UK - The Burlington Arcade Annual Christmas Lights Switch On, took place on Wednesday marking the start of the 2015 festive season.

Twilight Trees installed 18 3m lollipop LED cherry trees raised on bespoke planters to transform the arcade into a fantasy world to mark the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Alice in Wonderland.

"We were so thrilled to be asked to work with Burlington Arcade. It's an iconic London landmark and the trees really helped it to come to life. It was a very proud moment when the lights were turned on and the feedback we had was incredible," said Susie Reid Thomas owner of Twilight Trees.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Consistently innovative, exciting and alternative, the electro beats of Above & Beyond filled London's Wembley Arena for a special one off concert which was also a charity fundraiser and celebrated the life and work of Jono Grant's sister Charlotte who died suddenly earlier this year. All proceeds from the show went to Little Something.

Lighting and the video system was designed by Neil Marsh, working closely with all three members of Above & Beyond - Jono, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljam?ki - with lighting kit and LED screens supplied by Colour Sound Experiment.

Neil started working with the band after lighting their set at Glastonbury's Dance East a few years back, and he now co-ordinates lighting and visuals worldwide for all shows, primarily working with local productions in large one-off scenarios.

When in the UK, Colour Sound is one of his go-to suppliers and whe

USA - Ashly Audio has announced the appointment of Frequency Sales as its manufacturers rep in greater Chicago, greater Milwaukee, and the surrounding regions of northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.

Frequency Sales will represent Ashly's full catalogue of products, which includes amplifiers, stand-alone Protea-based processors and customizable interfaces, including intuitive fader-style controls and iPad apps.

Frequency Sales specialises in all aspects of the professional audio industry, including live sound, studio & project studio recording, and, of course, installed sound. "In sales, everyone knows that developing strong client relationships is key, and the folks at Frequency Sales really distinguish themselves in that regard," said John Sexton, Ashly's director of sales for North America. "In the research that led to our decision to partner with the

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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.

USA - Featured on the current Mötley Crüe 'final' world tour is Tommy Lee's Crüecifly overhead drum kit 'coaster', highlighted by 24 Solaris LED Mozarts. The Mozarts, mounted on the underside of the drum riser, are the perfect eye candy to highlight Lee's solos as he rolls high in the air on an elaborate 'roller coaster' of truss.

A total redesign from previous tours, planning for the show began last February between Matt Mills, Robert Long, and Sooner Routhier. "We searched for a while for something to put under the drum riser," explains tour lighting designer, Matt Mills. "We had several ideas, but when I saw the Mozarts at InfoComm in Orlando it was a simple decision. We bolted them to the underside of Tommy's drum riser and use them for video pixel-mapping, controlled via wireless DMX sent to a receiver located with the drum kit."

Mills adds, "T

Korea - One of Asia's largest EDM festival events has been held in Seoul to mark the opening of South Korea's first covered baseball stadium. The One Night Carnival brought 20,000 EDM fans to the new Gocheok Sky Dome to see headliner Martin Garrix and other well-known DJs perform with an impressive 18-a-side STM modular line array, supplied by Way Audio.

The One Night Carnival was one of the opening events for the much-anticipated Gocheok Sky Dome, six years in the making. Situated in the district of Guro in western Seoul, the Sky Dome has capacity for 18,000 for baseball games and up to 25,000 for concerts and other events. Now the second-largest baseball field in the country, the venue's advantage is its covering dome which allows for fans to enjoy events, regardless of the weather.

EDM prodigy Martin Garrix was recruited as main headliner, ably supported by Julian Jordan, D

USA - QSC has announced the appointment of Cory Schaeffer as director of systems Solutions for QSC Systems.

Schaeffer has been tasked with strengthening QSC's presence in the systems market. In her new role, she will be applying her vision and thought leadership to the development and execution of end user strategies and forging relationships with consultants. In addition, she will be a key contributor to QSC's product development efforts and various marketing initiatives to ensure QSC's continued success in the AV space. She will join recently hired Joey D'Angelo, who is also working as Director of Systems Solutions.

Schaeffer has been in the professional audio industry for over 25 years. She is the co-founder of Listen Technologies Corporation. In her role there, Schaeffer brought assistive listening solutions to more than 30 countries and advocated the importance of the ass

USA - When San Antonio's Community Bible Church undertook a multi-million dollar technical renovation of its main 3,500-seat auditorium, it called on the integration division of Morris in Nashville to install new audio, video and lighting systems. Morris added Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K10 and Mythos lighting fixtures to take Community Bible to the next level with moving lights and atmospheric effects.

Community Bible was the first major project for Morris Integration, a branch of Morris. In specifying the Clay Paky fixtures, Morris had to meet Community Bible's goals of lighting the Sunday worship services and occasional special musical programmes, the live music and DVD recording sessions it hosts for outside artists, and community events that might be scheduled during the year.

"We had to create a reliable, flexible system that could handle any type of event in the audito

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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

UAE - Rosco Laboratories has announced the opening of its new Middle East office located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kees Frijters, Rosco's president of EMEA, will be responsible for leading this endeavour while continuing his present responsibilities in Europe, Asia and Africa. "Rosco's product line is rapidly expanding in creative and exciting new directions, as is this part of the world," commented Frijters. "In line with Rosco's strategic objectives to invest in international markets, we intend to more effectively support our local customer base and also capitalize on the growth opportunities in the region," he continued. To maximize the potential of the office in Dubai, Rosco's chairman, Stan Miller and CEO Mark Engel, asked Kees to relocate.

While Rosco has been operating in the Middle East for many years, it was apparent that in order to keep up

UK - Having backed Soundcraft's digital mixing technology by investing in the Vi4 and Vi1 consoles, London based rental company, Hark, has welcomed the arrival of the subsequent generation of desks.

Run by Mark Hornsby, Hark has upgraded its Vi4 to the new Vi5000 via Soundcraft's conversion kit at the request of monitor engineer, Harry Bishop - to enable the latter to ramp up the dynamics, processing power and channel count for chart-topping electronica trio Years & Years - all of whom are now on in-ear monitors.

"The upgrade has proved extremely successful and has converted the surface into a Vi5000," he said. "There is no practical difference, and Harry is delighted with it."

At the same time Hark has purchased the 'Ultimate Bundle' for the RealTime Rack - the de luxe package that unlocks all 74 UAD-developed plugins, which provide a wide selection of c

USA - The popular T-Rex Café at Disney Springs, formerly Downtown Disney Marketplace, at Lake Buena Vista, Florida is a monster-sized, Palaeozoic-themed restaurant that bills itself as a 'Prehistoric Family Adventure'. In addition to serving Caveman Punch and Raptor Rita cocktails, the menu includes such Paleo-themed delicacies as Mastadon Stuffed Chicken and Tar Pit Fried Shrimp for adults, while the offerings for junior archaeological expeditioners include Paleo Pizza and Sabre-tooth Sundaes.

The theming is extensive and spectacular, and certainly includes enough pre-historic atmosphere to stir the imaginations of dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages. Highlights include a vast and impressive 'crystal cave' that constantly sweeps through a range of intense backlit colours and thickets of cretaceous jungle foliage around smoke-emitting tar pits. All of this provides a backdro

The Netherlands - Two days of dance vibes from some of the biggest EDM artists on the planet including Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Hardwell, Tiesto, Alesso, rising star Martin Garrix and many, many more pulled thousands of music fans into the Amsterdam Arena for the 2015 Amsterdam Music Festival (AMF). This topped off the five-day annual Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) which featured with 350 individual sub-events across 80 venues and clubs in the city.

Lighting for this hi-energy extravaganza was designed by André Beekmans of The Art of Light, working closely with scenic designers 250K for organisers Alda events.

Key to making the whole concept come alive as a live experience were nearly 400 Robe moving lights on Andre's plot - 101 x BMFL Spots, 94 x Pointes, 180 x LEDBeam 100s and 7 x BMFL Blades.

André has been involved since the first AMF. This third editio

USA - City Theatrical was named the New Jersey Small Manufacturer of the Year by NJBIZ Magazine in partnership with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, at the fourth annual New Jersey Manufacturing Day ceremonies on October 2, 2015.

Over 400 manufacturing industry professionals attended the event in Somerset, New Jersey. U.S. Manufacturing Day is a national event with local activities designed to expand and improve the public's knowledge and perception of the manufacturing industry and its value to the U.S. economy. At the New Jersey event, attendees and panelists discussed issues pertaining to manufacturing in New Jersey including: recruiting, challenging and retaining new generations of employees; the importance of cross-training; the importance of continuing education; and creating awareness of the various grant programs, talent networks and professional associate

UK - Shoreditch Town Hall, a Grade II listed building in the East End of London, has recently transformed its status from an elegant but under-exploited function space to a fully-fledged, dynamic performing arts venue thanks to a major upgrade in order to realise the building's untapped potential.

Two of the most significant investments have been the reinstallation of the balcony seating in the main Assembly Hall, transforming the space into a 750+ capacity venue, and the installation of a high quality audio system from EM Acoustics.

When it came to specifying an audio system, the Town Hall's head of production, Ian Moore, decided straight away to call on the services of Stage Electrics who were tasked with putting in a full sound and lighting system. Stage Electric's Paul Roughton who managed the project had no hesitation in recommending EM Acoustics for the audio.

"We

Brazil - Allen & Heath's new dLive mixing system managed FOH, monitors and broadcast for a 30,000 capacity festival held in Sao Paulo.

Hosted by Brazil's largest television network, TV Globo, Festival Promessas is an annual gospel music event. This year's line-up featured key performances from top gospel artists including Aline Barros, Fernandinho, Andre Valadao, PC Baruk, Bruna Karla, Damaris, Livres, Rose Nascimento, Ao Cubo, DJ PV, PG and Ton Carfi.

Managed by rental company, Gabisom, the dLive system comprised the flagship S7000 Control Surfaces at both FOH and monitor positions, with two DM64 MixRacks providing the live audio and broadcast feeds.

"There were various band and PA company engineers working at the event, and this was the first time that any of them had seen dLive," comments Kadu Melo, A&H product manager in South America. "I am delighted to r

USA - Programmer Martin Weeks' ETC Gio console still looks brand new. You would never guess it had seen action on a few hundred episodes of the US TV series Castle. "I love my Gio, but most of the time I turn it on in the morning and off at the end of the day. The real work is done by the Magic Sheets, which have dramatically changed my workflow," explains Weeks. The Magic Sheets allow the operator to create a separate touchscreen showing all the fixtures and their levels without using the faders or submasters on the main desk.

Now in its eighth season, Castle is shot on two standing sets at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Their level of scenic detail is masterful. Using ETC Net3 Gateway, Weeks has fingertip control of light levels in the New York City police precinct and Castle's loft apartment. "The sets are big - 23m by 7.5m - so it took some

World - Folk rockers Mumford and Sons are currently traversing the globe in support of their latest number one album, with lighting designer Ed Warren employing the bold bright wash and LED effects of 16 Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 fixtures to deliver "some of the most impressive moments of the set".

The Wilder Mind tour has seen the British four-piece play sold-out dates across the USA, Canada and Europe. Warren specified the B-EYEs from Neg Earth to complement the rockier sound of the band's new material.

"For this tour, my concept was about updating the usual Mumford aesthetic whilst still retaining their signature vibe," explains Warren. "The graphic effects and brilliant colours from the B-EYEs complement the more traditional looks from a large wall of Par Cans."

Warren is using the B-EYEs for backlight. Eight are positioned behind th

USA - Touted as an 'epic biblical adventure', Godspeed: A Rock Opera was presented in a special, limited showing at the El Portal Theatre in Hollywood. Written and produced by music composer and Emmy-nominated TV show creator Sammy Oriti, Godspeed is a musical depiction of the stories of creation, Adam & Eve, The Virgin Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist, among others.

It also featured a six-piece live, progressive rock band and 16 accompanying singers and dancers. In order to best address the breadth of sound that comes with combining opera and rock music, Oriti selected DPA Microphones' d:fine 88 Directional Headset Microphones for all of his vocalists.

Oriti had already started to note the benefits of the DPA headsets before the curtains opened. "Our FOH engineer Dennis Moody had a great mix for our preview show at El Portal, which is a live room," Ori

USA - Created by music lovers for music lovers, Kaaboo is a three-day event that combines rock-n-roll, world-class art, and the finest culinary cuisines to appeal to all five senses. Located in Del Mar, CA, it is described as the ideal live music event that takes place in a wonderland off the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

For the 2015 Kaaboo, lighting designer Chris Lisle was brought on by production manager Jim Dorroh, and he worked with Solotech to create a powerful and expansive rig using 36 VL4000 Spot, 41 VL3500 Wash and 12 VL3500 Wash FX luminaires.

"While this was my first year working with Kaaboo, associate designer Erik Parker and I knew that we needed to provide a rig that would be easy to clone to/from the touring artists normal show file," began Lisle. "A good mixture and placement of wash, spot, and beam fixtures is always critical, and since I've us

UK - "If you could power a production by the passion of the cast, musicians and crew, then this show should be unstoppable," was how Naomi Symeou described the enthusiasm of the creatives and technicians responsible for bringing Green Day's musical American Idiot to the stage of the Arts Theatre in Leicester Square.

Naomi is the general manager of Sell a Door and supports owners and show producers David Hutchinson and Phillip Rowntree. "Everyone involved in the show lives and breathes the music and it created a real buzz of excitement in-house, simply at the privilege of being able to work on such a passion project. I often think we should have a competition to discover who is the biggest fan, there would be a lot of contenders."

The original and inspiring lighting design is by established theatre lighting designer Tim Deiling, himself a massive Gree

USA - For those who live in the warmer southern latitudes of the US, the outdoor festival and show season extends well into the fall. Two examples are the Life is Beautiful Festival, which took place in Las Vegas in late September, and the Victoria's Secret PINK Nation Game On! Bash that stormed the University of Texas San Antonio campus on 28 October. Production for both events was handled by AG Light & Sound, who supplied lighting packages that included Elation Colour Chorus LED battens and Platinum Series moving heads.

With a life-affirming name like the Life is Beautiful Festival and an opening night that featured a performance by Stevie Wonder, it's no surprise that the third incarnation of the music and arts festival was a success. Held 25-27 September in Downtown Las Vegas, the three-day festival focused on four cultural elements: food, art, learning, and of course, music

Norway - Optocore has sold the first of its powerful new M8 and M12 MADI bridges to Biovisjon, one of Norway's leading subtitling, dubbing and one stop 'open platform' television production facilities.

The installation at its studios in Nydalen, which gives them a vast MADI routing I/O (of around 700 x 500 channels), was carried out by Danmon Norway as part of an upgrade to continue servicing broadcasters such as Norwegian TV channel NRK, TV2 and TV Norge, as well as companies requiring content for TV, video, Web, IP-TV or other media.

Since Danmon and Biovisjon each boast more than 25 years' experience - with a relationship between the two companies existing for much of that time - they were eager to explore all possibilities. And the investment proved to be a ringing endorsement of the MADI standard.

Although the original upgrade was to have been built around multiple DD2F

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