Oak View Group (OVG) has announced it has appointed Rebecca Kane Burton as Executive Vice President of Venue Management, for Oak View Group International. This newly created role will see Kane Burton spearhead UK and European business development strategy and focus on growing OVG’s venue services which includes the iconic Wembley Stadium, St. Andrew’s at Knighthead Park (Birmingham FC), Scotland’s largest, Murrayfield Stadium, and the Co-op Live. Having served as interim General Manager of Co-op Live since April 2024, Burton oversaw an opening season for OVG’s first international venue, with 36 events taking place and over 900,000 tickets sold. Her…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
Verknipt ArenA, which took place on 20th July 2024, was a record-breaking gathering of 40,000 fans of Verknipt which was a sold-out event at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff Arena. Netherlands-based Martin Ciesluk of Outside the Circle, the company that designed and ran the light show for Verknipt ArenA, ensured that Ayrton Cobra was one of the visual headliners, using 58 of the laser-sourced, IP65-rated fixtures. Ciesluk rigged 20 Cobra fixtures in the truss above the DJ and Media stage, and placed another 20 on the floor, using the combination of both to create a ‘DJ cage’ with the Cobra’s narrowest beams…
Charity gig, 1000 Lights, which was organised by local promoter and studio owner, Jack Davis saw 1000 musicians come together to honour the life of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, whose final gig had been in Birmingham before his death in 2017. By setting up the Uprawr Mental Health Foundation his aim was to bring people together as part of a large-scale event. Thanks to the volunteers, and willing support from service providers, including Martin Audio partners 22live, he raised £135,000 for the Foundation, offering free mental health counselling. Among the musicians who wanted to support the event and be a…
Tainy took the stage at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot for Data Loading the sold out show for the artist which featured artists such as Bad Bunny, Rauw, Alejandro Jhayco, Young Miko, Arcángel and Álvaro Diaz. A lighting design by Richard Vicens and ShowVault utilised an impressive 450-fixture rig from Musique Xpress Lights. Most of the rig was made up of CHAUVET Professional products, including the Color STRIKE M motorised strobe-wash, Maverick Force 2 Profile, Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash hybrid, Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash hybrid, WELL STX 180 LED tube, EPIX Strip IP, EPIX Drive 2000 IP, and the…
Robe enjoyed PLASA 2024 where four new products were launched by the Czechia-based manufacturer the iFORTE Fresnel, the PAINTE Fresnel, the SVOPATT and the SVB1 WashBeam moving light. Robe also premiered its new live exhibition performance, “The Fifth Dimension” complete with three live performers including aerial acrobat and dancer Oskar Skrypko. All of Robe’s businesses, Avolites, LSC, Anolis and Artistic Licence, occupying areas surrounding the main Robe stand. The iBOLT also won a PLASA Award for Innovation. The show featured dance moves and acrobatic stunts and a visual show containing all the newly launched lighting products together with several others…
HH Audio has announced the appointment of Audio Source, a division of Sound Technologies, as its official HH distribution partner for Australia. “Audio Source is thrilled to become the exclusive Australian distributor for HH Audio. Their exceptional product range, designed for retail, installation, and production environments, has seen remarkable growth and development in recent years,” Scott Goodby, Audio Source National Sales Manager stated. “HH has a rich heritage and has been developing and manufacturing groundbreaking product in the UK since 1968. We are proud to partner with such an innovative company and their fantastic team.” “I am extremely happy that…
30 years on from the release of Definitely Maybe Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher reprised the album’s effect on live audiences with a sold-out solo UK tour and Skan PA Hire providing sound reinforcement and an audio crew to help deliver the occasion. For Production Manager Davey Murphy, he declared the tour as one of the most important he’s ever been involved with.: “It’s nice being able to take charge of one of the UK’s biggest artists of the last 30 years. The sound had to be incredible for a show of this stature,” he began. “We’ve taken advantage of Skan…
The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) celebrated its 40th anniversary on September 11, 2024, at the UBS Arena in New York. For the VMAs 40th anniversary milestone, Matt Steinbrenner returned as the stage designer to help create a fusion of nostalgia, modernity and spectacle. The design for the 2024 VMAs harnesses the full potential of the UBS Arena. The visual centrepiece of the design is a towering 60-foot-tall Moon Person, emerging from a massive video wall and reaching 55 feet into the room as if stepping out of the digital world and into the physical. This year’s layout breaks…
Elation has announced that Sound Technology has been appointed as the exclusive distributor for Elation and Obsidian products in the UK and Ireland. Marc Librecht, Sales & Marketing Director for Elation and Obsidian in Europe, emphasized the partnership’s importance in driving growth in this key market. “We are excited to have found a dedicated partner who can help us expand the Elation and Obsidian brands in this extremely important and influential market,” he stated. “Sound Technology’s local expertise, network,and understanding of the market are important drivers of success that we are confident will allow us to strengthen our presence in…
Lightware Visual Engineering has announced the opening of its new Experience and Training Centres in Madrid, Singapore, and Warsaw. The Iberia Experience Center officially opened on 12 September 2024, serving as a hub for AV professionals across Spain, Portugal and the Iberian market. This facility will offer hands-on training and interactive demonstrations. It is tailored to address the unique needs of the Spanish-speaking AV community, providing specialised local language support. “Our Iberia Experience Center is a space where the Spanish AV community can come together to collaborate, learn, and push boundaries,” Donald De Witte, Regional Director of Lightware Iberia, emphasised…
A new charity has been launched, Independent Venue Community (IVC), that will showcase the potential of live music venues as cultural and creative hubs, while building and fostering a national programme of daytime activities connecting local communities. Established by Sybil Bell, Founder and CEO of Independent Venue Week, IVC sets out its stall with a brand new pilot project in the East of England, allowing young people the opportunity to experience behind-the-scenes at a gig. Delivered in partnership with Arts Council England and local Music Education Hubs, these Soundcheck Sessions will run before venue doors are open to the public,…
Lighting Designer, Rob Koenig and his team have created a metal design for the North American leg of Metallica’s M72 World Tour. An innovative production design by Dan Braun has supported an equally original lighting design by Koenig that features 144 CHAUVET Professional Color STRIKE M motorised strobe washes supplied by Premier Global Production. The design’s 360-degree stage brings the band closer to the crowd and affords clear views from anywhere in the big stadium. Those views are also bold, as Koenig pours bright light on the stage, impressively without having any truss-mounted fixtures, except for a small number around…
Pixotope Technologies AS has announced a landmark partnership with the Happy Elephant consortium as its exclusive distributor for Greater China and selected countries in Southeast Asia region. The Happy Elephant consortium, uniting the talents of Happy Elephant, Totem Vision, and Socam, brings a wealth of expertise and established market presence to this partnership. Its collective prowess in digital display technology, studio design, and audiovisual integration matches with Pixotope’s virtual production software. “Our partnership with the Happy Elephant consortium opens up unprecedented opportunities for Pixotope. By combining forces with Happy Elephant, Totem Vision, and Socam, we’re not merely expanding our reach…
Avolites chose this year’s PLASA show to debut its new Diamond 7 (D7) console in the UK. The two variants, the D7-330 and D7-215 were accompanied by another debut with Prism One, the latest version of Avolites’ Prism media software designed principally for lighting designers. Key new features include an added preview window, crossfade on a layer, hardware decode acceleration for H.264/H.265, control over multiple banks and layers, live input and NDI input, as well as virtual return and region of interest on outputs. Other Avolites hardware highlighted on the stand included our flagship lighting control console, the Diamond 9,…
Brompton Technology joined INFiLED’s 15th-anniversary celebration on 9 September 2024 at the InterContinental Dameisha Resort in Shenzhen, China. The anniversary featured a variety of activities, including speeches from INFiLED’s CEO and Vice President, along with testimonials from key business partners such as Brompton Technology, LANG AG, and RM Multimedia, highlighting its collaboration with INFiLED. The event also included an awards ceremony to honour esteemed suppliers, a showcase of notable projects from the past five years, and engaging performances prepared by INFiLED employees. Elijah Ebo, Brompton’s Director of APAC Operations, expressed: “For years, INFiLED has been more than just a partner;…
Brompton Technology has announced the appointment of Laurent Theurin as Technical Sales Manager for France. Starting his career in the late 90s, Theurin held various positions, ranging from technical support to software workflow creation and UX design, as well as project management and customer training. His past experience includes working with prestigious companies such as INSEAD, UTRAM, and Barco. “Image quality, reliability, and innovation are what I love about my job,” said Theurin. “For these reasons, I’m thrilled to join the motivated and professional team at Brompton Technology. I know their LED processors reach all my expectations, and I’m proud…
Avid has appointed Alex Hofstrand as Product Manager for Live Sound. Hofstrand brings to the role a decade of experience with Avid’s live sound product line, having started in quality assurance for the launch of Avid VENUE | S6L. He then moved into a product design role for VENUE in 2022, managing new features and hardware updates. “I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity to keep making VENUE the best system an engineer can ask for,” said Hofstrand. “I’ve spent years on VENUE systems because they just make sense. The Avid Live Sound team is a passionate group of people,…
Panasonic Connect Europe has announced its new AK-UCX100 Studio Camera and AK-CFA100 Camera Fibre Adaptor. The UCX100 allows users to choose their operating style to meet their budget and production challenges. It can operate with a single camera head or in combination with the Camera Fibre Adaptor (CFA), or a Camera Control Unit (CCU). The UCX100 and CFA100 will be available from December 2024. The UCX100 supports 3G and 12G SDI outputs from the camera head and direct connection of the Remote Operation Panel, with sync and tally, so it can be operated as a standalone. The camera head can…
