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24 September 2024

France - The Hippodrome de Longchamp pulsed with energy this summer as Solidays Music Festival marked its 25th year, drawing a record-breaking 260,000 attendees. L-Acoustics professional sound systems ensured every beat and every message rang out with crystal clarity.

Solidays isn't just about the music – it's a movement. For a quarter-century, this festival has fused chart-topping performances with raising funds and awareness for AIDS prevention and support. "L-Acoustics has been our go-to choice for Solidays for over 15 years," said Samuel Birais, site manager for B Live, the L-Acoustics certified provider supplying audio for the event. "Their professional sound systems consistently deliver the punch and precision required for such a diverse lineup of artists."

To create powerful, consistent sound over multiple stages spanning from intimate 1,000

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24 September 2024

USA - One of the more unusual events in Soundworks of Virginia’s busy summer concert schedule was the recent show at the spectacular Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, NC, when the Flaming Lips performed Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots live in concert.

Referring to the title of their latest album, the psychedelic band played two distinct sets. After performing the album faithfully from front to back, they followed up with a typical concert set from their general repertoire. The long-serving band held the stage throughout, with no support act.

Hired by the venue (and working with the band for the first time), Soundworks brought with them Martin Audio’s WPC line array. Nestled in a grove of stately pines, and owned by the town of Cary, Koka Booth Amphitheatre is different. “It seems they cleared just enough of the forested area to plunk do

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24 September 2024

USA - With a Jonas Brothers history that dates back to Joe Jonas’ early tours with the group DNCE, touring monitor engineer Andy Hernandez knows what it takes to keep the brothers’ concerts running. For nearly a decade, Hernandez has been devoted to providing members of the pop band with quality sound and communications at every stop around the globe. When the trio’s team came calling again for the current Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour, Hernandez jumped at the chance to get back on the road.

Hernandez says the planning for this tour was coordinated quickly and that the RF setup is very ambitious. “The group is performing in large sporting arenas, with multiple stages in each. At times when there are guests, there can be as many as 20-plus people performing. So, we need a solution that is robust, provides great performance and also w

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24 September 2024

UK - Based in the Cotswolds region, professional wedding DJ Neil Carter has developed a reputation for delivering bespoke events that live long in the memory of guests, each tailored to the client’s special requirements.

With a remarkable 4,000 events behind him and bookings through to 2027, Carter believes that “you’re only as good as your last show” and works as hard as ever to ensure the complete satisfaction of brides and grooms, and his corporate customers.

“I started 35 years ago doing mainly corporate events in London, but weddings are by far the largest part of my business now,” reports Carter. “More than ever they’re in big venues or marquees and with my previous sound system struggling to cope, I recently took the decision to replace it.”

Following a recommendation from trusted friend and audio guru Julian Rees, Ca

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23 September 2024

Portugal - Europalco, in partnership with Knower Impact Meetings, reports the success of AIVØLUT1ØN, the first conference in Lisbon entirely dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Held in the Sala Tejo of the MEO Arena, this event brought together business leaders, innovators and AI enthusiasts to explore the power of AI in business management and beyond.

The AIVØLUT1ØN event marked an important milestone in the AI landscape, attracting many attendees. Europalco played a big part in this success by providing full AV and staging services. Europalco's team of approximately 28 members worked on-site and after two months of extensive preparation, they flawlessly executed all technical details.

An impressive 25m curved main screen and a 4m raised circular screen in the middle served as the event's centrepiece. This configuration was reinforced by

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23 September 2024

UK - Following the appointment of Tom Anstey and Aurora Harrington in June this year, Spotlight Sound is expanding once again with a new hire. It means the team has increased by 50% this year as demand for their services grows.

The event production and AV installation company has welcomed Chloe Richardson as marketing executive this month. Chloe has considerable experience in marketing, having joined from Acclaim Handling after three years.

Director of Spotlight Sound, Sam Dimond, says: “Chloe has joined us after a thorough search for a top marketing executive. It was Chloe’s experience and skills that really stood out as she has worked in all areas of digital marketing and across many sectors. Chloe will work on steering our marketing strategy to reach our target audience and has already settled into the team really well.

“2025 is look

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20 September 2024

UK - The Schools Engagement Programme, launched in January 2024 in the East of England region by The Power of Events with grant support from the EIF, has announced that Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has been confirmed as exclusive sponsor of the Edinburgh region. This now takes the UK roll-out to five regions alongside recently confirmed new regions Birmingham, Hertfordshire and the South Coast of England.

EICC’s support will enable The Power of Events, in partnership with local event professionals volunteering as schools ambassadors, to deliver an event industry showcase and overview of career opportunities to secondary schools & colleges across the Edinburgh region, starting in Spring 2025.

The Schools Programme has already attracted 200+ school ambassador industry volunteers across the four Nations willing to support the p

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20 September 2024

USA - Stanford, Kentucky, is a small yet charming city in the southernmost part of the Bluegrass region. Founded in 1775, Stanford is one of the oldest settlements in the state and boasts a rich history with landmarks like the William Whitley House, the first brick house west of the Allegheny Mountains, and a key site in the early days of horse racing in Kentucky.

Just off Main Street lies Stanford Baptist, a quiet and unassuming church with seating for more than 300 people. Although open and airy, the vaulted ceilings in the sanctuary compromised the speech intelligibility of liturgical services. Amplifiers from LEA Professional were the chosen solution to help solve the church’s audio challenges.

Church staff contacted Alex Peake, an integration specialist at JCA Media, to design a new audio system for the sanctuary. Peake recommended LEA’s Con

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20 September 2024

Norway - Casa Mia is a popular Italian restaurant located in the town of Lillestrom. Run by Antonio Lepore, who hails from southern Italy and has enjoyed more than 40 years in the hospitality business.

As an experienced restaurateur, Antonino is aware of the importance of high-quality audio in creating exactly the right ambience for his customers, and earlier this year took the decision to install a new sound system at Casa Mia.

He engaged local technology specialists Norsk Tele og Data to install a solution, and they in turn consulted with AV specialist distributor CBK about the best way forward. Following a site visit and meeting with the owner, Per-Øystein Berglund of CBK recommended HH Audio loudspeakers and subsequently designed a system for the venue.

He explains: “Casa Mia wanted a system that could reproduce audio as a ‘carpet’

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20 September 2024

Australia - The North Wollongong Hotel is a large multi-faceted hospitality venue in the centre of Wollongong, New South Wales. Popularly known as the North Gong Hotel, it features a bar, bistro, beer garden and an upstairs function area which caters for private events. Live music, DJ sets, televised sport and pool tables all feature in this vibrant and very busy setting, for which high quality audio is essential.

North Gong’s management team recently took the decision to replace the venue’s ageing audio system, recognising that it was no longer fit for purpose, and engaged Dan Chapman of Data Dan to install an upgrade. With support from Scott Angove of Audio Brands Australia, Dan designed and installed a future-proof, quality system which featured loudspeakers from Optimal Audio.

Josh Hill, the venue’s manager comments: “Having good audio is

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20 September 2024

Europe - DAP has announced the release of the DAP Frigga, a new single-column plug-and-play PA system designed to meet the growing demand for sophisticated, high-performance audio solutions in the modern event industry.

Designed to support singer/songwriters, corporate presenters, DJs, and event venues, the DAP Frigga delivers sound quality and versatility. It features a robust amplifier with three dedicated channels for subwoofer and mid/high frequencies, delivering up to 1000 W RMS and 2000 W peak.

The system includes a powerful subwoofer with two 12-inch woofers to deliver the deep bass that is the foundation of a rich audio experience. The top speaker is meticulously designed with six 4-inch neodymium midrange drivers arranged in a line-array configuration for optimum sound dispersion and minimal distortion. Centred within this array is a 1.5-inc

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19 September 2024

Germany - This year’s Wohlsein Open Air festival took place in the castle and meadow park in the city of Paderborn on 18-21 July.

An audience of 6,000 enjoyed headline performances from top German rock band the H-Blockx, Hanover indie-funk band Jeremias and rapper and singer Jan Delay.

Paderborn-based event production specialists Sound Linear rigged an all-Nexo main stage that drew on both line array and point-source speaker ranges from the French manufacturer’s catalogue, including left and right hangs of 15 compact STM M28 omni modules with bass extension from separate hangs of eight STM B112. A total of 32 x STM S118 subs were stacked across the front of the stage.

Left and right arrays of six Nexo Geo M10 performed out-fill duties, while five P12s from Nexo’s P+ Series were deployed as front-fills. The highly versatile P12s were als

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19 September 2024

UK - L-Acoustics has unveiled HYRISS (Hyperreal Immersive Sound Space), a groundbreaking audio solution set to redefine how we experience spaces through sound. HYRISS represents a paradigm shift in design, elevating the role of audio to match the importance of visual aesthetics in creating truly immersive, emotionally resonant environments.

In an era where visual design often takes centre stage, HYRISS elevates the ambiance of our most cherished living and gathering spaces by making sound an integral part of the environment. This innovative system combines L-Acoustics' cutting-edge hardware, software, and services to create adaptable, high-quality sound environments suitable for a wide range of applications, from luxurious residences and yachts to high-end hospitality and corporate settings.

"For too long, the audio experience has been secondary to v

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19 September 2024

USA - When FOH engineer Chris Leonard took up his latest role, piloting the sound for country star Jason Aldean, he wasted no time in streamlining his FOH setup. “I took up the position in February, spent March prepping and hit the festival scene in April; so it needed to be a fast transition,” he said.

One of his concerns was lack of familiarity with the existing SSL L550 Plus FOH console. “While it is an amazing desk, I didn’t want to try and learn a new console on a gig of this size.” Instead, he turned to his trusty DiGiCo Quantum 338. His other concern was the need for a reduced footprint, noting there had been no available room in the I/O rack to put both a split and two SD racks. “All of the sub snakes hit that rack and routed straight to the SSL [ML32:32] I/O boxes,” he said.

Chris Leonard looked at various options for integrati

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19 September 2024

Europe - In the wake of a successful IBC show in Amsterdam, Lawo, developer of the Ravenna audio-over-IP technology, is pleased to welcome Norway-based Bridge Technologies as the latest partner to the growing Ravenna community.

The partnership represents not only Ravenna’s increasing importance in the field of audio-over-IP, but also Bridge’s commitment to the development of probes which support a full range of industry standards and facilitate monitoring of all kinds of broadcast networks, regardless of the infrastructure, standards or technologies upon which the network is based.

The collaboration saw one of Bridge’s VB440 probes in operation on the Ravenna booth at IBC 2024 as part of a next-generation audio production demonstration featuring S-ADM metadata transport over the recently released SMPTE ST 2110-41standard. Bridge also showcased

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19 September 2024

Europe - Launched at IBC 2024, the Sub-GHz BodyWave antenna promises notable increases in wireless range and reliability of signal in a form factor designed specifically to be compatible with virtually all body-worn UHF transmitter packs.

Raycom, a supplier of pro-audio solutions for TV and film production and AntennaWare, a developer of antenna technology, have announced the arrival of BodyWave for body-worn UHF wireless microphone transmitters. 

AntennaWare’s patented BodyWave antenna technology is a body-worn antenna specially designed for challenging RF environments, and this partnership brings the extended range and reliability credentials of BodyWave technology into the Sub-Ghz bandwidth for the first time – and in a form factor that works alongside current UHF transmitter packs for film and TV production.

CEO of Raycom, and RF gur

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18 September 2024

USA - Kylie Minogue may finally be ready to conquer the United States, as she recently capped her first Las Vegas residency at the Venetian Resort’s new Voltaire venue. Tension, her 16th studio album released late last year, reached the number-one slot – her ninth LP to do so – on the heels of sell-out shows in London, Rabat, and Athens this year.

Kylie has toured 19 times since 1989, selling out arenas and stadiums globally. For much of that run she’s been accompanied on the road by DiGiCo, most recently with a Quantum852 console in her monitor world. That desk, piloted by IEM engineer Kevin Glendinning, was supplied by Solotech UK for her recent run of shows in Europe.

Glendinning, whose live-mix portfolio includes work with Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Mumford & Sons, among others, first encountered Minogue mixing her stage

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18 September 2024

UK - Production Futures, the organisation founded to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop real careers in every sector of the production industries, has announced a collaboration with the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE). The aim of the partnership is to strengthen industry links and provide clear pathways for newcomers in the sound, communication and visual engineering sectors.

As part of the ISCVE Early Careers Committee’s commitment to supporting the next generation of professionals, the collaboration will help to further bridge the gap between education and industry, offering links to ISCVE’s range of free and paid training programmes via the Production Futures platform, giving education partners and newcomers access to essential learning tools.

Jason Williams, early careers

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18 September 2024

UK - With over 6.1m holidaymakers passing through Heathrow Airport’s terminal 2 every year, new dining destination Jones the Grocer has become a welcome addition.

Uxbridge’s Middlesex Sound & Lighting deployed an intelligent sound solution to enhance the atmosphere, comprising Wharfedale Pro’s DP-4035F amplifier.  

Located in the former Giraffe restaurant, Jones the Grocer was looking for a complete system overhaul that was reliable and low maintenance. “We chose several brands that we knew would deliver sonic quality, ease of use and reliability,” explains Toby Jones, AV designer at Middlesex Sound & Lighting. “It was our first time using products from Wharfedale Pro and we were really impressed by the brand. The amplifiers are affordable without compromising on quality.”  

Jones the Grocer was originally establishe

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18 September 2024

USA - Hard Rock Casino Rockford has just celebrated its grand opening, marking the second Hard Rock project to incorporate 1 Sound loudspeakers. 1 Sound was introduced to Hard Rock for the Hard Rock Times Square Hotel performance venue in New York City, where 1 Sound’s Mono + Stereo MS34 loudspeakers were distributed in the venue along with floor subwoofer, FSUB45s, in the banquettes, and SUB310s around the dance floor.

Executive principal consultant, Tom Knauss of NV5, explained how that deployment “met the ‘holy grail’ goal and then some”. After years of planning and about two years of construction, the 175,000sq.ft Hard Rock Casino in Rockford is now open, and the first thing you will hear walking to the front entrance is ‘the classics’ playing from 1 Sound Cannon C6s at the front of the building.

All 1 Sound loudspeakers are outdoor

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18 September 2024

Germany - Diversified, a leading global technology solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Johannes Stehr as vice-president of Enterprise EMEA. This strategic hire underscores Diversified's commitment to developing world-class enterprise offerings and addressing the growing demand for consistent global technology standards with robust local support.

In this newly created role, Stehr will lead Diversified's expansion of Workplace and Media operational capabilities across Europe, with an initial focus on Germany. His appointment marks a significant step in Diversified's global strategy to enhance its ability to serve multinational enterprises with a harmonised approach to technology deployment and support.

"As organisations increasingly seek standardised technology experiences across their global footprint, they also require deep local exp

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17 September 2024

UK - Celebrating its “best show for many years”, PLASA Show once again took residence in the Grand Hall of Olympia London from 1-3 September, demonstrating continuous growth - occupying 10% more floor space, welcoming a steady 5% increase in visitors and showcasing over 30 new exhibitors.

Despite an unexpected heatwave in the city and the extended summer festival season, visitor figures for Sunday - the event’s opening day - saw a 9.5% increase compared to 2023, while day two’s footfall also exceeded previous years, according to the show’s organisers.

The show floor welcomed a healthy cross-section of industry visitors, from entry-level professionals to senior leadership, with 15% more students visiting compared to 2023 and 79% of attendees declaring “influential purchasing power”. Key job roles of those in attendance included directors

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17 September 2024

UK - One of the most unlikely gigs Birmingham’s Utilita Arena (The NIA) has ever hosted – and certainly one of the loudest deployments of a Martin Audio line array in the company’s history – was the recent charity concert, dubbed ‘1000 Lights’.

Organised by local promoter and studio owner, Jack Davis, 1000 musicians came together, divided into five categories, to honour the life of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, whose final gig had been in Birmingham prior to his suicide in 2017.

By setting up the Uprawr Mental Health Foundation, Davis’ aim was to bring people together as part of a large-scale event. Thanks to the volunteers, and willing support from service providers – including Martin Audio partners 22live – he did just that, raising £135,000 for the Foundation, offering free mental health counselling (the musicians themselv

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17 September 2024

Poland - With a coveted Prix Versailles win under its belt, the Muzeum Historii Polski (The Polish History Museum) has succeeded in its goal to grab world attention in order to present the country’s history. The award highlights the world’s most beautiful public and commercial buildings, but the appeal of the Polish History Museum is more than skin deep.

Serious in its pursuit of visitor engagement and experience, the museum wanted the highest levels of immersive suspension and chose the submission by ESS Audio, Polish distribution partner for TiMaxSpatial, to be the implemented audio integrator. Two TiMax SoundHub spatialisation engines were deployed separately across two performance venues to create sophisticated object-based soundscapes rendered by the platform’s exclusive dynamic delay-matrix processing.

The museum is just one of several si