a significant impact on New Zealand's life and culture with inductions into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
The event was presented at the Dunedin Town Hall with Lorde winning the 2017 APRA Silver Scroll Award for her international hit song Green Light.
Specialist event production company RB Productions coordinated the event,

Belgium - Clouseau, one of the most critically acclaimed Belgian rock bands, delighted throngs of long-time fans recently with a string of concerts across Belgium, marking their 30th anniversary. Providing 30 tour with a fittingly memorable lighting and stage design was the band’s long-time creative collaborator, Luc Peumans of Painting with Light.
Central to Peumans’ visual concept, which was based around creating a lounge-style environment, were 12 Maverick MK2 Spot and 18 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by Coruna Sound & Light.

USA - When Thievery Corporation, played a month-long tour last autumn, lighting designer Luke Stratton turned to Elation Professional’s Platinum FLX hybrid moving head to visually complement the band’s innovative music with a variety of dazzling textures and graphics.
Stratton, owner of Luke Stratton Designs, who designed lighting for rock band Dopapod for seven years, punts all his shows, a hands-on approach that allows him to better customize looks for a creative band like Thievery Corporation. Calling himself an ‘old Elation user’ and ‘a big fan of hybrid lights’ a

UK - Midas’ generators beat the Beast from the East to power London Marathon Events’ Vitality Big Festival in Greenwich Park on 4 March (Sunday), across the finish line from the inaugural Big Half, which Mo Farah won in 61’ 40’’.
11,000 amateur runners, many from host boroughs Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, followed the elite athletes’ race along the 13.1-mile route from Tower Bridge, the majority joining friends, family and supporters at the festival afterwards.
Event management specialist Relevent commissioned six Midas sets for the contrac

UK - Production company UK Events Group used ADJ’s new AV4IP LED video panels to create a New York-inspired festive display for independent designer clothing store Union 22.
The display transformed the store’s façade and allowed a video show to be played throughout the day.
Union 22 director John Cooper comments: "I lived in New York for four years, so I saw what places like Macy’s and Saks do; the Christmas spirit is there in abundance! Since coming back to Liverpool, I’ve always wanted to do a large-scale project that was a showstopper and I knew UK Events Group w

Latest Issue. . .