USA - The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra stands as a cultural treasure, captivating listeners for decades with its annual outdoor concert on Art Hill in Forest Park. With thousands of attendees each year, the symphony aims to provide every person with a memorable and immersive musical experience.

However, achieving exceptional sound quality in such a large and uniquely shaped outdoor space has been a longstanding challenge. Audience members at the top of the hill often miss out on the clarity and fullness of the performance compared to those sitting closer to the stage.

Enter Switch, a creative agency and production house based in St. Louis that has been supporting the symphony for nearly 20 years. They recognised the need for a solution that ensures rel

Canada - Designer Gil Perron lit the Luc Poirrier Ferrari collection and the Performance Zone at the Montreal International Auto Show, with 232 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by LSM.

Valued at over $61m, the Ferrari collection featured some 35 vehicles, dating back to 1962 up to the present, including the Monza SP2, the LaFerrari Aperta, and the Enzo, as well as models like the 296 GTS, SF90 Spider, and F8 Spider. Lighting these was not without its challenges.

"Having cars ranging from shiny canary yellow to satin anthracite black right next to each other required some adjustment in actual physical positions of instruments," said Perron, who credits his programmer Helene St-Pierre with helping him meet this challenge. "Helene showed extreme patience, as I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to focus and colour balances! All in all, this invo

USA - At the 23rd Annual Parnelli Awards during NAMM 2025, Bandit Lites was awarded Lighting Company of the Year. Bandit chair and founder, Michael T. Strickland, accepted the honour with client representative Mike Stanley joining him on stage.

“Bandit is humbled to again receive this award,” said Strickland. “The Parnellis are indeed the Oscars of the live event industry. Bandit people make the difference, and we work every day to be the best version of ourselves possible. We dedicate this to the late Kent Shafferman, who we lost last week.”

Bandit Lites has been nominated every year since the awards’ inaugural event. Globally, Bandit has now earned 31 Lighting Company of the Year honours since 1993.

“Bandit always puts people first, and that is our key to success,” finished Strickland. “We kept every single employee fully pa

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

Spain - Audinate Group has announced the latest additions to its Dante AVIO lineup: the Dante AVIO Install series of adapters available in two-channel analogue input and output versions. These adapters are designed for seamless integration into installed Dante-enabled systems, delivering reliable, quality audio performance tailored to the Pro AV market.

The Dante AVIO Install series meets the demands of modern Pro AV installations by seamlessly integrating legacy analogue equipment and enabling new connections. With Euroblock connectors, installation-friendly mounting options, and excellent audio performance, these adapters empower installers to deploy high-quality audio systems with confidence and ease.

The Dante AVIO Install series of adapters bridges the gap between analogue audio equipment and Dante-enabled systems, ensuring effortless interopera

Spain - The Robe Group and all its businesses will be at ISE 2025 in Barcelona next week, on booth P100 in Hall 6 (Lighting & Staging).

Robe will launch two new products, the iStrobe and iEsprite LTL WashBeam, underlining the growing influence and importance of this trade show for the rental, staging and live events sectors.

Several other new products being showcased will include the just launched iForte Fresnel, the Painte Fresnel, the Svopatt and the SVB1.

For the first time at ISE, Robe presents an eye-catching live performance expo-special show. The Robe booth will feature a stage, and in between the live shows, fully choreographed and time-coded VOG (Voice of God) product presentations will take place throughout all four days of the expo.

The Robe Group’s businesses – architectural and LED lighting brand Anolis,

Spain - Shure has announced the launch of Microflex Wireless neXt 4 and neXt 8 (MXW neXt 4 and neXt 8). Building on the release of the award-winning two-channel system in 2024, MXW neXt is now available in four and eight channel count options – offering fully reimagined wireless collaboration with contemporary industrial design, pristine audio quality, and groundbreaking speed of setup. Scalable to a variety of meeting and classroom environments, MXW neXt sets the standard for best-in-class wireless.

“MXW neXt 4 and neXt 8 are excellent solutions for those seeking highly flexible and easy-to-set-up wireless systems that enhance collaboration and interactivity,” said Ralf Klinnert, senior manager, product management at Shure. “Now with new four and eight-channel systems, AV integrators and IT managers have access to expanded capabilities for medium to

UK - As global temporary power specialist Power Logistics begins its 25th year in business, it has made three key appointments to its board of directors. Joining co-founders Beverly and Pete Wills on its board are Angela Rice, Ian Peniston and Nicola Glendinning.

Angela Rice, who joined the company in May 2023 with a wealth of SME financial experience, has been appointed finance director, overseeing the accounting function as well as driving financial planning, reporting and strategy within the business.

Ian Peniston takes up the position of director of operations heading up the project management, innovation and sustainability development, logistics, engineering and mechanical & electrical divisions. Peniston started his Power Logistics journey as a sub-contractor, then joined the team as a project manager in 2011 and more recently the senior ma

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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

France - Tracking startup Naostage is growing its presence in Europe with the addition of four new distributors. These strategic partnerships in Poland, Spain, as well as the Benelux and Scandinavia regions serve the demand for expanding need for Naostage’s K System beaconless, live 3D tracking solution.

Operating through its subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, Arva Audio is representing Naostage in Scandinavia. Lars Baun Frederiksen, CEO of Alfa Audio A/S in Denmark, daughter company to Swedish Arva Trading, sees Naostage as an essential addition to the company’s portfolio: “Tracking technology is becoming increasingly important in pro audio, and Naostage is a perfect match for the immersive solutions we provide.”

Headquartered in Gdańsk, Lauda Central has over time evolved into a cross-border sales and marketing platform d

UK - FBT Audio (UK) has been named as the new distributor for Ultimax in the UK. The brand was recently acquired by Mark Parkhouse and has been relaunched to bring its range of DJ booths, stands and accessories back to the market.

Ultimax built its reputation on quality components and innovative design. The relaunched brand offers a variety of solutions ranging from stands for mics, speakers or laptops to trolleys, carts, speaker poles and full DJ booths.

“Ultimax stands are meticulously designed to provide the ultimate support for your valuable equipment, whether it’s a presentation booth for DJs, a safe home of a state-of-the-art speaker system, or a haven for the microphone of an exuberant frontman,” stated Parkhouse. “Crafted with precision engineering and using only the finest materials, Ultimax stands not only elevate your equipment but

Europe - German rapper and pop singer Cro took fans on a musical journey through his career, spanning more than a decade, when he played 11 dates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on his Cronicles Tour 2024 supported by Claypaky Sharpy X Frame and Skylos lighting fixtures.

Creative director Clemens Hofbauer aimed to build a show within a very modern and contemporary world, versatile enough to support a narrative that took the audience from the artist’s past through the present and into his future. Hofbauer also provided production design and video content for the tour. Satis&Fy was the lighting and set vendor.

Lighting designer Roland Greil of 360º Collective selected 67 versatile Claypaky Sharpy X Frames and 20 Skylos laser-source beam fixtures, to illuminate the artist and the very minimalistic and contemporary stage architecture

India - India Bike Week (IBW) 2024, held on 6-7 December at Vagator, Goa, was a vivid celebration of biking culture, attracting thousands of motorbike enthusiasts from across the world. With the theme The Next Chapter, this year’s edition marked a defining moment for the festival, blending the raw energy of motorbikes with cutting-edge entertainment.

Set against the backdrop of Goa’s scenic beauty, the event featured activities such as the Harley-Davidson Flat Track Race, the Reise Moto Dirt Dash and Hill Climb, and performances by riders like MotoGP’s Xavier Simeon and adventurer Elspeth Beard, the first British woman to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle.

Music was the heartbeat of the festival. Two stages – the Main Stage and the Howling Dog Stage – set the rhythm for the weekend, offering a sonic adventure that c

Germany - With its skull-and-crossbones logo, FC St. Pauli is anything but a conventional football club. Known for its commitment to social activism, the Hamburg-based team won promotion to Germany’s Bundesliga last season and has steadily built a reputation as a cultural phenomenon – attracting a devoted following that extends far beyond Germany’s borders.

Housed within the Millerntor-Stadion, the FC St. Pauli Museum celebrates the team’s rich history and ethos. Now, thanks to a Genelec audio installation, visitors can experience the magic and emotion of this club. Combining immersive soundscapes with audio technology, the new setup brings the roar of the crowd and the essence of the club into full focus.

Founded in 1910, FC St. Pauli began as an unremarkable football club that evolved into a symbol of rebellion and inclusivity. During the 1

USA - Founded in 2017, the Korean-American Joong Ang Church in Las Vegas has seen a steady growth in its congregation over the years, and recently left its existing premises to move to a new larger chapel building on Peace Way, just 10 minutes away from the city’s main strip.

With a substantial stage in place, the venue’s main space seats approximately 600 and hosts a variety of worship including spoken sermons, solo singers, bands and complete musical shows. When the Church moved to the new venue, its sound system was out-dated and unreliable. Pastor Im In-Cheol and his team decided to install a new audio system and engaged Troy Choi of Solid Sound Solutions to deliver.

As a member of the strong and close-knit Korean Church community, Choi is a trusted and expert audio practitioner in both the installation and live sound sectors. As well as fixe

USA - This past holiday season, lighting design group Lightswitch and production house Upstaging collaborated on a new lighting experience at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Impressed by the magical lighting Lightswitch had created for Illumination: Tree Lights at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois – one of the nation’s most cherished light displays which has featured Elation lighting since 2016 – Meijer Gardens sought the same level of quality and entrusted Lightswitch to design something spectacular for their space.

The creative team delivered an art and nature-inspired display of experiences, many of them interactive, that delighted visitors from 27 November to 4 January. Creative direction, lighting design, and programming were all spearheaded by Lightswitch, with Upstaging providing

Switzerland - GIS AG, global manufacturer of electric chain hoists, is expanding its LPL lightweight series.

Building on the success of the LPML250, which was designed for D8 applications, the LPL series is now also suitable for D8+ and C1 installations. The LPML250 is the lightest hoist in its class, says the company, with a weight of just 12kg and a capacity of 500kg in D8. The LPL500 weighs 23kg yet has a maximum lifting capacity of 1,000kg, while the LPL1000 offers a 2,000kg capacity and weighs only 46kg.

Designed for the entertainment industry, the LPL range is part of GIS’ popular LP chain hoist series. LPL motors were initially intended for D8 category applications in mobile use, such as concerts and open-air events, where riggers prefer the lightest possible motors. This expansion means they are now also suitable for D8+ scenarios – holdi

Spain - Wireless LED lighting specialist Astera has positioned its booth – P300 in Hall 6 – at the ISE expo in Barcelona, right at the heart of the rental and staging section to capitalise on the crossover worlds of live shows and events and film/broadcast production.

The stand is designed to riff with the official QuikSpot product video, filmed at a castle in Slovenia, and this new product – launched December 2024 – will be a major focus for Astera at the show.

QuikSpot is a flexible battery-powered LED lighting fixture designed to meet the demands of fast-paced environments for events and media productions, combining ease of use, accurate performance, and rapid setup for professionals who value efficient and versatile solutions in a compact format.

This zoomable, single-source spotlight draws inspiration from the efficient workflow

Spain - Cadac Consoles has announced that it will, for the first time, be publicly running two of the first UK production CM-J50 mixing consoles on its booth at ISE (7G100) through its new CM-RT12 optical MegaCOMMS network router. The CM-RT12 router, together with the CM-DF64 optical Dante bridge – also being shown for the first time – sees a significant expansion of the CM ecosystem.

The CM-RT12 router provides the CM-Series with enhanced network performance capabilities. With a processing capacity of up to 3,072 channels, a single CM-RT12 can connect up to 12 MegaCOMMS units to form a single unified audio system, comprising any combination of CM-J50 consoles, CM-SR stage racks, or CM fibre bridges.

The CM-J50 console’s user-friendly GUI facilitates seamless routing via the CM-RT12, with settings stored directly to the console’s Show File; w

Spain - Broadweigh will be exhibiting a range of its products at ISE as it joins its Scandinavian product partner, PSRIG at the show. Visitors to stand 6-J660 can expect to see some of the brand’s best sellers on display as well as discovering more about its newest products.

PSRIG has designed a new stand from which to present its latest stage mechanical solutions and rigging accessories. Aart Gigengack, CEO and sales director at PSRIG comments: “This year, we’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating an exciting showcase and we look forward to inviting visitors to our stand to experience it firsthand. Broadweigh will feature prominently and we’re delighted to have the team – Matthew, Elliot and Tom manning the stand with us. They’ll be available to answer any questions you might have with their expert knowledge of the brand and share

Europe - Ayrton has announced the release of a newly upgraded Nando 502 Wash, the latest in Ayrton’s Multi Sources IP65 6 Series, which was launched last year and has proved a successful evolution of the NandoBeam range.

For this luminaire, Ayrton has developed “a unique concept of a revolutionary machined light guide that provides an optimum level of diffusion and a significant improvement in luminous flux”.

The new Nando 502 Wash is fitted with 12 high-performance 40W LED sources with RGB-L additive colour synthesis and a proprietary optical system made up of a unique 210mm cluster in PMMA. This optical combination produces an improved luminous flux of over 11,000 lumens and a highly uniform mixture of pastel or saturated colours.

Nando 502 Wash is a precision machine that allows perfect colour reproducibility with a colour rendering

USA - Clair Global has announced the unification of its Data Services Team with Safari Solutions, “combining their strengths to amplify capabilities and spark fresh innovation across both organisations”.

Safari Solutions, based out of Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, specialises in strategic and innovative technology services that enable efficient operations for large events and enterprise technology partnerships that help sustain and grow businesses.

“This is an opportunity to expand what we’ve built domestically – bringing our talent, knowledge, and experience – and scale it globally,” said Safari Solutions CEO David Baron. “There’s a natural connection between audio/video technology and innovative technology operations and how we both see the world. This is a collaboration of uniquely aligned businesses.”

“With this global e

South Africa - The second series of The Masked Singer SA was one of the most successful music TV shows of 2024, broadcast on SABC, and featuring a production lighting design created by two of the country’s most talented LDs, Ryan Lombard and Joshua Cutts, based around the core components of 150 Robe moving lights.

All technical production was supplied by Blond Productions for the series, which was recorded at the Studios on Harley facility in Randburg, Greater Johannesburg.

Lombard and Cutts had previously worked together on Family Feud and SA’s Got Talent so it made sense for them to once again pool their imaginations for The Masked Singer SA.

With Cutts coming in as a designer as well, Lombard made some changes to the original design based on what he had learned during season 1, which

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