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22 April 2025

UK - SpotTrack, the specialist software tool for making, modifying and maintaining followspot cue sheets, continues to support shows of all scales around the world – including a number of award-nominated and award-winning designs.

On the all-new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express, which opened at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in London, assistant lighting designer Danny Vavrečka put SpotTrack to use managing the intricate followspot track that formed a key part of Howard Hudson’s design. This saw two human operators run four Robe Forte followspots remotely using Robe’s RoboSpot controllers, alongside other moving lights controlled via Zactrack. Starlight’s lighting was nominated for the 2025 Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design and won the same category at this year’s WhatsOnStage aw

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22 April 2025

UK - The pace of technical advances in the AV industry means that venues often don’t need entirely new systems to upgrade their audio performance. Sometimes an incremental improvement to the electronics will provide a significant boost to the audio capabilities. This is the case at Celtic Park in Glasgow, the home of Celtic Football Club, which has recently upgraded the electronics for its main PA to an all Dynacord signal chain. 

The 60,000-seat stadium had a full audio refit in 2017 to enhance the audio coverage in the main bowl. This saw the installation of Electro-Voice EVH and EVF loudspeakers driven and processed by Electro-Voice CPS amplifiers and NetMax digital matrix controllers. While the system still performed well, technology has moved on in the last eight years, and there were significant advantages that the stadium could gain in efficiency a

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22 April 2025

South Africa - DWR Distribution recently hosted Oliver Ronshausen, service manager at MA Lighting in Germany, for a special in-house technical training session in South Africa. Ronshausen shared his expert knowledge with the DWR technical team, covering grandMA3 technical hardware and offering detailed insights into the zactrack system.

DWR Distribution staff regularly receive training so they in turn can always provide up-to-date support to clients when needed. Technicians from DWR’s Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban branches were invited to attend this session.

“I recently came to South Africa to help DWR’s technicians get up to speed with the latest MA Lighting service knowledge, so they can react quickly when a console needs repair,” said Ronshausen. “The goal was to show them how the grandMA3 and electronics work on the inside, then

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22 April 2025

Germany - In the heart of Berlin's Mitte district, Monsieur Vuong is a thriving family-run restaurant that has brought authentic Vietnamese cuisine to the German capital. Run by brothers Dat and Tan Vuong, along with family friend Andreas Bodenstein, Monsieur Vuong serves fresh, shareable Vietnamese dishes in a lively, communal setting that is popular with Berliners.

To further enhance this convivial atmosphere, the management team recently decided to upgrade the restaurant’s sound system – and for this they turned to Genelec, a brand they were already familiar with. 

“I used to work in the film industry, where Genelec was the de facto standard in audio post-production. In my view, the simplicity and sound quality of Genelec loudspeakers is unparalleled,” Bodenstein explains. “I wanted the restaurant to benefit from that same exceptional s

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22 April 2025

Europe - Robe enjoyed an ‘excellent and super-active’ Prolight+Sound expo in Frankfurt, exhibiting alongside its five core businesses – Robe, Avolites, Anolis, LSC Systems and Artistic Licence – in a ‘Robe Village’ area that was constantly busy throughout the four-day trade show.

Many attractions drew visitors to the Robe booth including the final performances of The Fifth Dimension, Robe’s 2024-25 live expo show concept – together with two new product launches, the T31 Cyc and T31 Cyc Slim, half-length versions of Robe’s existing T32 Cyc and T32 Cyc Slim range.

A host of other just-launched Robe technologies stood out prominently on the stand and its two public demo areas, including the retina-burning WTF! moving strobe-wash, the new LedPointe – the first LED version of Robe’s famous and best-selling Pointe family of p

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22 April 2025

USA - Harman Professional Solutions was recently awarded the Joint Interoperability Testing Command (JITC) certification and listing on the US Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN) Approved Products List (APL), for 19 more Harman products. The certified products include AMX N2600 AVoIP encoders and decoders, the N4321D audio transceiver, MUSE Automation Controllers, Varia Touch Panels, CE I/O extenders, and the UVC1-4K HDMI to USB capture device.

JITC certification is a crucial requirement for technology solutions used in US government facilities. This recent certification further ensures that Harman’s products meet strict security standards and can seamlessly integrate with other systems used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The certification process includes a thorough evaluation of a product's security features, performance, and inte

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22 April 2025

South Africa - DWR Distribution has welcomed Werner Nieman to its team. With a strong background in both the retail distribution space and houses of worship, Werner joins DWR as an audio-visual sales consultant while still being able to support clients with comprehensive audio, video, and lighting solutions.

Before joining DWR, Werner spent over two years as operations manager at Mosaïek Church, where he led both the technical and facilities teams overseeing both the church’s technical needs and its event company, Mosaïek Lifestyle where various events were hosted from live TV shows like Idols to high-profile local and international. He also worked for many years on a volunteer basis for Word and Life Church in Boksburg.

Over the course of his career in retail, he has taken on key industry roles including training manager, techn

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22 April 2025

Word of Mouth - A survey of West End theatregoers has highlighted trends among the ticket-buying public, with word of mouth, celebrity casting and familiar source material among top draws for audiences coming to see shows.

The survey found that word of mouth was the most common reason for booking a show, with some 83.4% of respondents to the Inside the Mind of the London Theatregoer poll stating that hearing rave reviews about a production from their friends and family members inspired them to purchase tickets. But 62.6% also cited the draw of a celebrity or actor, and 68.1% of those surveyed said they were often inspired to snap up theatre seats when they were familiar with a show’s source material.

The research, conducted by live entertainment digital marketing agency Situation UK in partnership with Society of London Theatre, elicited m

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17 April 2025

USA - The Lorain Lighthouse, a 108-year-old beacon perched on a manmade island in Lake Erie, has been reborn with a cutting-edge lighting upgrade that merges preservation with innovation. Through the combined efforts of the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation, ETC, CLI, Vincent Lighting Systems (VLS), and South Shore Electric, this National Historic Landmark now shines in vibrant, colour-changing brilliance -visible from shore and beyond.

The goal of the project was to modernise the lighthouse’s legacy metal halide lighting with a contemporary, remotely controllable, energy efficient RGBW LED lighting system. Given the lighthouse’s seasonal inaccessibility and boat-only access, remote operation and durability were non-negotiable design requirements. TMB’s Solaris Urban Lux fixtures were selected as the best solution: a robust, high-performance architectural l

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17 April 2025

Turkey - LEA Professional has announced a partnership with Turkey-based AV distributor, Republik. The company will partner with LEA to bring its customers LEA’s technology catalogue

The Republik team is composed of industry experts with years of experience in the field. This partnership will allow Turkish customers to access LEA Professional’s Network Connect series of professional amplifiers and companion Dante Connect series featuring Dante and AES67 connectivity. These series allow integrators to utilize cloud-based remote control, monitoring, notifications, and more from any internet-enabled device, allowing them to stay connected anywhere in the world.

"As we continue to build our portfolio of brands, we’re proud to partner with companies with great reputations and technology portfolios,” said Kal Yener, Republik. "The LEA technology cat

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17 April 2025

USA - Winter Jam recently wrapped their 2025 tour with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Hailed as Christian music’s largest annual tour, the event, founded by Newsong and produced by TPR, featured performances by top artists such as Skillet, Anne Wilson, KB, Colton Dixon, Newsong, Micah Tyler and speaker Zane Black. Admission is a $15 donation at the door, keeping with the tour’s mission of accessibility to all.

“The contemporary Christian music market is near and dear to my heart so this is always a tour I look forward to digging into with Jerry Holcomb and the team,” said Bandit Lites client representative Allen Deneau.

While the previous five years have featured some form of a large LED surface upstage, production designer Jerry Holcomb chose to break up the surfaces into three sections, allowing space for vertical trusses.

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17 April 2025

USA - Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, affectionately known as America’s Home for Racing, has received a major upgrade – one that ensures every fan has a front row experience no matter where they sit. GoVision has delivered a massive, high definition digiLED LED screen.

For over 60 years, Charlotte Motor Speedway has set the standard for motorsports entertainment. Its new mega-screen measures a 15,500sq ft and boasts over 5.5m pixels. This custom built 16mm digiLED Vision Ultra LED screen brings brightness, clarity and colour accuracy to NASCAR fans. The installation marks the latest in a series of high-profile Motor Speedway installations by GoVision, using digiLED’s LED technology.

The new LED screen weighs in at over 47.6 ton and is supported by six 30ft-high steel pillars, each one weighing 18,500 pounds (8400kg) with a

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17 April 2025

Germany - The new SAP Garden in Munich is an impressively space-age 50,000 m² multifunctional sports venue, home to both the EHC Red Bull München Hockey and FC Bayern München Basketball teams.

Opened in September of 2024, the arena was designed to revolutionise the fan experience through the implementation of innovative and, most importantly, interactive technology. To achieve this, bright! studios, a leading creative technology company, leant on the power of SP software from Stage Precision to develop a workflow that enables tracking data to be transformed into engaging visual content for real-time gaming and audience participation, bringing to life Red Bull’s innovative concept of a new spectator experience.

bright! became involved in the project following a recommendation. “The goal was to make the arena a kind of interactive playground, a

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17 April 2025

Belgium - The historic Sint-Janshospitaal Museum in Bruges has unveiled an innovative digital experience that transforms how visitors engage with the life and works of the Flemish Primitive, Hans Memling – one of the most significant Early Netherlandish painters. The Closer to Memling exhibition is an interactive audiovisual journey that features Leyard LED display technology, creating an immersive environment in the museum's medieval attic space.

The installation work began in February 2024 and was completed in December 2024, opening to the public on 10 December. The project represents a collaboration between Musea Brugge and digital experience specialists Ocular, who worked alongside creative partners Studio Louter, Shosho, Wondering, Atento and Chris Pype to develop the concept and implementation. Following previous successful digital installat

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17 April 2025

USA - ADJ’s versatile Jolt Bar FX linear LED lighting fixtures featured heavily in the production design for What So Not’s recent concert at the Elsewhere venue in Brooklyn, NY. Spread throughout the performance space, the fixtures were utilised to generate rich colour washes, intense strobe flashes and complex ‘eye candy’ effects that complemented the electronic music artist’s immersive live show.

What So Not is an electronic music project of Australian DJ and record producer Christopher Emerson, also known as Emoh Instead. In support of his most recent EP – MOTIONS – the artist toured North America in early 2025, fusing a DJ set with live synths, drums and vocals. This engaging live performance was further enhanced by projected visuals as well as a stage production designed to strike the perfect balance between ‘organic & mecha

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17 April 2025

USA - City Theatrical’s award-winning Wing Nut Socket is now shipping and available through City Theatrical Dealers worldwide. City Theatrical’s Wing Nut Socket (Part Number 1350) can be used to secure any theatrical clamp wing nut with ease and reliability.

To start using the Wing Nut Socket, users will follow four steps: Attach the Wing Nut Socket to a 3/8” ratchet with a push button to secure the socket placement; Test the fitment of the Wing Nut Socket on the ratchet or extension; Slide the opening over a theatrical clamp wing nut; Tighten or loosen the wing nut with ease, with more reliability than possible by hand.

The Wing Nut Socket is a sleek and smartly designed chrome tool that is a designed for any lighting technician working with theatrical clamp wing nuts on a regular basis. It is made of steel for durability and chrome plated to

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17 April 2025

Spain – Work Pro Audio, the installation and pro audio division of Equipson, has launched the PulseDrive Series, a new range of DSP (digital signal processing) amplifiers consisting of four high-performance models in a compact, easy-to-carry format offering from 300W–1000W per channel to provide total versatility.

The PulseDrive Series combines high efficiency with a significant reduction in weight and size, making it ideal for portable sound reinforcement systems. There are four models in the series: the PulseDrive 602 (2 x 300W channels), the PulseDrive 1002 (2 x 500W channels), the PulseDrive 1204 (4 x 300W channels) and the PulseDrive 2004 (4 x 500W channels).

All models feature switch-mode power supplies for efficient power conversion as well as advanced DSP, allowing users to precisely adjust and configure parameters including EQ, delay and

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17 April 2025

Europe - zactrack, the Vienna, Austria-headquartered wireless radio follow system manufacturer, highlighted two new features available for its tracking solution products – Smart, Pro and MINI at the 2025 Prolight + Sound expo in Frankfurt last week.

The company also previewed zacview for the first time, a visualisation product specialised for the preprograming of stage machinery, and the team met plenty of people and organisations interested in their technologies.

Having recently taken the worldwide distribution of zactrack products back to Vienna, zactrack CEO Werner Petricek felt it was imperative to have a strong presence at the show. He and the team saw it as an opportunity to connect with new and existing zactrack users and advocates of the technology which can be used for moving objects across a range of systems including lighting, audio, and

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16 April 2025

UK - The live events industry is full of passionate, caring people who go above and beyond, and Backup Partners are a shining example of just that. During 2024, Backup welcomed three new companies to its list of partners – L-Acoustics, platinum partner, Chauvet, gold partner and Carallon, silver partners.

The contribution that all Backup Tech partners make is testimony to the spirit of the industry and each company has its own unique reason for joining. The end result is the same: helping continue the work Backup does to support industry family members when they need it most.

The first new partner to be introduced is L-Acoustics, a global leader in professional sound. Founded in 1984, L-Acoustics is driven by a singular vision: to connect people through the best shared sound experiences. This commitment to excellence has made it the preferred choic

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16 April 2025

Canada - SFM has announced its appointment as the exclusive Canadian distributor for Bosch Communications Systems. This strategic partnership grants SFM exclusive distribution rights for Electro-Voice, Dynacord, RTS, and Bosch Conference and Bosch Public Address throughout Canada.

The collaboration leverages SFM's extensive distribution network and industry expertise alongside Bosch's renowned engineering excellence, providing Canadian AV professionals, integrators, and resellers with enhanced access to premier solutions.

"This partnership represents an exciting new chapter for SFM and the Canadian professional audio market," said Sami Midani, director of business development at SFM. "By bringing these Bosch audio brands into our portfolio, we're uniquely positioned to deliver comprehensive audio solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customer