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Infinity keeps Smeerboel Festival cool

The Smeerboel Festival entertained the crowds on a hot Saturday in early September

Details: 14 November 2023

The Netherlands - On 9 September 2023 the Smeerboel Festival took place at the Grasweide Papendorp in Utrecht. Around 18,000 house and dance fans and other festival goers enjoyed the tunes of numerous DJs and acts. On different stages, equipment supplier Stagelight provided Infinity and Showtec fixtures to bring the performances to their peak.
The Smeerboel Festival entertained the crowds on a hot Saturday in early September with famous acts and DJs on six stages. For the Joy' and 'Basis stages, Stagelight supplied a whopping 178 Infinity iB-2R moving heads, 13 Furion S401 Spot moving heads and 59 Showtec Helix S5000 Q4 wash lights, which were also used as strobes.
Tom van den Burg from T.Y.S Productions was responsible for operating the Joy stage. Seventy iB-2R moving h

Senior sound technician Tony Birch, sound designer Brett Cox, cellist & composer Peter Gregson and Innovate Audio's Dan Higgott (photo: Tony Birch)

panLab creates spatial audio on the Southbank

Details: 14 November 2023

UK – panLab Console, the new spatial audio solution from Innovate Audio, enabled a surround sound performance at London’s Southbank Centre on 4 November, when cellist and composer Peter Gregson presented a performance of his 2021 album, Patina, in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer.
Patina was written and recorded for spatial audio, so a live surround sound presentation was a natural step – albeit one that required a touch of audio innovation. Called Patina 360, the presentation, in which Gregson was accompanied by the Carducci String Quartet, was planned by sound engineer Brett Cox, with help from one of the Southbank Centre’s senior sound technicians, Tony Birch.
Birch explains, “Our head of classical music, Toks Dada, invited Peter to stage the piece in the Foyer as one of our series of late-night classical events. The

Endeavour’s Kelvin Tilley with Dylan Jones from DWR Distribution

Endeavour AV amps up with Absen

Details: 14 November 2023

South Africa - Endeavour Audio Visual Solutions is celebrating a busy year, expanding its inventory with additional Absen NT2.9 panels.
Kelvin Tilley and Richard Horwell, founders behind the technical supply company that recently relocated to larger premises in Randburg, are feeling a blend of excitement and gratitude. In August of this year, in response to the bustling entertainment industry, they initially purchased Absen NT2.9 panels from DWR Distribution. With demand on the rise, they're now on their second batch of these panels and eagerly looking forward to another shipment scheduled for February next year.
Kelvin and Richard, filled with optimism at the beginning of their Endeavour AV journey in 2021, were taken aback by how swiftly things unfolded. "I knew we'd take off, but not like this, not this quick," confesses Kelvin. “The journey has been nothing short

https://www.claypaky.it/products/ultimo-hybrid/

OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
www.cameolight.com

‘Partnering with GPA will expand Lightware’s global efficiency’

Lightware joins GPA partner programme

Details: 14 November 2023

Europe - GPA and Lightware Visual Engineering have announced that Lightware has joined the GPA Global Partner Programme.
Partnering with GPA will “expand Lightware’s global efficiency and scale allowing Lightware an unrivalled presence to deploy, deliver and support customers in over 50 countries”. The partnership will allow GPA teams to “leverage Lightware's engineering and solutions expertise to address evolving customer requirements and co-create solutions for the modern workplace”.
GPA director of global partnerships Mike Stead comments: “Bring Your Own Codec meetings are more popular than ever, and enterprise customers demand seamless, friction-free meeting experiences to earn their staff’s return to work.
“GPA’s technical leaders have consistently praised Lightware’s solutions for their reliability, features and performance, making USB-C

The Hove West team with Nexo sales manager Celso Papadopulos

Nexo appoints Hove West distributor for Norway

Details: 14 November 2023

Norway - French loudspeaker systems manufacturer Nexo has announced the appointment of Hove West as exclusive distributor of its products in Norway. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Stavanger-based company is one of Norway’s largest and leading stage technology specialists, active in the design, installation, rental, production services and sales sectors.
At the same time, the 40-strong team at Hove West is joined by well-known pro audio industry professionals Asle Skårslette and Per Sjømoen who, between them, bring decades of experience in the sales, support and deployment of Nexo systems in Norway.
“We’re very happy to be joining Hove West, a locally owned company with a real passion for the stage technology industry and strong links to its community” says Per, sentiments echoed by Asle whose experience with Nexo goes back to the ‘90s when he operate

Sentech Tower dominates the Brixton skyline (photo: Heather Mason)

Robe lights Jo’burg’s Sentech Tower

Details: 13 November 2023

South Africa - The 2023 Brixton Light Festival in Johannesburg delivered its third – and largest to date – event filled with the magic, mystery and imagination evoked by light. It started during the covid lockdowns as a community-led and driven art-based lighting experience to unite the already tight-knit, lively and diverse neighbourhood of Brixton. The goal is to celebrate the spirit and importance of community, and the power of art and empathy.
Sound designer and Brixton resident Fried Wilsenach from Working Dog helped implement several lighting installations this year, including one illuminating the impressive Sentech Tower, a landmark that dominates the Brixton skyline and that of the surrounding Auckland Park suburb. The Tower is part of SABC’s (South African Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasting HQ which is also located there.
Fried in turn asked lightin

This year’s Highway Desperado Tour has just concluded

Mavericks converge on Jason Aldean tour

Details: 13 November 2023

Canada - Matthieu Larivée and the team at Lüz Studio have been relentlessly pushing the envelope of late, driving technology in new directions to transform stages in ways that would have been unimaginable not long ago. So, it should come as no surprise that following their widely acclaimed work on last year’s Jason Aldean tour, when they turned the entire upstage wall into a stunning 3D video screen, these creatives dramatically changed their plans for 2023.
Unlike its predecessor, this year’s just concluded Highway Desperado Tour had a production design that was dominated by a single vertical, centre stage video screen. Measuring 24’ high by 18’ wide by 6’ deep and angled at 20-degrees, the 8mm blow-through wall displayed captivating IMAG images and dynamic patterns accentuated by pixel mapped light from Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm2 BeamWash fixtures, wh

Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

John Buitrago’s Quantum338 is on an Optocore network

DiGiCo doubles up on Karol G dates

Details: 13 November 2023

Colombia - They knew her as Carolina Giraldo Navarro in her native Medellín, Colombia, but the world now knows her as platinum global recording artist Karol G. She’s the multi- pop culture icon, and trend-setting powerhouse who’s at home with reggaeton, Latin trap, sertanejo, and other genres that are creating a new artistic front in global music.
She recently completed the US leg of her headlining Mañana Será Bonito tour. It kicked off in August at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and made stops in Pasadena, Miami, Houston, Dallas, and East Rutherford, NJ, and will continue later this year in Medellín, on 1 December, and on to Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara early next year.
It’s a non-stop whirl that needs a console that can keep up with her and the show, and that’s what they found with a pair of DiGiCo Quantum338 consoles, supplied by tour vendor C

Future Menus 2023 ran over five venues at Unilever’s head office in Durban

Insane Sound at Future Menus 2023

Details: 13 November 2023

South Africa - Future Menus 2023 by Unilever was recently held in Durban where top chefs from around the world encouraged local chefs, restaurants, and hotels with ideas to create modern comfort foods to boost the use of wild and pure foods, incorporate mindful proteins when cooking and to create low waste menus.
Insane Sound was commissioned by experiential company Matriarch to supply both the full technical, which included the use of their new Absen Neptune NT 2.9 Lite series screen, as well as the manufacture and installation of the complete set.
For Vimal Rawjee, who started Insane Sound in 2004, business has always been about a personal commitment; to go the extra mile and to offer professional equipment with quality in mind. The Covid-19 pandemic put a major strain on his company when the live events industry took a large knock, and soon after, Insane Sound’s

The Marrageddon festival - a celebration of Italian hip-hop

Prolights lluminates hip-hop festival

Details: 13 November 2023

Italy - Prolights products illuminated the Marrageddon festival, a celebration of Italian hip-hop, conceived and hosted by hip-hop artist Marracash.
With two dates between Milan and Naples, the festival hosted a line-up that included Fabri Fibra, Salmo, Guè Pequeno, Lazza and Madame, attracting more than 130,000 tspectators.
To support such a large entourage of guests it was necessary to design a lighting setup that was up to par with the live performances of the festival; the lighting design was entrusted to Giorgio De Cassan, alongside Lorenzo De Pascalis, who oversaw the entire artistic direction of the festival.
For the lighting setup, the team relied on rental company Mister X Service, selecting a wide range of equipment, including 130 Prolights projectors: 40 Sunblast 3000FC, 50 Astra Wash19Pix, and 40 VersaPar.

ADJ’s booth (#1443) will feature a lightshow designed by experienced concert LD Steve Kosiba

‘New ADJ’ to be showcased at LDI 2023

Details: 13 November 2023

USA - ADJ is preparing to showcase its newly evolved range of professional lighting products designed for concert tours, festivals and special events at the 2023 LDI tradeshow in Las Vegas.
Alongside new products that will launch exclusively at the show, ADJ’s booth (#1443) will feature a lightshow designed by experienced concert LD, Steve Kosiba. This will showcase select fixtures from the brand’s existing range of fixtures.
A partner at Squeek Lights, the concert lighting specialist based in New Jersey, Steve Kosiba has extensive experience in the lighting industry. He joined Squeek Lights after six years at Starlite Productions, where he was head of the automated lighting department, and, before that, spent years working as a house LD at many venues in and around Philadelphia.
“My first experience with the ‘new’ ADJ gear was, as with many people in

Jonathan Sheard – managing director ROE Visual UK

Jonathan Sheard joins ROE Visual UK

Details: 13 November 2023

UK - ROE Visual has announced the appointment of Jonathan Sheard as managing director of their UK team.
Sheard’s three-decade-long journey in the live event business has endowed him with a deep understanding of our industry's cultural, technical, and commercial aspects. His background working within the diverse CT group positions him to comprehend and serve ROE Visual's client base.
"I am thrilled to be joining such a respected and forward-thinking company as ROE Visual. I'm excited to bring my knowledge and experience to the team and work towards delivering exceptional LED-based solutions to our clients," says Sheard.
Grace Guo, sales director of ROE Visual, comments, "We are incredibly excited to have Jonathan Sheard join our UK team! Our partnership with Jonathan spans over a decade, and his impact on the industry has been nothing short of impressive. His u

The Offspring rock on with Britannia Row

Details: 13 November 2023

USA - California punk rockers The Offspring’s FOH engineer, Greg Bess, chose Britannia Row Productions for 2023 audio solutions, culminating in a US autumn tour.
Bess has worked with The Offspring for 26 years, yet his relationship with Britannia Row dates back even further - four decades and counting.
“The first time I contacted Brit Row was in 1979, when I wanted to drop in on Pink Floyd’s The Wall tour,” he begins. “I’m proud to say that I’ve now known Bryan Grant for longer than I haven't.”
Fresh from summer festivals, The Offspring - whose members comprise lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan ‘Dexter’ Holland, bassist Todd Morse, drummer Brandon Pertzborn and lead guitarist Kevin ‘Noodles’ Wasserman - embarked on a North American tour in support of 10th studio album Let the Bad Times Roll.
Venues included Irvine’s F

HK’s Linear 5 MKII and flagship Linear 9 systems will be featured

Polar to host HK Audio showcase

Details: 13 November 2023

UK - Polar will stage a demonstration featuring products by HK Audio at Com Church in Dunstable on Monday 20 November. The HK Audio range attracted strong interest as part of Polar’s recent highly successful roadshow events across the UK, prompting its team to stage an event dedicated entirely to the brand.
Visitors to the event will enjoy a live demo of the HK Audio Cosmo integrative and highly flexible line array, as well as the chance to experience the brand’s Linear 5 MKII and flagship Linear 9 systems.
Polar’s Andy Plunkett, who will manage the event, comments: “Our recent run of roadshows left us in no doubt just how much our customers appreciate the chance to get hands-on with audio systems in ‘real-life’ settings. There’s simply no substitute for first-hand experience when it comes to making purchasing decisions.
“For us, it’s also a va

Tillmann Schulz - sales and business development manager for Avolites at Robe Deutschland

Robe Deutschland to distribute Avolites in Germany

Details: 13 November 2023

Germany - Robe Deutschland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Robe Lighting s.r.o., has taken over exclusive responsibility for the sales and service of all Avolites products on the German market as of 1 November 2023.
Dieter Gross, CEO of Robe Germany, commented, "Following the acquisition of Avolites by Robe it was a logical step to hand over sales in the region to Robe’s German subsidiary. We respect Trendco's excellent work over the decades and thank them for their harmonious cooperation during the handover period."
Tillmann Schulz has been appointed sales and business development manager for Avolites at Robe Deutschland.
He notes, "Robe has been using Avolites control products internally for a long time and I am delighted to be representing these new, user-friendly solutions in the German market."
In collaboration with Robe Germany’s product specialist

Projection Simulator offers a comprehensive suite of features

Digital Projection releases free software

Details: 10 November 2023

UK - Digital Projection has released a new and improved Projection Simulator, which is a free web-based application which helps users choose a suitable projector for their particular install needs.
Projection Simulator offers a comprehensive suite of features, including calculating throw distances between screens and projectors, as well as determining the relationships between the size and distance of the projected image. The tool also provides recommendations for optimal projector placement.
With the user’s convenience in mind, the software offers two modes: Single Projection and Multi Projection. In Single Projection mode, one projector is available, in Multi Projection mode, users can import, select and arrange 3D objects, such as domes and curved screens, and map onto them, helping users to pre-install projectors simulated in an install scenario.
The appli

Cameo will focus on the new products of the AZOR series at LDI

Cameo world premiere set for LDI 2023

Details: 10 November 2023

USA - At this year's Live Design International (LDI) from 3-5 December, Cameo - the lighting technology brand of the Adam Hall Group - will be presenting various innovations and product highlights that will significantly expand the range of professional lighting designers, operators and rental service providers.
In addition to the OTOS IP65 models SP6 (Spot Profile) and B5 (Beam) and the PIXBAR G2 IP65 LED bars, the focus will be on the new products of the AZOR series, which will be presented to the public for the first time at LDI. Cameo will be showcasing its product portfolio at LDI 2023 together with its North American partner Theatrixx at booth 1145.
Cameo can look back on more than 10 years of experience in the professional lighting industry and impresses professionals all over the world with lighting technology for live, event, theatre and architectural lightin

A total of 75 ceiling-hung RAIL units were installed

Pavion integrates with KSCAPE

Details: 10 November 2023

USA - Pavion, an integrator of fire, security, critical communications, and audio-visual technology solutions, recently opened its new regional office in Raleigh, North Carolina. The goal was to establish a space for Pavion to showcase its technology solutions whilst providing an updated working environment for its employees.
The project was undertaken in a collaboration between Pavion and IA Architects, who worked together to design and execute a solution including KSCAPE’s innovative RAIL technology.
“When designing and developing the Pavion Raleigh office, we had three critical focuses: Our People, Our Customers and Innovation,” explains Kristina VanderBrink, southeast regional sales director at Pavion. “We believe everything starts with our people - they are at the centre of our solutions. The goal was to create a workplace that promotes our team members to

The 52,000-capacity stadium is due for completion in late 2024

Whitecroft Lighting wins Everton contract

Details: 10 November 2023

UK - Whitecroft Lighting has secured the contract to supply the internal lighting to Everton Football Club for its new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium in Liverpool.
The deal will see the commercial lighting specialist manufacture around 14,000 luminaires for the stadium's main areas, including the concourse, concession areas, press areas, stairwells, corridors, player and staff areas and corporate hospitality.
Whitecroft Lighting was awarded the contract due to its experience in successfully delivering complex and high value prestigious projects across the UK, as well as its commitment to supporting the Everton project from initial design to project handover.
Due for completion in late 2024, the 52,000-capacity stadium is currently under construction, with the lighting installation set to start in autumn 2023. Whitecroft will be working with main contractor Laing O’

Papa Roach plays the Prudential Centre (photo: Todd Kaplan)

ChamSys in control on Papa Roach tour

Details: 10 November 2023

USA - Right from the start, Papa Roach fans at Newark’s Prudential Centre knew that the trailblazing metal masters were going to be coming at them in full force. Walking onto a dark stage, the band started to play Between Angels and Insects as the background behind them suddenly erupted with strobing images from a massive video wall that ran almost the entire width of the stage.
The menacingly raw and powerful images on the wall were repeated on the extended riser, making the band members on it look as if they were being absorbed into the foreboding video. It was exactly the kind of evocative narrative that German lighting designer Mathias Kuhn and the band from northern California envisioned when they sat down to plan the production for the Revolution Live tour in support of Shinedown.
“Video is by far the biggest part of the show,” said Kuhn. “The band

Guys and Dolls at London’s Bridge Theatre (photo: Manuel Harlan)

GLP makes impression on Guys and Dolls

Details: 10 November 2023

UK/USA - Three leading West End/Broadway theatre lighting designers are using GLP’s new impression X5 Wash - all supplied by Paul Anderson at Sparks Theatrical Hire - to light current or upcoming shows.
Leading the charge was Paule Constable, who originally requested them for Guys and Dolls at London’s Bridge Theatre. This has been followed by Tim Lutkin, who is responsible for lighting The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre, and Paul Pyant, who is in production for Noises Off at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
“These are three highly respected designers,” observes Anderson, himself a premier theatre lighting design specialist. “Early on in the [Guys and Dolls] process we approached Paule to see what equipment she would desire. As she had just lit a show on Broadway where she used the impression X5s, she requested them.”
Sparks o

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OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

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