USA - Drake kicked off his touring season with an 11-week trek with J. Cole running from Florida in February to Colorado in April. Onboard for the It’s All A Blur Tour - Big As The What? is Demetrius Moore, on his 14th year as the artist’s front-of-house engineer.
Drake now has another distinction: he’s officially the first artist to take a new Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum852 console out on tour, starting 2 February in Tampa. “I was on the Quantum852 for two weeks before the first show, at rehearsals at Drake’s place in Toronto and then at the Izod Centre in New

Italy - From 2-26 March, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma hosts the Richard Strauss opera Salome with its famous Dance of the Seven Veils, based on the play by Oscar Wilde.
Stripped of lavish scenery, this pared-back production directed by Marc Albrecht with conductor Barrie Kosky invites the audience to focus exclusively on the characters, the dialogue and the music, with sound therefore playing a role of heightened importance.
At some moments of the production, the voice and movements of the performer on stage are required to generate a dynamic effec

Taiwan - Seapower Technology is to distribute 1 Sound in Taiwan. Seapower met with 1 Sound’s APAC sales executive, Leonardo Dani, who visited their headquarters in New Taipei City where they were able to make the partnership official.
Dani discussed the 1 Sound pro audio and fully outdoor IP55 loudspeaker catalogue and offered deeper training with the brand’s products, including their Mono+Stereo Technology, cardioid columns, robust and sleek accessories, and more.
Seapower Technology is an establidhed distributor for a number of brands including Powersoft, Sennheiser a

UK - Birmingham’s latest high-adrenalin attraction – the new F1 Arcade in Chamberlain Square – has become the latest venue to benefit from a high-quality AV solution supplied and integrated by TVC Technology Solutions.
F1 Arcade is an F1 racing experience with no fewer than 53 bespoke full-motion racing simulators that can cater to every level of driving skill – and all in an environment that also offers a range of food and drink.
TVC delivered a comprehensive multi-zone audio system from KV2 to help create the pulsating energy of the race circuit. The experience i

USA - The Warner Theatre, close to the White House in the American capital city, has since 2013 offered its visiting engineers, performers and artists the sonic advantages of an Outline Butterfly system tuned and maintained by house sound engineer Ishai Ratz.
Originally opened in 1924 and having hosted everyone and everything from Frank Sinatra to ZZ Top and from Vaudeville to cinema, since a full restoration in the early ‘90s it is an established showcase venue for the DC area.
Jason Farah of Outline’s US office describes the genesis of the new installation: “Followin

China - The Ballad of the Canal is an opera exploring the stories of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Created over 2500 years ago, the canal is a feat of engineering on par with the Great Wall of China.
The opera entwines both classical Chinese and western styles of opera, integrating these different forms successfully alongside an unamplified orchestra required a thoughtful solution combining the venue’s existing SD5s and two additional DiGiCo Quantum 7s. First performed at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in 2012, The Ballad of the Canal was the first

UK - The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) has announced a significant investment in audio equipment, with the procurement of a Shure Axient Digital Wireless System.
LAMDA is committed to providing exceptional vocational training courses, offering an innovative and inspiring environment where students can acquire the professional skills needed to pursue successful careers in acting.
Supplied through Shure UK by Autograph Sound, the new inventory includes 20 channels of Shure’s flagship Axient Digital Wireless system. The setup features Axient Digital ADX1

World - The 1975’s appetite for touring is considerable and their schedule is gruelling, so their touring equipment needs to be able to keep up. Eighteen rounds of air and road freight can take its toll and reliable consoles that can withstand dust, heat, cold and humidity are vital as the team and their equipment cross multiple time zones. The tour relies on a DiGiCo Quantum 7 at front of house, and a Quantum 5 at the monitor position.
Monitor engineer Francois Pare states, “I don’t think I’ve used any other desk since 2016. Nowadays the shows are so involved, there aren

Canada - Montreal studio Le Lab Mastering has built an all-Focal DolbyAtmos room, adding Atmos mastering to its offerings on top of fully analogue stereo, vinyl mastering, and lacquer cutting. The 7.1.4 Atmos studio features an all-Focal powered monitor configuration with Trio11, Trio6, Solo6, and Sub6.
The room’s layout features dual Sub6 subwoofers stacked under the left and right Trio11 monitors – four subwoofers total. This subwoofer configuration gives Le Lab’s Atmos room the ability to offer mastering for movie soundtracks and other formats that would need extended lo

USA - The inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami made waves this March, marking the festival’s first venture onto US shores in decades. The event presented diverse musical performances against a backdrop of waterfront vistas, with sound from the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami’s official sound partner, Meyer Sound.
The intimate 1,500-person festival held March 1–3 at The Hangar at Regatta Harbour, showcased a lineup led by headliners Jon Batiste, Daniela Mercury, and Daryl Hall, topped off each night with the Montreux Jam Sessions.
The Hangar - built in 1918 as the first

USA - “I don't know that there's another desk that we could really do it all with,” says Chad Olech, front-of-house mix engineer for Fall Out Boy, talking about managing the band’s complex comms infrastructure that sees three separate talkback lines coming into his DiGiCo Quantum5 console, as well as mixing a great show for fans.
“I don't think there's another manufacturer that makes something that would do what we need it to do in this situation. I'm sure we could work our way around it, but it wouldn't be as seamless and as easy.”
Rob Smuder is one of those com

UK - Voyage Audio, the San Diego-based creators of Spatial Mic have appointed Emerging as their exclusive distributor for UK and Ireland.
The original Spatial Mic product employed USB/ADAT connectivity and this has been joined more recently by a Dante version. Both microphones have eight-capsule arrays that support 2nd Order Ambisonics. The body of the mics contain high-quality A/D conversion using a high-resolution Skyworks clocking scheme and built-in 32-bit XMOS processor.
The applications for the Spatial Mic are as diverse as its specifications. It is equally at home i

UK - In early March, sound designer Simon Honywill used TiMax SoundHub with TiMax TrackerD4 performer stagetracking to spatially enhance an already incredible – and quite unique – immersive performance by the Paraorchestra musical ensemble. The Nature of Why, composed by Will Gregory and choreographed by Caroline Bowditch under the artistic direction of award-winning conductor, Charles Hazelwood, was performed within a 14m circular space on the Lyric Stage at Theatre Royal Plymouth, with 100-120 audience members mingling amongst the players and dancers for each performance.

Hungary - After working with leading Hungarian artiste, Magdolna ‘Magdi’ Rúzsa for more than a decade, Martin Audio’s Hungarian partner, BG Event, is accustomed to rising to different challenges.
When it comes to the creative element, they strive to scale new heights with every collaboration. Two recent shows at the 12,500-cap László Papp Budapest Sports Arena proved no exception.
Rúzsa requested a 50m-long catwalk thrust, linking to a 6m x 6m ‘B’ stage. While her standard five-piece rock band would occupy main stage, there was a very different set up awaiting

Morocco - When Theatro Marrakech opened its doors in 2003, it was the very first nightclub in Morocco, and today, the 2,000-capacity is thriving. Before becoming a nightlife hotspot, Theatro was Africa’s first music hall, inaugurated over 60 years ago, and from this past, the club has kept both its décor – a mix of dramatic theatrical and dynamic Moroccan themes - and an immoderate taste for show.
Theatro Marrakech recently upgraded to a premium L-Acoustics K2 sound system to attract leading international artists who know and appreciate the brand. Inspired by a visit to Omni

UK - Sterling Events Group recently added to its professional audio offering through a substantial investment in EM Acoustics loudspeakers. Since adding to its portfolio, Sterling has deployed EM Acoustics systems on multiple high-profile projects.
The investment, comprised of 24 R8 Reference Series loudspeakers, complemented by 12 S215 subwoofers, has granted Sterling Events Group access to a powerful audio arsenal, enabling them to offer high-quality sound solutions to an expanding client base.
"EM’s R8s have proven to be a game-changer for us. We recognised the need f

UK - Event technology and production services company Encore has named Stefica Divkovic as managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Divkovic has extensive experience driving business growth, managing operations, and transforming corporate cultures in highly competitive environments. Additionally, she has a strong focus on delivering excellent customer experiences. She previously served as the senior vice president of the EMEA region at Everbridge Inc., focusing on scaling customer and partner relationships across the region. Prior to that, she led Verizon'

South Africa - Audio-Technica has announced the appointment of Alpha Technologies as the distributor for its commercial product line in South Africa.
This strategic partnership aims to enhance the availability and accessibility of Audio-Technica's professional audio solutions, catering to the growing installed audio-visual equipment in the South African market. Alpha Technologies, with its proven track record in delivering technology solutions, is well-positioned to strengthen Audio-Technica's presence and provide support to customers across various industries.
John Dodson,

UK - Confetti, a learning institute offering specialist vocational education and training, has announced the launch of the Steve Lillywhite Scholarship. This award is named after the six-time Grammy-winning record producer Steve Lillywhite and aims to ‘provide exceptional opportunities for driven and motivated UK students pursuing a career in music production’.
Steve Lillywhite is celebrated globally for his contributions to modern music, having worked with iconic artists such as Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones, U2, and The Killers.
Now, in partnership with Confetti, h

Italy - In 2015, in an extraordinary display of unity, 1,000 musicians and hundreds of volunteers including producers, videographers, sound engineers and more, converged in Cesena, Italy to perform Foo Fighters' Learn to Fly live in order to realise a video.
This video was a viral musical plea to Dave Grohl, asking him to play in their city, and marked the inception of Rockin'1000, now cited as the world's largest rock band. Since its viral debut, Rockin'1000 has evolved into a global phenomenon, orchestrating annual events across Europe and Brazil.
Rockin'1000 sele

USA - AtlasIED is celebrating 90 years in business. Atlas Sound and Innovative Electronic Designs (IED), which merged as one organisation as AtlasIED in 2015, have been providing audio and communication solutions to the world since 1934.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our AtlasIED family for reaching 90 years as a global leader in our audio and communications technology,” said John Ivey, president and CEO at AtlasIED. “Arriving at this milestone reinforces our commitment to never-ending growth and service to our customers.”
Initially gaining recognition for its PA l

Germany - Yasmine Riechers is to become the new CEO of Georg Neumann a subsidiary of the Sennheiser Group. In her new position, she takes over from Ralf Oehl and will be responsible for further expanding Georg Neumann's global business and driving forward the company's strategic direction.
Yasmine Riechers was previously head of the corporate development office of the Sennheiser Group.
"We are very pleased that Yasmine is taking over the management of Georg Neumann with immediate effect. Together with the Neumann management team, Yasmine will be responsible for the focus an

Germany - LEaT con, the trade fair and conference for the event and entertainment industry, reports that 80% of the available exhibition space has already been sold to exhibitors.
Taking place from 22 to 24 October 2024 at Hamburg Messe, LEaT con has established itself since 2022 as a community hub for professionals from the event and entertainment industry.
With a list of over 150 exhibitors and more than 180 brands presenting the latest technologies, services, and solutions, the event offers a platform for exchanging ideas, promoting innovation, and building new contacts

USA - This year’s Academy Awards featured a number of notable musical performances. With the help of Shure wireless audio technology, the industry’s most experienced professionals brought the evening at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to life, making certain that all 10.5m viewers watching the event around the world ‘could enjoy every blockbuster moment with crystal-clear audio quality’.
Overall, the Academy Awards’ production team deployed 50 channels of Shure Axient Digital wireless, monitoring the spectrum with Shure Wireless Workbench. The team, comprised of professiona

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