Australia - Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) In Sydney, Australia, has recently completed an AV upgrade of its key performance and worship spaces, anchored on Allen & Heath’s dLive mixing system.
The school’s Marina Pryor Centre for the Performing Arts (MPC) and CITY indoor / outdoor meeting space each have a capacity of 800 and play host to an ever-changing programme of student assemblies, worship services, musicals, concerts and celebrations.
Alan Schutz, the school’s general manager, explains the decision to update: “The MPC systems were designed in 2009 and the CITY systems in 2012. Technology has forged ahead and some of our needs have changed since that time. The age of some components was apparent in the difficulty of operation. There were major differences between the MPC and CITY infrastructure and gear and the complex systems required significant manoeuvring and setup times.
“For NBCS, what is unchanged is the usage for diverse live music, playback and speech. We required a long-term cost-effective solution that continues to be inspiring and ultra-flexible. Given students are users of the systems, all components have to be super user-friendly.”
NBCS turned to production and installation specialist, Production by Design (PxD), to help specify a flexible AV solution that met all its requirements. PxD Project Manager, Chad Keating recommended the dLive system, installing DM32 MixRacks in both venues, fitted with Dante cards for integration with a Dante network carrying audio and video throughout the school.

Europe - PEARLE and the European Festivals Association have published The sixth edition of the EFA RISE series, What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers, with an update on visa legislation.
Although mobility is on hold and live performance is coping with the challenges of reopening its physical doors to their artists and audiences, the sector will tour again, have residencies and co-productions as cross-border working is deeply rooted in the DNA of the live performance sector.
How we travel will be rethought. Considerations on more sustainable forms of touring are not new and have quite some supporters.
This booklet gives information on visas for the Schenghen Area, what types there are, who needs them, how and where to lodge your application as well as useful advice and tips to help visa applicants and performance hosts to navigate the process.
This new edition follows the successful synergy partnership between EFA and Pearle - Live Performance Europe started in 2014, in the context of EFA RISE, to improve general knowledge of the legal and managerial aspects of cross-border cultural cooperation and counts with similar publications on Social Security, Artist Taxation, VAT, Copyright Clearing for Live Events.
This sixth edition, Visas for Third Country National Artists Travelling to the Schengen Area – Update 2020, was officially presented by Pearle - Live Performance Europe on 29 May 2020 in the frame of the 59th Pearle Conference.
The booklet is available to download from h

Italy - Powersoft has announced that its full line of amplifiers will be available for specification within the popular D-Tools software for systems integrators. In celebration of this announcement, Powersoft dealers will be eligible for a free 45-day trial of D-Tools Cloud.
“It is our pleasure to bring the full breadth of Powersoft amplification to the D-Tools platform,” says Francesco Fanicchi, brand communication and trade marketing manager, Powersoft. “Our diverse line-up of industry-leading amplifiers presents compelling possibilities for installations of all sizes, and we are happy to now make them available to integrators through this powerful and efficient software tool.”
“We are excited to add Powersoft to our amplification offerings within D-Tools’ software solutions,” says Barrie McCorkle, director of supplier programs, D-Tools. “Powersoft amplification’s unique capabilities and diverse configurations help broaden our users’ selection of amplification solutions, empowering them to design and build systems that best meet their clients’ needs.”
D-Tools’ award-winning on-premises software, System Integrator (SI), and cloud-based platform, D-Tools Cloud, streamline project workflows for system integrators including sales, comprehensive system, design, project documentation, procurement, installation, back office management, and service, through a data-driven process that leverages an extensive and integrated product library. The D-Tools product library will now include detailed product information and dealer-specific

USA - When the Coeur d’Alene casino, hotel and resort in Worley, Idaho, refurbished its technical facilities, Alcons Audio pro-ribbon systems were chosen.
Established in 1993, Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel is a premium hotel and resort with a casino, spa, golf club, a large live events space and additional, more intimate entertainment lounges. The first phase of a major upgrade covered the main live performance space, which included an enlarged stage, new bleacher seating at the back of the venue and radically updated technical infrastructure.
“Casinos like Coeur d’Alene attract international performing artists and the owners wanted to set themselves apart from other venues. They wanted a high end system that would meet rider specifications and be something that engineers were excited to mix on,” says Alcons Audio North American sales manager David Rahn.
“Versatility and great sound was important for the reputation of the casino. We have a wide variety of guests, so looking great and sounding great was key,” says Norbie Seres of the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel A/V department.
Coeur d’Alene’s owners consulted a venue in Las Vegas which had recently installed an Alcons LR18 compact pro-ribbon line array. Impressed with the reports of its audio quality and fidelity at high SPLs, after a demonstration, they chose a Front of House system comprising 18 LR18 and six BF362i mkII high output subwoofers, with a stage monitoring system of VR8 compact versatile monitors, VR12/60 mid-size versatile monitors and BF151 mkII co

UK - Cornwall-based bespoke audio specialist Apt-GB has introduced the CMA Range consisting of ‘two compact top packs that pack a serious punch’ – the versatile SC208 (CMA44) and SC122 (CMA82).
The speakers are designed to cover most install, conference and live music needs. With multiple rigging points they fit discreetly into most spaces in installations. You can also rotate the horn for more control.
Leading the design team, company founder Graham Gosden has over 20 years of experience in design and engineering for live touring and fixed installations.
All Apt-GB cabinets are manufactured in itson-site facility at the heart of Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor.

Germany - LED manufacturer Absen reports that they they have won the Red Dot Product Design award for their latest rental staging LED solution, the Venus (VN) series.
The Red Dot Design Award has become established internationally as a seal of quality for good design. Established in 1955, the Product Design award is presented to the best products created each year, as decided by a jury of 40 international experts on product innovation.
Winners of the award are judged on a range of elements, such as innovation, functionality, quality, and ecological compatibility. Commenting on the winning VN Series, the Red Dot Award’s jury praised “a particularly high flexibility and durability which makes the Venus series universally applicable in various usage scenarios.”
“We’re delighted to have been presented a Red Dot award for Product Design,” said Amy Tang, VP of product at Absen. “The VN Series was designed with users in the field in mind every step of the way. Not only does the product deliver a visually stunning performance, it is radically different to what is currently available on the market and will see customers save on weight and cost, without compromising on the performance of the product.”
The Venus series is an LED display that has been specifically designed for concerts and festivals due to its ability to create super-sized screens at speed. The product features an integrated ‘module-on-frame’ design, which has removed the need for a sub-frame and is 27% lighter than competing solutions, allowing creative teams to cut b

Germany - DRIVE.IN Concerts of Monheim has come up with a solution that allows music fans of the area to attend a live concert again.
DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim is a series of events in which the crowd park their cars in front of the stage just like at a drive-in movie. Running through June, with a variety of live acts and DJs performing, the concert series features an impressive stage set-up that relies on Elation Professional and ADJ lighting fixtures.
The series kicked off in early May with a live performance by Cologne-based rock band Kasalla as part of their Et Jitt Car-Salla tour of drive-in concerts. Since then, most weekends have seen two or three concerts taking place at the outdoor site, featuring artists such as DJ Quicksilver, Da Hool, Moguai, TOPIC and The Disco Boys. Future performers are set to include electronic acts Fiasko and YouNotUs, as well as local folk band Klüngelköpp.
The festival-style lightshow, supplied by local AV production company LaserFrame, consists of Elation fixtures, alongside others from sister-brand ADJ. The on-stage wash moving head chosen for the rig is Elation’s compact Rayzor 360Z LED beam/wash moving effect with three 60W RGBW LEDs, 8 to 77-degree zoom and continuous pan and tilt rotation.
The front of the stage is lined with a combination of Elation Chorus Line 16 motorized pixel bars and Proteus Rayzor 760 IP65-rated wash fixtures that feature Elation’s proprietary SparkLED background sparkle illumination system. Finally, blinder duties are taken care of by Elation Cuepix Blinder WW2s. <

USA - Roger Sharp is proud of his region’s music tradition. His upstate New York stomping grounds have nurtured a wealth of talent in virtually every genre, from Lana Del Ray, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Ani Di Franco to Moe, Rick James, Lou Gramm, 10,000 Maniacs and Chuck Mangione.
The owner of High Peaks Event Production, Sharp has always entertained the idea of putting on a summer festival honouring this local tradition, even starting a Facebook page dedicated to this mission. But keeping up with the demands of his growing business prevented him from getting around to realizing this dream. He finally found the time though after the COVID-19 lockdown put all events on hold.
With his event business halted, Sharp built a lockdown-safe recording studio and stage in his warehouse, and launched a weekly Sunday night livestream, NY Rock N Roots Festival to highlight local talent.
“Since we can no longer do mass gatherings, we’re focusing on another way of reaching people,” says Sharp. “This isn’t a money-making deal, it’s a way to keep ourselves and bands busy, while providing our community with an entertainment option, all while following strict safety standards.”
Looking to give viewers something as close as possible to an engaging festival experience, Sharp and his wife LD Christine Sharp along with their associates Bryan Madarasz and Corey Hayward decided to support each musical act with a full production light show that reflected the music. “Our goal is to create excitement around the bands without distracting from them,

UK - DiGiCo’s latest software update, V2.6, for its S Series consoles delivers a number of significant new features. These include control of the A164D Wall LCD and A168D Stage for networked audio in installations via the Dante 64@96 DMI, and support for the DMI-KLANG, both of which were launched at this year’s ISE show in Amsterdam.
A164D Wall LCD, a 16 input 4 output I/O Expander, and A168D Stage, a portable 16 input 8 output I/O Expander, deliver all the connectivity of the original A164 Wall LCD and A168 Stage, but with the additional advantage of Dante connectivity. This not only adds the flexibility and familiarity of the Dante network protocol, but also means that consultants and integrators can take advantage of existing network infrastructure to drop I/O anywhere on the network.
With a Dante DMI 64@96 card installed in an S Series console, access to 64 channels of I/O to or from the Dante network is provided. This allows control of both racks and can be set to either be in Full Control mode or Receive Only mode in the audio routing menu. In full control mode, socket properties can be changed from the console, whereas in receive only mode, socket property values are only received from the Dante IO device, and not transmitted by the console.
This can be utilised when sharing inputs with another console; one can have full control of socket properties whereas the other cannot control them, but still receives the value in order for gain tracking to be used.
The DMI-KLANG takes KLANG:fabrik’s immersive in-ear mixing core and rebuil

South Africa - When South Africa went under strict lockdown on 26 March, the entertainment industry had been out of work for a couple of weeks already, with all shows on the events calendar either cancelled or postponed indefinitely. It was a grim picture, and Jannie de Jager of DWR Distribution believed that the very least he could do was use this opportunity to set up training sessions for the industry during this time.
While there was no shortage of training videos and webinars provided by international suppliers, which are still being shared on the DWR Distribution Facebook Group page, Jannie and colleague Dylan Jones, wanted to create a platform where training and personal contact with the industry could continue, allowing all parties to be motivated and to share knowledge. The only obstacle was navigating the best way to do this.
“We definitely had to get used to the world of streaming,” de Jager smiles. “Because the lockdown happened so fast, I initially felt like we were not 100% prepared for what we were going to be doing during this time and initially there was a lot of trial and error! Dylan and I quickly investigated streaming options in order for us to take the training online, and while you’d imagine this to be an easy task, it involves quite a bit of admin. Nevertheless, we quickly adapted and made the best out of it!”
While Jannie has focused on MA Lighting Crash Course sessions and facilitating very popular Q&A live sessions with the DWR team, the sales team have also contributed in hosting webinars with highlig

USA - Altman Lighting has announced release of the new PHX3 LED Profile and PHX3 LED Zoom luminaires. Designed for theatres, special events, television studios, or ‘any location where superior, energy-efficient lighting performance is required’, the 340W PHX3 LED ellipsoidals ‘enhance your design versatility and efficiency without sacrificing performance’.
“Wanting to make sure that we implemented the most robust technology possible into our next-generation LED ellipsoidals, the PHX3 Profile and Zoom introduce a number of innovative features in function, style, and efficiency,” says Pete Borchetta, Altman vice president product innovation. “Having spoken with a number of lighting designers and dealers worldwide, we wanted to expand our PHX series even further with these two new high-performance and dependable luminaires.”
Utilising a 340W (RGBL) Red, Green, Blue, and Lime LED engine, the PHX3 luminaires output just over 10,000 lumens for a true front-of-house workhorse fixture. Available in 5°, 10°, 19°, 26°, 36° and 50° fixed focus Profile Spot models, as well as 15-35° and 30-55° Zoom Spot models, the fully locking shutters and 360° rotating barrel helps you keep the PHX3 fixture focus intact with virtually no light leak.
Providing multiple on-board control options such as colour fades and strobes, PHX3 luminaires also offer a console-free stand-alone Player Mode, and 8-bit or 16-bit virtual dimming for smooth, high quality blackouts and colour shift minimization during dimming.
“Looking for a lighting solution tha

USA - Stephen F. Austin State University, located on a forested campus in Nacogdoches, Texas, is home to more than more than 13,000 students enrolled in approximately 80 undergraduate majors. In total, the university offers 120 areas of study across its six academic colleges: business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, sciences and mathematics, and liberal and applied arts.
Among the many points of pride within Stephen F. Austin are its music and sound recording technology programme and its school of music’s jazz bands - a pair that has found a harmonious relationship with one another thanks to a powerful Dante network.
“The sound recording programme was started in 2010 with the idea of focusing heavily on the technology that was transforming that space,” says James F. Adams, assistant professor of music and director of sound recording technology at the university. “I was recruited out of Los Angeles in 2016 with the goal of bringing that programme to greater heights. For the past four years I have been lucky to do that, and a big part of it has been thanks to Audinate’s Dante.”
Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network. Adams said he introduced Dante in 2018 after reconnecting with studios he knew back in Los Angeles.
“Everyone I spoke to was recommending it,” Adams continues. “And when we did the conversion, I saw why it had become a de facto technology in the studio world. I loved it immediately.”
Over the past two years, Adams has integrated Dante acr

France - Over the course of a three-year hiatus, the newly-renamed La Halle ô Grains theatre in Bayeux, Normandy, reopened to the public at the end of 2019 after a thorough redesign to address the latest expectations in terms of reception, accessibility, aesthetics, visibility, and comfort.
This update was undertaken in order to offer the best possible experience to spectators, and a more versatile technical palette for incoming artists and crews. The new hall now boasts a complete APG loudspeaker system installed by the ISA Group, an integrating partner of the APG network, enabling the theatre’s management to count on high-precision, high-quality acoustics.
“The specifications were drawn up around the programming and shows, 80% of which are theatrical,” comments Romain Motte, general manager of La Halle ô Grains for the past five years. “We were looking for precise audio quality, particularly at the high frequencies for a totally faithful reproduction of the voices. We also wanted to differentiate La Halle ô Grains from other theatres in the region and opted for a sound system that we felt was superior.”
The theatre's tender was won by the ISA Group, which was able to put forward a bid with a high-performance, technologically innovative and financially competitive sound system. The theatre was no stranger to the APG brand, thanks to local event provider Music Light, a member of the APG network of service provider partners in France and a regular user of APG for several years. Motte and the theatre's management were able to testify to t

Switzerland - Following on the success of its virtual NAB booth, audio over IP specialist Barix will present its latest products for the professional AV market and host individual meetings with end-users and systems integrators during its virtual InfoComm event on 22-24 June.
“While we will miss not being able to meet with AV professionals, integrators, and partners face-to-face in Las Vegas this year, we look forward to engaging with them virtually,” comments Manuel Merki, head of marketing at Barix. “Our virtual NAB booth for broadcasters was well received, and with more virtual event experience under our belts, our Virtual InfoComm may prove to be even better. With businesses starting to emerge from lockdowns and projects ramping back up around the world, this is a perfect time for end-users and integrators to learn what’s new from Barix and discuss their specific requirements with us one-on-one.”
Barix will present its latest AV product news on 22 June in three sessions, allowing attendees around the world to choose the most convenient time for their region: 10:00am CEST, 1:00pm EDT (10:00am PDT), and 5:00pm SGT. A highlight of the webinar will be the full launch of Barix’s IP Former hardware for transforming virtually any loudspeaker into an IP Speaker, following its early preview at ISE.
Other featured products will include the SIP Audio Endpoint for bridging analogue audio with SIP-based phone systems; a new SDK available for the AudioPoint 3.0 low-latency, audio-to-mobile streaming platform; and enhancements to the company’s S

UK - At the beginning of the year, in his role as director of Polar’s Integrated Solutions Division, Stuart Leader was travelling around the UK, overseeing progress, managing the team, developing customer and supplier relationships, and bringing new brands into the Polar portfolio.
Then, by mid-March, like the greater proportion of UK citizens, Stuart was in lockdown.
Stuart already had an office at home, but the realisation that it was to become his base for the foreseeable future, prompted him to make some improvements. The occasional conference call was one thing, the daily demands of increased phone and video call traffic was another.
“There’s no question that access to good technology can make things a lot easier when working from home. At Polar, we work closely with customers to help them deliver the solution that best fits the job - whatever the size and scale of a project. Our expertise helps to guide them to what will work best in a given scenario - and that doesn’t always have to be the most complex or expensive solution.”
In his view, the pandemic has demonstrated how effectively, given the right tools, large numbers of people can comfortably work from home. The principal improvement Stuart made to his own office was one which he considers to be all too often overlooked.
“Before you even think about the technology you're going to use, it pays to actually think about the physical characteristics of the space you’re in. Spare rooms for example, by their nature are often square boxes with lots of hard surfaces. Thi

UK - Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War in Europe, London’s Royal Albert Hall (RAH) hosted We’ll Meet Again for VE Day 75 with Katherine Jenkins to honour those who gave their lives so that subsequent generations could come to know peace and freedom. Event production supplier, SFL provided the audio and video production for the live performance. The event was organised by TBI Media and Snappin’ Turtle Productions, both long-standing clients of SFL.
With the world overcast by the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SSAFA armed forces charity and The Mayor of London joined together with the noted London venue, brought the nation together by offering an authentic musical experience.
For the first time since The Blitz, the RAH stood empty for an event, but its true life force - the audience - were able to enjoy the performance of Welsh mezzo soprano artist Katherine Jenkins and other musicians in the comfort of their own homes. Another ‘first’ was the way the stage was presented, with the empty auditorium as its backdrop.
“Showing the completely empty auditorium, void of its 5,000-plus audience, sent a really powerful and emotive message to the online audience,” says Craig Lawrence, video & projects director at SFL. “Safety and social distancing were our utmost priority in the planning process.”
SFL deployed a complete video and audio solution, which included a full camera solution for a superb six-camera shoot, using a camera jib and multiple Osprey peds to capture smooth, constant movement. One

Albania - Headquartered in Tirana, ASLV (Albanian Sound, Lighting and Video) has operated nationwide since 2013 and, with its team provides sound, lighting, video, staging and structures, as well as creative technical solutions for concerts, festivals, theatre and opera productions, key corporate events, expos and more throughout the country. Specialist services also include consultation and design.
Recently appointed as exclusive Outline distributor for Albania, following its corporate policy of ensuring its clients equipment that is technically the best for perfectly meeting their requirements, ASLV has also taken delivery of an Outline Superfly Silver audio package, one of the three turnkey set-ups conceived in recent months by the Italian audio manufacturer.
Superfly loudspeaker systems have a true three-way (HF-MF-LF) design, but the dual high-efficiency 10” transducers in the LF section are powered individually, significantly enhancing low-frequency performance. The midrange and HF components (dual 8” drivers and a single 3” compression driver) are the same as Outline’s GTO series.
Outline’s product manager and business developer Fernando Rey Méndez explains, “The three configurations ensure the best ratio between loudspeaker and amplifier quantity, thus becoming excellent investments with a fast economic return. They also guarantee an optimal combination between different kits of other Outline product families, such as GTO kits and Mantas 28 kits.”
ASLV’s Superfly Silver configuration is suitable for sound reinforcement

USA - Chicago-based Charles Ford and his business partner Brandon Clark from Creative Live Control have developed a professional streaming production service - lighting, audio, cameras and broadcast - that meets all the social distancing requirements, can be installed and run by the two of them.
While the challenges of producing special high impact lighting for community lighting projects like Chicago Unite at Night have been stimulating and fun, Charles and Brandon also need to generate some business as all their touring work has currently been cancelled, so they hit on the idea of the professional live streaming service.
The living room of Charles’ condo has been transformed into a pop-up studio space and after a couple of test runs, there is a queue of local artists lined up to visit and use the facilities.
Brandon completed all the networking, internet and broadcast elements and lighting - using six Robe Pointe multipurpose moving lights from locally-based rental company JRLX, while Charles programmed and created visual content.
“Basically, it was as much kit as we knew we could safely run in a set up like this with limited power. Pointes offer a massive amount of options and in a small space we only use a fraction of their intensity, but their presence makes a huge difference in the quality and look of the stream.”
During the broadcasts, Brandon runs the streaming and lighting from one laptop and a grandMA2 light and Charles takes care of audio on another laptop, cutting the cameras via an M-BOX media server and a gran

USA - New York City may be over a thousand miles away, but local company, JEM Productions, created the look and feel of Manhattan jazz club at its warehouse- turned-studio in Wausau, WI, as it hosted a livestream fundraising show by the Sara Rifleman Trio.
The performance by the Wisconsin-based musicians was the latest in a series of livestreamed shows emanating from the lighting and audio company’s makeshift studio. It was the smoothest production to date, according to Joe Ellis, president of JEM Productions.
“We’ve been doing these for weeks now, ever since the Covid-19 shutdown started,” said Ellis. “I think we’re getting familiar with this process! Our lighting and production crew did a really great job creating the look of a classic New York jazz club on the set. Sometimes, the simpler the look, the harder you have to dig into the art of design. This was a great exercise for us. With jazz, the musicians really carry the dynamic and we fill a supportive role.”
Helping Ellis and his team fill that role was a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Spot, Rogue R2 Wash, STRIKE 4 and COLORado 1 Solo fixtures. Washing the livestream set in deep purples and cool blues, which played off well against brick wall images on video panels, the JEM team created the smoky vibe of underground jazz haunt.
Shadows of the musicians and their instruments created by low angled side lighting added to the depth of the scene, while columns of warm white light from the STRIKE 4 fixtures endowed it with a sense of urban excitement. “Our goal h

USA - Bending Lite Productions’ Erik Mahowald has enjoyed a long tour of duty with American electronic musician and DJ Dillon Francis, noted for popularising the ‘Moombahton’ genre - a fusion of house music combined with reggaeton.
Last summer, Erik conceived a lighting design for Coachella 2019 based around 60 GLP JDC1 hybrid strobes, but with the intention of bringing it to major headline events following the reveal.
Working alongside creative content director and VJ, Mario Adato; production manager, Nathan Rebolledo and tour manager, Mike Finn, Mahowald programmed the lighting to animate a set that combined complementary surround elements with creating big moments of drama to produce a high-octane party vibe for audiences to become immersed in.
In the centre of this was Dillon Francis himself, performing from an elevated booth, housing his CDJ setup. The production team also implemented several other automated performing platforms for his trademark piñata to rise from behind him during his song Candy.
Using heavy back lighting to create powerful looks Erik Mahowald projected a combination of low light and full blast looks depending on genre. “Dillon plays a large library of genres in 90 minutes and it is important that we take each one of those and curate a mood for each,” he says. “We break this up into around 15-minute sections, and within each we come up with a world for the content to live in.
“The lighting is important because it brings a huge amount of visual energy to the room. We used the JDC1 in abundance sole

Spain - Occupying a downtown location just a stone’s throw from the famous Passeig de Gracia, the Khalijia Lounge & Restaurant is Barcelona’s newest nightspot with an oriental twist.
Offering everything from Lebanese and Moroccan-inspired food to exotic cocktails coupled with live music, Khalijia aims to cater for a discerning clientele that appreciates quality at every level. Barcelona-based AV systems integration specialists, Silence Electroacústica S.L., were commissioned to design and install the audio, lighting and DMX control systems throughout the new venue. Silence opted for a KV2 Audio system based on the EX Series of active loudspeakers.
From an audio perspective, the system needed to handle a wide spectrum of requirements, from extremely high quality, low level music reproduction for the lunchtime and early evening crowds going right through to high-energy live performances.
Silence’s owner and CEO, Jose Luis Rosales comments: “Our passion for quality and the extraordinary pleasure that comes from listening to KV2 Audio systems made it a very easy choice,” declares Rosales. “As a company, our watchwords are quality, durability and performance – we would never recommend any product or any brand that does not fulfil these three criteria. Fortunately, KV2 meets them all.
“We went for EX Series components firstly because of their extremely high-quality live music reproduction capacity and secondly their extraordinary sensitivity when it comes to low volume music reproduction - this is really important for creating t

UK - A recent prosecution at Luton Crown Court has highlighted both the human and financial cost when work at height is not properly planned and managed, the Ladder Association reports.
The court heard that on 5 September 2016, an engineer testing a sprinkler system for leaks at a site in Hemel Hempstead, fell almost 3m after the extension ladder he was using slipped away from him. The engineer fell into the gap between the internal roof and the external wall resulting in a fractured vertebrae, soft tissue damage and severe blood loss - amounting to around half of his bloodstream - and led to him requiring a blood transfusion and 14 stitches to the head.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that reasonably practicable measures had not been taken to prevent a fall from the internal roof for both the engineer and other contractors working on the roof. The investigation further found that the principal contractor had failed to discharge its duty to ensure those not in their employment were not exposed to risks, in particular that of falling from height.
The company was found guilty of breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £1.1 million with costs of almost £69,000 - one of the highest fines seen in recent years.
In response to this prosecution, the Ladder Association - a not-for-profit industry body dedicated to promoting the safe use of ladders and stepladders - is urging all those responsible for managing the use of ladders to take the necessary measures so, as far as is rea

USA - The Ahava Festival held its inaugural event at the Woldenberg Riverfront Park in New Orleans, Louisiana in early March. With no admission fee, attendees were encouraged to take in the sounds, sights, and tastes and, if possible, to donate to 110 hard-working local charities.
The weather was beautiful, and the event raised over $100,000. Danley Sound Labs supported the Ahava Festival with loudspeakers, subwoofers, and multi-channel amplifiers for all of its three stages.
“The whole concept behind the Ahava Festival is based on sharing love and giving to the people in New Orleans who are in need,” explained Matt Dupuy, Ahava Festival technical director. Dupuy is a system designer and installation technician at local AV integration firm Assurance AV Solutions of Mandeville, Louisiana, as well as the FOH engineer for New Orleans’ party band favourite, Groovy 7 (who also played the main stage at Ahava). He coordinated with all of the different production companies and suppliers, including Danley, who came together to make the Ahava Festival a success.
Dupuy continued, “As an integrator, Danley is always our first suggestion to clients whenever possible. Groovy 7’s main system is two SM80s and two TH118s. Danley has a level of clarity and a consistency in coverage that no one else can touch.”
Ivan Beaver, chief engineer at Danley Sound Labs drove down from Georgia to assist with the event and, more importantly, to chat with the many local live sound engineers who used the system. “Here’s the deal,” Beaver said. “What Danle