USA - The rolling countryside of rural Tennessee is a long way from New Jersey both metaphorically and as the crow flies, but that didn't stop Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from riveting the audience at this year's Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival. As the Saturday night headliner at the patchouli-saturated festival, The Boss and band performed tirelessly during an epic three-hour set.

Bonnaroo is only the third biggest concert the group has played this year, trailing both the Super Bowl halftime show and President Obama's inauguration. Springsteen's vocals at all three shows have been managed by Shure UHF-R wireless.

(Jim Evans)

Palestine - The Solomon Pools Convention Centre in Bethlehem is the first of its kind in Palestine. Its dimensions and installations of professional audio, video, simultaneous translation systems and lighting make it suitable for a broad range of events and conventions.

The Solomon Pools Convention Centre construction was financed by the Official Credit Institute of Spain with a FAD credit from the Development Aid Fund. With support and funds from the Spanish authorities, Ecler coordinated the audio, public address, stage, seats, acoustic material, video, lighting, translation systems, CCTV and MATV installation.

(Jim Evans)

UK - DMi D&M Europe has announced the launch of Escient Zone, its integrated CI home control system. The launch of is accompanied by an extensive programme of product support and training for DMi appointed installers.

Zone complements the latest Ethernet and WIFI network enabled AV source and control components from D&M's Denon, Marantz and Escient brands. Its introduction enables DMi appointed CI professionals to offer in-home automation systems, seamlessly incorporating components from these brands.

Zone is positioned to provide fully featured, high performance home automation and control, at a lower price point than current market leading systems; enabling CI dealers and custom installers to extend their target market for integrated home automation, says the company. Likewise, it enables a greater number of dealers to gain full access to a single integrated home control sys

UK - A large quantity of DPA microphones supplied by R G Jones were used for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds, which has just completed a sell-out UK tour.

Front of house engineer Simon Honywill specified a total of 37 DPA mics across the orchestra. These were a mixture of 4061 miniature mics, featuring low sensitivity and large dynamic range, on violins and violas, and 4099 instrument mics on cellos and double basses. Honywill was so impressed by the new 4099 instrument mics that he purchased four for his own use from UK distributor Sound Network.

The show's vocalists - Justin Hayward, Chris Thompson, Alexis James, Shannon Noll and Jennifer Ellison - were all on 4088 miniature cardioids headsets with omni back-ups.

"The show is very much about finding a balance between the music and the recorded narration of Richard Burton," says Honywi

UK - Set up by Martha Lane Fox, founder of lastminute.com, karaoke bar chain Lucky Voice has opened its fifth unit, in Brighton, with a technological infrastructure evolved from the original design by integration company Green-I (now part of the SSE Audio Group). The audio control draws heavily on BSS Soundweb London BLU-16 DSPs to handle the mic mixing.

In Brighton, Green-I has assigned four independent BLU-16's to drive the seven karaoke rooms. "Soundweb London looks after the user interface, the volume controls for the wireless mics and reverb effects," says Green-I's Ian Woodall. "Mic mixing (of both wireless and wired) inputs are carried out via Soundweb's automatic levelling to avoid any feedback, while all the 'intelligence' in each pod is created using the system's Logic programming. The challenge was to get all the mic frequencies operable within an intim

UK - Recording artist sessions for Global Radio - the group that includes Capital FM, Heart, Xfm, Gold, Classic FM, Choice FM and Galaxy - award-winning producer Chris Denman has worked with artists ranging from complete unknowns to high profile stars like Chris Martin, Placebo, The Mastodons, Lionel Richie, Kelly Clarkson and Bloc Party. But whoever the artist is, Denman's schedule is relentless in its demands.

He records two full band sessions every working day with his Yamaha DM2000 mixing console. "When I first went to work for Global, I was presented with a Yamaha 02R, which was later replaced with the DM2000," he says. "They were originally chosen because they delivered the best performance for the available budget and I can honestly say that over 10 years they have fulfilled every requirement I have had of them."

He continues: "Another advantage

UK - The iTunes Festival relocated to The Roundhouse in North London this year, with over 60 artists playing live at this free event, which runs throughout the month of July.

With bands ranging from Oasis, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol at the commercial end to acoustic performers like Newton Faulkner, quirky performance artists with wide dynamic ranges (like Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan), leavened with some good old fashioned hard house and R&B, it added up to something of a Molotov cocktail for iTunes production manager Stuart Turvill, system tech Dave Roden - and the Martin Audio W8LM Mini line array system.

Stuart Turvill has chaperoned the event's steady growth from the ICA through nearby Koko (last year) and now to the Roundhouse, where he designed the audio infrastructure for the televised event, in collaboration with Martin Audio's Jim Cousins

Cuban News - The UK's Royal Ballet has arrived in Havana for its first visit to Cuba. It is putting on five days of shows, featuring the company's Cuban star Carlos Acosta and a tribute to Cuban ballet legend Alicia Alonso. All the tickets were sold out within hours, as Cubans looked forward to seeing the first major ballet company since the Bolshoi almost 30 years ago. To cater for the huge demand, the performances will be shown on giant screens outside the theatre. The director of the Royal Ballet, Dame Monica Mason, said the national passion for ballet was one of the attractions of taking the company to Cuba. "Dance is central to the culture in Cuba. It's at the very heart of the Cuban people," she said. The company will perform at the Gran Teatro in central Havana the first three days, where the screens will be based. The Karl Marx Teatro will host the final two.

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UAE - The Cavalli Club in Dubai, bearing the name of the famous Italian fashion designer, staged its grand opening on 7 May. Roberto Cavalli has been involved in every detail of this $30m investment; crystal curtains by Swarkovski being just one example of the opulence this venue affords.

For Triangle Entertainment Services, who won the contract to design and install the audio system, the demands were of the highest order, "Hard work in recent years means we have established a good reputation in Dubai," said Triangle's managing director Zahid R Elian. General manager of the Cavalli, Mr Khoury added, "We did not hesitate one second to go ahead with Triangle on this project; both their expertise and reliability are unrivalled. Personally I know that Zahid is a man of his word and can deliver."

The owners and operators of the Cavalli, Pragma Group, had specifi

USA - Extending its sound reinforcement capabilities, Florida-based systems integration firm Multi Image Group has purchased 110 Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers. MIG, which specialises in corporate AV projects for clients such as CitiGroup, Deutsche Bank and Proctor & Gamble, upgraded its entire amplifier inventory from the original I-Tech amplifiers.

"MIG was not using Crown amplifiers when I joined the company. I didn't agree with this because I had been using Crown since I started in the professional sound industry back in 1981 and they are bulletproof," said Andy Kakas, audio department manager for technical services at Multi Image Group.

MIG purchased its first Crown amplifiers in 2002 with Macro-Tech and soon purchased I-Tech series amps as well. "We started by building a few JBL VerTec line array systems with the Macro-Tech amps and about six months later we g

UK - Software providers Stardraw.com have announced their support of the Mirage Media Control System 2.0 from Autonomic Controls. The Stardraw Control software allows creation of customised graphical user interfaces to control any hardware device over any protocol, while Mirage MCS software allows two-way control, over a TCP/IP or serial connection, of music and video content hosted in a Windows environment. Together, the companies' respective applications deliver comprehensive, integrated control of any system, the hardware it comprises and its media content. This is all achieved without having to write a single line of code.

The Mirage MCS service hooks into media content stored on a PC and interfaces with Windows Media Centre, Windows Media Player, iTunes, Pandora Internet Radio and XM Radio. Its client UI can be accessed from any browser that supports Flash and there is also

Germany - The city of Meissen, known for being the porcelain centre of Europe, recently hosted the premiere of the new Aero 12A line array systems in Germany. Around 2,500 people gathered at an outdoor esplanade on the outskirts of the city to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the group Stern Combo Meissen. Songs like Der Kampf um den Südpol, Der weite Weg or their classic adaptations were popular musical trends of the 70s in Germany. Joining them on their anniversary were guests Musix, Dirk Zöllner and KlosterBrüder.

Licht & Ton Union, D.A.S. distributor in Germany, was responsible for mounting the audio on a stage built especially for the occasion. They flew 12 Aero 12A two-way powered systems, six on either side of the stage, along with six ground stacked LX-218A subwoofers. The Aero 12A, part of the new Aero Series2 debuted at Frankfurt's Prolight & Sound. D

Italy - Caparezza's winter tour promoting his fourth album, Le dimensioni del mio caos (The size of my chaos) covered more than 100 sold-out dates, including a spectacular performance at Milan's Alcatraz Now.

His 2009 summer tour included a show beside Idroscalo lake in Milan on 27 June. Thousands of fans flocked to see Caparezza perform a selection of his more popular numbers.

The team from GM Music, the rental company from Salice Salentino, again chose Proel's Axiom and Edge professional systems. The configuration comprised 24 Axiom AX3210P modules and 20 21" EDGE121SP subs, positioned in the sound wings, and eight Edge compact C12P96 as front-fill.

The system is driven by six K10 and two K20 Powersoft amplifiers, one DSO26 digital processor and two Lake Contours. Audio and power distribution cabling is also Proel.

The sound reinforcement for the concert at t

UK - SNP Productions - headed by digital media programmer/operator Simon Pugsley - is now a UK dealer of Catalyst digital media products - and has launched a new proactive promotion campaign.

SNP Productions was founded in 1999 when Pugsley was completing his final year as a student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. The company has evolved steadily over the last 10 years, starting as a vehicle for his freelance work and growing into a major UK supplier for lighting & video control solutions. It is now focussed on sales, hire, training and full tech support for Catalyst.

"Catalyst was among the first and most original digital media servers, and it has a strong and positive brand identity," states Pugsley. "It's hugely flexible and constantly being developed with new and innovative features added all the time. It has a history and track record of

UK - The field support team from RSS by Roland, led by director Peter Heath, had a lot to keep tabs on at this year's Glastonbury festival: in addition to the debut of the new M-48 Personal Live Mixers, there were 4x M-400 digital V-Mixing Systems in use, and Digital Snakes in several performance venues.

One of the innovations at the 2009 festival was the silent rehearsal room set up behind the John Peel Stage, jointly the brainchild of RSS and the Liz Hobbs Group. Julian Spear, who is head of production for the Liz Hobbs Group, also works as area co-ordinator for the Glastonbury Festival, and is responsible for putting in all the production for the John Peel Stage.

"The Liz Hobbs Group has had a productive relationship with RSS since we first used the Digital Snakes at Glastonbury 2007," says Spear. "Together, we came up with the idea of a backstage rehearsal f

UK - At PLASA 09, leading European connector specialist Harting will feature its range of connectivity solutions specially tailored to the needs of light and sound engineers in the entertainment industry.

A key product range is the Harting Han family of heavy-duty connectors, which are increasingly being used for powering the spotlights used on concert stages and in theatres. In particular, the Han 16 E is a suitable for controlling special lighting effects in systems where 'multi-cables' incorporating six or eight lines are used to reduce installation times.

These connectors have proved their reliability and outstanding performance in industrial applications, and their rugged construction makes them ideally suited to stage environments. Typical applications include lighting connections for multiple spotlights, break-out boxes a

UK - AvitaS is a new company that has been set up by a number of seasoned audio professionals with the specific aim of providing training in audio systems. The result is a comprehensive eight-part training course aimed at people working in audiovisual, IT and professional audio markets.

Conceived and developed by AvitaS founder members, Roland Hemming, Lauren Rogers, Mark McLean and James Eade (who is also technical editor for Lighting & Sound International) the course is aimed at giving people the information they really need to know about designing, specifying, installing and using audio systems, in the real world.

The inaugural programme starts 24 September 2009 at Teddington Studios. Running one day a fortnight over 16 weeks, it covers everything from acoustics, loudspeakers, microphones, processing and mixers. It also covers the design issues with sound - drawings

UK - Dorset public school Bryanston's 650-seat theatre, The Coade Hall has become the UK's first educational customer to transform its teaching programme and performance standards with the installation of the complete suite of RSS digital audio control products, including the new M-48 live personal mixers.

Bryanston takes drama seriously, and the well-appointed Coade Hall stages 15-20 student productions a year, providing plenty of opportunities for pupils to perform, design, direct and practise stagecraft. With its large proscenium arch stage, orchestra pit and sophisticated lighting and sound set-up, the Coade Hall also hosts numerous productions by professional touring companies, 'am-dram' and outside groups.

Two years ago, technical manager of the Coade Hall Stuart Myles spotted the RSS Digital Snakes, and, with the help of local dealer Stage Electrics, integrated these di

UK - Two Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems were used at FOH for a lavish production by Rick Wakeman. Staged at Hampton Court for two sold-out nights, Wakeman performed his seminal 1973 album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry's ascension to the throne.

Months in the planning, the high profile event included a full choir and orchestra, church organ, grand piano, the English Rock Ensemble band - including Wakeman's son, Adam, on keyboards and percussionist, Ray Cooper - performing an extended version of the concept album, with narration from special guest, Brian Blessed, six wives, and a selection of ostentatious costumes.

Ian Barfoot, Wakeman's FOH engineer for nearly 25 years, selected two iLive systems, an iDR10 MixRack and iLive-80 Control Surfaces to manage the individually-mic'ed choir and orchestra, fed to a second, main F

UK - Wireless digital congress technology from Bosch Security Systems played an integral part in facilitating discussions at events attended by G20 leaders in London in April.

The ninth G20 summit saw the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss and agree a fiscal package to rescue the global economy from the current recession. Helping make sure that their views were not only heard - but also understood - at several events surrounding the G20 summit was the task of Westminster Sonus, a specialist digital AV equipment and simultaneous interpretation provider. Westminster Sonus, in turn, chose Bosch.

The chosen solution centred around Bosch's congress technology, including wireless discussion units and its Integrus simultaneous interpretation (SI) system. Integrus is a digital infrared language distribution system, with up to 32 different language chann

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies is hosting an Open Day to showcase the latest in video and lighting technologies from leading industry brands. The event is being held at the company's UK headquarters in High Wycombe on Wednesday 22 July 2009, from 2pm - 8pm.

Specialists from A.C.'s Video and Lighting divisions, as well as manufacturer representatives, will be on hand to discuss how these two technologies are increasingly converging to provide innovative backdrops, set pieces and other video-based elements.

The informal event will provide an opportunity to learn more about, discuss with experts and see product demonstrations on video projection and associated equipment, creative LED surfaces and LED lighting. Brands represented will include Christie, Chroma-Q, Element Labs, GLP, Green Hippo, Martin, Robe and TV One.

With a week to go, the company reports that it has rece

Spain - Focus S.A. continued to show its support for EAW products by recently holding an in-depth seminar and workshop for freelance sound technicians. Focus serves as a rental company for many high-profile touring companies in the area, so it is very common for third party and freelance technicians to be setting up and operating Focus-supplied EAW units.

This seminar was intended to prepare those individuals to properly handle EAW equipment and make educated decisions on the setup and configuration of such products, along with some basic discussions of the technology involved. Pepe Ferrer and Ferran Diez of Focus acted as the event's primary lecturers.

Part one of the seminar focused on the basics of acoustics, including signal coherence, phase issues, crossovers and LP/HP filters, acoustic and electric delays, sub-bass characteristics and pointers, and vertical and horizonta

UK - British microphone manufacturer Clockaudio is launching two audio products for the boardroom and conference environment: the touch-sensitive Litetouch device, which enables users to see the status of on-table microphones at a glance, and the Retracta Series of retractable microphones for the boardroom table.

Comprising a dual-colour Halo ring and switch combination that can be used with all Clockaudio through-table products, the Litetouch allows users to identify easily the status of microphones, as well as mute the units for privacy. With no moving parts, the switch is touch-sensitive, so there are no clicking noises when switching from one status to another. Both the switch and the Halo have been designed to operate remotely with all popular brands of electronic system control, so an integrator has complete freedom to assign function and LED colour. The Litetouch can be e

UK - In a new initiative announced by PLASA Events Ltd, this year's PLASA Show (13-16 September, Earls Court, London) will include a new focus on developing business opportunities for the industry's service providers and consultants.

PLASA Connect, an idea developed in conjunction with RH Consulting and sponsored by L&SI magazine, will provide service-based operators - including consultants, installers and rental companies - with an opportunity to find new potential clients from a wide range of vertical markets.

People involved in large projects in many different walks of life often have very little idea of who to go to for the supply of sound and lighting equipment. The idea behind PLASA Connect is to help those people gain information and make an informed choice. The result will be a targeted business development opportunity which will bring genuine business benefits to all

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