Diamond Rio embarked on a 15-city tour with a lighting design by Willis Underhill that featured a broad selection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures. Running his show on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M+, Underhill of Graffiti Lighting Concepts calls forth a continuously changing stream of colours to reflect the mood of each song. “I like to rely on bold colour combinations to help evoke emotion and help create moments between the band and the crowd,” he explained. “I use a lot of reds, whites, yellows, and deep orange for high-energy moments on this tour. For more intimate moments, I lean towards pastels…
Author: Alicia Pollitt
Ayrton has announced the launch of MagicDot Neo, the ultimate evolution of its MagicDot family of fixtures and the latest addition to its IP65 Creative Series. Extremely compact, lightweight, ultrafast and powerful, MagicDot Neo is a crafted cylindrical luminaire with a unique design, featuring a 100mm lens seamlessly set within a perfect sphere. The performance of MagicDot Neo is largely based on its extreme miniaturisation and minimalist cylindrical shape. Measuring only 35cm with continuous double rotation on the pan and tilt axes. Fixtures can be clustered with minimal spacing between units to open up configurations that were previously impossible. Individual…
Staging and crewing company T3W were the stage suppliers of choice for a triad of major events which took place over the summer at London’s Trafalgar Square. Chosen for their expertise, T3W provided staging solutions for McLaren Racing Live: London, run by Velocity Experience, and Pride in London and Canada Day, run by LS Events. Their structures supported a week of high-profile performances and public showcases in one the capital’s most iconic locations. Run by brothers, Mark, Paul and Andrew Gibson, T3W prides itself on offering a personal, professional service and brings over 20 years of industry experience to every…
Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the international, award-winning, smash-hit musical The Bodyguard returns with a UK tour running from 2025 to 2026. Directed by Thea Sharrock, the production seamlessly transitions between concert-style spectacle and intimate, suspenseful storytelling. It features a lighting design by Mark Henderson, working in close collaboration with associate lighting designer Dale Driscoll and lighting programmer Stuart ‘Stacy’ Cross. The team approached White Light (WL) to supply the touring rig, continuing a long-standing partnership; WL previously supported the original West End production and subsequent tours. Now in its fourth…
Encore has announced the release of its 2025 Responsible Business Report, Illuminating a Brighter Future. This inaugural report reflects Encore’s commitment to doing the right thing for its customers, team members, and the communities it serves across the globe. “Encore’s purpose is to connect and inspire people through the transformative power of events,” said Ben Erwin, President & CEO of Encore. “This report is a reflection of our core value to ‘do the right thing’ by leading with integrity, responsibility, care, and the motivation to deliver positive impacts for a better future. Our global team is proud of the progress…
Lighting designers Bala Subramanya, aka Vinod, and Guru Somayaji of design studio 369 Design Lab specified a grandMA3 system for lighting control on the recent “MILLIONAIRE INDIA TOUR” by popular Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, which played 10 major cities to the delight of his fans. One of the biggest – and larger than life – influencers and personalities on the Indian music scene, Yo Yo Honey Singh is known for his energy and great connection to the audience, and the tour has won widespread acclaim. Vinod has been working with grandMA control from 2014 and Guru from 2018…
APG’s new UNILINE MAX line array series was at the heart of a busy summer season of sublime sound in Europe. The Place aux Artistes Festival in Albi, southern France, stands out as a showcase of UNILINE MAX versatile capabilities. Set in the UNESCO-listed episcopal city, the 17ᵉ edition of the festival (15 July to 16 August 2025) welcomed over 60,000 spectators to 40+ concerts spread across the town’s most iconic historic and cultural sites. Behind the audio design stood DHT Audio, the rental and staging company directed by Damien Granier, who chose a 100 % APG setup for the…
“It’s great working with Steven, he’s very hands on with everything,” began Steven Wilson’s Tour Manager, Dave Salt, who has chosen Britannia Row Productions to provide sound reinforcement for the prog rock musician’s The Overview Tour. “Touring only happens when Steven feels its right to do it,” continued Salt. “It’s never rushed. Steven had not toured as a solo artist for over six years, and we had to up the game for this tour and make sure we had the best available people and PA system to deliver the results to his audience.” Salt’s primary focus, to look after Steven…
Although DiGiCo has only just revealed the true identity and specifications of its Quantum112 – previously codenamed “Pufferfish” – the new ultra-compact flypack mixer is already being put through its paces by Ed Sheeran’s FOH engineer, Simon Kemp, and production manager, Chris Marsh. The tiny desk had its first official deployment on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concerts video series, recorded live on Friday, September 12 at NPR Music’s office in Washington, DC. The very next day, the still-secret digital mixer was whisked off in its Peli case to Williamsburg’s Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York for an exclusive TikTok LIVE…
Loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion-One has appointed Audio Gears as its distributor for Japan and Taiwan, building on the company’s successful presence in Thailand and Vietnam. Audio Gears Japan will be headed by CEO Osamu Satoh and Audio Gears Taiwan by CEO Joyun Huang. With offices in their respective countries, both executives and their teams bring deep industry knowledge, local market expertise and a shared commitment to delivering exceptional audio experiences. Parent company Audio Gears is led by founder Jesada “Jack” Pattanatabut (CEO), owner of Production Company and a highly respected live sound engineer, together with Bob Siripremanant (COO), owner of After…
HK Audio has named Rock Distribution as its new official distribution partner for Estonia. The company is now the exclusive distributor for HK Audio in the country, offering the German manufacturer’s products to the local market since 1 August. The move sees HK Audio strengthen its position in the Baltic states. It also allows the manufacturer to see the benefit of Rock Distribution’s years of experience and strong network in the professional audio sector. ” I am very pleased to announce that we have taken over the distribution of HK Audio in Estonia,” said Edijs Rudzis, CEO of Rock Distribution.…
After performing a hundred shows across two Las Vegas residencies from 2021 to 2023, plus 2024’s Super Bowl halftime spectacular, Usher would have been more than justified in taking some downtime. Instead, he opted to record his ninth studio album, Coming Home, and announced a supporting global arena tour, “Past Present Future.” Overwhelming fan demand for the eight-time Grammy Award-winner prompted the tour’s expansion to 83 dates across the world. At all stops, Usher’s critically acclaimed performances, featuring dozens of songs from across his legendary three-decade career, were backed by a robust Cohesion PA. FOH Engineer Demetrius Moore joined the…
As 2025’s UK City of Culture, Bradford is playing host to an extensive programme of events in the arts and entertainment field, and has invested in a number of innovative creative spaces to provide opportunities for people to engage with cultural events. One of the most versatile is The Beacon, a custom-made mobile venue, which is being constructed, dismantled and moved between four different parks across the 141 square-mile district. A packed schedule of events at each site includes weekday shows and weekend festivals, featuring music, comedy, clubs, classes, family activities and more. Experienced Bradford-based specialist Pro Audio Systems (PAS)…
Annual UK EDM festival Creamfields opened its gates once again this summer to more than 80,000 attendees over the course of a weekend. The event held in Daresbury, Warrington hosted 300 artists across 30 stages, including headlining artists Anyma, Martin Garrix and Fisher. At the centre of the festival sat the Apex Stage, an arena enclosed under an enormous festival tent. The superstructure’s capacity of 30,000 has made this the largest indoor festival space in the world. Helping to bring the artists vision to life was Video Village, a local UK-based facilities company. Tasked with recording and live streaming multi-camera coverage to social media as well as providing feeds for…
In the last year alone, we know that the live music industry has seen a sharp rise in awareness around environmental sustainability. Venues and artists are now demanding greener tours, tighter carbon bookkeeping, less waste, and more care in how travel, eating, and stays are planned and even attended. For bands on the road a lot, sustainable travel isn’t just a choice, it’s becoming part of the business of staying relevant, credible, and cost-efficient. High-profile events are already setting the bar with a recent example being Coldplay’s recent Music of the Spheres tour, which reduced its CO₂ emissions by 59%…
On 9 August 2025, the summer edition of Lakedance took place in Best, the Netherlands – a festival that has become a staple in the Dutch event calendar. With around 20,000 to 25,000 visitors, the lakeside venue was filled with sunshine, music, and a meticulously crafted production with products from Showtec and Infinity. Organiser First Vision once again succeeded in creating a unique atmosphere, thanks in no small part to the creative and technical partners who left their mark behind the scenes. The creative concept was led by Lastblast from Eindhoven. They were responsible not only for the festival’s visual…
Rascal Flatts have made a huge impact on the country rock/pop genre since their breakout hit Prayin’ for Daylight won them an army of fans. Members Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar) went on to win over 40 awards and undertook countless tours with audio support from Sound Image. Yet, following a 20-year artistic partnership, the trio planned to disband after a 2020 farewell tour that never was. Its cancelation, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meant the band didn’t get to perform their goodbyes and went their separate ways in 2021. In 2025,…
MILOS MR2K roof structure takes centre stage at this year’s Sausage and Cider Festival with HTS Creative Production. The UK’s only touring Sausage & Cider Festival rolled out the MILOS MR2K roof structure with HTS to 15 locations during the 2025 season. Commencing in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, at the end of May and concluding in St Nicholas Park, Warwick. As one of the UK’s most popular summer events – the Sausage and Cider Festival demands a stage set-up that delivers both spectacle and safety. HTS were commissioned to deliver the stage structures for all locations, working closely with PKUK, who…
