After its enforced break last year, the traditional black-tie Henley Festival returned this summer with sound system providers, RG Jones Sound Engineering’s association with the event now approaching 40 years. However, the site on the banks of the Thames is not without its challenges when it comes to creating optimum audio. This is highlighted by its main Floating Stage, situated on the river itself. The auditorium here is only around 40m from front to back, but over 100m wide. Obtaining even coverage without hotspots for audiences, both inside and outside the main sound field, is a challenge that has been…
Author: James Robertson
Touring during COVID has created new challenges for live productions worldwide, with restrictions and uncertainties requiring a more flexible, lightweight, FOH and monitor mixing footprint without compromise in performance. Stepping up to this challenge has been crucial to the success of platinum-certified singer/songwriter Asaf Avidan’s extensive Anagnorisis tour, now trekking across North America and Europe with shows scheduled through mid-2022. For this tour, FOH engineer Gil Teleman and monitor engineer Arik Finkelberg have chosen the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer as their mixing solution. “The Waves LV1 system is the future. The clean sound of the preamps especially blew our…
The Next Step Forward Is onAIR is an immersive Global Digital Premiere site presenting virtual demos of the new IP65 and broadcast technologies from CHAUVET Professional. Showcasing products that are uniquely suited to shatter design barriers come rain, dust, heat, or snow, The Next Step Forward IS onAIR can be accessed here. The interactive platform offers in-depth looks at the latest lighting solutions debuting in person at LDI, Las Vegas in November. Leading the way will be the groundbreaking series of soft light onAir IP Panels. Available in three models, all of which feature a 90+ CRI and equally impressive…
Britannia Row Productions, marked its return to outdoor live music in the UK by providing a control package for Anne-Marie’s Saturday set at the 2021 Pirelli British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone in July. The package for the famous Formula 1 fixture was made up primarily of DiGiCo consoles, DPA microphones, Shure and Sennheiser IEMs and Klang processing. During the show, Anne-Marie – a judge on the Voice UK who is known for hits such as 2002, Don’t Play and Friends – was looked after by Niccolò Antonietti at FOH, while Scott Maxwell took the reins on monitors. “This is…
TAIT has acquired ITEC Entertainment (ITEC). The acquisition brings together two organisations with complementary expertise in mounting live events and experiences. ITEC will join the TAIT group comprised of a roster of unparalleled innovators who set the standard for the industry, creating the most comprehensive end-to-end developer of entertainment projects and solutions. Operating since 1978, TAIT is a premier, global leader in the live entertainment industry. TAIT’s diverse group of markets include theme parks, theaters, cruise ships, concerts, and corporate events with marquee clients ranging from Princess Cruises, Fortnite World Cup, and U2 to Disney, Universal, and the Olympics. At…
Prolights has introduced the Astra Wash7PixIP, a new IP-rated moving-wash with the same features and characteristics as the newly released Astra Wash7Pix. The Astra Wash7PixIP contains 7 x RGBW 40-Watt LED emitters, outputting upwards of 4,000 lumens,with a default 8,000K cool-white beam or 6,000K in studio mode. The fixture includes the same proprietary front lens and glass lighting rods as the indoor version and protected with a coating technology that helps increase the brightness, protecting lenses from surface scratches and adding anti-static properties to avoid dust deposits. The Astra Wash7PixIP has a rugged and completely sealed chassis made of aluminium…
After being idle because of the pandemic, Swedish metal stars Avatar were eager to return to touring with a bold, new look. The band’s long-time lighting designer Jimmy Olausson obliged by introducing an element of constructive chaos that reflected their fearlessly bold sound. Aiding him in this undertaking on their North American tour was a rig that featured a collection of CHAUVET Professional ÉPIX Strip, Rogue and COLORado fixtures owned by the band. In a bid to challenge traditional audience expectations, Olausson and the band designed the show to be expansive, unleashing more and more lights and video content as…
The Jonas Brothers’ monitor engineer Jon Kooren knew DPA Microphones would be the perfect solution for the group’s The Remember This Tour. Originally delayed due to the pandemic, the tour launched in Las Vegas in August and wrapped around the country, with a final show at the Hollywood Bowl on October 27. Deployed primarily for percussion and vocals, the large collection of DPA mics on the tour included the 4011 Cardioid, 4099 CORE Instrument and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid microphones for drums and percussion, as well as the d:facto 4018V Vocal microphone for backup and the d:facto 4018VL Vocal microphone…
The Montréal International Jazz Festival returned this year for five days of shows featuring 30 artists at two outdoor stages in the Canadian city’s downtown district. Along with strict vaccination requirements, the unprecedented all-outdoor format promoted health and safety for artists and audiences alike. The outdoor staging in evening hours required careful planning and configuration of the Solotech-provided Meyer Sound reinforcement systems to assure audience excitement while limiting any impact on nearby hotels and residences. Festival headliners for 2021, most appearing at the larger Place des Festivals stage, included Charlotte Day Wilson, Patrick Watson, Plants and Animals, and Shay Lia.…
To provide the Gladstone Regional Council’s outdoor music festival with a memorable entertainment experience for audiences, Stage and Audio Event Solutions collaborated with CMI Music and Audio to implement cutting-edge and impactful JBL Professional audio solutions. Established in 2008, the Gladstone Regional Council in Queensland consists of the Gladstone Entertainment Convention Center, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum, Gladstone Regional Parks and Recreation Center and Tondoon Botanic Garden. To celebrate the return of live entertainment following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gladstone Regional Council staged two nights of live music headlined by Queensland musical sensation Sheppard on November 20 and 21.…
Audio-Technica has announced the release of its new 3000 Digital Series wireless system, which joins the original UHF-based 3000 Series in the company’s wireless offering. The new system features 24-bit/48kHz processing, a wide dynamic range of 120dB and 60MHz tuning range to ensure both exceptional audio performance and flexibility, with analogue-balanced audio outputs achieving a latency of just 2.5msec. With audio networking a key requirement for many users, the 3000 Digital Series receiver is Dante-enabled and ready to slot into any Dante network. Up to five ATW-DR3120DAN dual-channel receivers can be connected to allow a single pair of antennas to…
The live event industry has traditionally been reliant on a pool of skilled freelance professionals to execute ambitious stage shows and lengthy tours. For this reason, the industry was one of the hardest hit by the COVID pandemic, which rendered live touring and any kind of shows virtually impossible. To raise money and awareness for affected people within the industry in the UK, CHAUVET Professional’s Sam Bowden decided to embark upon a 101 mile “Light Walk” with Tom Lightbody from the ALPD to raise money for both Backup’s COVID-19 Hardship Fund and the Lumière Design & Production Schemes for 2022.…
The 2021 MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) was back in-person, in style and with a live audience at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City and making it extra special this year the event celebrated its 40th anniversary so the pressure was on for Lighting Designer Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design to smash it in terms of visual flair for the occasion. He accomplished this working closely with a talented team – including creative director Paul Caslin, camera director Joe Demaio and set designer Julio Himede of Yellow Studio – and with the help of over 300 Robe moving…
Russian sound engineer, Aleksey ‘Midas’ Korolev, has recently moved to an immersive audio environment, expanding his work with d&b’s Soundscape system by adding KLANG’s immersive in ear system to his workflow. The move to KLANG also prompted him to switch from his long-term choice of console to DiGiCo, taking advantage of the SD-Range’s native integration with the KLANG system. Midas first came across KLANG at few years ago at the ProLight + Sound trade show. “I was heading somewhere else when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a booth with something to do with IEMs. Or maybe…
Rogue City Productions has announced its new Business Development Manager, Graham MacIntyre. MacIntyre has consulted on and managed projects across the UK including Edinburgh Hogmanay, Mela Festival and Social Bite’s Sleep in the Park, as well as developing growth with some of the largest live production suppliers in the world. Graham is known for his ability to build strong relationships and drive strategic growth. Director of Rogue City Productions, Shane Grieve states: “We are very excited Graham has joined our growing team. He brings with him vast knowledge and experience of the live event industry across the country. I’m confident…
Ultimate Ears Pro is giving back to the music community by supporting non-profit organisations through UE CARES. UE CARES is actively working to build a community through music and live entertainment with music education, diversity and inclusion at the forefront of its mission. Ultimate Ears is proud to work with some truly incredible organizations that share the same values and are making waves in the music industry. The organizations use UE’s resources to support music professionals and other key initiatives, including Live out L!ve, which is dedicated to empowering the next generation of diverse leaders in the live music industry.…
Held annually in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Atlas Weekend is the largest music and arts festival in Eastern Europe, attracting crowds of over 500,000 to the grounds of the Ukrainian Expocenter. With the 2021 event held across 7 days, Ukrainian comedian and pop singer, Andriy Danylko – better known as his drag alter-ego Verka Serduchka who shot to fame in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest – headlined the Thursday night, with rental company Ginza supplying dLive systems for both FOH and MON. FOH engineer Andrew Zistan opted for a 36-fader dLive S7000 control surface, coupled with a DM64 MixRack, plus…
With today’s entertainment consumer hungry for rich, immersive experiences, immersive audio continues to become a viable and sought-after element in various production workflows. However, the prevalence of so many platforms and proprietary communication languages has been a stumbling block to widespread adoption of spatial audio, and a challenge to interoperability amongst production tools. Indeed, to quote an old tech industry joke, the nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them. Now FLUX::Immersive, L-Acoustics, Radio France, and other major industry manufacturers have joined in an initiative to standardise Open Sound Control as a streaming protocol for interoperability…
