Festicket and AEG Presents have come together in a partnership which sees Festicket named as an official ticket and exclusive travel package partner for the 2020 edition of All Points East, headlined by Tame Impala at Victoria Park. The deal also names Festicket as an official ticket and travel package partner for American Express presents BST Hyde Park, currently headlined by world famous girl group Little Mix. AEG Presents are one of the world’s leading companies in live entertainment, promoting sell-out UK tours for the likes of Justin Bieber, Bon Jovi and Shawn Mendes. 2020 will see American Express presents…
Author: James Robertson
Based in Mumbai, India, Chakor Sound is committed to providing the best equipment and service for the demanding needs of a diverse range of events. The company’s recent investment in a Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 digital mixing system has highlighted its determination to keep delivering the ultimate in production values. Established over four decades ago, Chakor Sound has grown to become one of India’s leading providers of live sound and other audio solutions, as well as servicing international tours. Maintaining an inventory of industry-leading audio systems, its relationship with Yamaha dates back to its investment in analogue mixers, later upgrading to…
Pantomime season in the UK and Ireland brought another crop of side-splitting hilarity and slapstick to stages up and down the countries, with gags, double entendres and innuendo flying faster than foam pies from a Super Soaker Zipfire, delivered by a range of crazy eccentric gender-defying characters following – sometimes vaguely – classic folk tale narratives. One of the most exciting and high-profile presentations for this season was UK Productions’ Peter Pan at Blackpool Grand Theatre, directed by Anthony Williams and lit by Andy Webb. Andy this year specified all-Robe LED fixtures with the T1 Profile at the core of…
ISE 2020 sees LED processor manufacturer, Brompton Technology, give the first European showing of its Dynamic Calibration technology and launch its latest LED processor, the Tessera S8, on its largest ever trade show stand. The significant size increase of this newly designed stand, which measures 90m2, will allow Brompton to give regular presentations of Dynamic Calibration, the Brompton HDR solution, and the new Tessera S8, alongside its ever-popular demonstration stations. First shown at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Dynamic Calibration takes a unique and revolutionary approach to maintaining uniformity, while unlocking the full potential of the LEDs to achieve previously…
When Singapore-based lighting design company, Roadie, purchased a substantial number of Ayrton lighting fixtures from exclusive local distributor, Total Solutions Marketing, it was an opportunity to find out what persuaded them to choose their 24 MiniPanel-FX and 18 Diablo-TC fixtures. Roadie’s professional team of individuals provides lighting design for productions, shows and events locally in Singapore and internationally. They were pleased to explain that the fixtures had been purchased primarily to support their lighting designs and that they chose Ayrton for good reason: “As lighting designers who are constantly on the ground, we look out for multiple factors in our…
The team behind the ground-breaking ‘Blackout’ installation have announced the release of the results of the “UK Backstage Entertainment Industry’s Evaluation on Mental Health Awareness”. This pioneering study was launched alongside the acclaimed 6-minute immersive experience at PLASA Olympia in September. The Academic analysis was conducted by Dr Paul Hanna, Research Director in Clinical Psychology at the University of Surrey, who has been working with the core creative team since they launced the installation in May at The Guildford School of Acting. Mig Burgess, who headed up the Blackout project said: “I am thrilled that as many as 1300 of…
Famed for his raucous live performances, distinctive dress sense and comedically caustic characteristics in the eyes of the British music press, Liam Gallagher remains one of the most recognisable figures in modern music. His latest album, Why Me? Why Not., became the fastest-selling vinyl of 2019, and while he’s never pandered to critical acclaim – see his infamous 2010 BRIT Awards trophy scoop – nowadays, broadcast bravado has taken a backseat for sold-out arena tours. As LG and his production team rolled into Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, TPi battled through 11,000 ‘mad for it’ Liverpudlians and torrents of flying beers…
For Tool fans across the globe, 2019 has certainly been an exciting year. Not only can all the jokes and memes about ‘waiting on the new record’ now be put to bed, but the LA four-piece are very much back as a certified touring act. Since the release of 10,000 Days back in 2006, the band have rarely toured save a few weeklong stints here and there each year. Following the release of Fear Inoculum, band and crew have once again joined forces for one of Tool’s most ambitious touring productions to date. With many familiar faces, each department used…
It was certainly a stellar 2019 for Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Proving that The Chemical Brothers’ decades of influence have never slowed down, with the output of live performances, interest for the group was at an all-time high. From a much-raved-about headline slot on The Other Stage at Glastonbury to an intense arena run, the band’s loyal crew continued to elevate the boundaries of live production to new heights. Undoubtedly ready for a Christmas break, the band and crew opted to go all out for their final show of 2019 at London’s O2 Arena, stretching their already expansive square…
Nine miles separates Alexandra Palace from AJ Tracey’s home turf of Ladbroke Grove – a short tube journey, yet a huge career milestone for the fiercely independent artist. Embarking on two consecutive sold-out shows in November – which had guest appearances from the likes of Dave, Skepta, MoStack and Stormzy – the AJ Tracey production team saw ecstatic fans surround an ambitious in-the-round show, featuring a TAWBOX design as dazzling as the artist’s charisma. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpi_jan2020/24 Photos: Scott Garfitt – www.scottgarfitt.co.uk www.ajtracey.co.uk www.video-design.co.uk www.tawbox.com www.suluko.com www.negearth.com
Organised by Q-dance and heralded as the leading hardstyle and hard dance event in the Netherlands, for almost two decades, Qlimax has transformed the GelreDome, Arnhem, into an annual haven for nearly 30,000 ravers. TPi sat down with Backbone International Technical Producer, Jari van Leerdam and Q-dance Production Manager, Jeroen Beverwijk, to reflect on the mammoth undertaking. https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpi_jan2020/20 Photos: Backbone International & Q-dance www.backbone-international.com www.q-dance.com
Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy Stadium scored a first in its history when it sold out a concert of Polish artists to an enthusiastic audience nearly of 60,000 fans. Co-headliners hip-hop artist Taco Hemingway and pop artist Dawid Podsiadlo are recognized as a new wave of talented Polish performers so Pawel “Spider” Pajak gave them the star treatment with a complement of Claypaky fixtures lighting their acts. “This was very a special gig for the music industry in Poland; I would say it was a kind of game changer for Polish artists and the music market here,” said Pajak, who is founder…
Seth Jackson was called on by Premier Productions to design lighting for a special concert series that saw three of the most prolific bands in Christian music tour the US to packed houses. The special USA arena tour featured multi-platinum-selling artists Casting Crowns, Hillsong Worship, and Elevation Worship, three top acts that brought together their devoted fan bases all under the same roof for a night of music, worship and praise. Jackson designed an adaptable rig using 51 Elation Proteus Rayzor 760 and 20 Smarty Hybrid LED moving heads, along with 12 Elation Protron Eclypse multi-effect lights, and then turned…
For the past seven years, an impressive selection of high-profile bands and artists has taken to the Great Hall stage at Central Hall Westminster for BBC One’s Live New Year’s Eve Concert. This year, multi-award winning singer Craig David entertained the nation as we counted down to and entered the New Year. As the in-house technical production partner at Central Hall, White Light (WL) provided all lighting and rigging for this very special live show, produced by BBC Studios for BBC One. Performing with his legendary band, the Craig David Rocks Big Ben Live celebrations kicked-off with a string of Craig’s…
As all kinds of news, rumours, and predictions continue to swirl around Winter NAMM, Allen & Heath is diving into 2020 with a showing of its growing product line-up in booth #18219 that includes SQ, dLive, and the new Avantis. The company’s extensive array of I/O hardware will also be featured, including dedicated solutions for Dante integration. A number of AES Academy live sound classes will be offered by the manufacturer at this year’s show as well, with veteran FOH and monitor engineer Michael Bangs (Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, et al.) hosting hands-on Masterclass training offering insight into mixing…
Defy the expected order of things, and you treat the imagination to a liberating experience. This principle lies at the heart of the creative spirit in art, literature, and music. It also fueled the evocative power of Theis Wermuth’s design for Alphabeat when the Danish pop stars did two arena shows in November. Departing from the standard practice of positioning truss above the artists on stage, Wermuth, of Create This, relied on trussing to envelop his client in a tulip blub style configuration of light created with 78 CHAUVET Professional Rogue R1 Wash fixtures. He arranged his trussing on four…
The biggest New Year’s Eve party in Finland took place in the country’s capital, Helsinki. It featured an outdoor concert showcasing some of the nation’s top performers during the build-up to a firework spectacular at midnight. For the 2019 celebration, 70 ADJ fixtures formed a significant part of the concert lightshow that was not only witnessed in person by a large crowd but also by a million viewers on state television channel, YLE. Taking place in Helsinki’s Senate Square, and attracting a large crowd despite the harsh winter weather, the concert featured a largely female-driven line-up. The headline performer was…
Lighting and video specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting equipment, LED screen, rigging and crew to the most recent UK leg of Respect: The Aretha Franklin Songbook tour which has just finished. The vibrant and animated 2-hour live concert was created by Adrian Grant (producer of West End blockbuster Thriller Live) and directed / choreographed by Tiffany King, celebrates the huge success and amazing songs of Aretha Franklin – the Queen of Soul! It was delivered by three leading vocalists – Stacy Francis, Tanya Edwards and Cleo Stewart – together with a live band, a sensational gospel choir and ‘preacher…
