UK - Based in the heart of the West Midlands with a satellite office in North Wales, sound production company CS Audio has made an initial investment in Outline’s Newton FPGA processor, supplied by UK distributor CUK Audio.
“The unit had been on my radar for a while thanks to the industry ‘buzz’ it has generated - some products quickly develop a reputation for simply being the right tool for the job and Newton is definitely one of them,” says owner Paul Hatt. “It quickly became obvious that it was way ahead of any comparable product and ideal for our needs. Its ease of use, dual redundant PSUs and connectivity options, all in such a compact package, made it a very simple decision to invest.”
Paul continues: “It has become our go-to choice for our FOH drive rack, using Dante as the primary network with AES backup, and it works so well with our inventory

UK - Sam Fender played two homecoming shows at St. James’ Park in Newcastle with lighting designed by Sam Tozer - also the show’s creative director - and equipment supplied by event technology specialists, Adlib, including 11 x Robe Fortes running on five RoboSpot systems.
Tozer has been working with the artist since he re-started playing live after the pandemic in 2021. Working alongside him was lighting director Luke Avery, who was heavily involved in the design process, together with set designer Flora Harvey. Video content was created by UDC.
Sam’s overall vision for these shows was to make the lighting look epic, large scale and ‘industrial strength’ to cover the dynamic range of Sam Fender’s music.
The Fortes were all rigged on the front truss and utilised for spot lighting, key lighting and specials. “I needed a very reliable and stable remo

UK - For more than 15 years, Oxford’s Event Production Services has been a major fixture at Truck Festival. In 2023 EPS provided sound and lighting for five of the eight stages. For the second year running sound systems in these spaces were entirely based around Nexo products, from the Geo, P+ and ID series, with control surfaces from Yamaha.
Highlights included This Feeling and Rockin’ Chair stages, which both utilised Nexo Geo M1210 and MSUB18 with cardioid subwoofers; and The Tap Room, with a compact but potent system of Geo M620 and MSUB18. All systems were ground stacked but still offered consistent coverage and audio level across the spaces, with all the M12 systems running in active mode.
Robert Nisbet, managing director of EPS, reported flawless operation from the Nexo systems. “Having bought into Nexo in large quantities over the past five years, our te

Hungary - In 2023, the city of Veszprém in Western Hungary and the Bakony-Balaton region is holding a year-long programme of events and celebrations as the European Capital of Culture. The Grand Opening of the festivities took place on 21-22 January under the title Come shine with us!, a spectacular event with lighting design by Balázs Varga. The LD illuminated the occasion using 120 IP-rated lighting products from Elation Professional.
January weather in Hungary can be freezing - it is the coldest and snowiest month of the year in the country - with temperatures often between 0° and -10° Celsius. “The rehearsal days and programming days were freezing and there was snow on show day,” stated Balázs, co-founder and managing director of Hybrid Production of Budapest.
“It was extremely hard on the fixtures because the equipment was outside for seven strai

UK - South City Studios, a pre-production and rehearsal facility in Stockport, is expanding after using a six-figure loan from FW Capital Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (npif).
Established in 2017, South City Studios, formerly called The Stockport Studios, is located in Pear Mill, Stockport. Following strong financial performance over the past two years, the business was able to fund the development of additional studio spaces at its existing location, increasing overall capacity to 15 permanent rooms that can be hired on a monthly basis and a further four rooms available for flexible bookings.
The investment will support plans to accelerate further growth following the acquisition of additional space at Welkin Mill, Stockport, close to the existing studios. The owners of the business plan to create additional rehearsal studios as well as

UK - Entec Live has extended its investment in Optocore fibre network devices, expanding its Record and Returns racks capabilities - thereby future-proofing them for the growing roster of arena, stadium and festival events they are undertaking.
This was after the production company had invested in its first three M8-BNC MADI switches for the Gorillaz world tour early last year. Supplied by Optocore dealer, HD Pro Audio, the devices were designed to help optimise their Pro Tools rig, enabling connectivity with their Optocore-enabled DiGiCo SD7 digital consoles.
This year they added a further M8-BNC, but equally significantly five X6R-FX-16AE interfaces (one with SRC sample rate conversion option, the other four without), creating an Optocore PA Returns rack that will become their de facto system for shows over the next year. Again, the order was fulfilled by HD Pro Audi

South Africa - Cape Town-based rental and production company Ultra Event Technical Solutions has been extremely busy since the industry re-energised post-covid, a challenging time that nonetheless saw them retain their complete staff through resourcefulness, creative thinking and adapting the facilities and skill base they had to a pandemic economy.
Thankfully as soon as the gathering and meeting up restrictions were lifted, “We’ve been absolutely full-tilt,” explained Ultra’s founder and CEO, Costa Champanis.
With business growing, it wasn’t long before they needed more lights, so Costa made the investment in 24 x Robe LEDBeam 350s.
Ultra is a ‘one-stop solution’ for technical production. Their work encompasses a multiplicity of corporate and industrial events, awards shows, gala evenings, graduation ceremonies, etc, plus in the summer, a round of

USA - World Cup champion Lionel Messi created shock waves when he passed up offers from better-known clubs to sign with the struggling Inter Miami team.
Anticipation was high when the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner suited up for his first game on Friday 21 July, but Messi, still recovering from an exhausting travel schedule, had to sit on the bench for the first 54 minutes. Then, with the sell-out crowd standing and cheering wildly, he entered the game and proceeded to score the winning goal.
A few days before, the player was greeted at the team’s DRV Pink Stadium in Fort Lauderdale with a welcome celebration.
Helping to create the heady atmosphere was a bright, bold, and colourful lighting design from José Laria, lighting designer Andres Albornoz and the entire team at LPS Production that drew on the intense output of over 100 Chauvet Professional IP65 rated

USA - By any measure, the numbers for the Dead & Company final tour of 2023 are impressive. Although among the top-grossing acts since its first tour in 2015, with this year’s outing the band shattered all of their previous totals. Across 28 shows in 19 cities, according to Billboard Box Score, Dead & Company grossed $114.7m and sold 845,000 tickets.
However, the magnitude of this final leg of “the long, strange trip” must be measured by more than hard numbers. It marked the coda of a resilient cultural and sociological phenomenon - launched by the Grateful Dead - that has spanned nearly six decades and three generations. Appropriately, the tour’s significance as a milestone of Americana was recognised in a lavishly illustrated 2,500-word feature in The New York Times.
As has been the case since the outset, Dead & Company was again accompanie

USA/UK - Audio equipment manufacturer Audient has announced the appointment of Korg USA as exclusive US distributor of its entire product range, with immediate effect.
This news comes as Momentum Audio Sales president, John Devins announces his retirement. Audient sales director Simon Sinclair remarks, "We'd like to place on record our personal appreciation of John, the whole Momentum back-office team and our regional representatives. We started in his garage 10 years ago, sharing space with the Triumph Spitfire and now we're a significant player in the USA market. This is thanks in no small measure to John and his highly focussed US team. We wish John a very long and happy retirement with the knowledge of a job well done."
Korg USA is one of North America’s most diversified independent distributors of pro audio and musical instrument brands. Simon comments on the a

UK - Plymouth’s varied event venues, from a private castle to the local football club, are being showcased at a trade exhibition next month (September). The city’s museum, gallery and archive, The Box, will host the event which features a wide range of hotels, venues and suppliers.
Potential clients looking for the perfect conference, meeting or event space, are invited to meet the exhibitors and enjoy a famed Devon cream tea on 11 September.
Among those taking part in The MeetPlymouth VENUE Showcase are: Pentillie Castle, a country castle on the banks of the River Tamar, available for exclusive hire; BLOCK, a stylish workspace, meetings and event venue at historic Royal William Yard; Plymouth Argyle Football Club, available for celebratory events from weddings and christenings to presentations and product launches, and Le Vignoble Wine Merchant and Lounge which o

Studio Sale - The BBC's historic Maida Vale studios, which have hosted sessions by stars ranging from The Beatles to Adele, have been sold to a group led by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
Zimmer, who wrote the scores for films like The Lion King and Dune, has teamed up with Love Actually and Cats movie producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
The BBC said the complex would remain a "centre for pioneering music-making". It was valued at about £10m but the BBC did not disclose the purchase price. Built in 1909 as Britain's largest indoor roller-skating rink, the north-west London building was bought by the BBC in 1933. It is home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has hosted the world's biggest rock and pop stars - from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead and Jay-Z to Little Mix.
It also played host to John Peel's famous Radio 1 sessions and the

USA - A premiere public arts school in the greater Orlando area, Osceola County School for the Arts (OSCA) has a long-standing tradition of excellence with many alumni having gone on to attend various prestigious university programs, such as The Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music and more.
Osceola County School for the Arts’ Jazz A Ensemble, specifically, is a two-time winner and five-time finalist at the Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival and has performed at many jazz festivals throughout the United States. When the programme was in need of new and improved microphones, director, composer and veteran educator Jason Anderson turned to MXL Microphones.
“After learning more about the kind of instruments we were using, what the band was like and what we would be using the mics for, MXL came through big time and within a month or two we were usi

USA - A 500-mile-long NASCA cup race, the Daytona 500 is an annual event held at the Daytona International Speedway. This year’s event marked 75 years of NASCAR, and to celebrate this anniversary, the event included a special virtual final lap. The Famous Group were chosen as NASCAR’s preferred partners to bring this ambitious project to life.
“We were asked to recreate 18 historic NASCAR racecars and show them racing in a single lap together on the Daytona racetrack,” explains Erik Beaumont, head of mixed reality at The Famous Group. “The fantasy lap would include a Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.88 car and a Dale Earnhardt Sr. No.3 car, a nod to some of the most important moments in Daytona 500 history.”
Creating a virtual mixed-reality event for live broadcast required careful tracking to ensure the seamless fusion of the imaginary and the real. Stage Precision

UK - Audiologic in collaboration with integrator GVAV, has announced the implementation of a versatile hybrid workspace at the University of Hertfordshire. This project incorporates Q-SYS audio, video, and control technology to create a seamless learning experience for students, whether they are physically present or participating in remote learning off campus.
Recognising the need to adapt to evolving user demands, both corporate and higher education institutions are transforming their workspaces to embrace greater flexibility. The University of Hertfordshire identified the outdated Prince Edward Hall lecture theatre as a space that had the potential to be transformed into a much more optimal learning environment catering for the needs of both in person and remote students. In response, they developed a new multi-use learning space, within a dynamic setting, designed to pro

Belgium - The Concert Hall venue, which is part of the Music Centre de Bijloke in Ghent, was once a 13th century civic hospital and now offers a vibrant and interesting blend of music often embracing additional performance and visual art forms like theatre and film.
During the pandemic, The Concert Hall which retains its original wooden curved frame roof and exterior walls, was completely renovated. New lighting was installed as part of this upgrade, including 13 x Robe T1 Profiles, which were specified by the Music Centre’s technical manager, Natan Rosseel and his team.
The works included removal of the entire floor which was sunk down by one metre. This was primarily to improve the acoustics; however, it has also resulted in an additional metre gain of headroom very much welcomed by the lighting department.
The 13th century roof spans are still in place, bu

UK - Last Autumn Martin Audio partner, 22live, completed its first full production tour, with The Australian Pink Floyd show, which provides an authentic tribute to the original band and has long used Martin Audio PA on tour.
For the band’s late 2022 UK tour Paul Timmins, now hire director and one of the founders of the recently formed pro-audio service company, 22live, was reunited with the long-term team of band manager Kevin Hopgood, production manager Chris Gadd, and FOH engineer Trevor Gilligan.
There were a number of factors to consider for Timmins, along with 22live technical director, Simon Gladstone, and operations director Stefan Phillips, when they were preparing their bid as a new player in the market. In addition to general touring economics this included the choice of PA.
With regard to the latter, 22live knew they couldn’t offer Gilligan, who h

UK - Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London has become the first open air theatre in the UK to install Ayrton Perseo fixtures as part of its plan to update to a more sustainable and environmentally-responsible lighting rig.
20 Perseo Profiles have been supplied to this venue by White Light for the full 20-week summer season. White Light worked in close collaboration with the teams at Regent’s Park and Ambersphere, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for the UK, to understand the aims, and facilitate the provision of the correct LED fixtures, to meet all the theatre’s requirements.
Joe Kirk, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s head of lighting, was determined to make changes to the lighting inventory when he took on the role last year: “I wanted to replace the old rig of power-intensive tungsten and discharge moving lights with more sustainable LED replacements,

USA - Avid has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of STG in an all-cash transaction valuing Avid at approximately $1.4bn, inclusive of Avid’s net debt.
“Since our founding over 30 years ago, Avid has delivered technology that enables individuals and enterprises who create media for a living to make, manage and monetise today’s most celebrated video and audio content across the globe,” said Jeff Rosica, Avid’s chief executive officer and president.
“We are pleased to announce this transaction with STG, who share our conviction and excitement in delivering innovative technology solutions to address our customers’ creative and business needs.
“STG's expertise in the technology sector and significant financial and strategic resources will help accelerate the achievement of our strategic vision, b

UK - PCL Live, founded by Adam Wilson, is a leading audio-visual company in the Northeast of Scotland. With impressive industry experience in installation projects, event equipment hire and operation, live streaming, and video production services for over 15 years, Wilson has driven PCL Live to operate using modern technology, with a focus around Leyard Europe products.
“One of the main benefits of Leyard screens is that they’re modular, so we can build them in any configuration needed, which gives us a unique selling point,” says Alex Sherman, business development and technical manager at PCL Live. “Adam has always wanted to push boundaries, and expand delivering the latest low power, green technologies and we didn’t see any other AV companies in the area doing this.
“One of the reasons we wanted to work with Leyard Europe is because they offer a complete

UK - Audio-visual and entertainment technology company, Anna Valley has officially opened a new, multi-purpose studio complex in July 2023. The facility is located on the same block as Anna Valley’s headquarters in West London, in premises previously used to produce content for a broadcast shopping channel and includes five professional studio spaces that can be tailored to suit the production needs of media and entertainment, commercial and event clients.
The idea for Anna Valley Studios originated due to the audio-visual company’s success in using their headquarters as a virtual production and event studio during the pandemic. Despite the lifting of Covid restrictions in 2022, the demand for affordable studio spaces has remained high across their event and production client base. In addition, while the number of studios with volumes have increased in recent months, th

Australia - Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre features the Joyce Schneider Auditorium, a 500-seat theatre with modern facilities including a comprehensive, computerised sound and lighting control room. The theatre completed a significant lighting system upgrade, transitioning from outdated halogen lamps to more advanced technology.
David Brown, the technical coordinator of the venue, explained that the upgrade had been planned for some time, but the increasing difficulty in finding and the high cost of halogen lamps expedited the need for a change. The Covid-19 pandemic, which temporarily suspended performances, provided the perfect opportunity to carry out the upgrade, and David took the chance to conduct an in-depth market research and compare various options. After careful evaluation, he presented a comprehensive report to the council for approval.
Show T

USA - Fire blasts, frenzy and rock ‘n’ roll bombast is bolstering American emo-pop-punkers Fall Out Boy’s current US tour, which is playing amphitheatres across the country backed with LED and projection driven by Green Hippo Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers.
Screen content is guiding the audience through the hitlist set via colour, with strong orange content for the daytime and cooler blues, greens, and purples for the night time scenes. The Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers are running pre-made content and Notch Blocks as well as live feed for the IMAG screens, with one live and one as backup.
BAFTA and Billboard Award-nominated creative directors, TAWBOX, consisting of London-based visionaries Amber Rimell and Bronski, have created a theatrical show for the band as they tour to support their 2023 album, So Much (for) Stardust. It sees an array of high-produ

UK - Voting is now in process for this year’s Gottelier Award, which has received a record number of nominees. Named in memory of renowned industry innovator and commentator Tony Gottelier, this special award recognises the invaluable contributions of the people behind the products.
LSi readers, pre-registered PLASA Show visitors and PLASA members are eligible to vote for the Gottelier Award. The recipient of the award will be announced during the PLASA Awards for Innovation ceremony at PLASA Show on Monday 4 September. The nominees for the 2023 Gottelier Award are:
Mark Ager - XM Automation
Mark’s influence over the past 40 years has been intrinsic in creating and defining the theatre automation industry as we know it today. Known by some as the father of automation, he co-founded and managed Stage Technologies (STL) which developed many of

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