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22 November 2024

USA - Brazilian metal band Sepultura announced it was embarking on its final tour with an accompanying live album that will feature 40 different songs from 40 different cities. Bandit Lites partnered with lighting designer Mike Scherer to outfit the North American leg of the parting tour.

“We are so excited to announce the North American concerts of the Celebrating Life Through Death farewell tour," shared long-time guitarist Andreas Kisser. "We are having a blast doing these shows and celebrating 40 years of history.” 

Following their founding in 1984, Sepultura positioned themselves as one of the most influential and successful metal bands, pioneering both the thrash metal and death metal genres.

“It was truly an honour to work with Mike Scherer,” said Bandit Lites client representative Ty Veneziano. “He and tour manager

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22 November 2024

China - Christie 4K10-HS 1DLP laser projectors deliver clarity and vivid colours at the new flying theatre attraction at Hetou Old Street scenic area in Tangshan, Hebei province. This captivating experience takes visitors on an aerial journey through northern China’s sites, including the ancient Great Wall, the breathtaking Shanhaiguan Pass, and the historic Chengde Mountain Resort.  

Known as Flyover Hebei, this 5D dome theatre combines stunning visuals with 7.2-channel surround sound, six-axis mechanical seats, synchronised motion effects and sensory elements like wind and mist, fully immersing audiences in the experience of soaring above Hebei’s majestic landscapes. By highlighting 20 landmarks and attractions across 11 cities, this multi-sensory adventure offers ‘an unforgettable flight through the province’s rich heritage and natural beauty’

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21 November 2024

USA - M2 Events Group is one of the leading live event production services companies in the US, with specialised divisions including Directions AV for corporate clients, Music Matters Productions for concerts and live entertainment, and Big Picture for creative video execution.

With locations in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City, M2 has relied on Brompton LED processors as a key part of its inventory since 2020.

“Corporate clients each have very specific brand colours, and we need to deliver exactly that,” says Nauman Lalani, VP of business development, M2 Events Group. “Brompton excels at colour accuracy and colour correction. It simply works every single time, and we don’t need to worry about failure. So, using Brompton has been a very informed choice for our corporate events.”

Earlier this year, M2 Events Group

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21 November 2024

USA - Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour shined brighter thanks to The Playground Design Collective’s innovative use of Elation’s Artiste Monet profile luminaire. As the Grammy-winner’s first headlining tour and The Playground’s inaugural collaboration with her, the production dazzled audiences across North America and Europe, bringing her signature energy to life with visually striking stage designs.

The Playground handled design and creative direction as one of the year’s hottest touring shows. The show featured production designers Sooner Routhier and Trevor Ahlstrand, and creative and show designer Curtis Adams. Dane Kick took on the lighting programmer and director role, while Jason Giaffo served as a lighting programmer. Fuse Technical Group was the lighting and video vendor for the tour.

The Playground team created

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21 November 2024

Europe - The Chiaroscuro style of art, first popularised in the Baroque era by painters like Caravaggio, blends two polar opposites – light and darkness, to amplify the evocate power of each.

Hayden Borgars is deploying this technique to reflect the complex, and sometimes raw, conflicted sound of Californian metal band The Ghost Inside, on the six-nation European leg of their current Searching For Solace tour.

Weaving his way through the elusive, shadowy border area that separates light from darkness, Borgars is creating mysterious, captivating looks that reveal parts of the set, while leaving others cloaked in shadows. The net result of this approach draws attention more closely to the stage and deepens the connection between the audience band members.

“Having used a Chiaroscuro lighting style with other bands in the past to add

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21 November 2024

Monaco - Founded in 1953 by Prince Rainier III and chaired by Prince Albert II since 1984, the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) combines a taste for sport and a love of the sea. With 2,500 members, the club attracts shipowners, sailors and yacht-lovers from all over the world to its luxurious setting.  

Against this backdrop, Yacht Club de Monaco required a complete audio system that would not only align with these values but also provide high-performing sound across various spaces at the club. Italian manufacturer of professional audio solutions, K-array, was chosen to solve this request, with system integration provided by BM Service.

“Everything had to be invisible, stylish, yet high-performing, the usual values of K-array,” explains Alberto Gaetti, product support specialist at K-array. “Our loudspeakers were previously installed at the club’

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20 November 2024

Saudi Arabia - When lighting and stage designer Steve Wary was charged with creating the look for the opening ceremony of the Saudi Games 2024, he chose 50 Claypaky Skylos fixtures to help the event get off to a dynamic start.

Held 3-17 October, the Saudi Games were the third edition of the largest national sporting event staged annually in the Kingdom.  More than 9,000 athletes competed in 52 sports.

The opening ceremony took place not in a traditional stadium but in the existing Boulevard City area of Riyadh, where all the infrastructure needed to be built, created and organised. The location presented a great opportunity to use the LED screens already present on the buildings, which served as the backdrop for a centrally positioned stage big enough to host the impressive parade of athletes captured for broadcast by two drones.  

The game

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20 November 2024

Norway - In a fusion of architecture, engineering and technology, structural solutions brand Milos (part of Area Four Industries) introduced the Invisible Roof. The structure was constructed in the city of Bergen, on the southwestern coast surrounded by mountains and fjords. Bergen has hosted some of the world’s largest bands, artists and an eclectic mix of music from all genres over many years.

One of the world’s oldest orchestras, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, dating back to 1765, celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2015 and remains a beacon of musical artistry on the world stage. On 22-23 August 2024, the orchestra hosted two outdoor concerts, offering a magical experience for musicians and audiences alike.

Partnering with Creative Technology Norway, Area Four Industries designed and installed a one-of-a-kind venue featuring an arched roo

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20 November 2024

China - The Taihu Jazz Festival is held every year in the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing. During five days in May, musicians from China and beyond performed to excited crowds in the purpose-built outdoor performance spaces.

Over 50 jazz performances took place, including sets from French harmonica master Laurent Maur, jazz trumpeter, Li Xiaochuan, and other Chinese and international musicians, who took to the stage of the Taihu Stage Art Centre to kick off the 2024 Taihu Jazz Festival. Central to each was the power of DiGiCo’s Quantum series, with a Quantum 338 at the front of house position, a Quantum 225 at monitors and an SD10 for broadcast.

Three free performance stages - the Dance Art Workshop Stage, the Snowflake Stage, and the Instrumental Interactive Stage - were set up by RAC Pro, DiGiCo distributor in Chi

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20 November 2024

USA - To most people in the continental U.S., Alaska evokes a narrative of rugged individuals thriving under even more rugged conditions. Between weather, terrain, and sheer remoteness of most of the state, that’s more than mythology.

Government workers and contractors regularly endure brutal conditions while managing disaster recovery and infrastructure efforts, and solo filmmaker Jake Sloan is often there to document the process. With literally one hand on the camera and the other running sound, he trusts the latter to Rycote microphones and equipment. These include the HC-15 and HC-22 shotgun microphones, Cyclone baskets, Softie windscreens, and lavalier solutions including Stickie mounts and Windjammer screens.

“One of the biggest projects I've been working on for the last year has been for a statewide effort with the Alaska Department of Tra

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20 November 2024

Germany - When Aki Bosse sings about dreaming, living, loving and despairing, it often sounds surprisingly happy and danceable. Übers Traumen (About Dreaming) is also the name of his latest album, for which he undertook a major arena tour in Germany in 2024. Lighting designer Rico Münzer has been lighting Bosse (and his band of the same name) since 2018.

For the current tour design, no fewer than 200 GLP fixtures combine to create a special look. In total, the designer specified 86 GLP KNV Arc, 76 JDC Line 1000, 24 impression X5 Wash and 14 JDC1 in a structure to fill the stage space.

The KNV Arc and JDC Line 1000 were in the design from the beginning, without which the intended look would not have been possible, as Münzer explains: “At the beginning of the design process I had the idea of working with circles. Initially I planned this

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19 November 2024

Spain - Following a memorable 2024 event, BikeFest Spain is set to return for its fourth consecutive year, inviting cyclists from across the industry to join the 360km ride towards ISE in Barcelona. From 31 January to 2 February 2025, riders will again rally in Valencia, cycling along the Mediterranean coast in support of industry causes.

Last year’s BikeFest raised an impressive £25,000 for Backup Tech, with the goal to surpass that and more this year.

In 2025, BikeFest will expand its support to Casa Caridad Valencia, a local charity assisting those affected by recent severe flooding in Valencia. 

Following the reduction of operating costs to run the initiative, 50% of the sponsored funds raised will go directly to Backup Tech, who run initiatives such as

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19 November 2024

UK - Starring seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan, Dr. Strangelove is the first theatrical adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece. Written by Armando Iannucci and directed by Sean Foley, it tells the story of a US general who decides to go rogue and declare a nuclear attack on Russia; who, he discovers, have a Doomsday machine capable of destroying the world.

The show features a lighting design by Olivier Award-winning Jessica Hung Han Yun who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply her lighting rig.

Prior to its run at the Noel Coward Theatre, there was much anticipation leading up to the opening of Dr Strangelove; largely due to the cult status of the film. “I had in fact watched the film many years ago and remembered enjoying it and the lighting specifically,” says Hung Han Yun

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19 November 2024

Slovakia - Steel Arena in Košice is one of the most important multifunctional halls in Slovakia. It has twice hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships and is the home venue of the hockey club HC Košice, nine-time Slovak champion and holder of two Czechoslovak titles, which plays in the highest Slovak hockey league, the TIPOS Extraliga.

As part of a comprehensive reconstruction of the ice rink lighting, eight Ayrton Domino Profiles – supplied by Pro Music, s.r.o., Ayrton’s exclusive representative for the Czech Republic and Slovakia – were installed as effects lighting by Pro Music’s long-time business partner Marcel Filko and his technical team from ma.cz.

Four Domino Profiles were rigged on a circular overhead video truss, and another four on the structure above the ice surface, two above each goal, from where the incumbent team make

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19 November 2024

Japan - With an acoustic design created primarily with opera performances in mind, the 2,196-seat Toyama City Arts and Culture Hall (Aubade Hall) opened in 1996 in the Japan’s Toyama City. Now a new medium-sized, multi-purpose hall has been completed at the same site with a maximum of 652 seats which, along with the stage, can be moved to enable a wide range of configurations from conventional raked theatre seating to a flat floor for exhibitions.

Loudspeakers from Nexo’s Geo M, P+ and ID Series were selected for a customised flexible sound system in the new medium-sized hall.

“Actually, we have been using Nexo speakers in the large hall for a long time. Therefore, we are familiar with the sound of Nexo and thought that it would suit the medium hall as well,” reports Mr. Akira Sone, head of the stage technical department, sound, at Aubade Hal

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19 November 2024

UK - Long-term Martin Audio rental partner, W E Audio, recently underlined its commitment to the British manufacturer, by making a massive investment across the latest Wavefront Precision line array portfolio.

Founded by Wayne Barker, W E Audio’s upgraded inventory is headed by Martin Audio’s flagship WPL large format line array, and SXH218 subwoofers, as well as FlexPoint FP12s, Torus, and XE500 wedge monitors. At the same time, in order to give them further scalability and flexibility, the company has also invested heavily in the smaller WPS and WPC line arrays – all delivered in recent months to its base in Oxfordshire.

Last month saw the production company’s highest-profile deployment of the large-format WPL to date – on Seal’s European tour. The core PA design is based around 12 WPL cabinets per side, with six WPS units for front-fil

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19 November 2024

USA - With the help of PureTek Group – provider of innovative technology solutions for educational spaces based out of Boonton, New Jersey – Plainfield High School recently completed a major renovation to its auditorium, along with the addition of two new spaces: an eSports gaming arena and a black box theatre.

To provide clear communication between those disparate parts of the school, Plainfield High School, along with PureTek Group, turned to Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom professional wireless intercom system. 

“We chose Pliant to help orchestrate what could be a very chaotic experience,” says Dan Litvin, co-founder and president of PureTek Group. “The CrewCom system is used extensively throughout the school and produces unified performance, from standard backstage theatrical production applications, to managing cameras, lighting and au

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18 November 2024

USA - Coppell, Texas-based Alford Media, an event services company with more than 220 corporate events worldwide to its credit annually, has invested in a large complement of Ayrton Rivale fixtures for use on its busy roster of projects. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

The purchase marked the first Ayrton fixtures in the Alford inventory. “We have always been interested in the Ayrton line; they make a creative product, and we have been looking for an opportunity to jump in,” says lighting manager Blake Taylor. “The Rivale nicely filled a gap in our profiles line and had some newer features that helped drive our decision,” such as variable CRI, infinite pan and tilt and an IP rating. “These were improvements and upgrades over the profiles we already had.

“ACT has always been great about g

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18 November 2024

USA - The Playground creative team called upon an artful blend of dramatic colour changes and various set and video configurations to endow each chapter of the Megan Thee Stallion narrative for The Hot Girl Summer tour.

“The tour consists of three main acts that really drive the creative intent,” explained Curtis Adams, who, along with Sooner Routhier and Trevor Ahlstrand was the co-production designer of the tour. “Act 1 featured Megan's hard-hitting Snake beginnings with sharp lines, powerful silhouettes, and stark colours. Act 2 centred around Megan's Butterfly era and had a dichroic colour palette. The softer pastel-like colours were a vast departure from the hard-hitting show open, which culled a difference in mood and helped emphasise her metamorphosis.

“Act 3 focused on Megan's human embodiment,” continued

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15 November 2024

UK - Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express, re-envisioned for the 21st century, has taken to the stage in the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.

With new orchestrations, choreography and songs, the story of a child’s train set that magically comes to life retains all its original wonder, with thrilling roller skate races around the auditorium and powerful performances from the 40-strong company of ‘rolling stock’ (engines and carriages) in an immersive production that begins from the moment the audience steps into the theatre. The audience is closely entwined in the action which takes place on a near in-the-round main stage with racing track ‘spokes’ leading off between sunken areas of seating and around the auditorium.

In anticipation of a long run, the show’s producers, Mi

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15 November 2024

UK - Paolo Nutini’s world tour recently wrapped after 130 shows, where DPA Microphones brought clarity, reliability and a powerful impact to each performance.

Leading the sound team for Nutini’s tour were three industry veterans: Front of house (FOH) engineer Ben Findlay, monitor engineer Grace Howat and stage technician Chad Chadwick. Together, they harnessed DPA’s microphones to capture Nutini’s signature sound in every venue.  

“For the tour, we integrated an array of DPA microphones across the stage,” says Findlay. “We tailored the setup to meet the demands of a nine-piece band. The equipment chosen reflected the needs of each instrument and artist.

“Four DPA 4011 Cardioids were positioned to enhance the detail and precision of the snare drums, while four 4099 Instrument mics provided coverage across hats, rides and toms.

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15 November 2024

Estonia - Kuressaare Castle on the island of Saaremaa provided a magical backdrop and a beautiful setting for the 2024 Saaremaa Opera Festival, staged in a 68m-long 29m-wide 2000-capacity temporary arena elegantly butted up to the castle.

This year’s host company, Fundació Òpera Catalunya (The Catalan Opera) from Spain produced a week of special back-to-back opera shows and related events, with lighting equipment and crew supplied by Tallinn-based rental specialist E&T, comprising almost all Robe luminaires.

The Robe moving lights included eight MMX Blades, 23 x LEDWash 800s, 16 x MMX Spots and four LEDBeam 350s, joined by 24 x ParFect 100 SWs, all rigged and tech’d by a crew of five led by Andres Sarv working closely with the Catalan Opera’s lighting designer David Galvez.

Catalan Opera’s technical manager Raul Vilasis

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15 November 2024

UK - Lighting designer Phil Supple utilised 56 x Astera Tubes – 40 x Titan and eight each Hyperion and Helios – to illuminate 137 windows across 57 rooms at the George Heriot School in Edinburgh, Scotland, for Where to Begin, the opening event of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival (EIF).

This Edinburgh International Festival production was created by Pinwheel and delivered in partnership with The Macallan, for which Phil worked closely with creative agency Pinwheel under the artistic direction of Katy Fuller and co-director Simon Sharkey, together with composer Roma Yagnik and video artists, Yeast Culture.

Where to Begin celebrated the energy, vibrance and spirit of Edinburgh, Scotland’s heritage and mythology as well as the alchemy of invention, carefully blended in with a festival atmosphere evoking emotion, inspirati

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15 November 2024

USA - Dierks Bentley’s Gravel and Gold tour concluded with its 21 September show at the American Family Insurance Amphitheatre in Milwaukee.

The tour celebrated the landmark 10th album in Bentley’s successful career, and he wanted to make it memorable. Talking to a reporter, Bentley described how the concept behind this tour grew out of a single question. “What we do if this was the last time we were going to play this city? What kind of show would we put on?”

With a mandate like that, Bentley and his production team strove to create something special, which is precisely what they did on this 30-city tour with production design by Bruce Rodgers, lighting by Chris Reade, and video by Luz Studio.

Collectively this team created a massive, wide open panorama with minimal props and fixtures on the stage deck, a potent flown lighti