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12 June 2024

USA - When fans of Noah Kahan come to see one of the shows on his We'll All Be Here Forever North America Tour - assuming they can get tickets to this largely sold-out trek visiting stadiums, arenas, and amphitheatres across North America between 26 March and 19 July - they’ll see six musicians on stage. What they’ll hear, though, in addition to Kahan’s folky-pop melodies and piercing lyrics, are literally dozens of instruments.

“Everyone plays like 15 instruments each,” says tour monitor engineer Clark Wright, being only slightly hyperbolic. “One person plays a fiddle, 12-string guitar, mandolin, and banjo, and everyone is just constantly swapping instruments. Aside from drums, I think the minimum that someone plays is three instruments and the most is seven or eight. This really is a band of multi-instrumentalists.”

Managing that matr

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12 June 2024

Germany - PRG was one of the first users worldwide to use the Cameo ORON H2 IP65 hybrid moving-head with phosphor-laser engine in a live production. The laser moving head provided beams and effects on the main stage of this year's OMR Festival 2024 in Hamburg.

PRG and lighting designer Ben Marquardt (QConcept) placed eight ORON H2s on the floor in front of the huge projection screen on which all the talks and presentations in the large hall were projected. The ORON H2 thus accompanied the eagerly awaited appearances of OMR top guests Kim Kardashian, Robert Habeck, Jeff Koons, Rick Rubin and many more.

"The ORON H2 is a special spotlight," says Ben Marquardt. "With its razor-sharp, narrow beams, it is perfect for prominent stage looks and fan effects at the speakers' entrances, but also as a static 'spotlight' when the focus is fully on the talks."

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12 June 2024

USA - Audinate Group has announced Dante Ready licensing for their Dante AV-A and Dante AV-H networked video solutions. Dante Ready is a licensing programme that allows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products to ship with Dante installed but not activated, enabling the end customer to add channels of Dante audio and video to supported products in the field.

“With Dante Ready licensing, our OEM video partners can now extend the reach of Dante AV across a wider range of product SKUs without incurring additional licensing costs,” explains Wim Roose, senior product manager at Audinate. “Moreover, Dante Ready brings Dante audio and video channels to cameras, encoders, and decoders already shipping and installed in the field with a firmware update.”

Dante Ready provides a flexible way to enable and expand the connectivity and interoperabilit

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12 June 2024

USA - 64 Audio has announced the launch of the Aspire 4 universal in-ear monitor, designed for musicians and live music professionals.

“Aspire 4 is a four-driver performance monitoring tool with the same sonic characteristics and technology worn by the world’s greatest performers using 64 Audio custom in-ear monitors,” says Vitaliy Belonozhko, 64 Audio founder and chief executive officer. “Whether you're just getting into monitoring with in-ears, not ready for customs, need a backup set, or simply prefer generic fitting products, Aspire 4 offers best-in-class sound and ergonomics.

“With live music at the forefront of 64 Audio’s tuning criteria, do we make a highly accurate unforgiving studio monitor or a contoured device that helps musicians hear themselves more effectively?

“As with many of our monitoring tools, the answer is s

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12 June 2024

USA - The University of New Hampshire Spring Concert, headlined by MTV Award nominate rapper Lil Tecca was backed up by a bold and intense light show created by the Events United team that featured 58 Chauvet Professional fixtures, and 30 F4 IP video tiles.

Matching the music of the artists on the 48’ by 64’ stage, the production featured a penetrating industrial look with stark colour contrasts, an ample amount of dark space, fog, and plenty of audience lighting.

“I wanted to create an edgier look using practical pieces on stage,” said production designer Rachel Fahey of Events United, who designed the show. “I included a decent amount of crowd lighting. I think it's important to include the crowd in what is going on stage. Crowd lighting can help them feel more comfortable to dance or sing along, and for some that's the best part about go

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12 June 2024

USA - The Famous Group is a creative technology provider and mixed reality specialist based in Los Angeles. Working with high-profile brands to create memorable fan experiences, the team was recently involved in Carnival Cruise Line’s launch campaign for its new destination, Celebration Key.

For maximum impact, Carnival and its media agency, Initiative, planned to air adverts during two of the most important sporting events in the US broadcast calendar: the NBA All-Star Game and the NFC Championship. Leading on the creative aspect of the project, the Famous Group deployed Stage Precision’s comprehensive SP toolkit to action a mixed-reality advertisement that would truly capture the imagination of viewers.  

“Carnival Cruise’s new resort is still under construction, so it wasn’t possible to show footage of the destination,” explains Erik

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12 June 2024

USA - Jesamondo Salon & Spa in Natick, MA, has installed 22 Genelec 4435A Smart IP active in-ceiling speakers, allowing Jesamondo’s management to toggle between four different Pandora music feeds in any of the facility’s many rooms.

Genelec Inc. senior technical sales manager Paul Stewart is himself a longtime patron of Jesamondo. Owner Matt Traiger was open to any ideas for the salon’s audio renovation, and it didn’t take long for the prospect of a Genelec system to strike the right chord with him. “I chatted with Paul.  And then, an hour later, I’m at Genelec’s Experience Centre in Natick, and he’s showing me and testing everything. He just turned on the Genelec speakers, and it took half a second to tell a distinct difference from the sound system we had. The quality of the sound was just like night and day, and I said ‘Let’s do t

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11 June 2024

UK - Big Church Festival, Europe's largest Christian and gospel music event, made history this year by powering its main stage with green hydrogen for the first time.

Hosted on the Wiston Estate in West Sussex, this annual gathering brought together over 30,000 attendees from across the UK and beyond to worship alongside some of the world's most renowned Christian artists and the only emission from powering the headline acts was water.

Diesel generators, long used in the events industry, pose significant environmental and health risks due to their emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. By transitioning to green hydrogen power, Big Church Festival has taken a proactive step towards mitigating climate change, cutting air pollution, reducing noise and safeguarding the well-being both of event workers and of local communiti

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11 June 2024

USA - DPA Microphones and Wisycom have announced a strategic alliance in the United States. “Building on a history of close collaboration, with successful initiatives in marketing and product technology, both companies are dedicated to delivering high-end microphone and wireless solutions to audio professionals,” says a statement.

The partnership marks a significant step forward in aligning the strengths of the two brands while preserving their distinct identities. Consolidating operations under one roof at DPA Microphones’ existing corporate headquarters in Longmont, Colorado, enables the companies to efficiently leverage shared resources. The structure currently in place at the DPA facility allows Wisycom to benefit from an expanded service department, augmented customer support team and enhanced logistics infrastructure.

Sales and support ef

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11 June 2024

Vietnam - EM Acoustics has announced a new addition to its international sales and support network with the appointment of Danmon Asia as exclusive distributor for Vietnam.

The agreement covers EM Acoustics’ entire product portfolio which includes point source loudspeakers, line arrays, subwoofers, stage monitors and related electronics.

“Danmon Asia is renowned for its long experience and proven expertise in delivering high quality products and services across the entire media production and presentation sector,” comments Greg Clarke, brand manager at EM Acoustics. “We look forward to working with Bjarne and his colleagues in promoting our full spectrum of products and services to potential customers and system integrators throughout Vietnam.”  

“EM Acoustics products are globally recognised for pristine sound quality, robust c

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11 June 2024

Europe - Ayrton has launched Nando 502 Wash, the latest in Ayrton’s Multi Sources IP65 6 Series and a brilliant evolution of the successful NandoBeam range.

Nando 502 Wash is a compact IP65 luminaire, specially designed for mixed use stage lighting, both indoors and outdoors, and even in salty environments.

In the wash light category there are some luminaires that will make the audience feel pure emotion, and the new Nando 502 Wash delivers a wash effect with finesse.

Suited to stage lighting, this new LED source offers the advantage of better integration into the colour space and facilitates colour reproduction. Nando 502 Wash is fitted with 12 high-performance 40W LED sources with RGB-L additive colour synthesis and a proprietary optical system made up of a unique 210mm cluster in PMMA. This works in combination with 12 glass light-guides

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11 June 2024

UK - Britain’s Got Talent contestants battle it out each spring to reach the top spot - this year won by singer Sydnie Christmas, to the tune of £250,000 and a coveted place on the Royal Variety Performance. Viewers tune in at an average rate of 5-6m per episode, with the first episode watched by over 12mviewers, making BGT ITV’s biggest entertainment show this year.

2024 marks the third year television, broadcast and event lighting specialist, Version 2, has supplied the lighting, distribution, cabling, control equipment and supplementary truss for the series’ fun-filled auditions, all of which were filmed over two intense week-long sessions at the London Palladium and Manchester Lowry.

The series was lit again by award-winning lighting designer, David Bishop, who was happy that Version 2 won the tender process for the series once mo

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11 June 2024

USA - Linea Research will showcase selected models from its full spectrum of amplification products at this year’s InfoComm

Featured on stand C9241, the C Series and M Series - for live performance and installation requirements respectively - take centre stage. Linea’s C Series and M Series are each available as four or eight channel models and develop between 1,500 Watts and 5,000 Watts per channel (up to 10,000 Watts for a bridged pair) - of sustained power from each channel.

Linea Research’s other product ranges, including XiB4, ASC48 and System Engineer System Control Software, will also be presented on stand.

Following the recent news announcing Jeff Miranda as US sales manager for both Linea Research and Optimal Audio, Jeff will join sales and marketing manager in Las Vegas.

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11 June 2024

Spain - The Teatro Real in Madrid, winner of the International Opera Award for Best Opera House in the world, has acquired five Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projectors to enrich its opera, dance, concert, and recital programming with stunning visuals.

The Teatro Real was inaugurated in 1850 and is currently one of the great international centres of opera activity. The building is an architectural mixture with 28 boxes on different floors, in addition to eight prosceniums and the double-height Royal Box. The jewel of the theatre is its 1,472sq.m stage box which accommodates complex scenery changes, including multiple set design elements such as lighting and visuals on stage and in the orchestra pit.

The theatre acquired three Christie lamp-based 3DLP projectors nine years ago, and recently upgraded to more modern and efficient models with improved c

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11 June 2024

UK - Based in London’s West End, The Twist Museum is an immersive, interactive, multi-sensory attraction, set on a 15,000sq.ft site.

Challenging the visitor to explore the world of illusion, Twist - which stands for The Way I See Things - is a collaborative work of leading artists, psychologists, and neuroscientists.

The audio-visual integration was entrusted to London-based Crossover, who specified, installed, programmed and commissioned essential audio-visual equipment, for management and routing over a digital backbone.

Developed by multimedia artist Aristotle Roufanis, the Digital Mirror exhibit uses a camera and large format display to create an interactive ‘mirror’, distorting peoples’ reflections in real time. The Crossover team provided the displays, the audio system, and the back-end processing hardware, that manipul

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11 June 2024

Spain - The newly-renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium lit up on 18 May with the Telefónica 100 Live spectacular. This celebration of Telefónica’s centenary brought together over 60,000 attendees for a night of music and technology.

The night was a symphony of light and sound, where renowned artists like Alejandro Sanz, Hombres G, and Ana Mena delivered vibrant performances. Each act was accompanied by a top-tier audiovisual display that transformed the event into an unparalleled sensory experience. The mastermind behind this impressive setup was lighting designer Caco García. Known for his creativity and attention to detail, Caco turned Telefónica 100 Live into ‘an unforgettable visual and emotional spectacle’.

“Creating a show perfect for Telefónica’s centenary and the magnificent Santiago Bernabéu was an exciting challenge,” comm

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11 June 2024

On The Campaign Trail - Academics and campaigners have warned that a Conservative Party election pledge to close "rip-off" degrees could damage the creative sector and access to the arts. Their concerns follow Rishi Sunak’s recent pledge that the Conservatives would scrap university degrees deemed to equip graduates with "poor" job prospects if his party was re-elected on 4 July.

The Conservative Party said that closing the "worst-performing" degrees could save more than £900 million by 2030, with the money set to fund 100,000 apprenticeships per year instead.  Although the government has not said which courses are threatened, campaigners and university lecturers have expressed concern that Sunak’s commitment would further damage arts education and, as a result, weaken the arts sector as a whole and make it "the sole preserve of the privileged".

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10 June 2024

Europe - Fulcrum Acoustic has announced the addition of CBK Group as exclusive distribution partner for the Nordics, covering Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. CBK will distribute the full catalogue of Fulcrum Acoustic and Fulcrum Immersive products across their territories.

Val Gilbert, director of business development for export at Fulcrum Acoustic, comments, “CBK is a fantastic partner for Fulcrum Acoustic in the Nordics. Our ambitions to develop a solutions-based business in the region are perfectly aligned, and the team at CBK have hit the ground running managing opportunities across their territories. The in-house skillset is exactly what we are looking for, and I look forward to expanding our reach in the region.”

Per Øystein Berglund, product manager audio at CBK Group, adds, “Fulcrum Acoustic is a fantastic addition to CBK Group

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10 June 2024

UK - The final show on the UK-EU leg of the Classic Tales of Yes tour at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on 20 May featured an intricately textured Martin Dudley/Chris Davey light show that included 12 Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Wash units from Martin’s Lights Ltd.

Early on in the 24-city tour, which began in April at Lisbon’s historic Sagres Campo Pequero concert hall, the design moved into a new more intense realm.

“At the start of the project, we were told that it would be a ‘no haze’ tour,” said Dudley. “Therefore, we knew that the lighting had to be about colour, pattern and texture, rather than beams of light and movement in the air. Many of our lighting designs are quite understated, and after the first couple of shows, the feedback from the band was that they wanted “more” of everything, so we went for it.”

The

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10 June 2024

USA – DirectOut has announced two additions to its growing family of audio solutions at InfoComm in Las Vegas this week.

Building on the flexible Prodigy series, Maven offers DirectOut’s powerful DSP engine in a compact 1RU platform, expanding the integration possibilities for sound engineers, system designers and AV professionals, whether in a fixed location, or on the move.

Maven delivers the same power as the Prodigy series and is fully compatible with the PRODIGY.MP, increasing flexibility while maintaining maximum reliability. Maven supports a variety of audio network formats including Dante, AVB/MILAN, Ravenna/AES67 and SoundGrid.

“With Maven, we can now offer the unlimited DSP feature-set, uncompromised reliability, and flexibility initially introduced by PRODIGY.MP on a smaller footprint of just 1RU,” says Jan Ehrlich CEO of D