When musician, DJ and record producer Illenium played the first concert staged at the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Lighting Designer and Programmer, Chuck Williams selected two MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles for lighting control for the innovative three-set, four-hour Trilogy show. Illenium’s pre-COVID-19 bus tour utilised a pair of grandMA3 desks as well. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of MA lighting products in North America. It’s believed that Illenium is the first EDM artist in US history to headline a stadium show, and his performance of Trilogy at the biggest venue in Las Vegas drew some 35,000 fans. Trilogy…
Author: Jacob Waite
Yamaha has announced new additions to its lineup of professional audio speakers, the powered DHR series and passive CHR series, each with three models optimized to meet the demands of a variety of sound reinforcement applications. They can deliver a complete fixed or portable sound reinforcement system for event spaces, clubs, ballrooms, houses of worship and more. Positioned between the flagship DZR / CZR series and the popular, affordable DBR / CBR series, all DHR and CHR units feature carefully selected custom transducers, premium plywood cabinets and a tough polyurea coating, delivering a combination of high quality sound, durability and…
Forced from the road in early 2020 due to the pandemic, Brit Floyd’s world tour, The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Tribute Show, hit the road on 29 July at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado beneath an all-Elation Professional lighting rig. The tour is produced and promoted by UK-based CMP Entertainment, who own and supply all of the Elation gear. Elation has enjoyed an excellent relationship with CMP over the years and many of Brit Floyd’s past tours have featured Elation gear. CMP Entertainment’s Chas Cole commented: “Eric Loader was supportive of Brit Floyd in its early days with great product at…
The Sennheiser Sound Academy is welcoming everyone interested in wireless audio to a mini-series of two live seminars that will explain the new Evolution Wireless Digital (EW—D) system. Seminar 1 takes place on August 31 at 12:30pm (CEST) and covers the benefits, features and operation of EW–D, seminar 2 on 14 September, again at 12:30pm (CEST), takes things further by taking a more in-depth look at the system. As these seminars are webcast live, the hosts are happy to answer any questions you may have, by following the registration link here. “Evolution Wireless will bring simplicity to your performance, show,…
Side Door, the “any space is a venue” marketplace platform for the arts, is launching BACK TO LIVE with Side Door, a new support program designed to increase live performance spaces by supporting existing spaces and helping first-time hosts get started. The programme is designed to help artists return to live entertainment quickly within a financially sustainable model despite a widespread loss of small-to-medium-sized clubs throughout the United States. Side Door aims to give all artists the opportunity to perform by empowering every-day people to get involved, hosting and curating shows in their own spaces for their communities. Hosts on…
4Wall has won the tender to provide LED to the new XR (Extended Reality) studio at research and innovation centre XPLOR at Production Park in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire. Scheduled to open in autumn 2021, 4Wall has provided all of the LED, processing and support systems for the brand-new XR studio which features a 40.5 SQM LED wall alongside 18 SQM of LED floor. The large-scale XR stage will be part of XPLOR’s Centre for Virtual Production and made up of 162 panels of ROE Visual Ruby 2.3mm LED for the back wall and 72 panels of high-resolution ROE BM4…
Last year saw the release of 12 Questions, the debut album from Fraser T Smith’s solo project Future Utopia, a sprawling exploration of a dozen Big Questions that draws on an astonishing and eclectic line-up of talent to muse, discuss and attempt to answer. Cleverly reworked for a live setting and delivered via a d&b Soundscape system, the album set features Fraser playing live synths and electric bass, with contributions from guest artists whose schedule allows. Not that a live show was part of the plan for the project in the early stages, as Fraser explains… “12 Questions was definitely conceived…
Filmed over a week and beamed as live around the world, Live at Worthy Farm, Glastonbury’s five-hour virtual festival echoed the glories of the full event missed by so many, in spite of the access problems suffered by the online audience. For many artists it was the first opportunity to play live in a year or more. The event highlight came with a performance from Coldplay, lit by multi award-winning Lighting and Show Designer, Sooner Routhier of Sooner Rae Creative. Routhier incorporated 60 Ayrton Perseo Profile and 36 Ayrton Domino IP65-rated multifunction lighting fixtures, supplied by Neg Earth, into her…
A record-breaking concert by EDM artist ILLENIUM at the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, was brought to life recently, with over 100 fixtures from the GLP inventory. ILLENIUM’s long-serving LD and Production Designer, Chuck Williams of Nexus AV, has been with the artist since the beginning of his journey six years ago. He selected 62 GLP impression X4 Bar 20 battens and 40 JDC1 hybrid strobes for mission-critical roles, describing the latter as being “in the top three fixtures of all time.” The DJ / producer’s inventive music and collaborations have made him one of the most successful crossover…
The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA) is joining forces with four greener touring, live entertainment and events organisations at this year’s PLASA Show for an open panel discussion to explore how we can transform, together, to create a better future. Entitled Becoming a Sustainable Industry – because this is a not a rehearsal, the event will take place at the PLASA Show Seminar Theatre at Olympia London at 15:30 on 6 September. It will bring together key sustainability experts from SiPA, TAIT, LIVE Green, the Tour Production Group, the Theatre Green Book and isla, who will share ways in which…
CHAUVET Professional will showcase Maverick Silens 2 Profile and the Ovation Rêve lighting fixtures on stand E-23 at PLASA Show. “We’re creating an immersive environment at PLASA that’s all about exceeding any one viewer’s perspective,” said CHAUVET Europe Managing Director, Michael Brooksbank. “With ABTT merging with PLASA, we know that there will be a greater theatre presence at this year’s show. Broadcast professionals should also be well represented; and our team is eager to introduce these visitors to two products that are ideal for their markets.” Already impressing with its performance at Paris’ iconic Louis Vuitton Foundation, Maverick Silens 2…
To provide top-notch sound for the high-profile 2021 Billboard Music Awards, ATK Audiotek recently deployed a range of HARMAN Professional sound reinforcement solutions for indoor and outdoor stages at the Microsoft Theater. Since 1990, the Billboard Music Awards show (BBMAs) has honoured the music industry’s highest-charting artists, with this year featuring live performances by the Weeknd, Doja Cat, P!nk and Twenty One Pilots among many others. Following an audience-free ceremony in 2020, this year’s BBMAs welcomed a crowd of more than 500 in the plaza outside of the Microsoft Theaterm – one of the largest awards show audiences of the…
Main Light has hired Steve Nancarrow to be the Rental Executive based at the new Main Light West in Las Vegas, NV. Nancarrow’s responsibilities will include business development and client interfacing with professional production companies on the West Coast. “I’m honoured to be here. Main Light has an excellent reputation in the business and everyone here are among the best,” said Nancarrow. “That is what I love about this industry, first and foremost, the people in it. It’s a vast industry but it’s a small community representing that industry and you end up seeing the same professionals over and over…
How difficult has it been trying to plan a show during this period of uncertainty for the sector? “The uncertainty has been the hardest thing to plan around, not just for us as organisers, but for our exhibitors, the venue, the supply chain – the COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone. It has meant that some big decisions have been left much later than usual, which means there is more work to do at the last minute.” What COVID-19 protocols have been put in place? “We are currently taking advice from those in the industry who have worked on successful pilot…
Martin Audio rental partner, Southard Audio, has provided technical support for four stages of Red Wing Roots Music Festival since it began in 2013. The festival, which is attended by around 4,500 people, is a collaboration between Black Bear Productions and The Steel Wheels — the latter a nationally touring band, who perform throughout the US, with many of the members living nearby in the Shenandoah Valley. Southard Audio have a long relationship with Martin Audio systems, and business partner, Jason Misterka, was in no doubts why he wanted to redeploy the large, scalable Wavefront Precision line array system that had proved…
Recognising that the beleaguered live events industry urgently needed an interactive livestream platform when the first COVID-19 lockdown hit in April 2020, a trio of production professionals, collectively known as Be Square Media, pooled their resources to come up with precisely that. They knew that if their idea was to have both relevance and sustainability, the event needed to offer a shared, online social experience for a group of up to five people—just as if they would all be attending in person. They should be able to appear as PIPs—tiny thumbnails in the foreground of the show—chat, mute, or generally…
Following its recent re-location to a larger premises, Stevenage-based Rigging Team has expanded its footprint, not only to accommodate a growing inventory, but to also provide space for a much needed, industry specific, training centre. Rigging Team Managing Director, Adam Searle explained: “Training is something that we have been passionate about for many years – although there is no substitute for real-world experience, everyone can benefit from gaining additional knowledge or skills. The courses are designed specifically to suit our industry – whether it’s a specific discipline, or a bespoke combination of courses,”. The new 2,600 sq ft Rigging Team…
Obsidian Control Systems expands its NETRON product range of data distribution devices with the introduction of the DMX10 splitters. A solution for simpler systems that require rugged hardware, flexible configuration and reliable DMX traffic management at an affordable price point. No nonsense, no compromise solutions for the professional lighting and AV markets, the NETRON DMX10 is a flexible, rackmount, 10-port DMX splitter with dual inputs and freely assignable XLR DMX outputs. Available with 5-pin XLR connectors (DMX10-5) or as a three-pin unit (DMX10-3), the DMX10 is easy to configure and is ideally suited for installations and live event applications that…
