India - Initiated in 2014 by Yamaha Music India, Teens Rock: The Battle of the Bands is a bold initiative for promoting music playing and performance amongst teenagers. The idea is to provide a platform to teenagers to showcase their talent and interest in music which often goes unnoticed. The fourth edition saw the participation of schools from Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Indore, Kochi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The Grand Finale of the 2017 event took place at DLF Place Saket in New Delhi, with 11 school bands. In front of an audience of 2000+, the MD of Yamaha Music India Hitoshi Mochizuki hosted some accomplished professional musicians as judges – well-known drummer Gino Banks, Subir Malik from Parikarma, and Rahul Ram from Indian Ocean. Sound systems for the event were provided by Yamaha Music India, with support from the Daedal Prodigy rent
UK - Capital Sound recently extended its digital audio offering for Emeli Sandé’s Long Live The Angels UK arena tour, deploying Sennheiser’s new Digital 6000 Series microphones, along with a DiGiCo SD5 digital mixing console at the monitor position. Having made the investment in the latest Sennheiser Digital 6000 series, Capital Sound supplied an eight-channel package for Emeli’s vocal microphones on the main and B stage, plus her three backing vocalists. “The vocal clarity and range throughout the spectrum was incredible,” says Paul Timmins, Capital’s operations and development director. “The vocal was pure and natural, contributing to the overall high-quality audio experience, which was enhanced for her monitor mix by using the SD5.” Capital chose the DiGiCo SD5 because of its high I/O and buss count, with Emeli’s setup including aroun
The Netherlands - drs. Down! is part musical, part drama, part medical case study and the brainchild of Dutch TV presenter and chat show host Ivo Niehe, making his debut as a playwright. He boldly tackles some of the delicate issues associated with Downs Syndrome: judgements, prejudices and how it can shape and define lives, told through the true story of Pablo Pineda-Ferrer, who overcame the odds to gain a university degree in psychology. Luc Peumans of visual design practice Painting with Light was asked to join the creative team and produce scenography plus lighting and video designs that captured the spirit of the performance and were also practical and tourable for the production, which launched at the DeLaMar Theatre in Amsterdam and is now touring through the Netherlands until January 2018. A minimalist set was proposed, as key chunks of the narrati
UK - On 24 November club and house music brand Miss Moneypenny’s, finally got their Night at the Proms with a celebration marking 25 years since the internationally recognized club brand began in Birmingham. Held at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, full service production company Stage Production produced all the technical elements of the show and used an Elation Professional lighting system as an important element of the lavish visuals. Known for its flamboyance and glamour, Miss Moneypenny’s Night at the Proms was no different than a night at the historic club as house and dance classics were fused with music by the Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra in a sensational show. “We needed to create a combination of big stage looks, nightclub vibes and a festival feeling and once again Elation were our go-to products for the show,” said Stage Production
Australia - Mojo Barriers Australia recently undertook one of Australia’s largest stadium field cover installations, with over 15,000 sq.m. being installed for Sensation at Spotless Stadium, Sydney Showground, in November. Sensation, the biggest open-air festival in Australia this year, was a great success, and protecting the valuable sports surface was of critical importance as Spotless Stadium is the home of Sydney’s professional cricket team Sydney Thunder and the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants, part of the Australian Football League. Mojo installed a complete Supatrac system to ensure the best possible pitch protection. It took 34 truck movements to freight the equipment in and out of the stadium and over 850 man-hours to install and remove. The Mojo team installed over 15,000 sq.m. of 100% white Supatrac, along with over 500m of alum
Europe - Status Quo have hit the road for their latest tour Plugged In - Live and Rockin’, with full technical service provider Hawthorn supplying the lighting equipment for the performances. Following the death of Rick Parfitt in December last year, the band kicked off this year’s tour with Aquostic performances in Europe before returning to the UK for the electric shows. Now the band have headed back overseas for the next leg of the tour. Having never taken the Aquostic show to Europe, the decision was made to keep these performances in the original format. The tour will close in Nürnberg, Germany on 21 December 2017. Working closely with Ewan Cameron, Status Quo’s long-standing lighting designer, the Concert Touring division at Hawthorn drew upon its vast range of hire stock to supply lighting to specification. This includes Martin
USA - The charity tour of Texas country singer-songwriter Cody Johnson in aid of those affected by Hurricane Harvey is utilising a number of Chauvet Professional fixtures. On 17 November, the tour rolled into Beaumont featuring music by Johnson and multi-platinum artist Mark Chestnut as well as rising stars like Parker McCollum. Providing powerful visuals for the evening was a colourful lightshow anchored by Chauvet Professional Rogue, STRIKE and COLORdash fixtures supplied by Texas Stage. “We wanted a look that was big, bold and colourful to reflect the spirit of the people of this area,” said Jimmy Davidson, Johnson’s regular lighting designer, who created the lightshow. “The Rogues helped us do this with their vivid colours and fast pan and tilt movements, while the STRIKE fixtures added a lot of punch. The lights fed off the music to create an uplifting at
USA - Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer LeAnn Rimes is taking her Today is Christmas tour across the United States, with Bandit Lites lighting the acclaimed vocalist. Lighting designer and LD Steve Hoover utilises Bandit Lites supplied Chauvet Freedom Pars in addition to the house systems, building each production to showcase and up light the stunning birch tree backdrop he’s accented with actual fresh cut birch tree branches, giving the stage a familiar but unique setting that evokes the holidays beyond just red and green. “It’s kind of Christmassy- but more of a wintery scene, than strictly Christmas,” noted Hoover, “And then we do use red and green- yes.” And while touring means trekking the country and being away from home, Hoover says that being a part of such a creative production and surrounded by the industry’s best, including tour manag
Germany - Digital Projection recently wowed stakeholders and audiences alike at the 13th edition of the Berlin Festival of Lights, where a number of its laser projectors were installed to enable video-mapping displays at key sites in the city. With a renewed focus on digital at this year’s event, it was the biggest and most successful edition to date with in excess of two million visitors. Spread throughout one of Europe’s most popular cities bringing its sites of major interest to life in spectacular style, the festival is a leading light in the video-mapping world, raising the bar with its impressive showcase. Every October, the festival transforms Berlin into a city full of light art with displays by national and international artists turning famous landmarks, monuments, buildings and places into a huge stage. Working alongside Dutch integrator Pron
UK - VER joined Steps, treading the boards at venues throughout the UK, mixing tracks from recent album Tears on the Dancefloor with their string of crowd pleasing chart-conquering hits. Working closely with production manager, Steve Reeve and Pull the Pin Out Productions, VER London provided the multi-layered, custom-built LED video walls used to deliver the show’s suitably vibrant backdrop. Featuring stunning content by Jack Jones and Nic Drew at Really Creative Media, the video imagery was splashed across the layered screen installation, which has been designed to incorporate a 18m x 10m upstage back wall built behind a three tier, on-stage riser, complete with bespoke sliding doors on two levels to allow the performers direct access to and from the stage area. To help heighten the audience experience, VER also provided video director Phil Jennings wi
USA/Europe - Korn lighting designer Thomas ‘Church’ Christmann is no stranger to the world of Ayrton. “On my first outing with Ayrton fixtures I was really impressed with the style, the output, the versatility and the beam options they offered me. I was very happy with what I could achieve with my last design so when the next generation of Ayrton fixtures were launched I jumped at the chance to make my new tour design even bigger, even more flexible and even more exciting.” Two-time Grammy award-winning alt-metal band Korn was busy crossing and re-crossing the Atlantic this summer, firstly headlining the 17-date Serenity of Summer tour in North America, before crossing over to Europe for a festival run and then back to the US for further leg on home territory. Church elaborates on the details: “There were a huge number of Ayrton DreamPanel-Twin fixture
France - Paris’s U Arena threw open its doors in spectacular fashion this autumn when The Rolling Stones performed the final three European dates of their No Filter tour to sold-out audiences of 40,000 people each night. Eight RJ Lancelot 4K followspots playing a key role in the action on stage. U Arena is now France’s largest indoor arena, and one of the biggest in Europe, and a prime host for the Stufish-designed set comprising four massive video walls over-reaching a part-canopied, 60-70m wide stage and 14m thrust which only just succeeded in containing the exuberant performances from these youthful rockers. The Rolling Stones’ long-term lighting designer, Patrick Woodroffe and associate lighting designer, Terry Cook, of Woodroffe Bassett Design, specified Robert Juliat’s most powerful followspot because they wanted them as the prime source of front-o
Singapore - Two years in the making and set to run for five years, Spectra is Marina Bay Sands Singapore’s outdoor laser, light, projection and water show, designed by Steve Nield. The Marina Bay Sands Singapore was already a stunning looking structure. Steve Nield was the creative tasked with designing an outdoor laser, light, projection and water show with the visuals to complement the Aedas-designed S$8 billion property. Featuring a soundtrack composed by Singaporean award-winning producer and music arranger Kenn C, Spectra runs for 15-minutes, setting itself apart from other shows with many technical firsts, including the use of specially-developed underwater 500 watt LED fixtures, and a 12m high laminated glass prism, which forms the ‘heartbeat’ of the show. Charged with delivering ‘emotion’ over ‘storyline’, Steve worked closely
UK - Walk Like A Man takes audiences back in time to the freewheeling early ‘60s when the music of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ruled the airwaves. At a recent run of the Mark Halliday produced show at Blackpool’s historic Grand Theatre, the cheerful nostalgic music was supported by a fast-moving upbeat lighting design created by Ollie Wilkinson of Arranpaul using a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. Anchored by Rogue R1 Spot and Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving fixtures, Wilkenson’s design captured the snappy devil-may-care spirit of the doo-wop era that transformed the musical landscape throughout the UK and USA. “Our team at Arranpaul has spent a substantial amount of years building a relationship with the Grand Theatre,” said Wilkinson. “This was the perfect opportunity to collaborate with them once again with a
UK - Fox Valley Retail Park in Stocksbridge, north Sheffield has been equipped with a Bose audio solution just a year after its official opening. Property developer Dransfield Properties commissioned long-time Bose pro partner Promotiontime NE to design an audio system for the retail, office and leisure development. After breaking ground in March 2014, it took just over two years and a £50m investment to transform the 28-acre former steelworks site into a retail and commercial hub for over 18,000 locals. Fox Valley required an audio system to fill walkways and open pedestrianised areas with both background and foreground sound as well as needing sound-reinforcement in the entertainment areas. A network of 26 Bose FreeSpace loudspeakers were installed across the site, utilising a mixture of DS 100SE and DS 40SE products for the public retail spaces, and in addit
UK - Doughty dealers Chinnick Theatre Services experienced a ‘light bulb moment’ when they first saw Doughty’s new Studio Rail Articulated Carriage at PLASA, London, realising it was the perfect piece of kit for a job they were working on at Richard Hewish College in Taunton. “We were approached by Halsall Construction in Bath and asked if we could quote for a lighting grid at the college,” explained Clive Chinnick, “We were sent a photo of the internally wired theatre grid that had been in place previously. However, it was in a classroom setting which made very little sense to us. Then we were sent through the specifications for the project, and one of the requests was for a socket to be placed every 200mm. We realised we needed to visit the college to try and better understand their needs.” On visiting the college, Clive discovered that the project had
UK - The Pantomime season is well and truly underway with dames, beanstalks and magic lamps taking centre stage up and down the country. As one of the leading suppliers to West End and UK touring theatre, White Light is supplying the lighting equipment to a range of pantomimes across the UK. WL’s hire manager Jedd Hamilton comments: “For a lot of theatres, pantomimes are their biggest shows of the year. They are often extremely loud, fun and flashy productions; meaning they require a range of lighting equipment to achieve this impact. As a company, it’s our role to ensure we supply designers with exactly what they need.” As usual, it’s a host of familiar titles that are gracing the stage this Christmas. WL is supplying productions of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Bournemouth Pavilion, Cambridge Arts Theatre and Salisbury Playhouse. The lighting designe
USA - Integration company Houlton Audio/Video Applications recently replaced the sound system at the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun in Colorado Springs, the tomb of philanthropist and entrepreneur Spencer Penrose, who died tragically in a plane crash. The Shrine plays a measured role in the lives of all the denizens of Colorado Springs – like a traditional church bell, it chimes on the hour and on the 15 minutes in standard Westminster code, in addition to playing clarions at special times and on special days. Houlton replaced the inefficient 2,500-watt system comprised of e18 amplifiers, 36 1.5-inch compression driven horns, and 36 15-inch loudspeakers that had previously conveyed the Maas-Rowe carillon chime system to the town, with a very efficient 10,000-watt system comprised of a single four-channel Danley DNA 10K4 Pro amplifier and a Danley J3-94 Jericho Horn.
USA - The 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards is one of the biggest nights in Latin music. Broadcast on the Univision Network, the 2017 show was recently hosted by Jaime Camil and Roselyn Sanchez at the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Since 2005, Univision has tapped Orlando, Florida-based Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) to provide RF coordination and equipment for the live show viewed by 8 million people around the world - and this year was no different. “RF coordination in Las Vegas is always difficult - coordination for an award show the size and scope of the Latin Grammys is truly a challenge,” explains James Stoffo, lead RF coordinator for the show. “We start weeks in advance, planning everything down to the last channel to ensure the show goes off without a hitch, it was the smoothest Latin Grammys I have ever worked th
Sweden - Since 1999, Lights in Alingsås has been a yearly tradition, bringing together lighting designers and design, architecture, and electrical students to create multiple beautiful light installations. The five-week long festival is the culmination of an intensive week-long workshop, where the lighting designers and students work intensively to artistically illuminate various public spaces. The 2017 edition was another success, where SGM was represented on three different sites. The seven installations light each site, all representing different emotional states. With help from SGM’s G-4 Wash-Beam, site three portrayed the feelings one gets during a lifetime; with one end of the installation representing the past and negative aspects, while the other end represented the future with personal and professional growth. Site four was an installation crea
UK - Hard rock band Enter Shikari are always pushing the boundaries of experimentalism as proved during their latest outing with an Adlib supplied quadrophonic system. During the initial stages of the tour design, Andy Russell (FOH) wanted to specify a system that would push boundaries in audio fidelity. He wanted to connect the massive energy emanating from the stage to Shikari’s devoted fan base. So, hand-on-heart, Adlib systems engineers George Puttock and Sam Proctor together with Adlib account manager and director Dave Jones all recommended Coda AiRAY as the right option. They specified the system - known for its low distortion, extreme output and intense clarity - based on Andy’s brief of delivering a truly stunning live experience for anyone catching the tour. Andy has worked with Enter Shikari for the last 11 years and knows exactly how they and he li
Australia - The Parrtjima Light Festival is held in Alice Springs, Central Australia, and showcases the oldest continuous culture on Earth through the latest technologies. Through a spectacular world of light and sound, contemporary and traditional Indigenous stories and artwork are brought to life under the night sky on an unprecedented scale. Illuminating the 300m-year-old MacDonnell Ranges and spilling into Alice Springs Desert Park, Parrtjima is an outdoor gallery experience presenting local artwork, culture and stories through interactive installations. The sheer scale of the lighting on the MacDonnell Ranges makes Parrtjima Australia’s longest-ever light show installation stretching for 2km. Mandylights were contracted by AGB Events, creative consultants and producers of Parrtjima, to tackle this light installation and th
USA - CrossRoad Baptist Church in Ames, Iowa was at a crossroads. The sound system it had relied on to deliver spirited services in its 450-seat auditorium had never possessed the kind of intelligibility the church members and staff had hoped for and age wasn't helping matters. Originally called in with the hope that improved acoustics could do the job by itself, A/V integration firm Communication Innovators (Des Moines, Iowa) diagnosed the larger and deeper issues that were preventing congregants from fully immersing themselves in CrossRoad's services. The church's new Dante-connected digital system relies on a bank of high-value, high-reliability Ashly Audio nX-Series multi-channel amplifiers with optional Dante I/O. "CrossRoad Baptist Church already had some acoustic treatment to deal with the reflective surfaces and they hoped they could address complaints by getti
South Africa - The prestigious Vodacom CEO Awards took place at Vodaworld in Midrand and for the very first time, MGG were appointed to supply the full technical. With a modern vintage theme, lighting designer Francois van der Merwe created pomp and hype on the grandMA 2 full size, while audio engineer Fanie Pieterse ensured the theatrical performance was complimented with exceptional sound. Fanie ran the show on a DiGiCo SD10 and used his new DiGiCo 32-bit Stadius Mic Pre-Amp for the live sound aspects. “It was a fantastic event,” said Francois. “The acts varied from theatre to ballet and from drama to rock. While we had a list of requirements to meet and worked closely with the producers and creative team, it was a lot of fun and the gig came out very well.” Francois ran the show on the grandMA2 full size, and says his star performer of the night were the BMF
