UK - Chinese X Factor winner Mary-Jess Leaverland had a double date at Wembley Stadium on FA Cup Final day ... and AKG mics supported her on both occasions.

First she performed at a private function to an audience of VIPs and celebrities including Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber in the Bobby Moore Room, prior to the match - belting out some of her own material via an AKG WMS 4500 analogue wireless mic.

Then she took to the pitch for the traditional singing of Abide With Me prior to kick off, using an AKG DMS 700 digital wireless system equipped with an AKG D5 vocal capsule.

Azerbaijan - With its motto Light Your Fire! the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is set to captivate well over 100m viewers on 26 May. The 57th edition of the contest will also be an anniversary for Sennheiser - it will be the 25th Song Contest to use the audio specialist's wireless microphones and monitoring systems. Sennheiser technicians are on hand in Baku to assist the production team with their preparations.

The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, with host broadcaster Ictimai TV at the helm, have placed their trust in experience. So Brainpool TV GmbH, which worked wi

UK / USA - Loud Technologies, owner of Martin Audio, has announced that it has appointed Lincoln International "to conduct a strategic review of its UK-based division, Martin Audio, with a view to finding private equity backing to support Martin Audio into the next phase of its development plan".

The company says: "In sourcing the right investment partner, and forging a more independent path, it will further assist in the realisation of the growth strategy and objectives of the business."

Following the introduction of its award winning, and ground breaking MLA sy

UK - Exeter-based sound, lighting, video & event production company Puxley Ltd have been engineering for the recent Show of Hands UK and German tours using a Midas PRO2C, purchased from LMC Audio. The band recently played the Royal Albert Hall, where Chris Puxley, MD of Puxley mixed FOH on a PRO2C and monitor engineer Rob Waite used a PRO2 for monitors.

Puxley comments, "The Midas PRO2C produces excellent audio quality and stability, and the interface is very user friendly. I've had very positive feedback from other engineers, who have shown immediate interest in and acceptance o

USA - Three new sessions have been added to an already stellar line up of speakers due to take the stage at PLASA Focus: Nashville, a new style of regional event taking place, for the first time, at The Nashville Municipal Auditorium, on 11-12 July 2012.

Joining other exhibitors, such as Clay Paky, Barbizon Lighting, Robe, and Martin Professional, PLASA Focus: Nashville is proud to announce the recent additions of 4Wall, Drape Kings, The Light Source, Interspace, IATSE, SeaChanger, Techni-Lux, and ZFX, to its growing floor plan.

As well as the raft of exhibitors on show at PLASA Foc

USA - Faced with audio issues ranging from sound quality to interference, Central Seventh Day Adventist Church in Albuquerque decided to switch from conventional wireless microphones to Line 6 XD-V digital wireless. As Pastor Don Gibson recalls, "Our systems were pretty old, and we started having issues, especially after the FCC rules changed. Then the Line 6 systems solved all our problems."

Tony McKenzie, a member of the congregation and an AV professional, helped research the change. "Having been an audio-visual technician for over 30 years, I support the church by h

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) is joining with some of their biggest dealers to put on a series of one day training events across the UK - starting on 20 June at Wigwam Acoustics. The events, which are free to attend, give those present unlimited access to the RSG audio product range and the chance for some 'one to one' training with RSG experts.

The core functionality of the V-Mixing System will be the main focus of the training - with a spotlight on the M-480 and M-300 Digital Live Mixing Consoles, as well as the range of Digital Snakes. The day will also include an overview of the

Europe - Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May is just coming to the end of a run of British and European shows, before taking a well-earned break to have her first child. For her vocal microphone she uses a Sennheiser e 965.

Trevor Gilligan took over front of house mixing duties for Imelda and her band around 15 months ago and soon started the quest for a vocal mic that would really suit her voice.

"After a couple of shows, I realised that the dynamics in her incredible voice really needed a microphone that would make the best of them," he says. "We tried microphones fr

UK - Scottish sound equipment hire company The Warehouse has become the first pro audio rental supplier in the UK to receive stock of the new Axient systems from Shure, the company's latest generation of wireless microphone products, and to be certified as a trained Axient dealer.

The Shure Axient Wireless Management System was announced in early 2011, and offers the latest in wireless microphone technology and a host of new-to-the-world features, including the ability to detect RF interference and automatically select another, interference-free operational frequency in the blink of a

Malaysia - Malaysian rental company Digital Aid, more popularly known as D8, has become an L-Acoustics Rental Network Agent, with the purchase of a Kudo WST line source system with SB28 subwoofers from local distributor, Sennheiser Electronic Asia.

D8's system has already been used on several festivals and events including Future Music Festival Asia and Zouk@Sepang, both held at the Sepang International Circuit Formula One track outside Kuala Lumpur. These one-day events transform the Formula One track into an outdoor party for thousands of air-punching ravers, with emphasis on the be

UK - RG Jones Sound Engineering LTD, one of the UK's leading sound engineering companies will be providing Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker systems for the London 2012 Coca Cola Olympic torch relay concerts; due to kick off this week in Cardiff and taking place across the UK. "Thanks to swift competitive finance from Azule Finance, RG Jones was able to purchase the highly-specialised audio equipment and provide a tailored system for the pre-Olympic events," says the company.

The company enlisted the services of Azule Finance ahead of an especially busy year. The industry-first M

UK - After four successful years in DiGiCo's R&D department, Dan Page has become a sales application specialist with the company.

Page will be supporting the existing sales team of Ian Staddon, Tim Shaxson and James 'Digger' Bradley. Whilst building relationships with the company's distributors to help further expand DiGiCo sales into existing and emerging markets, he will be providing technical seminars, workshops, and systems design.

"Dan has proved himself to be an invaluable member of the DiGiCo team," says managing director James Gordon. "This new role recognises

Sweden - Lab.gruppen and Lake have announced the appointment of Martin Andersson to the position of product manager - touring, working across the touring portfolio of these two brands.

Andersson takes up the position after two years as part of the sales organisation TC Group International (TCGI), the organisation responsible for sales of the TC Group brands, where he was employed as international sales manager for touring products.

"I am delighted to take up the role as the company enters a new era in its history," said Andersson. "I think the level of innovation acro

Australia - JPJ Audio has taken delivery of 26 Crown VRACK, an amplifier management rack system solution. The VRACK features three built-in Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers, providing an easy-to-configure, plug-and-play solution that eliminates the need to build amplifier racks.

Designed to work in conjunction with JBL VerTec, VRX, and AE series loudspeakers, the system's modular design is highly scalable and is designed to meet the needs of both small and large sound systems.

"We purchased 26 of the Crown VRACKs and replaced all Crown 5000 and 9000 amplifiers that were driving

UK - John Hornby Skewes & Co has announced that Karl Bates has joined its senior sales team as pro audio area sales manager south, looking after customers in the bottom half of England and Wales, as well as the whole of Ireland.

Bates brings more than 25 years of experience in the music industry to JHS's Pro Audio Division, having previously managed UK sales for many major professional audio brands.

He has worked as UK sales manager for MAM Communications, Stirling Audio, and Arbiter Pro Audio, servicing a national client base from rental companies to install and AV specialists, and

USA - The AVC Group, SpeakerCraft and Panamax/Furman have released a joint announcement of "a significant strategic move to address the rapidly changing needs of technology consumers and dealers alike".

Under the new arrangement, the formidable and diversified resources of The AVC Group, SpeakerCraft, Proficient and Panamax/Furman brands will align under one centralised division with a focus on customer-centric product, brand innovation and dealer support.

Mark Terry, president of AVC Group, will leave the company. "Mark and his team have done an outstanding job combi

Ukraine - L-Acoustics' exclusive distributor in Ukraine, ART-R, has won the tender to supply the country's main concert hall, the Ukraina National Palace of Arts in Kiev, with high-performance audio equipment.

The system provided by ART-R consists of a left/right configuration of nine V-DOSC WST line source loudspeakers per side. There is also a centre channel of 12 d-VDOSC loudspeakers, with two further d-VDOSCs on stage providing side and front-fill. Eight SB28 subwoofers supplement the full-range audio from the arrays, and the system is powered by LA8 amplified controllers,

ART-R

UK - 22 April saw Grammy winner Imogen Heap stage a live show that was as close to completely 'green' as possible, including electricity generated entirely from renewable sources on site and with zero noise pollution. Sennheiser UK supported the event with the provision of equipment and technical advice.

Timed to coincide with the annual Earth Day, the event took place in Heap's Essex garden in front of 80 specially invited guests, plus an audience of half a million who enjoyed a live relay via Facebook and the artist's web site.

The central part of the show was a 'silent gig', whic

Italy - The inauguration of Juventus stadium took place at the beginning of the 2011/2012 Serie A season, which ended in them becoming the Serie A Champions. The new stadium features an extensive RCF sound reinforcement system.

The stadium has a large capacity of seats and 120 executive boxes and it is the centre of a totally renewed area that also includes a large 34,000 m2 commercial mall, the first Juventus Museum, a parking area and many other facilities.

Thanks to the new stadium the fans have the possibility to enjoy a great new experience, hearing the players talking to each

USA - The Movement Electronic Music Festival, taking place 26-28 May, 2012 at Detroit's Hart Plaza, will feature a huge array of Meyer Sound equipment provided by Livonia, Mich.-based Thunder Audio.

The annual festival, which drew some 100,000 attendees in 2011, has grown and evolved considerably from its inception as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000. This year, three of five stages will feature a Meyer Sound system.

"Our company was unaware of Meyer in a practical sense until we teamed up with Thunder Audio on the Movement Festival a few years ago," recalls S

France - Canadian singer, Natasha St Pier is currently touring Europe with her new album, La Bonne Nouvelle. The young singer, acclaimed as one of the most beautiful voices of the 'Chanson Francaise' genre has sold over 2m albums in France alone. She has performed duets with some of the biggest heavyweights of the French music scene including Johnny Hallyday and Florent Pagny, and has decided to make her current tour an intimate affair - just her and the talented pianist, Michel Amsellem in venues of a maximum of 800 people. St Pier recently performed at the concert hall in Arque

UK - Stage Electrics has announced its appointment as a UK dealer for independent British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics. The announcement further strengthens the portfolio of high end audio brands that the company supplies and installs into entertainment.

James Gosney, business development manager for audio commented, "We listened to a whole range of speakers and we were continually drawn back to the EM Acoustics products. The energy and philosophy of this small British manufacturer sits very well with our aims. We strive to deliver well designed and high quality audio an

India - TiMax SoundHub 3D surround panning and sound effects trickery took centre-stage recently at an exclusive pre-wedding party in Delhi, in a lavish custom-built outdoor nightclub which also incorporated ground-breaking video mapping onto an expansive DJ booth structure conceived by UK content producers and show designers Immersive.

Commissioned by Arjun Bahl of Most Technical India who co-ordinated production for the event, sound design was by Out Board's Dave Haydon and involved multiple surround zones running parallel 3D surround and dynamic delay-panning effects simultaneously

Germany - Merging Technologies has announced that from 1 June 2012, Digital Audio Service GmbH will assume distribution responsibilities for the German market. DAS has offices in Hamburg and Berlin as well as a retail shop in both locations and a significant online presence.

DAS is particularly well known in the post production and recording world but has strategic plans to diversify into live and installed sound. This profile fits the Merging product range very well and mirrors the changing product mix coming from the Swiss brand, says the company.

This change brings to an end a lo

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