Canada - Radio Active Designs (RAD) Canadian manufacturer rep Zimbel Audio Productions has had a busy couple of months placing RAD UV-1G wireless intercom systems with the Canada 150 Celebration, Canadian Country Music Awards, Toronto Pride and Caribana parades and at historic Massey Hall in Toronto for the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductee ceremonies.
The four-day Canada 150 Celebrations at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square benefited from a six- drop UV-1G system that covered site-wide communication needs for the stage managers with just two antennas. The event featured more than 40 music acts including Drake, Belly, and Barenaked Ladies.
Another six-drop system was used at the Canadian Country Music awards broadcast in Saskatoon. Technical producer Neil Staite says, “The RAD comm system supplied flawless communications between our floor and stage manag

Hungary - A range of Mojo Barriers aluminium crowd safety barriers are now based in Budapest with the announcement of a new Mojo distributor giving convenient, cost effective barrier rental for festival organisers and tours coming to Eastern Europe.
A stock of Mojo Barriers will be permanently located in Budapest for rental and it has already been hired out to create the front of stage barrier for the Gorillaz concert, in Budapest, Papp Laszlo Arena.
Mojo’s project and touring manager Stanley Jilesen states: “With the expanding live events market in Hungary and Eastern Europe, Mojo Barriers is proud to support organisers with local resource to help keep their events safe. Having worked with Sziget Festival for several years we are delighted to work with the innovators in this region pushing for higher standards.”
The new Hungarian distributorship is the co

Romania - The Timeshift festival in Bucharest was the debut for the largest roof ever engineered and sold by Milos. The massive MR5 Heavy-Duty roof measured 31 x 18m and covered the main stage of the first edition of Timeshift Bucharest Music Festival - an event where technology and music come together.
The festival was a four-day event held from 20-23 July and featured a total of four stages, with the Milos MR5 roof covering the main stage. Featuring international artists such as David Guetta, DJ Snake and Bloc Party, Milos helped Timeshift ensure its mission of providing the means for its audience to “step into another dimension”.
The client for this project was A.S.C. Systems Sound & Light, based in Bucharest. A.S.C. Systems has been in operation for 17 years and is one of the leading rental companies in Romania for stage, light & sound equipment.

UK - J&C Joel has won the Exporter of the Year category at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards held at Grosvenor House in London on 14 November (Tuesday).
The Sowerby Bridge-based firm, which is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of flame retardant fabrics, drapery and stage engineering solutions, was praised by the judges for the pace of their international growth, the range of countries they cover and their strategy of offering of a range of value-added services suited for both their UK and overseas clients.
J&C Joel’s CEO, James Wheelwright, said: “We are extremely proud and honoured to have won this award, we weren’t expecting it as we were up against some really strong businesses. In recent years we have invested heavily in our export infrastructure; opening new offices overseas and expanding our operations to ensure we are offering the

UK - Cardiff-based event service provider 11th Hour has appointed Gareth Clark, an electrician with 20 years’ experience.
Gareth has worked across the commercial electrical sector on landmark projects such as the O2 Arena, the Reuters Building and a number of other London locations, perhaps most notably as a supervisor for Honeywell during the construction of the new Wembley Stadium, where he had responsibility for turnstiles and escalators as well as installing PAVA and fire alarm provision.
Closer to 11th Hour's Cardiff base, Gareth is very familiar with regular 11th Hour territories, including The Principality Stadium and Celtic Manor. Although very comfortable handling large scale projects, Gareth has a broad-based background and recently completed a foundation degree in Live Event Technology at the University of South Wales.
(Jim Evans)

USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has announced that David Scheirman has taken office as their new president.
Scheirman has over 40 years of experience and expertise in professional audio and has been a long-time active member of the AES, having served three terms on the Board of Governors and taken up numerous roles and chair positions at AES conventions and within the AES committee system.
“David has played a leading role in the past year as chair of the president’s strategic planning team,” said Alex Case, as he ends his own one-year presidential term. “David was instrumental in our development of new events and collaborations. With his broad and deep industry experience, he is uniquely prepared to lead these AES initiatives in the coming year.” Case will continue to serve on the AES Executive Committee as Past President, while also chairing the M

USA - BroadWeigh is set to meet with several of its product partners and end-users at LDI in Las Vegas to introduce them to the latest updates and additions to its product range.
One of the company’s latest developments is the BroadWeigh TwistLink – a smart piece of kit which allows a BroadWeigh 4.75 tonne shackle to be quickly connected to a 4.75 tonne or 3.25 tonne shackle without having to mess around with the pin, nut and Rclip. It has holes at 90 degrees to minimise potential torsion loading in the load pin and conforms to the European Machinery Directive.
This will be joined by the new Wind Speed Sensor foam insert which holds Wind Speed Sensors in both large and small BroadWeigh flight cases. The large case has undergone some changes so that accessories can now fit cleverly within the lid.
Jonathan Purdue, BroadWeigh’s business development manager c

UK - The new owner of SWX will work with local and national promoters to bring more live music to the Bristol club.
Electric Group, which also runs Electric Brixton, completed a deal for SWX last month, recognising “the performance potential in its outstanding atmosphere, production and sightlines”.
With Ticketweb providing box office and marketing support, Electric Group will manage the SWX live diary from Brixton under head of music Mike Weller’s direction.
Weller has been working with the SWX team to further refine the venue’s live set-up, technically and commercially.
Dominic Madden, Electric Group co-founder, comments: “We operate with an independent mindset, shaping an easy and collaborative culture for promoters to embrace SWX with as few financial strings attached as possible.
“Having invested substantially to make the venue pro

MTV Europe Music Awards - Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes was the big winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards, picking up three awards including the best artist prize. Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello was honoured with the best pop prize, French DJ David Guetta won for best electronic act, while US rapper Kendrick Lamar claimed best video.
There were a number of British wins, with Ed Sheeran scooping the best live category, Dua Lipa collecting the best new artist prize, and Chris Martin-fronted Coldplay named best rock act. Irish band U2 collected the Global Icon gong, previously awarded to Queen, Whitney Houston and Eminem. Taylor Swift, who was expected to be one of the big winners of the night with six nominations, failed to win any awards.
In The Summertime - Michael Buble will perform at British Summer Time festival 2018 - his first gig since his

World - Mojo Barriers is supplying almost 2km of its bespoke touring barrier this autumn to a range of this year’s most anticipated tours.
With Mojo’s European office supplying tours including The Rolling Stones, Queens of the Stone Age and Queen & Adam Lambert, and the US office working with Katy Perry, Gorillaz, Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruno Mars, 21 Pilots and Nick Cave, Mojo Barriers is in the midst of a busy touring season.
For Katy Perry’s Witness tour, the shape of the stage thrust required a carefully considered barrier configuration. The final design consisted of over 100m of barrier with many vario corners which enabled Mojo to create a flawless barrier set which followed the unusual contours of the stage perfectly. The system will be used for the remainder of the American leg and will continue to be used when the tour reache

USA - Wireless Solution Sweden will be exhibiting at LDI with TMB, its exclusive distributor in the United States. W-DMX will be in booth 1491, within the TMB village.
The Swedish brand will be showing the new Generation 5 (G5). New features include patent pending tri-band technology, enabling transmission in 2.4, 5.2 and 5.8 GHz, bands and new and improved Adaptive Frequency Hopping engine able to survey and adapt its transmission to less congested wireless channels.
Further, W-DMX G5 features the world’s first double-up mode, a new method of doubling the number of universes transmitters per Wireless link (2 universes on F-1 G5 models, and four universes of F-2 G5 models), utilizing the existent hardware, without adding extra antennae. The double-Up feature works on all three frequency bands, allowing users to get more universes at the same cost.
Adding to th

UK - A public appeal to secure crucial funding for the £48m redevelopment of Bristol’s Colston Hall has been launched.
The historic venue, which celebrated its 150th anniversary this year, will close in 2018 for a refurbishment which will include remodelling the main hall and The Lantern, transforming the cellars into a performance space and creating a learning suite.
The Bristol Music Trust, who runs Colston Hall, has already secured £41m and is now appealing to the public to raise the remaining sum by naming a seat at the Hall for as little as £5 per month for four years.
Louise Mitchell, chief executive of Bristol Music Trust, says: “This year as we’ve celebrated our 150th anniversary we’ve been overwhelmed by the number of personal stories and memories we’ve received, highlighting the significance the Hall has played in so many people’s lives.

UK - The Scottish Ballet has appointed Matthew Strachan as its new technical director. He takes over from George Thomson, who has left for the English National Ballet.
Strachan said: "Having worked with Scottish Ballet for almost 20 years including extensive freelance work, I was delighted to be appointed technical director. I’ve had the fortune to work with a fantastic team during this time and I’m looking forward to this exciting new position."
Christopher Hampson, chief executive/artistic director of the Scottish Ballet, added: "Matthew was the obvious choice as our technical director as he is a highly talented individual and has delivered exceptional work for us over the years. I wish him every success in his new position." Strachan first joined the Scottish Ballet in 1998 as deputy electrician and has worked on numerous award-winning productions inclu

UK - Southampton Solent University has upgraded its performance studios as part of a £100m facilities improvement programme running up to 2020, with VDC supplying the cabling infrastructure.
The university’s TV, Film and Media Technology department already boasts a number of professional-standard facilities including 4K-ready broadcast studios, radio suites and newsrooms, and the decision was made to invest in similarly high-quality facilities for the Music and Performance students. The department has nine rooms in total, five full studios and four smaller workstations which can be used for mixing. Studio 1 was upgraded in 2016 but the remaining studios hadn’t been touched for around ten years so much of the kit was showing signs of wear and tear.
When the decision was made to redevelop Studio 1, Technical Instructor Jon Wills contacted VDC to provide the cabling


Backstage Wages - Backstage and FOH staff are being urged to vote in favour of a pay offer from West End managements that is less than half the increase they originally demanded. In August, backstage and front-of-house union BECTU announced it was seeking a one-year deal for West End theatre staff that included a 9% pay rise. At the time, BECTU said it had submitted an ambitious claim that was justified by the increasing cost of living in the capital.
However, after "intensive" negotiations with the Society of London Theatre at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service failed to secure an agreement, members will now be balloted on a significantly reduced proposal.
It sets out a 3.5% increase for 2017/18, and the same again for the following year, with a 2.5% rise in 2019/20. Under the offer, the third year's deal would be subject to the Consumer Prices

USA - TMB Los Angeles celebrated the 10-year anniversaries of three of the company’s cable assembly technicians.
TMB’s Pro Cables division has worldwide cabling staff of over 50, with an average tenure of close to eight years.
TMB global operations manager, Jonny Starr, says: “Half our cabling staff have been with TMB for more than 10 years, and frankly, it shows. Experienced, conscientious and highly trained cabling techs such as Lidia Rodriguez, Rosa Hernandez, and Jose Granados, who were recently recognized in LA, contribute significantly to making TMB’s cable assemblies the standard to which all others are compared.”
TMB has supplied entertainment production and staging professionals with power and data cables and assemblies since 1983. The company developed a range of specialised proprietary cables for permanent installations, and has partnered wi

Exit Stage Left - Lucy Woollatt has announced she will stand down as executive director of the Young Vic in December. Woollatt's departure comes as artistic director David Lan also prepares to leave the London theatre, in February 2018, to be replaced by Kwame Kwei-Armah. Speaking about her departure, Woollatt said: "My decade at the Young Vic has been the most rewarding of my career to date. I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved night after night at the Young Vic, on tour and in the West End."
Interval Act
- Justin Timberlake is to headline next year's Super Bowl half-time show, 14 years after his role in Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction". The US pop star revealed the news on his Twitter feed - with a little help from talk show host Jimmy Fallon.
Timberlake sang at the 20

UK - Temporary power specialist Midas has been appointed premium dealer for generator giant Himoinsa, giving it access to the latest technology, including the Silent Plus range which cuts noise emissions without limiting performance.
The agreement will see Midas sell Himoinsa machines as well as building and developing its own rental fleet.
Dave Noble, Midas’ managing director, says: “The Himoinsa brand is a mark of quality recognised worldwide. We’ve been looking to expand the rental and sales side of the business for a number of years and this relationship gives us the perfect tools to do that.
“Containing noise is a crucial aspect to contracts at a number of events we supply, and in other sectors too, so the Silent Plus range will play fast dividend. The Himoinsa innovations keep coming and we’re proud to be involved.”
Clive Dix, managing d

UK - PLASA has promoted Christopher Toulmin to the role of commercial director. In this newly created position, Chris will oversee all sales and marketing activities in the organisation, driving the success of its commercial divisions which includes its event portfolio (PLASA Show, PLASA Focus Leeds and PLASA Focus Glasgow) and leading publication Light & Sound international (LSi).
The announcement follows one of the most successful PLASA Shows in recent history, where Chris had a major contribution in his role as director of events. In his new position, he will support the organisation’s strategy to grow both its events and media divisions, whilst exploring new products PLASA can deliver to further support the industry.
Chris’s career in the industry spans more than 35 years, which has taken him from a respected lighting designer, industry innovator thr

USA - On 23 June 2018, a dedicated group of music industry professionals will embark on a 12-day, 500-mile bicycle ride along the California coast to raise awareness and funding for spinal cord injury sufferers.
The event, produced by non-profit organisation Celebrate Overcoming, is inspired by the physical and spiritual journey of spinal cord injury survivor and musician David Francisco. In April 2016, David’s life changed forever, in a split second.
While the 24-year-old was riding his bike home from his recording classes at Nashville’s Blackbird Academy, a distracted driver ran a red light and crashed into him at 40 miles per hour. The impact was catastrophic: He shattered his spine in three places, and was told he’d likely never walk again.
After a year of intense physical rehabilitation, David has defied the odds and learned to walk, and this past Ju

Everybody’s Talking - A new musical about a teenage boy who wants to be a drag queen has scooped two theatre awards. Everybody's Talking About Jamie won best musical production at the UK Theatre Awards, with its star John McCrea named best musical performer. The UK Theatre Awards reward the best stage shows outside London. The musical has songs by Dan Gillespie Sells, lead singer with pop band The Feeling, and a script and lyrics by writer Tom MacRae.
The show's West End transfer begins at the Apollo Theatre in London on 6 November. Other UK Theatre Awards winners included Narvik by Lizzie Nunnery, which was named best new play; and Joseph Millson, who won best performance in a play for his role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Rover. The Who's Tommy picked up the prize for best touring production, while Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse ar

UK - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) has announced its 2018 sponsored student scheme is open for applications. The scheme offers students, who have not previously been members of the ALD, the opportunity to enjoy free ALD membership until the end of March 2019.
Student members benefit from the increased opportunity to network with lighting and video production professionals at insightful events organised by the ALD, such as their monthly members’ socials and visits to shows and theatres. Membership provides vital interaction and connection between established figures in professional lighting and video design, and the next generation of talented designers, programmers and technicians.
Member benefits for students also include complimentary copies of the ALD magazine, Focus, as well as full access to the ALD web site and the members’ own micro-site. Memb

UK - Cloud rental management solution Current RMS has released two new features to speed up the checking in process and streamline communication.
Launched at the PLASA Show 2017 in London, Global Check-in allows users to check-in multiple assets across different jobs from one screen. Users can also specify when assets are lost or damaged, placing them in quarantine.
Discussion Templates offers the ability to assign templates to certain areas of the system and customise all messages sent from Current, making it easy for company branding, standard replies and other email communication tools to be applied.
To find out more about both new feature releases, check out Current RMS’ What

UK - David Boxall, co-founder of Baldwin Boxall, is the first recipient of the Warren-Barnett Technical Innovation Award.
The Warren Barnett Technical Innovation Award, named after former ISCE Presidents Hayden Warren and Peter Barnett, was established to recognise the innovative talent of ISCE members and to acknowledge their contribution to the industry.
David Boxall was nominated by Peter Mapp to receive the new ISCE award.
Boxall said: "I am thrilled to receive this award – it was totally unexpected. It is a real honour to receive recognition for my work, especially as it is linked with Hayden Warren and Peter Barnett, both of who I knew well and held in such high esteem."
Boxall's career in the PA industry spans more than 45 years during which he designed many innovative products ranging from 100V line amplifiers, hearing loop amplifiers, PA & VA,

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