UK - PLASA Focus Leeds lands back at the Royal Armouries next week, from 9-10 May, for two packed days of all that’s new in live entertainment technology. And Ambersphere proudly returns for another year as the headline sponsor.
A record number of people have registered for the friendliest trade show in the industry. And the two show halls feature many of the biggest names from pro audio, stage lighting, audio-visual, rigging and staging technology.
Lighting professionals can look forward to meeting manufacturers such as Artistic Licence, Avolites, Chauvet Professional, ETC, GLP, Robe, SGM, TMB, and Vari-Lite. Audio professionals can meet brands such as d&b audiotechnik, Bose, EM Acoustics, Funktion-One, Nexo, Peavey, RCF, Shure, and Yamaha.
AV brands will also be at the show, including Bosch, Epson, Lang, PSCo, and Riedel. And several rigging, staging a

UK - Production Futures is an initiative created to provide opportunities for young people to learn, train, network, and develop real careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, festival, corporate, theatre, TV, broadcast and film production Industries.
The organisation is currently running a series of On Tour events, where young visitors from schools, colleges and universities all over the UK are able to directly connect with representatives of its brand partners to learn more about and explore employment opportunities in the industry.
The latest event takes place in partnership with Access Creative Group at New Century Manchester on Wednesday 3 May. This free of charge event, which will be opened by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, will promote employability, transferable skills, and paid work opportunities, and is set to attract


Training Network - Guildhall School of Music and Drama is to roll-out a national training network in performance and production for children and young people, as it looks to "broaden the country’s talent pipeline". The Guildhall Young Artists network incorporates five existing centres across England, plus an online centre for remote study, and offers a range of one-to-one training, group lessons and holiday courses in both music and drama.
The network includes the Centre for Young Musicians in Waterloo, Junior Guildhall at the Barbican, plus centres in King’s Cross, Norwich and Taunton, with each site run in partnership with local arts venues and education providers.
Signing Off - US rock 'n' roll band Aerosmith have announced a farewell tour to mark more than five decades together. The band, who are now all in their 70s, are well known for hits such

The Netherlands - Impressive visuals from over 200 Infinity fixtures contributed to the success of the Soenda Indoor Werkspoorkathedraal 2022 in Utrecht.
Elevation Events teamed up with T.Y.S Productions and Stagelight to create an unforgettable night at the Soenda Indoor Werkspoorkathedraal 2022, where over 6000 electronic music lovers made their way to the Werkspoorkathedraal location in Utrecht to enjoy their favourite music and dance the night away.
Fitting the industrial look of the venue and Soenda’s signature theme of minimalist geometric shapes, light designer Lars Aarts of T.Y.S Productions created a customised design of five large geometric truss squares that housed 180 Infinity iB-2R moving heads supplied by Stagelight. With their fat beam and long focal length, the iB-2Rs provided exactly the features required for the intended lighting design.
For

USA - St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church has shown itself to be much more than simply a house of worship over its 87-year history. In that time, it has steadfastly combined worship with social-justice pursuits; for instance, it was the first black church in Dayton, Ohio to provide facilities for a civil rights meeting, as well as the first black church in the city to have its own radio broadcast.
To keep the focus on both its spiritual and social missions, and to continue its efforts to use the best technology available to reach beyond the church’s walls, St. Luke’s staff recently chose to install a dozen elektraLite Stingray Profile Warm White spot fixtures in its 900-seat sanctuary, the centrepiece of a 26,000sq.ft worship facility that also includes a 300-seat Fellowship Hall and ten educational rooms.
The move was meant to further improve the visual aesthetic

Europe - Jimmy Olausson of Illumity AB, Avatar’s lighting designer, has made it his mission to contribute to create visuals that accent every moment of the band’s performance, from their dramatic romps and leaps to their fierce drumbeats and fiery guitar riffs.
Helping him achieve this fusion on the band’s European tour are 38 Chauvet Professional fixtures owned by the band, including 16 Rogue R2X Washes, 10 Rogue R2 Beams and 12 COLORado Q40 Panels.
“Our set on this tour is two-hours long, which provides ample room for creativity,” says Olausson. “This set is unique in our touring history because we incorporated more theatrical elements, which provided us with another way to engage and captivate our audience. This show was timecoded. A big reason why is that this allowed me to focus more on the dynamics of the lighting, so I could create a tighter bond be

Thailand - Opened in 2022, Andamanda Phuket is currently one of the largest leisure and entertainment destinations in Thailand. Incorporating the Andaman Islands’ natural geography and landscapes into its design, the park features numerous family-friendly attractions including a 16,000sq.m wave pool, 300m white sand beach, and Thailand’s longest lazy river ride.
To enhance the visitor experience across the park’s many attractions, Proud Real Estate Public Company Limited required a high-quality audio and visual system that was seamless, user-friendly, and built to withstand the area’s wet and humid conditions. Mahajak Development Co met those requirements with a carefully curated selection of reliable, water-resistant AV solutions by JBL Professional, BSS and Soundcraft.
The new AV system covers all five key areas in the park: the Pearl Palace, the Emerald For

Europe - Formed in Stockholm in 2003, rabble-rousing Swedish punks The Baboon Show are currently marking their 20th anniversary on a European tour in support of their tenth album, God Bless You All.
Taking in dates across Spain, Poland, Austria, Germany and their homeland, the tour has seen the band’s longstanding front-of-house engineer Chris Mock employing an Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing system and Audio-Technica 3000 Series IEM wireless to deliver the band’s potent brand of punk-rock energy.
Mock opted for the compact dLive CTi1500, with its weight-saving titanium side-panels, connected to a dLive CDM32 MixRack for the shows, resulting in a diminutive but powerful and flexible touring partner, as he explains.
“The CTi was my first choice, since I normally tour with a dLive C2500 surface. The set-up needed to be as small and lightweight a

UK - As industry demand continues to ramp-up for sub-hires to support spring and summer productions, Light Engine Dry Hire has announced significant new investments in Chauvet fixtures. The choice of additional fixtures has spanned the Chauvet range and includes Rogue Outcast 1L Beams, Strike Array 2 & Array 4 Blinders and Strobes and Color Strike-M fixtures.
Rental director, Jon Newman comments: “Demand for these Chauvet fixtures has just been intense. Customers have seen that they totally deliver and just keep working, however hard they are pushed. Increasing our extensive sub-rental stock was an easy decision for Light Engine Dry Hire as the ROI is a given.
“We have been constantly increasing our stock for our busy film and TV sectors and as we can clearly see a busy touring, corporate and festival season ahead, the new investment with Chauvet made so much

Germany - Czech Republic-based lighting manufacturer Robe turned up the heat, the spectacle and the topicality and importance of respecting the planet in presenting the finale of its All Environments live performance show trilogy.
This display of creativity and imagination featured 350 of Robe’s latest iSeries of IP rated products plus three performers including a silk acrobat at the Prolight+Sound 2023 expo in Frankfurt last week.
Adding extra performers, excitement and energy to Hall 12.1 of the Frankfurt Messe complex, the five-times a day show attracted record crowds who also enjoyed a carefully curated pre-show Voice of God sequence, highlighting the technical elements and innovation of each of the featured iSeries products.
All Environments was presented in a dynamic, specially devised 270-degree theatre / arena style format, designe

Italy - Distributor Prase Media Technologies has delivered its first Hippotizer training sessions, in collaboration with Green Hippo. The two-day course was designed to showcase some of the features of the Nevis+ and Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers and the new Hippotizer 4.8 software.
Prase became a Green Hippo distributor for Italy in spring 2022, working with the entire range of Green Hippo’s award-winning Hippotizer Media Servers and in addition, tvONE products. Prase is now working to extend the influence of Green Hippo’s video playback technology, furthering Green Hippo’s global reach and enhancing customer service.
Hippotizer product specialist Leon Dickens provided training at the event, held at the Prase office located in the northern Italian town of Noventa Di Piave, alongside Prase’s Sonny Laurano and Enrico Fodde. Attendees learned how to manage, send, man

UK - ITEAC, the International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference presented by the ABTT, has announced that booking is now open for its sixth edition taking place over 19-20 September 2023.
Booking is now open to take advantage of limited Early Bird tickets available for Full London Delegate Two-Day Tickets at the discounted price of £650 +VAT. This ticket includes attendance at the in-person London event at the Savoy Place, the global engineering hub of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), as well as access to the online platform during and for up to 12 months after the event. Once early bird tickets are taken, tickets will be available at £680 +VAT.
ITEAC will for the first time engage with participants across global time zones, combining online connectivity with hubs in London, Brisbane, São Paulo, Hong Kong and beyond, with participa

Germany - Prolight + Sound 2023 closed with a significant increase in visitor numbers. More than 27,500 professionals from 113 countries attended the trade fair for the entertainment technology industry from 25-28 April 2023, say the organisers.
Current topics such as the implementation of sustainable events or the increasing demand for specialists and young talents were discussed - in this regard, the Prolight + Sound conference programme offered future-oriented approaches and solutions. Following the end of global travel restrictions, it was the first opportunity for many industry participants to visit the show since 2019. This is reflected in the high internationality of the event: Half of the visitors came from outside Germany, say the organisers.
Over four hundred and fifty exhibitors from 34 countries participated. “The event industry is back,” says Wolfgang

USA - The DALI Alliance, the industry organisation for DALI lighting control, will present two seminars at LightFair 2023, a trade show and conference for architectural and commercial lighting, which takes place in New York on 23-25 May.
The seminars will focus on two important areas in lighting control: smart lighting with D4i-enabled luminaires, and the benefits of the Zhaga-D4i ecosystem. The DALI Alliance will also be present on Booth 2162 in the LightFair exhibition and will give a live demonstration of data analytics using Zhaga-D4i luminaires and control devices.
On Wednesday 24 May from 5pm-6pm, the DALI Alliance will deliver a seminar on state-of-the-art, energy-efficient lighting control systems with D4i-enabled luminaires. As part of IES Live on Booth 1974, the seminar will be presented by three industry experts: Kevin Fitzmaurice, principal engineer of li

USA - Bandit Lites provided lighting for Elle King’s A-Freakin’-Men Tour presented by Slow & Low, which played to sold-out audiences across the country.
Shelley Rodgers, lead designer and CEO of Tribe inc and Bruce Rodgers crafted the set design for the nearly 30-city tour with two large-scale E and K letters and silver grand drapes as the focal point of the design. LD Craig Richter provided the lighting design.
“They added a nice element to break up the stage and gave a more dimensional look to the stage rather than just having her name on a backdrop,” said Bandit LD Craig Richter who programmed the lighting.
King provided an overview of the vibe she wanted for the show, choosing to keep her band tight with her onstage, emulating the small club roots she came up with.
“I went about programming this show with simplicity and dark moody vibe

USA - Meyer Sound welcomed interns from Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) for a tour of its factory and a demonstration of the Spacemap Go spatial sound design and mixing tool. WAM is a recording studio and non-profit dedicated to advancing gender diversity in music, audio production, and creative technology. This year Meyer is enhancing its relationship with the organisation in honour of their 20th anniversary.
“It was incredibly fascinating to see the ins and outs of the factory and all the different listening spaces,” said Erin Esten, one of the interns, after experimenting with Spacemap go. “I found the demonstration of the Imagine Dragons song particularly compelling - not only being able to hear some really creative spatial mixing and automation, but also having the opportunity to play around with the tracks myself was inspiring!”
The visit also included a de

USA - Last September, Westminster College, a private liberal arts school in Salt Lake City, inaugurated Florence J. Gillmor Hall, a modern facility equipped with modern instruction, rehearsal, and performance spaces for the school’s music, dance, and theatre programmes.
Elation lighting has been integrated into the hall’s dance studio and performance space, a package that includes Fuze Profile, Rayzor 760 and Seven Batten 14 luminaires, along with the first U.S. installation of the company’s innovative KL Profile FC ellipsoidal fixture.
Florence J. Gillmor Hall is a 26,000sq.ft expansion of the college’s Jewett Centre for the Performing Arts and the Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory. Besides the Beverley Taylor Sorensen and Joan Taylor Fenton Performance Studio, the recent expansion added practice rooms, a theatre rehearsal space, a choir rehearsal room, and a 93

UK - Conceived in 2005 to bring leading fashion brands and emerging designers to discerning customers in the North-East of England, END is now “a leading fashion, sneaker and design destination” with retail stores in Newcastle, London, Glasgow and Milan. The brand recently opened a flagship store in Manchester, with an audio system designed, installed and commissioned by Tyne and Wear-based Blaydon Communications.
Requiring an audio solution that fitted with END’s distinctive brand aesthetics, Blaydon specified a speaker system from Audio Pro Business that, in Blaydon MD Paul Dougherty’s words, “sounded superb, looked even better and would help create an in-store ambience to encourage customers to stay longer”.
“END, as with other retailers, need complete control of their brand. They want to ensure safe music is played into the store with no profanities a

USA - Speaking about his work as lighting director and programmer for the 10th annual iHeartRadio Music Awards, Felix Peralta observed: “it’s all about the art.” His lighting design at the Dolby Theatre animated the entire room right up to its balcony railings.
Marked by dazzling pixel effects, bold aerials, and rich, immersive washes, the programme’s lighting pulled millions of television viewers, as well as those in the live audience, into the mood of the music. This began with the work of lighting designer Allen Branton, a master at creating rigs that convey a concert vibe on the TV screen.
“Allen is a great designer, editor, and collaborator,” said Peralta. “Early in the design phase, we had a series of discussions on the philosophical approach we wanted to take with his design. After that, we had regular meetings to go over the plot, and confirm that

South Africa - TVOne’s Best Educational Solution Award was presented to Digital Fabric who specified over 100 Dual DVI Scalers to the Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape Province.
Digital Fabric is a consulting company based in Johannesburg that provide customised audio-visual, lighting and control solutions to industries not only in South Africa but across the globe and was appointed as the principal audio-visual consultant for the Extended Learning Spaces Projects at Stellenbosch University.
By collaborating with different faculties and departments at the university as well as various equipment suppliers - including DWR Distribution, who provided the tvONE units – Digital Fabric developed a tailored solution that addressed the unique challenges faced by a modern educational institution.
“Our main responsibility was to design and supervise the im

USA - Lightswitch is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a branding shift that embodies the company’s philosophical approach to design
The company’s new brand identity, inspired by three intersecting beams of light, illustrates their ‘responsibility as designers to balance clients' creative, logistical, and financial objectives’.
Says the company, “Since our founding, Lightswitch has grown into an industry-leading, multi-studio practice that stretches across the U.S. and beyond. Our dedicated team creates distinctive and award-winning projects around the globe in the fields of entertainment, events, museums, architecture, and immersive experiences.
“Now, with three decades behind us and many more to come, we’re introducing a new brand identity that speaks to our philosophy. Inspired by three intersecting beams of light, this symbol visually defi

Singapore - Established in 2008, ARRI Asia-Pacific initially operated from Hong Kong. Fifteen years later, the company has relocated to Singapore ‘to further bolster the moving image industry in the region’.
To mark this occasion, ARRI Asia-Pacific organised a grand ceremony on 25 April with an open house and an ARRI party. The top management team from the headquarters in Germany, including executive board members Dr. Matthias Erb (chairman) and Lars Weyer (CFO), industry leaders, and key players from Asia-Pacific’s moving image industry graced the festivities.
ARRI Asia Pte. Ltd., the official name of the new subsidiary in Singapore, is part of ARRI Asia-Pacific, which also includes ARRI Korea, ARRI Japan, and ARRI Australia. Together, they provide sales and services to the entire Asia-Pacific region.
“The inauguration of the Singapore subsidiary in th

Norway - ETC has appointed Lillehammer Tekniske Byrå AS (LTB) as its new Norwegian distributor. LTB has been established with the goal of becoming the market leading supplier of sound, light, AV and stage machinery to hotels, concert halls, TV studios, museums, and cultural centres in Norway.
Following the closure of Atendi AS, the core team has transferred to LTB, bringing with them decades of experience and industry expertise. Over the past 25 years, the team has developed, installed, and put into operation a vast number of sound, lighting, and stage solutions throughout the Nordic region – from simple stages to some of the most modern and complex installations.
“ETC is proud to enter into a collaboration with LTB, which, in addition to being a leading systems integrator, will now also represent and distribute ETC products in the Norwegian market,” says Tim St

UK - Robert Juliat has announced the appointment of Sound Technology as its new exclusive distributor for the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), with effect from 25 April 2023.
Expanding its dedicated lighting division, Sound Technology, a Midwich Group company, will exclusively distribute and promote the full range of Robert Juliat lighting equipment.
François Juliat, managing director of Robert Juliat, comments, “We are very proud to welcome Sound Technology in the RJ family circle. We are confident they will provide our UK customers with a high level of expertise, as well as comprehensive technical training and after-sales support.”
“The Sound Technology team is proud to welcome Robert Juliat aboard. Robert Juliat is the perfect addition to our current portfolio, allowing us to provide a full package in all areas of the industry from live, touring and in

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