MDG has announced the appointment of Ambersphere Solutions as its exclusive distributor for the United Kingdom and Ireland, effective 1 April 2025. With this appointment, MDG looks forward to further strengthening its presence in the UK and Ireland, supported by Ambersphere’s deep industry expertise and established customer relationships. Ambersphere Solutions is one of the UK’s most respected suppliers of premium technology for the live events industry, already serving as the exclusive UK distributor for leading brands including Astera, Ayrton, MA Lighting, ROXX and zactrack. Their appointment further reinforces MDG’s commitment to partnering with best-in-class distributors who share its standards for…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
Concert Stuff Group (CSG) has announced the appointment of Kyle W. Jones as Chief Growth Officer. In his new role, Jones will oversee all business development activity across CSG and its family of partner companies, driving strategic expansion and forging new client relationships across the global live production market. Jones brings almost 40 years of live production industry experience to the Chief Growth Officer role. His career includes serving as Stage Manager for George Strait, building the Nashville division of Stage Call Transportation, and launching the U.S. division of Truck’N Roll. Most recently, he served as President of Pioneer Production…
Illusion has announced a series of strategic business developments, strengthening its leadership team, formation of a dedicated client services function, expanding its South-East London operations, and launching its new brand as it responds to growing demand for more integrated production support. The move reflects a growing shift in how creative projects are developed and delivered. As ambition increases and timelines tighten, agencies, brands, and producers are increasingly seeking partners who can help shape ideas early and deliver them seamlessly at scale. Illusion’s latest developments place the business at the forefront of this shift. Illusion acquires Southern Van Lines Storage expanding…
Florence and the Machine returned with an electrifying UK and European tour to celebrate the release of their sixth album, Everybody Scream. The highly anticipated tour delivered a visually stunning show with cinematic staging effects, capturing the powerful vocals of Florence Welch with a production that pushed the limits of live performance. The tour’s rigging team, Yose Lawson, Head Rigger, Tom Armstrong, and Kieran ‘Beano’ Bean, are proud to have played a key role in the successful delivery of the tour, providing advanced rigging solutions and precision load monitoring systems supplied by Rigorous Technology that ensured both safety and performance…
Unilumin has developed U-shield technology designed for the rental market. Designed as a durability solution, U-shield enhances the robustness of LED displays under demanding operational conditions. Compared to traditional SMD solutions, it delivers up to five times the protection while reducing lamp damage rates by up to 90%. By optimising viewing angles and minimising specular reflection, it ensures consistent image quality from every perspective. High-brightness chips combined with fully black backplanes deliver contrast and vivid colour reproduction, making it especially suitable for HDR content and high-end stage applications. For rental customers, the benefits go even further, with drastically reduced failure…
Neg Earth Lights has maintained an ongoing collaboration with Rose Bruford College since 2021. This year, the partnership saw 20 students dedicate significant time to preparing the lighting for their end of year “Creative Lighting Control” 2026 show. Arriving on site at Neg Earth Lights, they were well prepared with a strong professional approach. Melissa Russell, Rental Asset Coordinator, commented: It was a pleasure to have the Rose Bruford students on site at Neg Earth Lights and to work alongside them in preparing their lighting and equipment for the 2026 CLC live event.” The Neg Earth team were fortunate to attend the CLC event and were impressed with the lighting designs…
Production Futures has announced the launch of its Make Noise campaign, a national initiative aimed at young people aged 12–18, designed to raise awareness of the wide range of ‘behind the scenes’ roles in the production and live events industry. Make Noise is about inspiring young people to explore careers in the sector and become the next generation of production industry talent. The launch comes at a time when the UK government and creative industry bodies are actively working to demystify careers in the arts and technical sectors, with research showing that while many young people are interested in creative…
Wu-Tang Clan brought The Final Chamber European tour to arenas across the continent this year, with lighting, video and rigging supplied by PRG from its Longbridge base in Birmingham. Billed as the group’s final European run, the tour carries the weight of more than three decades of influence — a body of work built by RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa that reshaped hip hop’s sonic and cultural landscape. Against that backdrop, Tour and Creative Director Jen Bui, lighting designer Ben Walton and Principal designer Jack Cannon faced a significant challenge: honouring a…
KB Event has completed a private equity-backed management buy-out (MBO), reshaping its ownership and leadership as of 17 April 2026. Founded in 1992 by Stuart McPherson, the Nottingham-based company is a specialist in event transport, storage and logistics, delivering complex global solutions for high-profile clients. Operating out of the UK and Ireland, KB Event supports concerts, world tours, festivals, exhibitions and corporate events with trucking, managed logistics, storage, project management and customs services. The business continues to lead on sustainable transport, reducing the environmental impact of live events through innovations such as HVO and electric trucks. This commitment has been…
Ayrton has announced the official launch of MagicBlade Neo, an infinitely modular linear fixture with a mastery of light, and the latest innovation in its Creative Series. MagicBlade Neo is an entirely new concept: an innovative luminaire and marvel of technology capable of creating endlessly reconfigurable, multi-shaped light curtains, vortices, and volumetric effects. Built on the foundation of the all-new MagicDot Neo, it features five independently controllable moving heads, spaced just 3mm apart, a technical feat made possible by an innovative structure designed to efficiently absorb vibrations, ensuring stability and precision in all circumstances. The close proximity of the moving…
TiMax and Martin Audio have announced a half-day industry event, called Beyond Stereo: Spatial Mixing for Theatre Professionals. Hosted at RADA’s JVT Theatre (Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre) on 26th May 2026, the session is free to attend and all theatre professionals are welcome to register. The event acknowledges that although spatial effects are used widely in theatre, most theatre sound professionals are still working in stereo because that is the reality of most loudspeaker deployments. From this working premise, Beyond Stereo aims to demonstrate, in a working theatre environment, what lies beyond. Spatial audio expert, Phil Wright leads a session that…
Lighting designer Richard Larkum has spent nearly two decades working with the Hog platform, bringing its control capabilities to concert stages around the world. Most recently, Larkum took the new Stage Hog console on a 27-date European tour with Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, including stops in Berlin, London, and Amsterdam. Larkum’s story with Hog began over 20 years ago, as he was starting to break into arena shows and larger concert venues. Around that time, he felt that the consoles he had been using weren’t powerful enough to handle the bigger shows he was beginning to take on. To…
In an effort to promote neurodiversity in the workplace, TPi Award winners Neg Earth Lights invited neurodiversity consultant Maisie Cass, to speak about designing work to fit people, not people to fit work. She also shared ways to reduce stigma and challenge common misconceptions around neurodiversity. Around one in seven people in the UK are estimated to be neurodivergent, with the live events industry thought to have one of the highest proportions. However, many neurodiverse people may feel uncomfortable disclosing their condition to their employers due to fears of stigma, as behaviours are often labelled rather than understood. Neg Earth…
Wu-Tang Clan thrilled North America with a 2025 farewell tour dubbed Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber. The tour, with sets lasting two and a half hours over four acts, travelled across the U.S. and Canada to give ardent fans a chance to cheer the legends of East Coast rap. Cohesion was the selected PA on each of the 27 coast-to-coast stops of this extraordinary send-off. The stage was shared by the eight surviving original members of Wu-Tang Clan: RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa, as well as Young Dirty Bastard (YDB), the son…
Sound Devices has announced the launch of Astral Mini Plus, the latest iteration of the brand’s compact wireless transmitter bodypacks. The new Mini Plus wireless transmitter builds on the proven success of the original with a familiar ergonomic form factor and rugged performance while also adding longer battery life, extended tuning flexibility, IP67 water resistance, and improved usability features for faster setup times and operation. This makes Astral Mini Plus well-suited for challenging location sound, live music, and live theatre productions of any size or scope. Sound Devices Astral transmitters and receivers have become a favourite of location sound and…
Shure has welcomed two new Vice Presidents and announced the appointment of a longtime Company officer to its Executive Staff. Phil McPhee has joined Shure as Vice President of Operations and Chief Supply Chain Officer. He will be a member of the Executive Staff. McPhee brings more than two decades of global leadership experience across operations, manufacturing, sourcing, and product-driven organizations in the pro and consumer audio industries. He has led complex, multi-site operations across North America, Europe, and Asia, with a strong track record of scaling global supply chains, strengthening operational excellence, and aligning manufacturing strategy with long-term business growth.…
NST Audio has announced the appointment of Contact Distribution as its distribution partner for Canada. Founded in 1988 Contact focus on professional audio and audio networking solutions, for large and small-scale installations, touring and live venues. Bill Coons, the Director of Sales and founder of the company, is proud of the support they offer: “We are a family affair, with my son Brandon handling central Canadian sales, my brother-in-law Scott on operations, and my partner of 52 years Linda (our CFO), handling finance and me! Being related brings its advantages – we always know what’s going on, but maybe…
NoNonsense Group has delivered a clear statement at the 2026 Event Production Awards, taking home the accolades of both the Legend Award and Best Staging Provider. Co-founder and director Liz Madden was recognised with the Legend Award, a reflection of more than three decades working at the sharp end of live event production. Madden’s contribution extends well beyond project delivery. As co-chair of the Production Services Association, she has played a consistent role in shaping industry standards, supporting workforce development and pushing for a more joined-up approach across suppliers. Over more than 20 years as a PSA member, including over…
