Benelux - Ever since Riverdance brought Irish dance to a truly global audience, 20 years ago, interest in the genre has shown no sign of waning. In terms of touring, one of the hardest working Irish dance and music troupes is Ragús, which has just completed its ninth successive tour of Belgium and the Netherlands. A Yamaha CL1 mixing console ensured that the necessarily compact audio specification still packed a big sonic punch.

Active for the past 13 years, Ragús's performers present the style of Irish dance familiar to millions, but adds in live music from a five-piece band and female vocalist. This ranges from haunting airs from the 'sean nós' traditions of Connemara and the Aran Islands, to the ballads and lively tunes which are commonly associated with traditional I

Puerto Rico - Miley Cyrus knows how to attract attention: put on a glitzy show, and belt out a variety of songs from the sultry to the sensitive with aplomb, style, musicality and undeniable charisma. All of this was on display recently, along with dazzling wardrobe changes and dance routines, during the recording star's 22-song concert at San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, the largest indoor entertainment venue in Puerto Rico.

Lighting designer Sean Burke illuminated the performance on stage with a dynamic lightshow that include 44 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving washes and 48 COLORado Batten 72 Tour LED linear wash fixtures.

The Puerto Rican concert was part of Cyrus' global Bangerz tour in support of her fourth studio album. Maintaining a consistent look and energy level for a lightshow can be a challenge when gear lists often change from stop to st

China - Genelec has announced the opening of its new office in Beijing. The facility features a demo room which has been designed with the same acoustic principles as the Genelec listening space and auditorium at the company's headquarters and factory in Finland.

After more than 10 years in the city, Genelec has built up a team of seven based at the Beijing office and the time had come to move to bigger and better premises. Hanying Feng, office manager for Genelec China recognised that the time had come to upgrade the company's facilities. "With a staff of six people plus one trainee it was time for us to look for something new as our old office was far from sufficient," he says.

"There is lots of real estate available in Beijing but it can still be hard to find something to suit. While planning the move we also took the opportunity to upgrade our demo facilitie

UK - Drapes and rigging specialist Blackout helped Lord's Cricket Club celebrate its 200th year in style, transforming a temporary marquee installed in the iconic grounds with an LED starcloth ceiling, 8-19 October 2014.

The marquee allowed guests to make the famous walk through the Long Room, down the steps of the Pavilion, through the players' gate and into the stunningly- decorated venue which played host to banquets, invitation-only events for local residents and a two-night run of live music from Roxy Music star Bryan Ferry.

Blackout's team supplied one of its first LED starcloths of the winter season; a huge 30m x 20m installation into the marquee's roof, adding a magical and festive feel.

Blackout's project manager Tom Lambert said, LED starcloth is the ideal solution for a temporary venue like the one installed at Lord's; it helps to create a more permanent feel and

UK - ETC's Selador Classic LED fixtures have been used in two productions for people recovering from addictions and young people with special educational needs at London's Young Vic theatre.

For every production that the Young Vic programmes in its main space, the Taking Part department creates another in response; exploring some of the ideas in the main production and in which the local community can take part. Production manager Anthony Newton worked with Taking Part technician Nick Slater on Base Camp and The Sound of Yellow, which were based on The Valley of Astonishment, a play which focuses on the phenomenon of synaesthesia: where people can experience things - words, thoughts or even music - as sensory stimulations or as colours.

Nick Slater explains, "For Base Camp, which was with the special educational needs young people, we used an e

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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. 

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UK - SSE Audio Group picked up the award for Best Sound at the inaugural Festival Supplier Awards 2014, acknowledging the company's contribution at over 30 festivals.

The first Festival Supplier Awards took place at Newbury Racecourse on 22nd October 2014, an event billed as "a dedicated awards evening to highlight the creativity and innovation that festival suppliers deliver on every occasion."

During 2013 SSE Audio Group supplied audio systems to 30 major festivals ranging from the Cheltenham Jazz Festival to Download at Donington. SSE supplied a further 15 major festivals up to the end of July 2014 (the period covered by the awards).

As part of the awards submission, SSE focused particularly on their work at the Calling Festival, which moved to Clapham Common for the first time in 2014. Sited in the middle of residential South London the event was subject to ext

Prize Giving - One Direction and Ed Sheeran will be among the performers at the inaugural BBC Music Awards in December. The ceremony will celebrate the best in pop music over the past 12 months. Three awards will be handed out on 11 December the Earls Court ceremony hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton and broadcast live on BBC One. Prizes will be awarded for the best British and international artists of the year, while the public will vote for the best song of the year. The shortlist and voting details will be announced in December. The winners of British and international artists of the year will be chosen by a panel of "BBC Music experts" as well as leading music journalists. Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Clean Bandit and Paloma Faith are also expected to perform at the ceremony.

On Broadway - The Last Ship, Sting's musical about shipbuilding in north-ea

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

UK - Wigwam Acoustics has implemented DiGiCo and Optocore's latest software to build the first Multiplexed DiGiCo Fibre Ring systems for use in the live environment, which in addition to audio, also incorporated video transport. Deployed on Top Gear Live and the annual Hillsong Conference Europe, the systems allowed a range of DiGiCo mixing consoles and Optocore devices to work seamlessly together.

DiGiCo is the only console manufacturer to benefit from OEM Optocore and is running the native 2.21 Optocore protocol. Launched at ProLight+Sound in March, the system allows Optocore devices to seamlessly function on a DiGiCo optical loop. This allows, for example, Optocore X6R and V3R mic preamps to be controlled directly from DiGiCo consoles.

"Being long term associates of both Optocore and DiGiCo, we are keen to embrace the technologies afforded to us as they progress

Australia - Illumination Physics specialises in high technology lighting products for the architectural market. As both designer and manufacturer, the company is able to provide services across every stage of a major project, from concept to commissioning. The result is a high degree of customisation on a project-by-project basis, leading to improved function and value.

An example of such custom design is illumination Physics' 6W Modular Dot. This product is a custom-designed modular light fixture based on the IP Dot. The benefit is that you can attach as many modules to the dot as required in order to achieve the desired projection of direct and indirect light - vertical, horizontal or both directions simultaneously. This makes it both a practical and cost-effective product.

The particular application this fixture was designed for required a great deal of flexibility. Firstly

UK - BroadWeigh's exclusive UK partner, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (Rigging Division), has announced the supply of three full kits of 12-point load monitoring to UK-based Load Cell Rental, in a major deal to kick start the company's wireless equipment hire offering.

The BroadWeigh portable wireless system offers real-time, simple, effective and accurate load monitoring for rigging professionals, safety officials and site managers enabling them to monitor and log the precise loads on any given rigging point.

Central to the design of the BroadWeigh system are Crosby shackles equipped with a high accuracy, wireless load pin that reports data remotely to a computer or a handheld display. The system is able to monitor multiple load cells and can trigger an alarm should a load exceed a preset parameter.

Load Cell Rental's BroadWeigh wireless package includes 36 of the 4.75 to

China - Noelle Liu has joined FaitalPRO as sales development manager for China. Noelle is already well-known in the industry and will focus particularly on the area of Guangdong, the core region for the Chinese Pro Audio Industry.

Noelle, who will cooperate closely with the FaitalPRO sales department in Milan, will be responsible for all FaitalPRO accounts in China, working closely with major audio wholesalers, retailers, top enclosure manufacturers and will be able to carry on the already excellent reputation of FaitalPRO products in China.

Noelle's efforts will be fully supported by the entire Pro-Audio division at Faital's headquarters and assisted logistically through Faital ASIA (FaitalPRO's Gateway to Asia) based in Hong Kong, which makes FaitalPRO products readily available to the entire South East Asian region.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Branding specialist Sunbaba is set to "shake-up product launches, conferences and exhibition stands" with a new 3D graphic.

Designed on display polyester and polyester voile, the system fuses Sunbaba's tension fabric frame with LED colour-changing light battens, to stunning effect.

Unveiled at the Showman's Show, where it won the company the Best Stand award, the initiative captivated all-comers, bringing stereoscopics to a waterfall scene without any need for 3D glasses.

Trevor Booth, technical director at Sunbaba, comments, "We hung one of our mesh fabrics in front of the same image on a solid fabric, both finished with a special silicone keder. We have tried a number of variations over the years, but this is the first time we have been able to combine the two graphics in a single frame."

Booth achieved the breakthrough by adapting software desig

USA - Elation Professional has launched the Platinum Profile LED, billed as the market's first entry-level LED moving head profile with framing shutters.

Using a high-performance 180W LED engine that gives a level of power comparable to a 575W discharge lamp, the fixture's flexible four-blade rotating framing system allows the beam to be shaped and angled as required for precise highlighting of set pieces and performers, or can be used to create outstanding projection or mid-air effects.

Individual control of each blade position and angle allows for a highly controlled field of light with less light spill while rotation of the complete framing module permits projection at any angle. Pre-programmed blade macros are included that offer a series of shape and movement effects.

The fixture's economical 180W LED engine (6,500K, >85CRI, 20,000 hours) emits 9,000 total lumens of fli

Denmark - Martin Professional has introduced the latest software update for its P3 System Controller family of LED video processors. Version 3.1.0 includes an improved preset system, placement tools for creative projects, and a host of additional new features for improved functionality and ease-of-use.

"Since its introduction in 2008, Martin's P3 System Controller has become the industry standard for integrating video and lighting," commented Wouter Verlinden, product manager - LED Video, Martin Professional. "Setting up LED video systems can be a lengthy process. However, the P3's real time control capabilities paired with the new Version 3.1.0 software allows lighting designers to more easily integrate screen processing as part of the creative process and set up an entire system with a few mouse clicks. "

The new software's updated preset system allows fi

UK - Video, AV and technical production provider Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) has launched a new range of specialist projector rigging solutions.

Four innovative products are currently available - Rental Frames, Truss Mounts, Flying Mounts and a Portrait Adaptor - all designed to work together.

These have been developed by and for riggers and technicians combining numerous ingenious features, offering straightforward and practical projector rigging options informed by CPL's vast experience of touring and live events.

The streamlined, efficient and versatile Truss Mount is at the heart of the system.

A genius touch is the tilt-and-swivel (T&S) mechanism underpinning the design, which is based on a ball joint and enables extremely quick and easy adjustment of the projector by one person - requiring only a single pair of hands!

This is ideal for crew aligning machines wh

USA - From touring sound to special event projects and everything between, Northeast Ohio's Aggressive Sound offers a full range of services, including sound, lighting, and video equipment rentals as well as the engineers needed to manage the equipment.

The company operates both locally and internationally, with the bulk of the company's business taking place throughout the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. As the company expands its operations, the ability to have a sizeable equipment arsenal available to handle a wide range of projects is essential. That's why, for live sound reinforcement, the company relies on loudspeaker systems from Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

Over the past three years, Aggressive Sound has invested in a variety of D.A.S. Audio equipment, including products from the company's Aero Series 2 and Action Series catalogues.

Jeff Ha

Canada - Cypress Mountain is a world-class resort for all forms of winter sports and leisure. Located just outside Vancouver on Canada's west coast, it was also host to the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Allstar Pacific Integration Media Solutions based in Vancouver was asked to find an audio system solution for the Patio Ski and Snowboard Park at Cypress Mountain. As the weather can include sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow, rain and direct sunlight, all within a 24-hour period, careful consideration had to be taken to find loudspeakers that could withstand these extreme conditions and ensure good performance for both music and speech applications.

After detailed evaluation, Myk Shaflik, Allstar Pacific's system engineer, felt the Community R.5-99 was the best fit, both from a performance perspective as well as ease of installation. Desi

USA - In only a few short years, French artisanal bakery Maison Kayser has opened five successful bakery/café locations in New York City that complement its dozens of locations throughout Europe and Japan. Its US licensees have taken care to make every aspect of Maison Kayser NYC resonant with the brand's international prestige, and, as a result, its French-trained bakers and upscale service and atmosphere have raised the bar in The Big Apple.

High-fidelity sound is an important component of that atmosphere, and local AV integrator Essential Communications specified Ashly Audio integrated signal processors/amplifiers to deliver high fidelity with 24/7/365 reliability.

"This client is understandably particular and demanding," explained David Schwartz, owner of Essential Communications. "Canned music through a stereo wasn't going to cut it. Added to the cha

USA - Robe's Cyclone combined LED washlight / fan fixtures literally joined thousands of excited fans of Pittsburgh's National Hockey League (NHL) team - the Pittsburgh Penguins -for the all-important players entrance at their 2014-15 season opening match.

This was part of a spectacular pre-show event staged at the Penguins' CONSOL Energy Centre home venue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The opening match show was lit by Kevin Hogan from Process of Illumination, LD to the Penguins' shows since 2005, and broadcast on Root Sports and the NHL network.

The four Cyclones were placed in the runway tunnel used by the players as they come onto the ice. At the start of the match, the tension builds and the players each make their individual entrances onto the ice.

On this occasion, they emerged from the corridor through a fog screen with a special 'Pittsburgh Penguins' animation pr

Australia - Qlight Technical Resources in Brisbane has chosen 48v MM-4XP's with the MPS-488 power supply. The MPS-488HP IntelligentDC power supply delivers power and balanced audio to up to eight Meyer Sound loudspeakers that require an external DC power supply. The single-space 19-inch rack MPS-488HP can be used with a number of products that feature IntelligentDC technology, such as: the UPM-1XP ultracompact loudspeaker, MM-4XP miniature loudspeaker, MM-10XP miniature subwoofer, and UPJ-1XP and UPJunior-XP loudspeaker.

Qlight is often tasked with providing paging and programme audio services to acoustically difficult locations as part of its event communications," says Qlight technical resources MD, Matthew Strachan. "We were seeking a product with superb clarity for the spoken word, and the MM4-XP really delivers that.

"Even in extreme circumstances, we have

Croatia - Rock band Prljavo Kazaliste recently played a sold-out concert at the prestigious Pula Arena - a historical landmark only made available for performances to a handful of selected artists - and this gave their regular lighting designer Sven Kučinić the chance to use Robe Pointes and MMX Spots to great effect.

Zagreb based Sven, the MD of Croatian rental and production company LumiLas LLC had a completely open brief for the lighting and stage design which also included the video concept. He wanted to make the arena look modern and high tech for the occasion, whilst also retaining a heritage feel to the show as appropriate to the surroundings.

The magnificent arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders completely preserved. It was constructed in the first century AD during the reign of E

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