Avolites has announced three new distributors in key European countries – Austria and Norway, plus Serbia and the other Balkan countries of Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. Avolites’ Managing Director, Paul Wong, commented, “We have been working hard to boost our distributor network with new strategic partnerships worldwide and are thrilled to warmly welcome these three new distributor partners in Austria, Norway & Serbia and The Balkans. They will enhance our commitment to users in Europe and the Balkans and continue our strategy to strengthen the Avolites brand’s global presence.” Signal, distributing Avolites in Austria, has…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
The National Arenas Association has published its Green Guide, developed in collaboration with live event sustainability experts, A Greener Future (AGF). The NAA, a body that brings together the 23 largest indoor arenas in the UK and Ireland to share best practice, has produced the Green Guide as a resource to help all NAA members operate more sustainably. The NAA Green Guide addresses the extensive environmental aspects of arena management, while also considering the areas of governance, social inclusion, and economic opportunity. The guide aims to help member venues set sustainability objectives and work towards reducing their environmental impact, regardless…
Adlib supplies CODA Audio VCA system for Romesh Ranganathan’s UK arena tour. Romesh Ranganathan recently completed a series of seven stand-up shows in UK arenas as part of his Hustle world tour. Liverpool-based event production specialists Adlib supplied a CODA Audio system based around the company’s flagship AiRAY line array. Adlib has previously deployed CODA for tours by many of the leading lights of British comedy, including Russell Howard, Joe Lycett and Jack Whitehall. “The CODA system is tried and tested for this kind of show and has proved itself time and again. It’s got lots of output, is very…
Disguise has received £1.2 Million in funding from Innovate UK and the EU as part of a larger investment into MAX-R. The MAX-R alliance — which is made up of Disguise, the BBC, ARRI, Improbable, Brainstorm, Foundry, FilmLight, The University of Hasselt, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, CREW and FilmAkademie Baden-Wurtumberg — has already announced its first developments. For Disguise, these are primarily focused on streamlining productions so that filmmakers, live events experts, broadcasters and more can use technologies with fewer licence requirements and other costs. “MAX-R will offer exciting new opportunities to broaden the way creators and audiences craft, present and…
Showlight is offering a sponsorship scheme for a number of students and recent graduates of university, college or school courses related to lighting for the performing arts, events, broadcast, film and architecture. Showlight is now inviting international students to apply for placements which allow free-of-charge entry to Showlight 2025. At least 30 places are up for grabs, and students will need to be available for the entire four days. All students get to enjoy the full Programme of Papers, admission to the accompanying exhibition of major lighting equipment manufacturers between Papers Sessions, the networking opportunities of the daily morning and…
Blake Shelton’s Clair Global-powered audio team selected a Cohesion PA for the singer-songwriter’s latest Back to the Honky Tonk Tour. For the bulk of the past decade-plus, Shelton’s tours have ranked among Pollstar’s Top 200 in North America. “It all starts with the band. They’re phenomenal players, and they have great sound,” explained Jeff ‘Pig’ Parsons, FOH Engineer. “If you have that coming in — and of course, Blake is a great singer — it should be great going out.” “Honky tonks are crowded, like Billy Bob’s or any of those down in Fort Worth,” said Chris Alderman, Production Manager.…
The creative team behind Adele in Munich spent 10-12 months working on the various aspects of the undertaking with everything designed around these performances, all of which was intended to bring the artist as close as possible to as many as possible of her fans in the audience. Lighting designer, Cory FitzGerald of Silent House chose no less than 125 Ayrton Cobra and 85 Ayrton Domino Profile IP65-rated fixtures as key features in his impressive design. The Domino Profile fixtures were located in the overhead stage rig and upstage floor areas from where FitzGerald used them for everything from stage…
Girl in Red’s latest tour has seen the band grow, not only in size, but venue capacity. Larger venues meant higher production values, and sound engineers Kris Derry and Matt Wickens decided on two Quantum 338s, KLANG:DMI, and Fourier Audio transform.engine, all provided by Entec Sound and Light. Derry mixes at the FOH position. He has been with the band since 2019, and has witnessed a change in the way they tour. “When I started, we were in a splitter van and I just brought a Peli-case of mics and no desk,” he recalled. “Returning in 2021 for Reading and…
Music Support is currently working with a record number of professionals in the music and live industry who have experienced challenges around substance use and/or mental health in 2024. The UK organisation has highlighted a worrying increase in those working across the music industry in 2024 with such challenges. The charity has directly impacted at least 1,000 people from the UK music industry in the last year across its core services and has seen an increase of 51% in calls to its Helpline. A newly completed wellbeing survey deployed across the charity’s Safe Hubs at festivals this summer, where Music…
The Wasserschloss Klaffenbach in Chemnitz, a sixteenth-century moated castle which provided the location for a series of four outdoor concerts in the summer of 2024. The team from Schalldruck.Audio, led by Reinhard Tochtenhagen was responsible for sound and lights, and chose a CODA Audio system to meet the challenges presented by this heritage setting. “The castle is a great location but it does have its pitfalls,” Crew Chief Robert Bretschneider described. “The entire courtyard is paved with cobbles and surrounded by stone walls, so reflections are unavoidable. Added to this, the area is quite wide in relation to the throw…
The Struts Pretty Vicious tour featured a lighting design by Carlos Katsurayama and helping him create his canvas on stage was a rig supplied by LIT Lighting of Phoenix that featured 14 CHAUVET Professional Maverick Force S Profiles. Positioned on the riser, behind the guitar amps, the compact moving fixture with a seven-slot colour wheel and 14,000 lumen output, was used to create a dynamic backdrop for the band. Drawing on features like the profile’s 120-degree complete module rotation and wide zoom ranges, Katsurayama was able to conjure up a variety of captivating looks. “The Force S Profile brough a…
Metallica began their M72 World Tour, elevated by Meyer Sound’s 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements. The tour, which began in April 2023, stops for two nights in each city, presenting two sets on “no-repeat weekends.” Fans experience a stereo mix in every seat, one that’s faithful to 40 years of studio recordings, explains FOH Engineer, Greg Price: “Our goal was to bring that intimate environment into a stadium.” Staged in the round, the tour is supported by a staggering 522 Meyer Sound loudspeakers, including 288 PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers, 96 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements, 48 VLFC very low‑frequency control…
In 2024 K-array, strengthened its reputation with several high-profile festivals around the globe opting for the brand’s products. The Festival of the Sun, an exclusive two-day event held in a small town near Siena, Italy, was shrouded in secrecy until its launch on 21 June. Masterminded by renowned record executive and producer, Rick Rubin, the festival was spread across multiple locations, including a historic church, a town square and a nearby castle. A performance by singer-songwriter, James Blake posed an acoustic challenge. A Pinnacle KR402 system, supplemented by Pinnacle KR102 as delay and Kayman KY52 monitors, met the demands with…
Jonny Tosserello, known as ”Tosser,” Production Manager and Lighting Designer/Director for Lynyrd Skynyrd, is continuing his long-time use of Claypaky Xtylos for The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top co-headlining. Premier Global Production Company, Nashville, is the lighting vendor for the tour. “I started deploying Xtylos in 2021 when they became available through Premier,” recalled Tosser. “I wanted more beam fixtures in the band’s floor package, and Steven (Creech) Anderson of Premier was super-supportive of the Xtylos from the beginning. They’re great fixtures, I love them!” Tosser designs the lighting rigs to be ”chameleons” since they need to…
Panasonic Connect Europe’s IP-based live production platform, KAIROS, has made its global live music festival debut at Camper Calling 2024. Full-service AV rental, production, and virtual event company, CPL, has deployed KAIROS to streamline its technology infrastructure and minimise the intermediary kit and cabling required, as part of its migration to the SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based transmission standard. CPL opted for Panasonic’s KAIROS mainframe the AT-KC2000S1. The KC2000 is supportive of baseband signals and IP-based transmissions, and is suited to large-scale, complex events. The KC2000’s Smart Routing feature enables the KAIROS platform to virtually handle a larger number of input…
When Massive Attack played a one-off gig in their hometown of Bristol on 25 August, their focus was on event sustainability. For this show, which marked a quarter-century of climate activism for the band and set a new standard for touring and live event sustainability, they chose a sound system from d&b audiotechnik. Staged at Clifton Down on 25 August, Act 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator set a new benchmark for the event industry by being the lowest carbon gig of its size ever staged. Everything was considered: plant-based food, compostable loos, promotion of public transport, recyclable serving items, and a…
Paramount Visas, a UK-based visa consultancy service, has officially launched, offering tailored visa support for clients in the entertainment industry as well as business travellers, individuals, and other professionals. Founded by Hannah Black, a veteran in the visa consultancy field with over 10 years of experience, the company specialises in meeting the unique needs of musicians, bands, performers, and other clients requiring visas for international travel, events, and engagements. Paramount Visas is dedicated to streamlining the visa application process for its clients, helping them navigate the complexities of international travel. The launch marks the official unveiling of the company’s website and…
GLP has introduced a new LED washlight, the Creos is a powerful, IP65-certified LED washlight with 18 x 40W RGBL LEDs and motorised zoom with its clusterable design, LED pixel pitch, several devices can be lined up horizontally. Due to the wide zoom range, large wall-wash applications can be implemented, while the particularly narrow beam enables never-before-seen light curtains to be created, with light intensity. Due to this versatility and Creos’ ability to combine the functions of several spotlights in a single device it not only saves money on the budget but also saves weight in the rig. The GLP…
