UK - The Natural History Museum has re-opened its famous Hintze Hall event space following a transformation which welcomes a blue whale skeleton to take pride of place.
The Natural History Museum reveals a new-look Hintze Hall which features a stunning 25.2 metre blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling and spectacularly diving into the space. This is part of the museum’s biggest transformation it its 136-year history which includes hundreds of new specimens which have been chosen to celebrate the wonder and beauty of the natural world, from the origins of the universe, to the story of evolution and the diversity in the world today.Ten choice specimens have also been arranged in ground floor alcoves – known as Wonder Bays – including a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite and a Mantellisaurus skeleton.
The new installation provides event guests with an opportuni

The Netherlands - Inspired by American blues festivals, where audiences enjoy a rich diet of blues music with a side order of spare ribs, Ribs&Blues is an annual event held in the Dutch town of Raalte. This year’s event saw an eclectic mix of blues, roots and rock acts mixed on a Yamaha Rivage PM10 system at Front of House.
The free festival takes place each year over the Whitsun weekend, attracting over 45,000 people. This year it featured an international line-up which included blues legend Walter Trout, Golden Earring, the Beach Boys, Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions, the Red Devils, Barrelhouse and many more.
Since 2011 the festival has featured a second stage, but it was the 15 acts on the on the main stage whose FoH engineers had the benefit of the Rivage PM10.
Technical production for the main stage was handled by Focus Amsterdam, with the a

USA - Owing to high demand (with tickets selling out before the line-up was even announced), the Electric Forest Music Festival doubled its days and held its woodland adventure over two consecutive weekends, with thousands making their way back into the effervescent woods that feel straight out of a fairytale dream.
Lighting designer Jeff Ravitz returned to design the lighting for the Sherwood Court Stage with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites.
In designing the stage where artists such as Lido, The Floozies, Tycho and Black Tiger Sex Machine would perform, Ravitz focused on updating the overall look while still maintaining the aspects of the design that made last year’s set up successful, foremost of which was ensuring the system was ‘all things to all bands’ (within reason and budget).
“We have four or five of the artists’ LDs coming in daily

Australia - The Wombats are currently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first album, touring Australia with Groovin’ the Moo and performing a few side shows. For the past five years FOH engineer Pete Bartlett has worked with the band as well as his other main act The Pretenders.
The band members and crew were delighted to play a couple of shows at the Sydney Opera House, performing memorable and joyous shows. Let’s face it, it’s not often you witness six full-grown humans dancing around in wombat suits on stage whilst confetti guns spray over the crowd.
JPJ Audio supplied a control package that included an Avid Profile for FOH and another for monitors.
“I always use an Avid Profile as I have loads of plugins and I’m not a big fan of anything newer,” says Pete.
Pete explained that he tries to turn his Profile console as much as possibl

UK - On 27 May, The Courteeners took to the stage at Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground, less than a week after the bombing atrocity at the Manchester Arena claimed so many victims. Supported by The Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage, this was meant to be Courteeners’ step up from theatre and arena shows to stadium size venues but events conspired to turn the gig into something else entirely.
Dan Hill was in control on a grandMA2 Light operating a lighting rig that was heavy on Ayrton and Claypaky fixtures as specified from Dan Hill and Chris ‘Squib’ Swain’s design house, Cassius Creative. “The tour and the new show design started life back at the end of 2016,” says Hill. “Up to that point, the band’s look had been with more traditional tungsten fixtures so this was a real remodelling of the entire production. We wanted a more modern feel to this campaign and

USA - Started 60 years ago by a small group of ordinary people coming together, Calvary Church has thrived and grown into a much-valued part of the multi-cultural community in Dover, Kent County, Delaware. As its congregation has grown, so has the construction and development of its buildings and its audio has recently been updated to meet the church’s current and future needs.
For its new systems, Calvary Church sought quotes from a number of companies before commissioning the services of AV integration specialist, JD Sound & Video.
Joe DiSabatino, president and lead design engineer of JD Sound & Video explained, “Audio was required in both the main sanctuary and a basement room. We knew Community loudspeakers would provide the best solution for both areas, so arranged a demo to enable the church to hear the systems and be completely satisfied before the p

Europe - In recent years, Bruno Mars has evolved from talented performer to Grammy-winning global megastar and, from his performance at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris (formerly The Bercy) this month, it is easy to see why. The 24K Magic World Tour oozes quality, from the artist's outrageous voice and musicianship to the show's epic production standards, the core of which is driven by two DiGiCo SD7 mixing consoles.
Bruno Mars has just completed a three-month European leg of his 24K Magic World Tour. In that time, the crew has barely been able to catch a breath, explains FOH engineer, Chris Rabold.
“We've been all over Europe, and that's only the end of this part,” Rabold reports, adding that the US is next – and probably a couple of one-off shows and TV performances will happen in between.
The PA for this tour is the flagship Clair offering - the Cohesion

UK - Star Events supplied the cavernous Mayfield Depot with seats in two custom-built arenas for the Manchester International Festival (MIF), which wrapped on Saturday.
The first was for the world premiere of Yael Bartana’s What If Women Ruled The World, the second for choreographer Boris Charmatz's 10,000 Gestures, one of MIF’s final fixtures.
Set opposite Manchester Piccadilly, Mayfield Depot is the under platform area of a semi-derelict Victorian railway station. Boarded up for years there was minimal natural light as Star Events built a single stand of 430 QP Grandstand seats. To accommodate Saygel & Schreiber’s What if Women Ruled The World set design, the system included a 166mm rake onto the existing ‘stage’ plinth and around the venue roof support columns.
The solution for 10,000 Gestures’, ‘thrilling blizzar

UK - Hosted in the Idyllic spa town of Buxton, huddled within the Peak District National Park, the Buxton International Festival is a celebration of theatrical and literary excellence which attracts speakers, acts and audiences in coveted numbers.
PRG XL Video supported lighting designer Mike Gunning, and production electrician Tim Ball, with a theatrical lighting package for the three operas headlining this year’s festival at the Buxton Opera House: Verdi’s Macbeth, Britten’s Albert Herring, and Mozart’s Lucio Silla.
Although its heritage can be traced farther back, the current format of the Buxton Festival has been running since the refurbishment of the opera house in 1979 - and has grown to become the highly respected cultural event it is today. Drawing crowds from far and wide, patrons of the Buxton Festival know what they want to see,

Europe - Phil Collins - was on the road last month (June 2017) for his Not Dead Yet mini tour, named as per his autobiography published in October 2016.
Collins’ long term lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe has created a stylish, animated lightshow, which is directed and operated on the road by Roland Greil, who also acted as the associate designer for the show - the two have collaborated on a number of projects in recent years including Adele last year, and on this one they worked closely with set and scenic designer, Misty Buckley.
On the rig are 48 x Robe BMFL Spot moving lights, a Robe RoboSpot remote control system and two PATT 2013s, all being provided by leading UK lighting rental company, Neg Earth.
Patrick has worked for the artist for nearly 20 years and this tour celebrates his return from ‘retirement’, It plays London’s Royal Albert Ha

Singapore - The clarity and fidelity of DPA microphones helped The TENG Ensemble deliver a stunning live performance at the iconic Fullerton Hotel Singapore. Entitled Where the River Always Flows, this debut outdoor performance transformed the Fullerton Hotel Singapore's East Garden Square into an extravaganza filled with the nostalgic sounds of Singapore's heritage music.
DPA d:vote Instrument Microphones were used to amplify a combination of western and Chinese instruments that were played during the performance. These included a cello, a Sheng and a Guzheng. Audio engineer Steve Zhang also used a DPA d:facto Vocal Microphone for the Ensemble's renowned countertenor Phua Ee Kia.
Commenting on his choice of microphones, Zhang says: "Phua Ee Kia has a uniquely expressive and dynamic voice, therefore the d:facto Vocal Microphone's high SPL handling and wide dynam

Europe - One of the most eagerly anticipated and high profile tours to embark on a worldwide journey in 2017 must be Ed Sheeran. The show’s production company, Major Tom Limited has purchased LoadGuard hoists from LTM- Lift Turn Move to fly the entire lighting, sound and AV system. In total, LTM have supplied 68 1t and 36 2t LoadGuard motors all running at four metres/per min. The motor control system is Kinesys throughout and operated by Steve Bliss from LCR.
The fan shaped mothergrid was designed by Jeremy Lloyd of Wonder Works and is lifted by thirty 2t LoadGuard hoists. Rigged within the mothergrid are 50 1t motors from which fly the lighting trusses and AV screens including four moving lighting pods which drop down on three Liftkets on Kinesys control during the show. Unusually, the 1t motors remain pre-rigged within the mothergrid (1m deep truss from Litec) in transi

The Netherlands - On 5 May 1945 the Netherlands was liberated from the Nazis. Initially the date was marked every five years with a celebration of liberation, but in 1990 5 May was designated an annual national holiday in the Netherlands.
The day is now commemorated by celebrations across the country, including music festivals held in one of the major cities of each of the Netherland’s 12 provinces. In Limburg, the festival is hosted in the city of Roermond and ADJ lighting was used to provide eye candy effects and illumination for one of the principle stages.
A historic city, that was established over 700 years ago, Roermond has a large, and architecturally-impressive, market square which provided the location for the festivities. A number of stages were erected around the square to allow a continuous program of musical performances to run from early afternoon right

USA - No sooner had country superstar Dierks Bentley kicked off his winter What The Hell tour, than he announced he would be extending his road show into the summer in order to reach more fans at outdoor venues. It was a wise move. The Arizona-born and Nashville-based star is currently riding atop the Billboard Hot Tours chart, playing to more than a half million fans this year. Supporting him every step of the way is a Chris Reade-designed lightshow that features 26 Chauvet Professional Nexus 4 x 4 panels supplied by Christie Lites.
Reade is flying 14 of the RGBW panels on diagonally-oriented truss structures that vary from roughly 12’ to 24’ in height. The remaining 12 Nexus units in Reade’s rig are underneath a B stage, located about 200’ from the main stage.
Arranged in a web-like pattern on the overhead truss, the mainstage Nexus panels form a matri

USA - Whether it was someone’s first or tenth trip to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, one of the mainstays of the epic four-day weekend was the huge mirror ball tower acting as the hub of the festival.
Working with lighting designer Andi Watson and production manager William Irons, Bandit Lites once again provided the lighting for the tower with this year’s gear featuring the award-winning SGM G-Spot fixtures.
The focal point of Bonnaroo, the large rotating mirror ball on top of the tower, is actually a permanent structure that serves as a North Star of sorts to the festival attendees, allowing them to navigate more easily through the 700-acre field known as The Farm, in addition to providing a home for the communication antennae for radio, internet and more.
The tower was perfectly illuminated enduring even in the harshest elemental exposure. “The SG

Europe - French Rapper Soprano – known for his hard-hitting but expletive-free lyrics as much as his massive popularity – recently toured with a new show and lighting design created by Victorien Cayzeele from All Access Design (AAD).
He specified Robe Spikies and BMFL Blades, which were supplied from leading French rental company, Dushow.
Victorien wanted a clean but edgy look for the lighting, which was also optimised for high trim heights, which is one reason the BMFL Blades were chosen. He also liked the idea of uniting Robe’s brightest moving lights with one of its smallest in size of the current range.
The stunning set design by Julien Mairesse resembled a large mountain range - riffing on the title of Soprano’s 2016 album L'Everest - which had video mapped onto it from four high-powered projectors throughout the show.
Twelve of the 20 BMFL B

UK - The National Theatre on London’s South Bank has invested heavily for the second time in GLP’s impression X4 Bar 20’s.
Lighting resources manager, Paul Hornsby, has added to the initial tranche of 18, which he purchased as soon as they first became available, with a further 20 in order to meet the increasing demand. Both batches were supplied by GLP dealer, White Light.
Explaining the rationale, he stated, “We have an extremely substantial rig at the National, and so every year, with my onsite team, we evaluate and discuss what needs replacing and upgrading, depending on both lighting designers’ requests and advances in technology.”
He confirmed, “The initial GLP purchase was the result of a combination of lighting designer referrals along with our own need to replace our ageing DLC fixtures.” And as soon as the first 18 fixtures arrived they

Australia - The Brolga Theatre in Queensland’s Maryborough is a typical regional venue – its 900-seat proscenium arch theatre hosts an international ballet troupe one night, Jimmy Barnes the next, and a local dance school the day after. Though the venue is just 17 years old, changes in technology mean replacement lamps are no longer available for their wash lights, leading the staff to assess how to upgrade for the future. The future, as they see it, is Elation’s Platinum Seven RGBWAC-UV LED wash.
“We knew we have to move to LED and intelligent fixtures,” said Robert Haigh, operations technician at the Brolga. “We could afford to replace our wash, but not our profiles, so it was an easy decision to go to a moving fixture that could provide a wash, and in the case of Elation’s Platinum Seven, work as a profile in many senses.”
Twelve Elation Platinum Se

UK - The Field of Avalon at Glastonbury has been accurately described as a “festival within a festival”. With its mix of folk and roots music, wholesome food and chilled out atmosphere, it’s easy to see why. To provide warm and engaging lighting for the field of Avalon’s main stage this year, returning provider GLS Lighting specified a collection of Rogue and STRIKE 4 fixtures from Chauvet Professional, in addition to 10 Chauvet DJ Festoon fixtures.
“As the Avalon Stage serves as a key focal point not just within the Field of Avalon, but also within the Glastonbury festival itself, we wanted to create some big looks to make the stage stand out even more this year,” commented Ian Turner, GLS Project Manager. “With our curated selection of Chauvet Professional fixtures, we were able to provide excellent support to bands such as Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Busted.”<

USA - For the second major tour in a row and the band’s 40th Anniversary, FOH Engineer Robert Scovill has specified an EAW ADAPTive sound reinforcement system to support Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Escondido, California-based Sound Image is providing the crew as well as the system, which is comprised of Anya array and Otto subwoofer modules, supplemented with Anna delay towers for stadium shows.
The 270-degree arena rig consists of 56 Anya for the main left/right arrays, hung in a 12-8-8 column configuration per side, a centre cluster of six Anya and 14 Otto subs spaced across the front of the stage. The majority of the tour will utilise this system although for stadium shows, like Wrigley Field in Chicago, Scovill has specified a delay ring made up of four towers of 12 Anna enclosures to supplement the main rig.
“As we modelled a couple of stadiums, it was

Europe - You can take the band out of Southern California but you can’t take So Cal out of the band. Completing the European leg of their world tour in Birmingham last week, Linkin Park’s One More Light is a departure from the group’s earlier work. Smooth, subtle, and sometimes moody, the band’s evolving sound is beautifully complemented by the tour’s lighting designer, Celine Royer. Key to her design are 74 of the new Solaris Flare Q+ fixtures.
“We wanted to tell a story with the lighting, reflecting the emotional journey that happens throughout the night,” says Celine. “A geometric look, with Flares everywhere, is a nod to the band’s metal roots, while subtle hues are programmed to catch nuances in the band’s newer material. We have the Flares on upstage, midstage, and downstage moving trusses, as well as sidefills and uplights.
“I’ve u

Finland - Kaiku opened in Helsinki in 2013 and quickly rose to the forefront of the city’s lively club scene. Its popularity is perhaps founded on the prominence of its owner, Toni Rantanen, who has been masterminding the scene by founding and concurrently operating several clubs since the early 2000s.
But while his name may have made people take notice, it is the consistently awesome parties that evolve every night at Kaiku that pack it to capacity (400 people) and keep A-list DJs at Rantanen’s beck and call. Recently, Kaiku upgraded its already excellent sound system to a complete Danley Sound Labs system, including loudspeakers, subwoofers, amplifiers, and processing.
Kaiku’s new system consists of four Danley SH-46 loudspeakers for full-range content. The SH-46 uses acoustical wizard Tom Danley’s patented Synergy Horn technology to deliver incredibly accura

China - Almost 400 L-Acoustics cabinets were deployed as part of a mammoth PA system for Jacky Cheung’s 2017 A Classic Tour, which took in 21 venues, both indoor and outdoor, across mainland China at the beginning of the year, and continues through Hong Kong, Sinapore and Taiwan.
The show is performed in the round, with both complex stage machinery and the task of ensuring complete coverage of the audience offering a challenge for rental companies Haona, who supplied the system for the China dates, Unusual in Singapore and Taiwan’s Winly, who worked alongside L-Acoustics Chinese distributor, Rightway Audio Consultants to realise a complex design.
A Hong Kong-born singer, songwriter and actor, Jacky Cheung is one of the city’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ – a term created by Oriental Daily News in 1992 to describe the four biggest male entertainment artists

UK - As part of British Style Collective’s three-day fashion extravaganza staged at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, VER London supported the production crew on Rock the Runway, a brace of daily show-stopping performances mixing models and dancers in a fashion-meets-music spectacle.
Built as a full-on rock and roll style production, conceived and staged by Andy Turner with styling by Karl Willet and music by Des Lambert, the installation featured a full height, up stage LED video wall that delivered stunning content created specifically by Colin Rozee of ZeeFX to help intensify the audience experience. A variety of automated heads and effects were also incorporated to allow maximum creative control over the on-stage illumination.
Working closely with LD Nigel Catmur, the VER Lighting department provided a mixture of Martin MAC Viper Performance, Profile and AirFX plu

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