UK - A spirited drum and bass performance by BRIT Award winners Rudimental marked the official end of this year’s Sundown Festival, but the buzz created by the three-day event at Norfolk Showground lasted far longer with inventive pictures and ebullient comments flooding social media. The euphoria was easy to understand, given that music fans were starved for live festival experience following the 2020 pandemic lockdown. Sundown Festival 2021 delivered all they were looking for, serving up three days of ‘colourful costumes, raucous fun and performances by more than 65 different acts, all in a safe environment’. Providing a colourful visual setting for this welcomed experience was a lighting and production design by Bigabox Productions that featured a broad mix of Chauvet Professional fixtures on three of the festival’s four stages. Selected from Bigabox’s o
USA - Orchestra Hall, home to the Minnesota Orchestra, is a landmark both without and within. Its modernist architectural design and expansive glass façade are intended to symbolically present classical music as more widely accessible. Inside, it’s an acoustical dreamworld: 114 large cubes, forming a symmetrical “falling rock” pattern on the auditorium’s ceiling and the stage’s back wall, act, along with the three balconies above and along the sides of the main floor, as a massive diffusion system. The result is an aural experience for the 2,089 patrons seated inside. That experience has been enhanced with the installation over last August and September of a suite of DiGiCo systems, creating a renewed audio infrastructure for the venue and its ensemble, who were named the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2021 Orchestra of the Year. This includes a Quantum338 as t
Greece - A 360° d&b Soundscape system was deployed at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheatre in Greece for the first-ever, joint live performance of producer and artist, Brian Eno and his brother, pianist and composer Roger Eno. Brian Eno’s reputation as a musician, and producer for the likes of David Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads, precedes him as well as his long career as a pioneering solo artist, especially in the field of ambient music. He recently collaborated with his brother, Roger Eno, a solo recording artist and film and TV music composer and released their first ever joint album Mixing Colours, a project that spawned this live show. Their first live performance as a duo took place in open-air performance space, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a renovated stone amphitheatre originally constructed in the year 161 AD. “Due to the age and s
USA - When East Carolina University stadium experienced debilitating audio issues right in the middle of football season, they turned to PC Sound and LEA Professional to rescue the season and restore the fan experience. Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is the on-campus football facility at East Carolina University for the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina. The stadium has a capacity of 50,000, making it the second largest college stadium in North Carolina. James Braddy, certified technology specialist (CTS) at PC Sound, a local specialist in pro audio, video and lighting installations, got a call on a Monday in September from the associate athletics director at ECU, Greg Pierce who explained that the previous weekend’s home game had been overshadowed by a series of audio issues. “At the time, half the sound system didn't sound like it was working,” s
The Netherlands - Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is one of the leading technical universities in Europe. The school’s auditorium, the heart of the campus where students attend lectures and presentations of all types, recently received a lighting upgrade of Elation luminaires specified and installed by AV company Houben Souren. Houben Souren was contacted by TU/e after university personnel had heard about a recent LED lighting installation at the Maastricht Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), an auditorium lighting system potentially similar to what they required. “The university was interested in the installation and the types of lights we used there [Elation Fuze Profile and Colour 5 Profile] so we invited them to Maastricht to see the project for themselves,” explains Tijs Verfurth, operations manager at Houben Souren. “It turned out to be a
UK - The panto season is back with a bang after waiting in the wings during 2020 as the country squared up to COVID-19, reigniting all things panto like slapstick comedy, toilet-brow innuendo, gawdy sets, psychedelic vibrance and total craziness for which it’s known and appreciated, with lighting designers around the country delighted to be back working on this peculiarly English and highly expressive genre of performance. None more than Andy Webb, who chose an all-Robe LED moving light rig for UK Productions’ spectacular Cinderella staged at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. For Webb’s first time working in this theatre - following five successive panto seasons up to 2019 at Blackpool’s Theatre Royal - the lighting rig was specified so he could present a new televisual style of panto lighting, with lots of fabulous neutral skin tones
USA - Pentatonix, the three-time Grammy Award winning a cappella group, just wrapped their 18-date Evergreen Christmas Tour 2021 where 45 Ayrton Khamsin-S profile luminaires served as the main fixtures for the show. Ayrton is exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment. The Evergreen Christmas Tour 2021, in support of the new Pentatonix album called Evergreen, kicked off 27 November in Baltimore and wrapped on 23 December in Grand Prairie, Texas. It was their first Christmas tour since 2019, the coronavirus pandemic having side-lined last year’s event. Production and lighting designer, Travis Shirley, who heads Travis Shirley Live Design in Houston and Nashville, has been working with Pentatonix for the last nine years. “It’s been quite a journey,” he says, “seeing them grow to where they are selling out arenas around the world. After
UAE - The United Arab Emirates marked 50 years as a nation with 50 days of celebrations, culminating in a spectacular live show from Dubai’s Hatta Water Dam in the Hajar Mountains featuring a floating stage and drone-launched fireworks, produced by live event specialists, LarMac Projects. The show charted the country’s history in the lead-up to its inception in 1971 and across the subsequent 50 years. For the country’s Golden Jubilee, the creative team - led by artistic director and designer Es Devlin and LarMac executive creative producer Jo MacKay - knew that the boundaries of possibility needed to be pushed to their limit. The initial show was live streamed on 2 December and followed by 10 additional performances that took place between 3-12 December, featuring specially composed songs and poetry, drone-launched fireworks, a light show, water displays a
USA - Earlier this year, the filming of Marvel Studios’ newly-released Spider Man: No Way Home found lighting programmer Scott Barnes once again firing up his Hog 4 lighting control setup, as well as bringing some new Hog 4 HPU Hybrid Processor units for the production. Well-known for his use of Hog 4 control on Marvel’s films and other movies, Barnes said he approached the shoot for No Way Home quite similarly as he has in the past, but with ‘the biggest addition and MVP of the show being the HPU processor’. Barnes explains, “I was fortunate enough to beta test the HPU during the pandemic lockdown, and even more fortunate to get the very first two off the assembly line to bring onboard Spider-Man. My systems tech, Derek Page, provided our standard Rack Hogs, I provided two HPUs, and then he ended up adding another HPU towards the beginni
USA - The millions of viewers around the world who tuned into ABC’s broadcast of New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, enjoyed all the familiar sights of this Times Square event. But for the team responsible for lighting the talent on the stand-up platforms during the show, ringing in 2022 represented a big departure from tradition. “This was the first time in the show’s 50-year history that host positions weren’t lit with HMI fixtures,” said Mike Grabowski, lead designer for The Lighting Design Group, which was responsible for lighting the platforms at Military Island, and the Bertelsman building, as well as the Powerball setup for the broadcast. In place of these fixtures, Grabowski and his team lit host Ryan Seacrest and other talent with 12 Chauvet Professional onAir IP Panel2 soft light fixtures, which, like the rest of the rig, were supplied
Venezuela - The latest hit single from Justin Quiles La Botella has inspired a challenge among his legion of devoted fans that calls on them to dance to the rhythmic sways of this song with a bottle on their heads without having said bottle fall. While his fans may accomplish this feat with varying degrees of success, maintaining a sense of equilibrium seems to come quite naturally to this Puerto Rican born star, not only in his smooth moves on stage, but also in the way he balances different musical influences in his reggaeton sound. Both were on full display this December when Quiles made his first Venezuelan appearance in six years, giving a concert, with production managed by Oz Shows, at the Universidad Santa María in Caracas. Moving effortlessly with him throughout his 16-song set was a vividly colourful light show designed by Jeremy Danis of Oz S
USA - Dancesport is a growing discipline at all levels. From local dance competitions to a myriad of popular dance shows on television to its inclusion in the 2024 Summer Olympics, the world has embraced dance as sport. Dance America Productions, an independent production company based in Tampa, FL, specialises in dance events of all types and has worked many of the genre’s competitions for years. Owned by Nina Kimbrough, a dancer herself, the company carries lighting, sound, pipe and drape, and LED video wall, plus the all-important portable dance floors that range from 2,400-6,000sq.ft. Kimbrough uses a system of Elation LED luminaires (SixPar 300 and Cuepix Blinder WW4) with a clever airwall mounting system to provide high-quality lighting at dancesport competitions around the country. “The dance floor is the stage so it needs to be lit properly,” Kimbrough s
USA - Busking your way through an Atreyu tour requires many skills and attributes. High on that list is flexibility as the band weaves a mix of different musical influences into their metal-driven sound. Cody James has demonstrated such nimbleness in his time running lightshows for the quintet, supporting them note for note as they rip their way through their multifarious musical blend. His adaptiveness was on full display in Atreyu’s 29-city Fall Baptize tour, which ended on 16 December. Not only did James keep pace with his client’s music, he also adapted his show to a wide range of stage configurations, as the tour wove its way through a diverse mix of venues, from the Palladium in Worcester, MA and the Majestic in Detroit, to the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis and House of Blues in San Diego. Helping him accomplish this without a hiccup was his ChamSys MagicQ MQ
Spain - The second edition of the Umbra Light Festival in Victoria-Gasteiz took place between 12-14 November. The festival was born with the intention of introducing both visitors and citizens to the world of urban lighting art, in such a way that the public could experience and interact with the latest artistic and technological expressions of this field. The festival encompassed artistic expressions of digital visual art, interventions in urban space and new technologies. The festival took place in the historic centre of the city (La Almendra), where a total of 19 artists were able to present their works and filled the city of Vitoria with light, colour and music. Digital illustrator Coaner Codina transformed the central Plaza de la Virgen Blanca into a colourful underwater space. An imaginary and dreamlike world brimming with light and colour that covered the ground
Austria - The Vienna State Opera House in Austria - also home to the Vienna State Ballet - has invested in new Robe Forte HCF LED moving lights and Forte HCF FollowSpots. Vienna State Opera purchased 10 Forte HCF luminaires and four Forte HCF FollowSpots which work in conjunction with a customised RoboSpot control system, explained deputy head of lighting Robert Eisenstein. The Opera House has a busy repertory schedule, and these Robe luminaires - delivered via Robe’s Austrian distributor Signal - replace the old manual-focus generic FOH tungsten fixtures with brighter, more adaptable, and more sustainable lights, and have upgraded the traditional follow spots in this impressive 1,709 seat and 567 standing capacity Renaissance Revival styled venue which opened in 1869, when it was the first building to be erected on the Vienna ring road! With a throw distance
UK - London welcomed in 2022 with a spectacular city-wide display, sending a message of thanks and hope to the nation and the world. Jack Morton, the global brand experience agency, helped to develop the original concept and worked in partnership with the Mayor of London’s office and a dedicated team of experts to create an extraordinary experience for the second year running. The 13-minute show designed for home-viewing was broadcast live on BBC One and watched by a global viewing audience of millions. Jack Morton’s creative show team worked in collaboration with On the Sly for the music production, Titanium Fireworks for the pyrotechnics design, and Skymagic for the swarm drone sequences. Patrick O’Mahony, creative director of Skymagic, comments: “We were delighted to collaborate again with Jack Morton to design and deliver the drone light show for Lo
USA - When it comes to the lights in his rig, Dominic Lopenzo doesn’t hesitate to say that he is completely partial to beam fixtures, or more specifically the beam function in Chauvet Professional’s Rogue RH1 Hybrid. “Beams have become my favourite, because they add so much energy to a room,” he said. “I find myself going to them often.” Partiality to beams might not be unusual in a concert/touring designer, but Lopenzo is speaking as technical director of Grace City Church, a 750-seat house of worship with a distinctly modern touch located in Lakeland, Florida.. “Many people have described our services as being like a concert, and to our worship team and me that’s a huge compliment,” said Lopenzo, who comes from a concert background and still works at the House of Blues in Orlando in addition to doing his lighting duties at the church. “We
Ukraine - For Olya Polyakova’s The Queen of the Night show, staged at Kiev’s Palace of Sports in October 2021, a large array of Claypaky lighting fixtures gave a high-energy look to the concert and accented the royal design motif employed by the popular performer. Yuriy Andrushchenko, drector of Feyeria, supplied lighting designer Vlad Cherepin with 62 Claypaky Sharpys, 54 Sharpy Plus, 32 Mini-B LED moving lights, 32 Tambora Battens and eight Scenius Unico spots for the concert. “The central element of the set was a star-shaped crown suspended from trusses on moving motors, where we put the Sharpy fixtures,” says Dmytro Andrushchenko, stage designer of Feyeria. “Sharpys were very well suited to this application because they are small and easy to install and have a great effect in a large hall.” Vlad Cherepin chose Sharpys, he says, “because
UK - The Brudenell Social Club can legitimately claim cult status within the Leeds music scene, having hosted a broad mix of international acts including the Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Tom Jones and The Smiths in addition to a steady stream of local talent. It started life as a working mans’ club in 1913 and still holds those beginnings close to its heart - in addition to its two large concert rooms it also offers a lounge and games room and hosts local photography, film and origami groups on regular occasions. It now boasts two DiGiCo Quantum 225s as part of its audio arsenal. With an endless procession of engineers passing through its doors each year, its faithful console of 10 years had seen its share of wear and tear and owner Nathan Clark knew it was time to secure a replacement. He turned to SSE Audio, whose Ryan Thomas takes up the story: “The Bru
Russia - Art and culture are central to Russia’s heritage, and the country’s cultural institutions play an integral role in its citizens’ lives. Two such institutions are the multifunctional Palace of Culture ‘Kapotnya’ in Moscow and the Polyarnye Zori Palace of Culture in the far north city of Polyarnye Zori. Both were opened in the 1970s, and both organise leisure activities, introduce residents to creativity and art, and work to preserve national and cultural traditions that support the development of social initiatives of their respective local populations. L-Acoustics certified provider distributor for Russia, Sonoruss, recently installed L-Acoustics A Series in both cultural centres. “All Palace of Culture venues are by nature multifunctional, therefore the systems that we propose need to accommodate anything from theatre shows, festivals and music co
UK - A lot of music history has reverberated off the walls of The Brook in Southampton, a former Victorian pub turned live performance venue. Bill Wyman has jammed on its tidy stage, so too have Billy Bragg and other UK stars. Now a bit of the future is shining of its storied walls too, as GLS lighting has given the club an LED lighting upgrade with some 30 Chauvet Professional fixtures. The change began during the COVID lockdown when The Brook’s director Nick Lewis saw an opportunity to define a new vision that would take the venue, which began hosting live music in 1994, to new levels whilst also committing to reducing its environmental impact. Having worked with The Brook for over 20 years, local install specialists GLS were brought on board to transform the club’s outdated lighting system with a modern, flexible LED installation with the idea of enhancing its
Norway - For the second straight year Nobel Week Lights Stockholm was presented as part of the city’s Nobel Prize celebrations from 4-12 December 2021. Dialog, the installation by lighting designer Fredrik Jönsson, utilised 30 Xtylos Aquas, the IP66-rated fixtures powered by Claypaky’s proprietary RGB laser source. Xtylos Aqua offers the same effects and features of the original Xtylos in a small and robust form factor designed for use outdoors. Nobel Week Lights Stockholm was organised by The Nobel Prize Museum and featured some 20 artistic installations inspired by the Nobel Prize and its winners’ achievements. Jönsson’s Dialog was located on Strömparterren, a small island in the centre of Stockholm near the royal palace and parliament, and visible across the city. It was inspired by the Nobel Prize in Physics that Charles K. Kao won in 2009
Czech Republic - Debuting in fall 2021 at the O2 Arena in Prague, Martin Hruška’s Queen Relived tQueen tribute show uses automated platforms, cubic structures and an array of ingeniously configured geometric structures to immerse audiences and bring them closer to the Freddy Mercury experience as performed by the band Queenie CZ. “The show revolves around the concept of depth,” said Hruška, who designed the stage, lighting rig, and video graphics for the show, in addition to writing its storyline. “I wanted the automation platform to change perspectives, I had a long catwalk dive deep into the audience. The idea was to break down barriers and connect the people to the band and to the music of Freddy Mercury.” A total of 16 trucks were used to transport the show’s gear into the arena. Accentuating the intricate web of shapes and forms was an inten
USA - It took a while for the Philadelphia Orchestra to get a home of its own. In fact, it was almost 100 years, as plans first begun in 1908 were disrupted by bureaucratic delays, a Great Depression, a couple of World Wars, and other speed bumps. Eventually, the Kimmel Cenre for the Performing Arts opened in December of 2001. Its vaulted glass ceiling encloses the entire structure, providing a large common lobby for all the facilities, including the centrepiece of the venue, the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall. To coincide, a new and comprehensive DiGiCo digital-audio ecosystem for Verizon Hall comprising a Quantum338 console, two SD-Racks, and a 4REA4 Processor with multiple controllers was installed. These were sold by Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Bauder Audio, which also consulted with the Kimmel Cultural Campus technical team during their own in-house installation of the g
