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07 October 2024

USA - The expertise of live sound engineers Malcolm Gil and Ben Rothstein converged at Lollapalooza this summer, where they were part of the team supporting US breakout pop star Chappell Roan.

At Full Sail University, Rothstein built a solid foundation in audio engineering and pursued a position at Clair Brothers. "I've been with them for almost 18 years, starting as a PA tech and working my way up through various roles," he shares. His career-defining moment came in 2018 when he was entrusted with mixing monitors for Queen.

After gaining experience at Third Encore in Burbank, Gil took a leap into touring with a West Coast reggae band, Rebelution, in 2017, and has been on the road ever since. He now mixes for artists including Ice Spice, Khalid, Labrinth, and now Chappell Roan.

At Lollapalooza, Gil, serving as both monitor engineer and stage

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07 October 2024

USA - Merging Technologies has announced that Pyramix 15 will be unveiled at the upcoming AES Show in New York from 8-10 October.

This latest version of Pyramix comes with a fresh, modern redesign and an enhanced user experience, making it more intuitive and easier to use. It boasts an advanced real-time editor, versatile fade editor, complete mixing and mastering functionalities, and immersive workflows, including support for the Dolby Atmos ADM format. Pyramix 15 introduces a number of new features and enhancements.

Members of the Merging Technologies software team, led by Dominique Brulhart (head of application software) and Maurice Engler (product owner - Software Solutions), will be on hand to demonstrate Pyramix 15 at AES New York.  

“It is with great pleasure and excitement that we present the newest version of Pyramix 15 to the No

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04 October 2024

UK - The Backup Tech team was thrilled to once again be part of the #WeMakeEvents hub at the PLASA Show 2024. From this base, the Backup team and its ambassadors were able to connect with industry professionals and raise awareness of the important work Backup is doing in the industry.

Every year, the show represents an opportunity to meet up with old friends, enjoy great conversations and make new connections. This year, the larger footprint meant that the hall was abuzz with even more new technology and creativity. Spaces where attendees could relax and regroup were an important part of the wellbeing strategy, and the wellbeing hub, crewed by the EventWell team, provided an additional quiet space for anyone who wanted it.

“Backup received multiple donations during the show, thanks to a lot of hard work from our fundraisers and the generosity of PL

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04 October 2024

UK - LSi is sad to report the passing of software and media server pioneer, Richard Bleasdale (1965-2024) at the end of September.

Rob Halliday writes: “Richard Bleasdale was one of those backstage artists whose work was never recognised in itself by the show-going public, but which enabled remarkable work by others that was, in some cases becoming era-defining. Some of these ‘secret’ backstage artists work in wood, some in metal, some in fabric. Richard’s medium was software: software which enabled shows to happen in entirely new ways.

Like a fair number of others in this industry, Richard studied at Imperial College in London, theatre a distraction from the actual course that would go on to shape his working life. Working at Vari-Lite at a time where you’d have one lighting console for the conventional lights and another for the moving li

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04 October 2024

UK - Avolites has announced the launch of its Academy Online Learning Platform, which takes a ‘bite-sized’ learning approach and replaces the previous version launched in 2021.

This new platform will mean anyone with an internet connection can access and learn to use Avolites software. At launch, the platform will have the Titan Intermediate (Level 1) training course available and contains over 70 three-to-five-minute videos. All the individual videos are grouped together into ‘lessons’ for ease of navigation.

All the videos will have the option of an English voiceover appearing as subtitles in several languages, and more will be added in the future. To further promote users’ knowledge retention, taking the online courses and simultaneously practising live on the software is recommended.

After completing each video and lesson, there

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04 October 2024

UAE - HH Audio, part of the UK Headstock Group of companies, has officially announced the appointment of Sound Factory FZCO, based in the UAE, as an official HH distribution partner in the GCC including the Middle East, CIS and parts of Northern Africa.

Sound Factory’s BD manager Fara Azari states: “At Sound Factory, we're excited to kick off this new partnership with the HH brand. Their history, strong reputation for quality, and customer focus align perfectly with our values, and we’re confident this will lead to growth and success in the territories we've been entrusted with. We truly appreciate the opportunity to team up and are eager to explore what’s ahead for HH Audio. Here’s to a successful and rewarding partnership as we work together to take the brand forward.”

Ian Wright, Headstock’s director of global sales adds: “I am ver

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04 October 2024

USA - Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Sammy Hagar was on the road for two months over the summer with his Best of All Worlds tour that played across the USA with a line-up including Joe Satriani, and a lighting design created by Jamie Fadden featuring Robe moving lights prominently on the rig.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Fadden started working with the prolific artist four years ago and took over the LD position in 2021 and is also LD for Satriani. For this tour, a completely new lighting design was produced utilising 22 x Robe BMFL Spots and 10 x BMFL WashBeams, 40 x MegaPointes, 42 x Spiiders and five Tarrantulas together with eight Forte FollowSpots running on four RoboSpot BaseStations. All lighting equipment was supplied by Felix Lighting.

Fadden also produced most of the tour’s video content and the band risers were part of her

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04 October 2024

Mexico - Guadalajara-based production house Star Producciones deployed its Nexo STM modular line array system at a major corporate event at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.

Multinational nutritional and cosmetic products company Omnilife took over the large arena in Mexico City on 7 September for its annual leadership meeting, which is held in a different country each year.

Under the guidance of local production manager Juan Pablo Dominguez, the Star team rigged a total of 180 boxes from the STM system.

The setup at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico comprised main left and right hangs of 18 x STM M46/B112 with three M28 down-fills, and out-fill hangs of 12 x STM M46/B112 with three M28s. The main sub arrays featured 18 x STM S118 in cardioid mode with separate stacks of six S118 per side, also in cardioid mode.

Nexo’s industry-standard PS15R2 p

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04 October 2024

Denmark - At the heart of its northern city Aalborg’s cultural life is the Aalborg Kongres & Kultur Center (AKKC), one of Scandinavia's busiest entertainment and convention venues. Hosting concerts, theatre, ballet, exhibitions, and conventions, it welcomes over half a million guests annually.

After years of relying on traditional incandescent lighting, the venue decided to upgrade to a more versatile and energy-efficient LED system to better accommodate its diverse events. AKKC lighting technicians Jakob Krøyer and Thomas Nowakowski were instrumental in the search and eventual specification of a new LED lighting system for the venue’s main performance space, ultimately opting for Elation Fuze Max Profile and the KL Profile FC luminaires.

Krøyer explains the specific lighting requirements: “We needed an ellipsoidal fixture for static fron

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04 October 2024

Canada - This August, Pierre E Roy was the LD for Rock La Cauze, a festival that takes place over three days at Parc Terre des Jeunes in Victoriaville, Quebec. The main stage hosted 19 acts, mostly rock and metal artists, along with some reggae bands, like Atreyu, Thrice, Arch Enemy, and Sublime With Rome.

Roy’s versatile festival rig featured the Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Spot, seven Rogue Outcast BeamWashes, six Rogue R2 Beams, and 25 Colorado 2 Solo fixtures, all supplied by DGM Sonorisation.

“I only had 14 of the Mavericks, so good placement was important,” said Roy. “I studied all the light plots for each band programmed in our festival. I then introduced the light plan in a way that made it as easy for them to clone their show.

“Given how many acts we have to please, flexibility is important and a priority in the rig,

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04 October 2024

USA - LEA Professional has announced its partnership with Elite 3 Pro. This partnership will bring LEA’s technology catalogue to customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Elite 3 Pro originated in 2006 in response to the growing need for support in the constantly changing technology industry. Elite 3 Pro will provide LEA Professional’s award-winning Network Connect series of professional amplifiers and companion Dante Connect series, featuring Dante and AES67 connectivity. These series enable integrators to utilise cloud-based remote control, monitoring, notifications, and more from any internet-enabled device, allowing them to stay connected anywhere in the world.

"We take pride in providing our customers with the best products and continuously listening to their needs to ensure that we meet their evolving requirements," stated Dale

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04 October 2024

Europe - The Showtec Titan Strobe FLEX FX is designed to ‘revolutionise the way we experience strobe and effect lighting’.

The Titan Strobe FLEX FX features eight powerful pods, each equipped with a 100W cold white COB LED behind a Fresnel lens, delivering sharp and intense strobe effects. These effects are designed for high-energy environments like concerts, festivals, and large-scale productions, where impactful lighting is essential. Surrounding each COB LED are 12 integrated 2W RGBW LEDs, which can be controlled individually, giving you precise control to design intricate and dynamic lighting designs.

This fixture seamlessly integrates into modern lighting setups with ART-Net and sACN compatibility, ensuring it works effortlessly with larger systems. It also includes RDM (Remote Device Management) functionality, allowing for remote monitoring

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04 October 2024

Canada - PK Sound has augmented the feature set of PK .dynamics, its proprietary robotic line source system design, control and monitoring software, with the release of v1.5 for Windows and macOS. Combining every stage of the modern live sound workflow in a single solution, .dynamics lets users take their designs from conception to the real world with the flexibility of real-time coverage adjustments even after the system is flown.  

New features for v1.5 include the implementation of PK Sound’s incoming Tx14 and Tx26 intelligent point-source modules, which enable users to design and control complete system solutions for a myriad of mobile and permanent applications. Additionally, a new auto-save feature automatically backs up files every 15 minutes for enhanced user security and confidence.  

“.dynamics is the core of PK Sound’s technologi

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03 October 2024

Italy - Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest continuously running opera house in the world, is based in the historical heart of Naples. Renowned worldwide for its rich musical tradition, it presents over 250 performances of opera, ballet, and music every year.

As a leading cultural hub in Naples and one of Italy's most esteemed theatres, it features a modern lighting system equipped with numerous ETC products.

Nunzio Perrella, head of the lighting department and lighting designer, has had a long career at San Carlo, inspired by his father, who was also the venue's lighting designer. Starting young, Perrella staged small performances in his early teens and became a chief electrician for touring companies by his late teens. After gaining experience in television and touring with renowned artists across Italy, Perrella returned to Teatro di San Carlo at 23 a

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03 October 2024

The Netherlands - Located in Baarn, in the Utrecht region right in the centre of The Netherlands, Speeldoos Theatre is a vibrant local and national hub for culture including film screenings and all types of live performing arts. Last year, the venue, which has a 343-seat theatre space, invested in Robe T1 Profiles as part of a lighting upgrade.

Overseeing this was technical manager Kevin van Boeijen, who explained that they will typically stage over 100 events across a year, screening movies on Mondays and Tuesdays with live shows the rest of the week including opera live streams. Discos and parties are often hosted in the foyer, bands also play in the bar area, and the spaces are available for private events. There is constant activity.

The 16 x T1 Profiles were purchased to replace all the theatre’s generic PC and profile front light in the theat

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03 October 2024

Malaysia - The Hilton Kuala Lumpur hotel’s grand and junior ballroom, as well as its meeting room, have replaced their audio system with a cost-saving new setup powered by Powersoft’s Mezzo, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers.

The hotel, located in the Malaysian capital’s transportation hub in the vibrant Kuala Lumpur Sentral area, wanted to refresh the sound system in order to have high-quality and clear-sounding audio in its newly renovated function spaces.

After winning the tender, Concept Audio chose Powersoft’s Mezzo, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers to play a central role in the audio overhaul, selected to meet the diverse requirements of each venue within the hotel. “We chose Powersoft due to the amplifier flexibility and enhanced efficiency, as well as the seamless integration they provide,” says Castrit Lim Lit Seong, m

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03 October 2024

Japan - At FUL Kyoto, a restaurant, bar, and lounge in the Kawaramachi district, customers are surrounded by a collection of greenery from South and Central America and gentle sounds to create an appropriate ambiance.

FUL is a ‘sound forest’ where you can savour natural wines and cocktails while immersing yourself in music that flows like forest rain. FUL’s ‘sound forest’ concept was inspired by 1 Sound’s American-made loudspeakers.

Sound forest is the brainchild of multidisciplinary producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, better known as Fantastic Plastic Machine. As a DJ, he has performed at Coachella and the Reading & Leeds Festival in 1999. As a music producer, his songs are featured in an Austin Powers movie (1999), the British sitcom Spaced and recently, he earned acclaim as the music director for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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03 October 2024

Europe - On 22-23 August, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra hosted two outdoor concerts in its home city, offering a magical experience for both musicians and audiences alike – under a customised ‘invisible’ Milos roof.

Partnering with Creative Technology Norway, Milos engineers designed and installed a one-of-a-kind venue featuring an arched roof constructed from Keder profiles and transparent canopies. This innovative design allowed the orchestra to perform under the open sky while being fully protected from the elements, ensuring the show went on without a hitch – rain or shine.

“This bespoke design was so successful that we are now working to have this unique roof system included in our catalogue,” says Milos.

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03 October 2024

Belgium - The organisers of Brussels’ Listen Festival selected the three-tunnel complex under Marie Louise Square as one of the sites for their city-wide event.

Fans crowded the tunnels to see international stars VTSS, Crystallmess and Mary Lake, along with local favourites like CJ Bolland and Nosedrip. Setting the visual tone for the shows was a dramatic lighting design by the John & Jane team that accentuated the intensely raw aesthetics of the tunnel structure.

“This was the third year in a row that we provided sound and light for multiple stages of Listen Festival,” said Lowie Lesage, technical supervisor of the project. “Listen Festival is known for their unusual locations. This year, having the festival take place in tunnels was a fun challenge. Our successful cooperations rely on good equipment and light and sound designs that matc

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03 October 2024

Denmark - [Lite]Com Group has expanded its rental inventory with the addition of the Prolights Astra Hybrid330, a compact and versatile hybrid fixture known for its power, precision, and wide range of visual effects. This makes it a suitable solution for a variety of events.

The decision followed a successful demonstration by Gobo, Prolights' distributor in Denmark and Sweden, where the Astra Hybrid330 impressed the [Lite]Com Group team with its ‘outstanding’ performance.

Recognising the fixture for transitioning from traditional R-Series lamps to LED technology, [Lite]Com Group invested in 120 additional units, adding to the 38 already in their catalogue. This brings their total inventory to 158 Astra Hybrid330 fixtures, solidifying the projector as a key asset for the wide range of events they support.

“Prolights has demonstrated an i