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Europe - When Idles embarked on their 2024 Love Is The Fing European tour, their production included a large complement of Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision line array elements for the main PA.
FOH engineer Chris Fullard first requested the platform back in 2019, when Solotech provided the MLA, but when the band later played the West Stage at All Points East in 2022, it was through the newer tech of Wavefront Precision, in the shape of the largest format WPL, with its scalable resolution.
For the 2024 European campaign, Solotech account manager, David Preston, specified the WPL/WPC/WPS system after conversations with Idles’ production. This fully-optimisable solution duly won the approval of production manager, Shaun Kendrick.
After a couple of warm-up nightclub gigs - at Pryzm in Kingston and Marble Factory in Bristol (where the band hails from) they were r

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UK - Audio manufacturer Audient has partnered with loudspeaker company PMC Speakers to unveil a new immersive audio studio located at Audient’s Hampshire headquarters.
Summerlea House has been designed from the ground up to offer Audient’s customers a modern demo facility. Built around Audient’s new purpose driven immersive audio interface and monitor controller Oria, the studio features a 9.1.6 PMC result6 speaker array with a PMC 8SUB. An additional two PMC6 active speakers offer clients the option to reference a mix in stereo as well as 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos and everything in between.
“Oria is the first truly purpose-driven immersive solution, designed to be the central control hub of an immersive studio. As such, many factors need to be considered when specifying it into an multi-speaker array and the subsequent required workflow,” explains Audient’s Andre
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USA - As the cornerstone of its 50th Anniversary Season, the Orlando Ballet commissioned a spectacular new production of The Nutcracker, which debuted last December.
Billed as “bigger, brighter, and full of surprises” as well as the largest ballet ever created by an Orlando-based performing arts organisation, the production was staged in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Centre for Performing Arts. New choreography, all new sets, costumes, and an updated storyline by Jorden Morris, who also serves as the ballet’s artistic director, brought an exciting edge to a timeless classic, combined with a host of interesting and innovative staging elements including a lighting design by Joseph R. Walls.
Joseph incorporated Robe Forte moving lights and Footsie LED foot lights into his lighting scheme to bring extra vibrance and flair as the onstage action unfolded.<

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Iceland - Andrea Manzoni, Milan-based pianist, composer and sound recordist, represents a new generation of pianists take an innovative approach that blurs the boundaries of traditional music styles. Manzoni recently embarked on a transformative journey into the Icelandic wilderness to gather nature sounds for the sound design of Qivittoq, a theatrical production depicting a dystopian love story set in the solitude of the North Pole, in a world rapidly depleting its resources.
Working from a draft script from the director of the theatre show, Manzoni was keen to immerse himself in the ambience, and secured a 30-day residency in the remote town of Isafjordur in the Westfjords. Manzoni embarked on 12 excursions over the 30 days to remote locations devoid of human presence, to capture the raw environmental sounds with two Rycote HC-15 shotgun microphones.
"Venturin

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South Korea - Maris Stella, named after the patron saint of the busy port city of Incheon in South Korea, is a comprehensive senior care facility established in 2013 by the Catholic Foundation.
The first of its kind in the country, Maris Stella provides an integrated programme of pastoral care for its residents with an offering of social and cultural events and pastimes, plus the daily celebration of Mass in the facility’s dedicated 400-seat auditorium – which also hosts lectures, film screenings and live performances.
A decade on from its initial construction, the decision was made to upgrade the audio system to improve both quality and intelligibility. KV2 distributor, Daon SD collaborated with audio consultants Audio Control to supply and install a pair of ESR106 active column loudspeakers to elevate the worship experience and improve sound quality for all the

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Greece - Lighting designer and programmer Kostantinos Ntovas lit a 2.5-hour show by award winning singer Petros Iakovidis at Thessaloniki’s Club Vogue, one of the largest nightclubs in Greece. Ntovas wasn’t relying solely on the lights he controlled with his ChamSys MagicQ Stadium Connect to change perceptions. He also called upon the profound power of dark space.
Using a variety of off-centre light angles and creating distinct fields of bright and dark spaces around his sometimes-silhouetted client, the Greek designer created an engaging narrative that opened new perspectives to fans.
“In general, I really like putting the singer in black space between light beams,” said Ntovas. “In that way, I can create an extraterrestrial look in an infinite environment. These scenes will transport viewers, creating a different experience than what they find in usual show

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USA - Country music group Midland is out on the road with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Comprised of Mark Wystrach (lead vocals, guitar), Jess Carson (guitar, vocals), and Cameron Duddy (bass guitar, vocals), Midland’s neotraditional country sound has led to their three studio albums resulting in seven singles landing on the Billboard country chart.
With two years of touring with Midland under his belt, lighting designer Drew Lombana was confident in his ability to both create something that was as unique as the trailblazing country band as well as his aptitude to ascertain their lighting preferences: avoid fixture pixels, pointless eye candy and instead focus on using lights to compliment the story within the music, and not simply the music itself.
“We determined a design that hid itself well was crucial, with the exception of the Circa Scoops,”

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USA - Drake kicked off his touring season with an 11-week trek with J. Cole running from Florida in February to Colorado in April. Onboard for the It’s All A Blur Tour - Big As The What? is Demetrius Moore, on his 14th year as the artist’s front-of-house engineer.
Drake now has another distinction: he’s officially the first artist to take a new Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum852 console out on tour, starting 2 February in Tampa. “I was on the Quantum852 for two weeks before the first show, at rehearsals at Drake’s place in Toronto and then at the Izod Centre in New Jersey, and I have to tell you that it has made me an even bigger fan of DiGiCo - and I have been a huge fan of their consoles for years,” says Moore.
“It has an entirely new level of warmth and clarity. Right out of the box, the experience was like when we went from 48k to 96k. Every ins

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Hungary - Máté Lukacsovics and Ale Geszler from Budapest-based lighting design studio Highlight Studios created the design for a high-profile one-off sold out concert by Hungarian artist and pop-rock band Valmar at the 12,500-capacity Budapest Arena.
It was the band’s largest concert to date, and the brief was to create a memorable lighting design that met the occasion and thrilled everyone involved, from the artist and his production team to his enthusiastic and ever-growing fanbase.
Máté and Ale utilised over 150 Robe moving lights – a combination of iFORTES, Pointes and Tarrantulas – to help energise the show.
Their starting point for lighting the show was the production design idea from show director Roland Mák who imagined the stage as a gigantic time machine, with the concert designed as a two-hour gameplay session hosted by an AI character lurk

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Italy - From 2-26 March, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma hosts the Richard Strauss opera Salome with its famous Dance of the Seven Veils, based on the play by Oscar Wilde.
Stripped of lavish scenery, this pared-back production directed by Marc Albrecht with conductor Barrie Kosky invites the audience to focus exclusively on the characters, the dialogue and the music, with sound therefore playing a role of heightened importance.
At some moments of the production, the voice and movements of the performer on stage are required to generate a dynamic effect in the auditorium, with the echo of a higher voice propagating from the stalls to the gallery.
AV technology specialists AMG were approached early in the production development phase to configure and install a sound system that could deliver the complex sound design.
Stacks of five Nex

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UK - Birmingham’s latest high-adrenalin attraction – the new F1 Arcade in Chamberlain Square – has become the latest venue to benefit from a high-quality AV solution supplied and integrated by TVC Technology Solutions.
F1 Arcade is an F1 racing experience with no fewer than 53 bespoke full-motion racing simulators that can cater to every level of driving skill – and all in an environment that also offers a range of food and drink.
TVC delivered a comprehensive multi-zone audio system from KV2 to help create the pulsating energy of the race circuit. The experience is completed by an array of huge TV screens so that fans can watch the ‘real’ motor racing with live commentary, entertainment and the guarantee of an absolutely electric atmosphere.
Having installed the F1 Arcade in London, the world’s first official Formula 1 simulator racing experienc

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USA - The Warner Theatre, close to the White House in the American capital city, has since 2013 offered its visiting engineers, performers and artists the sonic advantages of an Outline Butterfly system tuned and maintained by house sound engineer Ishai Ratz.
Originally opened in 1924 and having hosted everyone and everything from Frank Sinatra to ZZ Top and from Vaudeville to cinema, since a full restoration in the early ‘90s it is an established showcase venue for the DC area.
Jason Farah of Outline’s US office describes the genesis of the new installation: “Following on the success of Butterfly and wanting to maintain the high performance-to-small footprint ratio, it made perfect sense to upgrade to Butterfly’s successor, Superfly. Superfly provides extended low-end response and improved rigging, while maintaining the same voicing that Butterfly excelled at.

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USA - If you’re looking for a place to hear live country music day or night while enjoying a meal on the Vegas Strip, Ole Red is your ticket. The recently opened restaurant, bar, and live music venue in the heart of Las Vegas features a Clair Global Integration (CGI) and an innovative lighting design by Bryant Woelk, owner/ senior lighting designer of FXLighting LLC, featuring lighting from Elation.
The Blake Shelton inspired Ole Red, operated by Opry Entertainment Group, offers patrons a full experience with live music, delectable dining, and a vibrant bar scene. The first Ole Red opened in Shelton's hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in 2017 with Las Vegas the entertainment chain’s sixth location.
Clair Global Integration procured audio, lighting and backbone control for the new venue and handled system design, installation and programming. Bradley Cronenwett, se

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China - The Ballad of the Canal is an opera exploring the stories of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Created over 2500 years ago, the canal is a feat of engineering on par with the Great Wall of China.
The opera entwines both classical Chinese and western styles of opera, integrating these different forms successfully alongside an unamplified orchestra required a thoughtful solution combining the venue’s existing SD5s and two additional DiGiCo Quantum 7s. First performed at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in 2012, The Ballad of the Canal was the first original folk opera presented.
The recent revival utilised head-worn radio mics to balance the operatic performances with an acoustic orchestra within the immersive sound system provided by L-Acoustics. Two mirrored Quantum 7s backstage and two mirrored SD5s at the front of house position we

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UK - Welsh ragga-metal band Skindred played their first arena headline show in March at the OVO Arena Wembley, with Claypaky Mythos2 and Sharpy Washes supporting the musicians’ intense, high-energy performance.
Will Furze, the band’s designer/ lighting director, discussed the show with Skindred band members last year while on tour. They wanted to incorporate existing elements of their stage set, which featured artwork from their latest album Smile, and lasers were a must-have as well.
Furze decided to use the existing tour backdrop and four vertical scrim frames for the Wembley show then designed a one-metre high riser to elevate the drum kit with six-meter ‘wings’ on either side to accommodate lighting fixtures. The set riser was also dressed with custom scrims that continued the look and feel of the Smile album’s artwork.
In selecting li

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UK - Prolights Smart BatPlus, provided by Luminosity Lighting Services, illuminated the Blue Room and Music Room of Buckingham Palace for an exclusive TV broadcast shooting.
Luminosity Lighting Services strategically positioned the Smart BatPlus lights to ‘enhance the architectural grandeur of Buckingham Palace’. The lighting configuration focused on discreetly accentuating the pillars within both rooms, accentuating the intricate details and timeless elegance of the historic building.
“The innovative use of Prolights lights not only emphasised the beauty of Buckingham Palace but also played a pivotal role in creating a captivating visual experience for viewers,” says the team. “By ingeniously leveraging the reflection of mirrors and strategically placing lights behind the camera, the production team achieved the illusion of a significantly deeper field of vi

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USA - John Garberson created the lighting rig for the Powerhouse hip-hop celebration at the Desert Diamond Arena outside Phoenix.
Garberson and his team at Creative BackStage positioned a potent lighting rig on the 60ft wide by 40ft deep stage, using fixtures supplied by LIT Lighting. At the same time, however, they made sure to arrange things so there was a generous amount of open space at the stage’s centre. This gave headliners Kevin Gates, Tech N9ne, Young Nudy, and other performers a chance to standout, and connect to the sellout crowd of 20,000 without distractions.
While the hip-hop stars performed their art against the ‘blank canvas’ they were surrounded and supported by dynamic lighting displays above them and to their sides. Principal lighting designer James Simpson and the visiting LDs used a rig anchored by 48 Chauvet Professional fixtures to create a

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World - The 1975’s appetite for touring is considerable and their schedule is gruelling, so their touring equipment needs to be able to keep up. Eighteen rounds of air and road freight can take its toll and reliable consoles that can withstand dust, heat, cold and humidity are vital as the team and their equipment cross multiple time zones. The tour relies on a DiGiCo Quantum 7 at front of house, and a Quantum 5 at the monitor position.
Monitor engineer Francois Pare states, “I don’t think I’ve used any other desk since 2016. Nowadays the shows are so involved, there aren’t many desks that can handle the number of channels we need. On The 1975, we have an eight-piece band, and the show is quite theatrical, there’s a lot going on effects wise on stage, so it all adds up.”
At front of house, Lee McMahon’s comments, “Building this show has been an amazi

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USA Country singer Scotty McCreery’s Cab in a Solo Tour is making its way through the US with a versatile setlist that transitions between upbeat anthems and touching ballads, backed by three upstage LED screens driven by tvONE's Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer media servers.
Landing at Boston’s new MGM Musical Hall at Fenway at the beginning of March, the North Carolina native’s production was ramped up as fans flocked to see McCreery. Striking graphics, animations and imagery from McCreery’s music videos were displayed on the three portrait LED walls, which were made up of ROE’s ultra-fine 8.33mm pixel pitch CB8 LED panels. The content was delivered by two Green Hippo Hippotizer Karst+ MK2 media servers sourced from 4Wall Entertainment and controlled using a grandMA3 console.
Production designer Drew Hornback of DH Production Designs created the concept fo

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Europe - Czech moving and LED lighting manufacturer Robe celebrated its 30th anniversary at the 2024 Prolight + Sound expo in Frankfurt and looked forward to another 30 years of lighting innovation.
The entertainment technology brand presented the finale of the Power of Imagination show, that entertained packed audiences five times a day and also staged a Rock ‘n’ Robe stand party on the evening of the second day, featuring Queen tribute band Queenie. Additionally, an array of new lighting products was launched and on the eve of the expo, Robe announced the acquisition of LSC Control Systems.
LSC joined the other Robe businesses – sister architectural brand Anolis, console manufacturer Avolites and control solutions provider Artistic Licence
The two public ‘dark demonstration’ rooms on the booth were constantly busy throughout the four days wi

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Canada - Montreal studio Le Lab Mastering has built an all-Focal DolbyAtmos room, adding Atmos mastering to its offerings on top of fully analogue stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer cutting. The 7.1.4 Atmos studio features an all-Focal powered monitor configuration with Trio11, Trio6, Solo6, and Sub6.
The room’s layout features dual Sub6 subwoofers stacked under the left and right Trio11 monitors – four subwoofers total. This subwoofer configuration gives Le Lab’s Atmos room the ability to offer mastering for movie soundtracks and other formats that would need extended low-end response; It also offers a symmetrical low-frequency coverage in a smaller footprint.
Trio6 monitors fill out the centre and rear channels, while Solo6 are on the sides. Le Lab has already mastered a lot of legacy recordings remixed for Atmos, including Celine Dion, Sia, Whitney Houston

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USA - The inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami made waves this March, marking the festival’s first venture onto US shores in decades. The event presented diverse musical performances against a backdrop of waterfront vistas, with sound from the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami’s official sound partner, Meyer Sound.
The intimate 1,500-person festival held March 1–3 at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, showcased a lineup led by headliners Jon Batiste, Daniela Mercury, and Daryl Hall, topped off each night with the Montreux Jam Sessions.
The Hangar - built in 1918 as the first continental naval air station in the United States - is a cavernous 20,000sq.ft space, with thin corrugated metal walls and vast expanses of windows, that presents significant acoustic challenges.
For 38 years, Meyer Sound has been the strategic partner and official sound provider of the Montr

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USA - “I don't know that there's another desk that we could really do it all with,” says Chad Olech, front-of-house mix engineer for Fall Out Boy, talking about managing the band’s complex comms infrastructure that sees three separate talkback lines coming into his DiGiCo Quantum5 console, as well as mixing a great show for fans.
“I don't think there's another manufacturer that makes something that would do what we need it to do in this situation. I'm sure we could work our way around it, but it wouldn't be as seamless and as easy.”
Rob Smuder is one of those comms sources, as he mixes the band’s monitors from a DiGiCo Quantum7 console, along with the stage manager and backline crew lines. “The main reason that I use the Q7 out here, honestly, is the matrixes,” says Smuder, who has worked with the band since 2018. “We have a ton of talkback mics tha

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UK - In early March, sound designer Simon Honywill used TiMax SoundHub with TiMax TrackerD4 performer stagetracking to spatially enhance an already incredible – and quite unique – immersive performance by the Paraorchestra musical ensemble. The Nature of Why, composed by Will Gregory and choreographed by Caroline Bowditch under the artistic direction of award-winning conductor, Charles Hazelwood, was performed within a 14m circular space on the Lyric Stage at Theatre Royal Plymouth, with 100-120 audience members mingling amongst the players and dancers for each performance.
Though it wasn’t the first performance of The Nature of Why– an interpretation of the famous interview with physicist Richard Feynman which asks in empirical terms why certain physical properties occur, such as magnetic attraction and slippery ice - it was the first time the immersiv
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