Canada Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre Theatre (HCT) is the jewel in the crown that is the city’s famed waterfront park. Seating only 350 patrons in its normal configuration, the theatre has impressively hosted intimate performances by A-list musical artists like Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias, top theatrical performances including the musical STOMP, and its own 2001 World Leaders: A Festival of Creative Genius which featured appearances by Quincy Jones, Frank Gehry, and Stephen Sondheim.
Music, dance, theatre, or spoken word, the HCT hosts it all, and now it has a sound system that can cover every base - a new L-Acoustics A15 system designed by Toronto-based Engineering Harmonics and installed in late-2021 by Solotech.
The venue’s new PA typically comprises

Denmark - Roskilde, Denmark’s largest and highest profile international music festival, celebrated 50 years this year with a fantastic line-up across multiple stages, with Robe moving lights playing a major role on the famous Orange Stage and in the expansive Arena Stage venue.
The 50th anniversary had been due to take place in 2020 but was delayed two years due to the pandemic, and while a small version of the festival took place in 2021 in one of the barns on its site just south of Copenhagen, this edition had an extra special resonance in addition to guests being able to enjoy the dynamics of live music and real human interaction again.

Arena Stage
Lighting designer Sune Verdier and his team once again ran production lighting for this stage, ensuring that all visiting lighting designers, directors, and operators were well accommodated and that al

USA - JHS has been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor of Maloney Park StageGear Covers. Founded in 2017 in Wichita, Kansas by ex-musician, performer and writer Natasha Maloney Park, Maloney StageGear Covers are constructed from a high quality, robust, lightweight polyester material with a water repellent acrylic coating.
A suitable solution for protecting vulnerable instruments from dirt, dust and liquid spillage, these protective covers feature a reverse reflective silver and black stylish design. Whilst the black evokes a professional look at home, in the studio, on stage or theatre, the silver side protects vulnerable equipment from heat whilst also reflecting harmful UV rays, helping to prevent fragile instruments from fading, warping and cracking, the company says.
Maloney StageGear Covers are easily folded for storage, corners are reinforced with hemmed
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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.

Eurovision Countdown - The shortlist of UK cities that could host next year's Eurovision Song Contest has been revealed, with seven locations in the running. Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield will vie to stage the event in May. Twenty cities expressed an interest, the BBC said, and those not making the shortlist include London and Belfast.
The BBC said the seven-strong shortlist was based on the cities' ability to show they have "the capacity, capability and experience to host an event of this scale and complexity".
A statement added that the process was "heavily weighted towards demonstrating past experience in hosting major international events, as well as being able to demonstrate their credentials in hosting a celebration of contemporary music".
London would have met those criteria but didn't make the cut, at a time wh

UK - To facilitate students with a space for drama production and rehearsals, the Wimbledon campus of University of the Arts London has dedicated two large studio spaces to acting and performance. Currently undergoing a major site re-development, the Wimbledon college has high-end rehearsal spaces now fitted with quality audio-visual equipment, thanks to Flipside AV.
Previously built for a Print and Time-Based Media programme, the Wimbledon studio spaces are spread across two floors. The downstairs space, being more enclosed, can split itself into two rooms for workshops and independent rehearsals, while the upstairs room provides an ideal performance hub the with sky light installations to let the room bring in natural light and air and church-like wood panels on the ceiling for acoustical balance.
Being simple, flexible enclosures; the acting and performance students

Saudi Arabia - The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, referred to colloquially as KAUST, is a science and technology. It takes its name from the former King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who decreed its foundation, intending it to “serve the people of the Kingdom and benefit all the peoples of the world
The Museum of Science & Technology in Islam (MOSTI) was created later, on campus. MOSTI seeks to highlight the plethora of contributions made by Muslim scholars to science and technology during the first Golden Age of Islam (650-1650) and demonstrate how these contributions shaped the world as we know it, laying the groundwork for modern civilisation. Interactive technology leads people through the exhibits, forming an immersive exploration of the various artefacts and relics.
formula D_, an experienced design company that specialises i

Germany - As one of Europe’s leading wholesalers of visual presentation technology, Lang is renowned for its passion for innovation and willingness to invest in long-term partnerships that ensure an ample supply of state-of-the-art technology of the highest calibre. The company has invested in Brompton Technology Tessera LED video processors which complement Lang’s stock of Venus and Jupiter LED panels for high-quality and high resolution applications.
“Our goal with Venus and Jupiter has always been to set a benchmark in the LED market,” explains Manuel Müller, director rental at Lang. “With this in mind, two of the things next to resolution that were most important to us were usability and brightness, with Brompton’s leading Tessera LED processors serving a perfect match for those key requirements.”
Thanks to Brompton’s Dynamic Calibration technology
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BikeFest Spain 2025 - Join the ride!

BikeFest Spain is set to return for its fourth consecutive year, inviting cyclists from across the industry to join the 360km ride towards ISE in Barcelona. From 31 January to 2 February 2025, riders will again rally in Valencia, cycling along the Mediterranean coast in support of industry causes.
For more information and to sign up, visit: www.joinbikefest.com

UK - Long-standing Martin Audio rental partner, Bristol-based SWG Events, has upgraded its pro audio inventory with the acquisition of 24 of the large format Wavefront Precision WPL enclosures.
These form part of a Martin Audio package, along with 12 SXH218 subs and 24 XE500 floor monitors. Powering the WPL in 2-box resolution are Martin Audio iKON iK42 process-controlled, multi-channel amplifiers, part of an order for 17 iK42’s, which will also be assigned to the XE500.
Stated SWG Events’ head of audio, Simon Purse, “Everything came along at the right time, with me joining the company [from Martin Audio]. This coincided with SWG looking to buy a bigger, state-of-the-art system as an upgrade for their trusty W8LC, to put us back at the top end of the touring market, with higher tier acts.”
The acquisition was sanctioned by SWG managing director, Alister P

Vietnam - Ayrton has announced Pro-AVL as its new, exclusive distributor for Vietnam.
Founded in 2011 by Mr. Le Manh Thang, Pro-AVL is the exclusive distributor for many leading brands of sound and lighting in the Vietnamese market. This well-established company also consults, designs, supplies and installs goods, and provides after-sales service for their customers across leading theatres, television companies, event centres and entertainment complexes, and rental and event companies.
Ayrton products are well known and well respected by Pro-AVL which was part of the reason behind the new agreement. “For a long time, Ayrton has been a well-known quality brand used by many lighting designers,” says Mr. Thang. “Part of AVL's mission statement is always to aim for the highest quality products for our customers, which makes the Ayrton brand and their products the pe

UK - Those wishing to enter products for this year’s PLASA Awards for Innovation are encouraged to do so as soon as possible, as the extended deadline for entries is midnight Wednesday 17 August. PLASA Show 2022 exhibitors, PLASA members and non-exhibitors are invited to enter their products to be in with a chance of winning one of the coveted awards.
Organised in association with LSi, the awards celebrate innovative products from across the live entertainment technology industry that can demonstrate a new style of thinking, improve technical practice or safety, introduce new materials or techniques, or offer a new commercial advantage.
Each successfully entered product will be judged by an independent panel of industry experts who have the authority to present up to eight awards of equal standing, plus a potential Gold Award for an outstanding new product.
An Awa

South Africa - Jade Manicom, known for her lighting design, programming and drawing skills has joined DWR as drafts woman.
After graduating, Jade entered the live events industry as a freelancer. Her first gig was with Keystone Productions, an audio, lighting, staging, and video production company that she ended up working for. “They kept me around for three months then offered me a job,” she says. “I learned so much and through them, the world of live entertainment opened up to me.
Said Robert Izzett of DWR, “We’ve known Jade for years, especially with all her work at Keystone Productions. It’s wonderful to have another lighting person join the team. Her experience in lighting shows will be invaluable for DWR going forward.”
The role of draftsman at DWR formerly belonged to Dylan Jones, who is now taking on a new position in the sales team. “I n

Canada - The lighting rig that George Gorton designed for Dallas Smith’s Somethings Never Change tour took on a life of its own over the course of the early summer, seeming to expand, contract and morph in new directions with every show.
After a 19-month pandemic-caused hiatus, the Juno Award winning multi-platinum country star (12 of his songs have reach the top of the charts in Canada), took off to play some live music on 24 May, and invited some friends to join him. A total of seven different acts have supported Smith on his 24-show, five-week tour. This diversity made it essential that Gorton devise a rig with an organic-like quality to grow and change.
“There was a constant dialogue with the band,” recalled Gorton. “We had multiple guests joining Dallas, so we were constantly building and updating the show as the tour progressed and got new songs in the m

USA - Rock band Halestorm is back on the road with Bandit Lites and screaming they’re ‘Back from the Dead’, which is both the name and title track of their latest album released in May.
Years ago, when lighting designer Craig Richter first started touring with Halestorm, he found himself at a state fair armed with an array of lighting carts. Staring at a house system comprised of an out-of-date 180K PAR 64 system, Richter naturally wished for a rig full of movers that would better suit the overall look of the show. During the hours before the evening’s show, Richter took the opportunity to make some chases and “program” the par system into the programmed show.
“Once the sun went down and the band went on, I was blown away by the fact that the par can system looked awesome and played very well the vibe and style music of the band,” said Richter. “Ever

Israel - Reality TV singing competition, Rising Star, has upgraded its audio system to a flagship DiGiCo Quantum console, to take advantage of the range’s capacity and flexible architecture. The console is required to manage a challenging run of live shows featuring multiple performances, and servicing FOH and monitors demands from one surface.
Between season 2 and 7, the winner was given the opportunity to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. Due to its success, the programme became a global phenomenon in the reality TV sphere with many international television stations buying the rights to produce the programme.
DiGiCo is the brand of choice for the show's head of sound, Yossi Edri, who has used DiGiCo consoles in all of his recent projects, including the major live TV productions, the Israeli-hosted 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, and the annual

USA - 2022 was one of Louisiana State University’s (LSU) most successful beach volleyball seasons in programme history. With 27 regular season wins and 32 overall wins, both school records, LSU had five pairs earn AVCA honours and one player – Melia Lindner, became LSU’s first beach Elite 90 Award winner.
These winning ways weren’t just on the court – they include the courts. Over the past few years, LSU has completed major upgrades unveiling a new beach volleyball venue in the heart of campus in 2019.
The new stadium, formerly a tennis facility, features six competition courts with 24-inch-deep sand. The facility also features energy efficient LED lighting, seating capacity for 450 spectators, new scoreboard, and a brand new Danley Sound Labs system.
“Over the years, many of our facilities have received upgrades or we’ve needed to replace systems,

UK - An old cowshed with flagstone floors has been transformed into a home dance studio fit for a competitive dancer, thanks to Le Mark Group. Caroline de Grey, who competes in ballroom as well as a social Argentine tango and Latin dancing, needed a home rehearsal studio for the hours of practice she puts in each day.
Work on the barn conversion began at the end of 2021 and was completed in June 2022, with Caroline now boasting a space that allows her to glide seamlessly through her routines on a new vinyl floor laid by Le Mark.
“The project started in October. I got in touch with a production manager for Holland Park Opera who creates temporary dance floors. He created a frame which sat over the flagstones, before installing a wooden floor on top. He then recommended Le Mark Group for a vinyl to lay over the ply,” explained Caroline.
Caroline did her researc

USA - There is no denying the immense popularity of esports and video gaming around the world. Entire sports arenas sell out for fans to watch their favourite gaming stars compete. But what if this gaming technology could be used as a purposefully constructive educational tool for the local community? What if the technology and creativity that goes into creating a video game could be transitioned into targeted curriculum disguised as entertainment?
This is the vision of the team behind Whitaker Center in in Harrisburg, PA and Ted Black, president, and CEO of Whitaker Center, for the newly created, 7,000sq.ft PNC Innovation Zone.
Says Black, “We saw an opportunity within gaming for a perfect vehicle into learning.” The PNC Innovation Zone is a first in its category – a venue dedicated to experiential learning in disciplines such as science, technology, engineering

UK - First announced in 2019 and opening its doors fully later this year, Sky Studios Elstree is a joint project between Sky and NBCUniversal. The 27.5-acre, complex located just north of London houses 13 sound stages, with media operations provider Xytech Systems offering total operational and financial control by streamlining the new film and TV studio’s internal processes across quoting, resource scheduling, cost management and reporting.
“Not long after Sky Studios Elstree was given the go-ahead in 2019, we started searching for a media operations solution that would meet the strict demands of our cutting-edge studios catering for high-end TV shows and films,” said Tom Avison, director of operations at Sky Studios Elstree. “Sky already had an excellent, long-standing relationship with Xytech Systems through its Transmission solutions installed at the Sky facilit

USA - Summer festivals are always full of surprises for anyone working in production, and not all of them have to do with unpredictable weather. Set to light Rolling Loud’s high-profile Snipes Stage where Money Man, Big30, Sleazyworld Go, and Curren$y (who helped start the hip-hop bash back in 2015) would be performing, Abbas Ritscher expected to have spotlights for front lights, but that was not an option.
Undeterred, Ritscher and his team at The Design Oasis, grabbed 12 extra Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm 1 Wash fixtures from their inventory and hung them “as far down the stage as we could” to create a clean front wash.
“We wanted to have a consistent wash throughout the stage, given who was performing here and because we need a camera friendly setting,” said Ritscher. “The Storm I was our work horse.”
Flown on eight rows of overhead truss,

USA - Jack White –one half of The White Stripes – is back on the road with the topically named “Supply Chain Issues” world tour, currently playing its first US leg. The artist is presenting two critically new albums Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive.
Matching this creative excellence on the visual design side is Matthieu Larivee from Montreal-based LUZ Studio.
Matthieu specified over 100 Robe moving lights to help him achieve numerous aesthetic goals, with 63 x BMFL WashBeams, 18 x Spiiders, 36 x MegaPointes and three BMFL Follow Spots running on one RoboSpot system, all supplied by Solotech.
Challenges have included creating a workable and scalable design to deal with both arenas and the smaller more intimate theatre spaces that Jack White loves to play. Also, there is a different setlist each night drawn from a vast catalogue of

UK - Void Acoustics embraced the energy and vibe of their first major presence at Glastonbury on the 50th Anniversary edition of the festival.
Glastonbury’s long-awaited return to this year’s summer calendar saw the addition of two new stages in the popular Silver Hayes area of the festival. One of these new stages was the Lonely Hearts Club – an arresting addition to this club-goers paradise.
It was from the art deco styled Lonely Hearts Club stage that Void Acoustics made an impressive visual and sonic impact in this part of Glastonbury throughout the long festival weekend.
NSL Productions (long-standing rental and integration partner of Void Acoustics) installed this festival stage for Team Love who were the festival production team behind Silver Hayes this year.
“Although we have worked at Glastonbury previously, this was our first year workin

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