New York design firm Yellow Studio, returned as the set designers for the 65th GRAMMY Awards, which took place on 5 February at Los Angeles’s Crytpo.com Arena. Recognising the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers and all music professionals, the GRAMMYs are music’s only peer-recognised accolade and highest achievement. Winners from the ceremony include Harry Styles who won Album of the Year and Beyonce who won a record-breaking 32nd Grammy Award. The 65th GRAMMY Awards marks Yellow Studio’s second time working with the Recording Academy, having previously designed the 2022 GRAMMYs set in Las Vegas. In their approach to designing…
Author: James Robertson
Once again, the company responsible for creating the light show at Seattle’s New Year’s Eve event at the Space Needle, Illuminate Production Services (IPS), turned to Elation Professional’s leading line of IP-rated products to bring their vision to life. New to this year’s design were Elation Proteus Rayzor Blade linear effects, which joined other Proteus range luminaires and other Elation IP-rated lights on the dazzling show. The New Year’s Eve celebration featured a choreographed 11-minute show with synchronized drone footage (Sky Elements), fireworks (Pyro Spectaculars), and Elation lighting. The show was set to a playlist highlighting significant music and pop…
LEA Professional appoints three new European partners to support increasing customer demand. Benum in Norway, Imago Sonas in Denmark and Audiovision in Sweden will work to assist customers and represent the entire portfolio of LEA Professional products, including its smart, cloud-based amplifiers. “With integrators recognizing the benefits to themselves and their end users of our technology, we have seen a massive uptick in customers, particularly in Europe,” commented Scott Robbins, Vice President of Sales at LEA Professional. “We have partnered with three leading Scandinavian representatives to serve our growing customer base to the best of our ability and provide wider…
As the European festival scene kicked back into action following the upheaval and restrictions of the pandemic, Ayrton teamed up with some established Swiss rental companies to support festivals across the country and showcase some of Ayrton’s latest groundbreaking fixtures. Stagelight AG Showtechnik supplied kit to the largest hip-hop festival in Europe at Frauenfeld, the Gurten Open Air festival in Bern and Schaffhausen’s Stars in Town across July and August. Stagelight AG Showtechnik used the same equipment package from Ayrton for each festival: 16 Zonda 9 FX; 16 Cobra and four Domino LT with every fixture adding its own unique…
Audio engineer and Tour Manager George Adrian was first introduced to Allen & Heath’s dLive platform at a music festival, when he saw a fellow engineer using one. “I was really blown away by the compact form factor,” he recalled. Adrian later began to realise the advantages of owning his own touring desk, and dLive was a top contender. After evaluating his options, he landed on a 20-fader dLive C2500 surface and a CDM64 MixRack, which features 64 dLive mic preamps and 32 line outputs. Although he obtained it just before the COVID pandemic, Adrian has already taken his new…
Now in its 15th year, PLASA Focus Leeds is set to return to the Royal Armouries for another year from 9-10 May 2023. Free to attend, the regional event connects thousands of professionals with many of the biggest names in live entertainment technology. With a sold-out show floor, PLASA Focus Leeds is set to be a powerful platform for networking and discovery. 150+ brands representing pro audio, AV, lighting, rigging and staging will span two halls, offering visitors to opportunity to see new products up close while speaking face to face with potential new suppliers. Headline sponsor Ambersphere will showcase…
Neapolitan rapper and record producer Luchè, former member of the hip hop group Co’Sang, landed in arenas across Italy with his latest platinum-selling album DVLA – Dove Volano Le Aquile. The sell-out tour has crossed Italy from Naples to Milan via Rome and Rimini and will reach London in March 2023 for a special one-off date. During the tour the singer was joined by other stars of the Italian music scene such as Shiva, Elisa, Marracash, Sfera Ebbasta, Paky and Guè. Lighting designer Giorgio ‘Josh’ Geromin chose 42 Ayrton Domino Profile S fixtures as the main light source and key…
In a significant addition to the company’s global sales team, Riedel Communications has appointed Guillaume Mauffrey to serve as sales director APAC. In this new position, which Mauffrey assumed on 1 Jan, he is responsible for Riedel’s business growth across the entire Asia-Pacific region. “Guillaume brings a great deal of Asia experience to Riedel’s business case, and a wealth of industry knowledge as well,” said Jens Miedek, Executive Director of Global Sales at Riedel. “As a former COO of Ideal Systems, one of the biggest system integration companies in Asia and a key Riedel partner in Taiwan and Hong Kong,…
Philadelphia’s HiJinx Festival transformed the Pennsylvania Convention Center into a massive two-night EDM New Year’s Eve party, bringing a stellar lineup of bass heavy DJs who played out amid mind-bending lighting that was designed to uplift and thrill. Creative production company Raw Cereal, known for pushing the boundaries of light-art shows, created a huge range of powerful effects using Vari-Lite VL3600 fixtures from Signify. Raw Cereal’s Cort Lawrence joined HiJinx as production designer and creative director for the inaugural Philadelphia incarnation of the festival in 2018 and has been raising the bar ever since. Working with Live Nation Philadelphia, which…
The MOBO Awards, which recognise and celebrate black music and culture, returned for its 25th year in October last year. With Craig David, Little Simz, Central Cee and Knucks among the artists recognised, the annual ceremony took place at the OVO Arena Wembley, where a star-studded line-up of artists including Nile Rodgers, Kojey Radical, Tion Wayne, Fireboy DML, Cat Burns, FLO and Eliza Rose all performing on the night. DiGiCo’s SD10, SD12 and S21 digital mixing consoles offering ultimate flexibility, sound quality and reliability to the technically challenging event. Simon Purse, Head of Audio at South West Group Events (SWG…
As part of its initiative to increase its level of service and product availability throughout the world, CHAUVET Professional has appointed Zalight the exclusive distributor of its products in Italy. “The timing of Chauvet and Zalight joining forces to develop the Italian market is spot on, as both companies share a similar vision and culture,” said Stéphane Gressier, International Sales Director of Chauvet. “We are thrilled to start this new adventure with Graziano Zanini and Luca Di Donato’s team at Zalight. Antonio Parise, our Business Development Manager EMEA, and Goran Doncic, our Senior European Business Development Manager EMEA, and the…
Music Venue Trust (MVT), which represents almost 1000 UK grassroots music venues (GMVs) has launched its 2022 Annual Report, which highlights the important contribution that its members make to the UK economy while delivering sobering news about the challenges facing many in the sector. A survey of the 960 members of the Music Venue Alliance (MVA), who employ over 30,000 people throughout the sector, found that they staged 177,000 events in 2022, with 565,000 individual performances attracting audience visits of almost 22 million. This, however, is a decline of 16.7% from 2019 as venues were forced to make significant cutbacks…
Peavey Commercial Audio introduces the MediaMatrix sPower Series multi-channel smart power amplifiers designed for applications that require a large quantity of constant voltage output channels. The sPower Series offers seven different models of smart power amplifiers that support either 4- and 8-channel outputs at 75, 150, or 300W per channel plus a hi-power 600W/Ch x 4 option. Intelligently designed and highly efficient, sPower Series smart power amplifiers are ready to meet the most demanding of venues and environments, where power and reliability can’t be compromised. The thoughtful design of the MediaMatrix sPower Series smart power amplifiers begin with optionally selectable…
Cincy Entertainment Services (CES) has risen to be one of the larger live event production companies in the Cincinnati metropolitan area since its founding more than twenty years ago. Initially working in the DJ space before expanding to academic events, corporate conventions, and live concerts, the company has carved out a unique area of expertise as one of the leading live production companies designing competitive cheerleading and dance events. Committed to a philosophy of constantly expanding the company’s capabilities and exploring the latest in live event technology, the company recently upgraded its sound reinforcement capabilities with a set of powerful…
Loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion-One has introduced a new generation of Compact Range speakers at ISE 2023 in Barcelona. Enhancements in high frequency driver technology and new porting techniques have led to a collection of outstanding compact loudspeakers that carry Funktion-One’s unmistakable sonic signature. This collection includes the F5.2, F81.2, F101.2 and F1201.2 mid/high speakers, plus the self-powered SB8A and SB10A compact bass speakers. In addition to the advancements in audio performance, the new Compact Range features both Phoenix and NL4 connectors as standard. All existing installation accessories, except for the F1201.2 wall bracket, are compatible with the new versions. The redevelopment…
RF Venue, a leading global manufacturer of antenna and RF communications wireless audio essentials, has announced its selection as the exclusive North American distributor for the Li.LAC Microphone Disinfection System. The Li.LAC Microphone Disinfector offers a simple, quick and effective way of disinfecting microphones and microphone accessories using controlled exposure to ultraviolet light (UV-C). The announcement was made by Chris Regan, RF Venue President, and underscores the ongoing expansion of the company and its growing range of wireless audio essentials. Designed by live event touring pro Tobi Hoff (Deep Purple, Rea Garvey) and his company LAC Labs, the Li.LAC Microphone…
The ADJ Group has restructured its USA Sales Team to provide a solid foundation for further growth in 2023. Firmly established as a mid-level entertainment lighting brand, ADJ’s product range offers an attractive combination of functionality, reliability, and value which is proving increasingly popular in both the rental/production and installation/integration sectors. To better serve customers in both these markets, as well as the traditional retail supply chain, four well-established ADJ team members are being redeployed into new strategic roles. Having been with the company for 28 years, most recently in the role of USA National Sales Manager, Alfred Gonzales has…
AV Stumpfl and LANG IBERIA announced a new projection screen distribution partnership for the Spanish and Portuguese market during this year’s ISE exhibition in Barcelona. “The outstanding quality of the AV Stumpfl screens product portfolio speaks for itself, but it was their commitment to technological innovation that sealed the deal. Many of the products we offer can benefit from being used in conjunction with AV Stumpfl projection screens, so this new partnership is a classic win-win situation,” commented LANG IBERIA CEO, Tom Voncina. LANG IBERIA is a German–Spanish dealer for visual presentation technology and related peripherals. The company provides the…
