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25 October 2024

UK - TSL has taken a sustainable approach in refreshing one of its key fixtures. Instead of replacing the VL2600, they’ve opted for a smart upgrade by replacing the LED engines.

Sam Tamplin, managing director, shared: “We’ve often been frustrated with the short lifecycle of products from some manufacturers. A fixture barely gains traction in the market before a new version or a near-identical update is introduced.

“When Vari-Lite presented the VL2600 SE upgrade path, it struck us as an innovative step toward sustainability. Lighting designers already love the VL2600, so offering the same fixture with a 25% boost in brightness, allowing it to compete with newer models, was an easy decision."

The upgrade increases output to over 23,750 lumens, while maintaining the same size, weight, power consumption, and the exceptional feature set th

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25 October 2024

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the promotion of Andrew Ellis to project manager. Ellis brings considerable knowledge of hands-on touring experience to this position, where he will plan, direct, and coordinate with Bandit’s clients to ensure the goals and objectives are accomplished within defined budget and time frames.

Bandit Lites’ Jake Tickle hired Ellis as a freelance lighting technician in 2018 before he joined full time in 2021. While at Bandit, Ellis served as a tech and crew chief on several tours including Rob Thomas, Alanis Morissette, Shinedown, Jason Aldean, Breaking Benjamin, Stick Figure and The Marley Brothers.

“Andrew has continually shown an appetite to learn more and be better, not only better himself, but by bringing ideas that will better our company and our process,” said Tickle. “He tackles every challenge head on. I

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24 October 2024

Singapore - Prodigy.MX and .MP units were chosen by Showtec International to deliver the spectacular National Day Parade celebrations from the heart of Singapore’s downtown area.

Independence Day festivities are held in the Padang, Malay for ‘field’, outside the former City Hall, and the site has special historical significance, being the venue for the inauguration of Yusof Ishak and many National Day Parades.

Singapore celebrated its 59th anniversary this year with traditional displays from the military, flypasts and many extraordinary performances. The events were broadcast live, streamed online and displayed on large screens across Singapore. There were fireworks displays and a host of supporting events to mark the occasion.

To ensure the event was not only heard by the people present, but also all those watching remotely, the team f

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24 October 2024

USA - Award-winning Indian playback superstar Javid Ali sings songs in many languages, from Tamil and Urdu, to Bengali, in addition to Hindi.

On his recent shows in the New York area, Ali’s two-hour and thirty-minute concert featured a light show created by Roosevelt Dsouza with a rig anchored by 20 Colorado PXL Curve12 and 16 Color Strike M fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Arranged on a straight line across the downstage deck, the Colorado motorised battens played a variety of roles in the design. At times, they were used to direct intense colourful beams upward in a diagonal line that effectively blocked the upstage area from view. The effect was to create a sense that Ali was closer to the audience, engendering a sense of intimacy between the singer and his fans.

At other times, the Colorado PXL Curve12 projected distinct columns of c

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24 October 2024

UK - Nexo’s compact and cost-effective Geo M Series delivers flexibility to hard-working rental companies required to cover a large range of events with little downtime between them.

One such company is Oxfordshire-based Event Production Services, which has seen a busy summer deploying its Geo M inventory on a variety of jobs all over its home UK county and beyond.

Four stages at the 25th anniversary Truck Festival at Hill Farm in Steventon were rigged this year by EPS, with Geo M12 and Nexo MSUB18s in service on stages 4 and 5, hosting everything from comedy to rock bands and each covering an audience of approximately 2,000 people.

“We got lots of compliments at Truck Festival from artists and audience alike, including people saying that these were the best-sounding stages on the site,” reports EPS managing director Robert Nisbet. “G

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24 October 2024

UK - Moving from his original shop in Hanwell, West London, Jim Marshall took over the current Milton Keynes factory site in 1966. A few steps away from the main building was the social club, now repurposed as the Marshall Studio complex. Adam Beer joined the company in October 2020 as studio manager and oversaw the whole refurbishment project, designing the studio, then, a few years later, turning the disused theatre into a live venue.

“Marshall reached out when they decided to make their own recording studio for the Marshall Record Label artists,” Beer recalls. “The opportunity to build something from scratch was exciting. I chose how the space sounded, filling it with the best equipment available, but as a former live engineer, it was the theatre that really caught my attention. That part of the project was on the back burner for a while, but we had

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24 October 2024

UK - Video Design has announced the sudden and unexpected passing of its managing director, Alex Leinster on 22 October. The company remains open for business with Alex’s father, Paul Leinster, taking over day-to-day control.

An initial statement from Video Design reads: “It is with great sadness that we are letting you know that Alex Leinster, managing director of Video Design died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday, 22 October. Alex will be greatly missed by all who knew him - family, friends, colleagues, business partners and all those he knew in the events industry.”

Bedfordshire-based rental company Video Design was founded by Alex in 2015 and has gone on to provide services for large-scale arena tours by the likes of Take That, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Tears for Fears, Gorillaz, Stormzy and Bring Me the Horizon.

Paul Leinster can be r

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24 October 2024

France - Known for its sandy beaches and warm climate, on the north-eastern Brittany coast, Dinard welcomed the fourth edition of Dinard Opening, a festival that celebrates English and Irish music. Held between 4-10 August, the festival featured artists such as Emilie Rose Bry, Izo Fitzroy, Rum Buffalo, Mick Flannery & Susan O'Neill and The Stranglers.

Dinard’s history with the UK dates back to the 19th century when the seaside commune was the favourite destination for British aristocrats. Now dubbed as the “most British of French towns”, Dinard was a fitting location for a festival dedicated to British music and culture.

Festival goers enjoyed music in various locations around the city, including a public park, Anglican Church, theatre, auditorium, as well as forecourt of the Port-Brenton manor. Behind the scenes, an APG sound system, desi

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24 October 2024

USA - Las Vegas-based independent lighting designer Gregg Maltby used an array of Ayrton fixtures and a pair of grandMA3 light consoles for Peter Frampton’s The Positively Thankful Tour, which led up to his induction ceremony at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October. Ayrton and MA Lighting products are exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment.

OSA International in Nashville was the lighting vendor for the tour, a role they played for Frampton’s 2023 North American tour, which Maltby also designed.

“I had used Ayrton fixtures before and knew they’d be really bulletproof on the four legs of this tour,” says Maltby. “We were playing theatres, arenas and some outdoor sheds and had just two trusses up and downstage and fixtures on the floor, so we could use the rig everywhere we went. There wasn’t a lot of

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24 October 2024

USA - On their current Good Together Tour, the multi-genre band Lake Street Dive uses varied contrasts to make every show impactful and memorable. Audiences experience diverse colour palettes, striking staging and special effects elements, intriguing lyrical themes and an overall attitude that the quintet has described as “joyful rebellion”.

“One of the things the band kept saying during the lead-up to this tour, was that it’s a ‘joyful rebellion’,” lighting director Andrew Froehlich explained. “The album is also all about that feeling: there’s joy, but a little bit of sourness in there. Everything kind of sucks sometimes, but we’re here, we’re living, we’re breathing, so let’s make it better, together.”

From his spot at front of house, Froehlich makes deft and artful use of contrast to enhance the impact of every

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24 October 2024

USA - The city of Niagara Falls stands adjacent to its famous namesake and is home to 50,000 residents. The city is rich in history, culture, outdoor life, shopping, and adventure, featuring hundreds of attractions and things to do year-round. It’s also home to 5 Day Productions.

5 Day Productions is an AV integrator in western New York that focuses on providing clients with purpose-built, high-performance audiovisual solutions. Led by CEO Nathan Gambino, 5 Day Productions has been involved in several installations in and around Niagara Falls, including Niagara Community Church, Sēvā Kitchen and Bar, and Niagara Falls High School.

Gambino regularly recommends LEA Professional’s Connect Series amplifiers to meet various AV requirements, from high intelligibility to ease of use to built-in DSP. The Connect Series of two-, four-, and eight-channel

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24 October 2024

UK - TSL has announced that it has added the Martin Mac One to its stock list. A compact moving head, the Mac One is a beam, wash and eye-candy fixture, capable of producing robust, vibrant aerial effects, seamless transitions and engaging visual effects. With its Fresnel lens that transforms any stage, the Mac One is suitable for concert, touring, TV sets, theatre, corporate events and more.

“The versatility of the Martin Mac One makes it a great fit for our clients across the live events spectrum,” says TSL. “It’s already lined up for an upcoming project, and we can’t wait to see the impact it will make on future shows.”

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23 October 2024

UK - Shure has announced Axient Digital PSM, its first digital wireless in-ear monitoring solution for ‘top-tier touring acts and large-scale productions’. Axient Digital PSM has been designed to meet the rigorous demands of touring professionals and rental houses.

This new system is Shure’s first Wireless Multichannel Audio System (WMAS) enabled product line, empowering audio professionals to adapt to a wide variety of environments.

“For nearly a century, Shure has pioneered innovative solutions that help solve our customers’ problems while moving the industry forward. Now, Axient Digital PSM offers a revolutionary digital radio with WMAS capabilities, remote management for engineers, and a pristine audio experience for performers,” said Nick Wood, senior director, global marketing and product management at Shure.

“To unlock ne

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23 October 2024

Europe - Lightware Visual Engineering has announced an innovative technology collaboration with Genelec, integrating the Lightware Automated Room Automation (LARA) platform with Genelec’s Smart IP PoE loudspeaker family.

By enabling system integrators and AV professionals to easily integrate Genelec Smart IP loudspeakers and subwoofers with Lightware products, users benefit from precise control over essential audio functions such as power management, volume control and mute functions. The solution is particularly valuable in corporate environments where audio quality and ease of use are paramount and eliminates the need for third-party control systems.

The new driver not only simplifies the setup and configuration process but also allows for real-time monitoring of loudspeaker status, providing critical information such as firmware version, zone ID

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23 October 2024

USA - Las Vegas-based full service technical production company 3G Productions has invested heavily in Kinesys automation equipment – including Elevation drives, Kinesys Vector control, DST trollies and tracking truss, which is compatible with the Kinesys Elevation system, together with Libra Cell load monitoring systems, Kinesys Array PD-ES power distros and other infrastructure, much of which has been acquired in the last year.

“The Kinesys system is rock solid and does exactly what it says. It’s known for both innovation and practicality, while being accepted widely as an offering of a premium automation solution,” stated 3G CEO, Keith Conrad.

In 2021, the company embarked on a substantial investment plan to ensure that their audio, lighting, video, and rigging equipment featured the latest, best, and most appropriate technologies to offer

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23 October 2024

UK - Polar will stage a demonstration day for the Turbosound Manchester Series of loudspeakers at the Old Savoy Theatre, Northampton on Tuesday, 19 November.

The Turbosound Manchester Series is designed for large-scale sound reinforcement at concerts, festivals, and stadiums. It features advanced waveguide technology and custom transducers. Its modular design allows scalable configurations for indoor and outdoor venues, ensuring superior performance and reliability for touring professionals and large events.

The event will provide an opportunity for sound engineers, audio professionals, and industry peers to listen to the Manchester Series in action. Visitors will experience its sound performance, discuss specific technical features, and get hands-on experience and insight into how the Series can be deployed in a wide variety of professional audio en

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23 October 2024

UK - QuickLink has been instrumental in easing the remote production challenges of ITV Studios’ popular Saturday Night Takeaway television series.

Lifted Entertainment, part of ITV Studios, produces over 500 hours of television for UK audiences every year, ranging from Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Voice, Countdown, and University Challenge.

Saturday Night Takeaway is a mixture of live and pre-recorded entertainment, with gameshow-influenced segments and regular surprise interactivity with viewers, including children facing health challenges and their families.

At the remote end, which could be literally anywhere in the country, laptops were initially used with either video capture cards or webcams. To take Saturday Night Takeaway remote segments to the next lev

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23 October 2024

The Netherlands - The historic Kunstmin Theatre, a cultural landmark in the heart of Dordrecht, has undergone a communication transformation with the installation of Clear-Com's Arcadia Central Station System. The recent upgrade replaces the theatre's outdated intercom system and seamlessly connects its two locations, Schouwburg and Energiehuis, through a unified communication platform.

Kunstmin’s head technician, Bart Meester, comments: “We had been using two different systems for years – an early Clear-Com digital system, FreeSpeak II digital wireless system, combined with an analogue ASL partyline system. While these systems served us well, it was time for a modern solution.”

After careful research and multiple demonstrations, Kunstmin chose Clear-Com’s Arcadia system for its ability to integrate both wired and wireless digital communica

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23 October 2024

USA - Established in 1985, Hilarities 4th Street Theatre in Downtown Cleveland comprises a cocktail bar, VIP cabaret space and Pickwick The Restaurant – a 185-seat eatery specialising in rustic American cuisine. One of the largest comedy venues in the USA, Hilarities features a sound solution from Renkus-Heinz.

With a capacity of 400 and several internal venues to consider, Hilarities was on the lookout for a reliable and memorable sound system for the first time in 20 years. The club’s owner, Nick Kostis, contacted NPi Audio Visual Solutions, an integrator he knew he could rely on for a complete system overhaul. The project was split into three sections: Frolic Cabaret Bar, Hilarities main stage and the Martini Bar. NPi chose Renkus-Heinz’s IC Live X models, as well as the IC8 line arrays and point source C Series loudspeakers.

“I’ve used

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23 October 2024

UK - SOUL Church, one of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the UK and Western Europe, has opened a new, purpose-built auditorium in Norwich. The 1,250-seat facility features a state-of-the-art L-Acoustics Kara II line array system, designed to provide an elevated audio experience for the church's diverse congregation.

Founded in 2014 by Pastors Jon and Chantel Norman, SOUL Church has quickly become a leading faith community with over 2,500 members. The church hosts a variety of services throughout the week, from large Sunday gatherings to intimate Bible studies. The new L-Acoustics system will support these gatherings, as well as SOUL Church's annual Christmas spectacular, which attracts nearly 10,000 attendees.

"Building a new church of this scale in Western Europe is truly unique," explains Gareth Lee, of the Directional Leadership Team a