HH Audio, part of the Headstock Group, has promoted Emma Thompson to the position of Marketing Manager with responsibility for developing and executing HH Audio brand campaigns globally. Headstock Group CEO James Laney commented: “Having started at Headstock Group on our marketing apprenticeship programme in 2022, Emma quickly demonstrated an aptitude for adding value to the business, bringing a critical eye to brand aesthetics and a dynamic approach to content creation. Having been promoted to a Marketing Associate role twelve months ago, Emma has been very productive working across multiple campaigns and different brands within the group.” Thompson looks forward…
Author: James Robertson
L-Acoustics L Series successfully deployed across Il Divo’s recent UK and European tour. The multinational classical crossover quartet, known for their powerful vocal performances spanning multiple genres from classical to pop, relied on an L Series professional sound system to maintain exceptional sound quality as their tour progressed from intimate theatres to concert halls and major arenas. Event technology specialists Adlib provided their first full-service audio, lighting, and video solution for Il Divo and built their sound design around an L-Acoustics L Series system. The core configuration featured main hangs of up to three L2 and one L2D enclosures per…
Ben Silas (previously MD of Europe) has been promoted to EFM Global’s Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Silas steps into this role with the vision and determination to elevate the group’s commercial strategy to new heights. His expertise will be instrumental in shaping the group’s direction as it aims to expand its service offerings, strengthen customer relationships, and reach new markets globally. His appointment comes at a time when the firm strives to meet growth objectives while delivering exceptional value. Silas will work closely with teams across all regions to ensure a unified approach to achieving excellence. His leadership will…
The CongressCentrum Pforzheim (CCP) has upgraded its modern event hall by investing in the F45 truss system from Global Truss. This strategic addition allows the CCP to offer greater flexibility in rigging options for events, such as sound systems and lighting equipment. The F45 truss system, based on the F44P truss system, is distinguished by its high load capacity and represents an innovative advancement. Specifically designed for applications requiring centered suspension of LED screens, the F45 system offers numerous benefits: LED panels, line-array systems, or other technical equipment can be directly and securely attached to the central chord at the…
The 30th Pol’and’Rock festival ensured that music fans enjoyed the best guest and musical experiences – whether listening to some of the best Polish and international bands on one of the five stages or engaged in other activities under the banner of “Love, Friendship, Music” – around the Broczyno airfield site in Czaplinek, western Pomerania, home to the event since 2022. Among Poland’s best-known and loved music events, Pol’and’Rock is also one of the largest free and unticketed music events in Europe, regularly attracting upwards of half a million people. Founded by Jerzy Owsiak in 1995, it was inspired by…
Southwest Value Partners, AEG, and L-Acoustics have announced that L-Acoustics is the latest company to open office space at Nashville Yards. Expected to launch in the summer of 2025, it will become the company’s major operations and creative hub for the Americas, joining its global hubs in Paris, Los Angeles, London, and Singapore. “The opening of our Americas headquarters in Nashville, the Music City, marks a significant milestone for L-Acoustics globally and reinforces our commitment to serving our partners throughout North America from a central location,” said Laurent Vaissié, co-CEO of L-Acoustics. “Being part of this dynamic creative hub perfectly…
Claypaky Ultimo Hybrid will be making its world premiere at LDI. The Ultimo Hybrid combines a high IP66 rating and extended lamp life in a compact, lightweight fixture packed with innovative features. Offering impressive brightness, a wide zoom range, and a versatile effects engine, it allows lighting designers to push creative boundaries and craft remarkable visual experiences. Powered by an advanced 550W short-arc lamp, Ultimo Hybrid offers an impressive 19,000-lumen output and a lifespan of up to 4,000 hours, providing reliable performance across countless shows while reducing replacement and energy costs, making it the go-to solution for low maintenance applications.…
The largest folk festival in the world, the 189th edition of the Oktoberfest took place on the Theresienwiese in Munich. Across the event’s sixteen day duration, more than six million guests of all ages visited the site, spreading out across streets, tents and beer gardens to take advantage of a huge variety of entertainment on offer, and slaking their thirst with more than seven million litres of beer. One key venue at the site is the Paulaner Festzelt tent, which has been an integral part of the event since 1895. Germering-based event production specialist Dora Showtechnik handled the audio for…
Audient has released both the iPad Remote App and optional Dante Card for the Immersive Audio Interface and Monitor Controller ORIA. The iPad Remote App is completely free and allows the user to control ORIA remotely, straight from the iPad. Designed to speed up workflow, Audient’s Andrew Allen explains: “The App’s Home Tab is essentially the ultimate command centre for ORIA, granting you quick access to all of ORIA’s key monitoring features on a single screen, without the need to reach for the rack.” By tapping on ORIA’s other control tabs in the side menu of the Home Tab, users…
Over the years, UK-based audio engineer Jamie Tinsley has made the transition from studios to live-system technician to monitor mixing to front of house. They’re different worlds, he concedes, but that doesn’t mean they need to sound differently. After studio work with artists like Florence and the Machine at Antenna Studios in London, he hit the road as a system tech, touring with the likes of Sam Smith, Duran Duran, and Kylie Minogue. He also mixed monitors for Will Young, Two Door Cinema Club, Rag’n’Bone Man, and Rudimental before landing in the FOH seat for the two-time Grammy Award winner…
British indie rock band Glass Animals continued their global Tour of Earth headlining some of the biggest venues of their career, including Madison Square Garden and London’s O2. The band’s unique show is supported by Ayrton lighting fixtures, a zactrack SMART automated follow spot system and grandMA3 consoles, all brands which are exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment. The tour kicked off in Atlanta in August and will wrap up in Australia and Hong Kong at the end of the year. “Glass Animals are incredibly kind and humble people and are very involved with the creative process. Their input…
Willis Underhill, Diamond Rio’s Gallatin, Tennessee based lighting designer, used Capture and CuePoints to program his show. When running the show as he did October 19 2024 at the Columbus Civic Center, he busked over his cues to add depth and spontaneity his looks. It worked to perfection that night as he created a warm inviting party atmosphere inside the big venue with his fast-moving bursts of bright light. The ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M (supplied by CLD) that Underhill takes with him on the road, made it easy to busk portions of his show. “This console allows me to add busking…
Las Vegas-based independent lighting designer Gregg Maltby used an array of Ayrton fixtures and a pair of grandMA3 light consoles for legendary artist Peter Frampton’s The Positively Thankful Tour, which led up to his induction ceremony at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October. Ayrton and MA Lighting products are exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment. OSA International, Inc. in Nashville was the lighting vendor for the tour, a role they played for Frampton’s 2023 North American tour, which Maltby also designed. “I had used Ayrton fixtures before and knew they’d be really bulletproof on the…
Matthieu Larivee and the team at Luz Studio designed Jason Aldean’s 24-city Highway Desperado Tour, which concluded October 5 2024 at Georgia’s Macon Amphitheatre. Appreciating that the lower parts of the stage are where most eyeballs (and most phones) are focused, they strove to make this area as fan and camera friendly as possible by incorporating multi-level fascia risers into their design. “The risers were the start of the design,” said Larivee. “I wanted to focus on the lower part of crowd POV. This is where people are mainly watching, and this is the main background of the pictures on…
Lighting Designer Whitney Hoversten is shaping the visual spectacle of Bruno Mars’ shows using Elation PROTEUS series lighting. From his eight-year residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas to selling out stadiums worldwide, Hoversten has employed the market-leading IP-rated PROTEUS lighting to enhance and complement the global superstar’s dynamic performances. For over a decade, Mars has reigned as one of the music industry’s most successful artists, with a string of hits spanning multiple genres and 15 Grammy Awards. Unsurprisingly, demand for his performances is at an all-time high. 2024 began with seven sold-out shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan,…
YouTube star Noami Jon recently went on her first major headline tour at concert venues across Germany. Jon’s sound engineer is Flo Herkert, who has been working with her since her first ever gig. Herkert is responsible for the front of house mix and also oversees the on-stage monitor mix. A keen advocate of KLANG, Herkert bought Germany’s first KLANG:konduktor immersive in-ear-monitoring system in 2017, followed by a :vokal system and is now using his KLANG:vokal+ system with a DiGiCo SD11i for the Villain of your Dreams Tour. “I’ve always been interested in new technologies and KLANG immediately caught my…
In 2020, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s newly appointed Director, Carlos Acosta, went on a ‘discovery mission’ to learn about the company’s home city. Amazed by the stories, culture, and diversity from within in Birmingham, he commissioned a series of three new productions including a look at the unique sounds and history of metal icons, Black Sabbath. Comprising the work of three composers led by Christopher Austin and three choreographers, led by Pontus Lidberg, the ballet’s story was written by the award-winning Richard Thomas, lit by Lighting Designer KJ, and heard of over three acts through a Britannia Row Productions PA delivery.…
Designed for the creation of piercing aerial effects, ADJ’s new Ultra Beam Bar 12CW is a compact linear entertainment lighting fixture that features 12 cool white LEDs. Each LED generates a narrow beam of bright white light and when all 12 are lit simultaneously the fixture creates a ‘curtain of light’ effect. The LEDs can also be controlled independently, allowing animated chase patterns running across one or more fixtures to be programmed. The Ultra Beam Bar 12CW features 12 by 20-Watt 6200K (cool white) LEDs which each output a distinct beam of light with a concise 5° beam angle. Smooth…
