The second annual Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, an extension of the iconic Swiss music festival, brought three days of sold-out, world-class performances to The Hangar at Regatta Harbour in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. With technical production support from IPS and a striking lighting design built around Elation lighting gear, the event featured powerhouse sets from music legends Jon Batiste, Chaka Khan, Janelle Monáe, and La Descarga, among others. ACT Productions returned as the local production company, with ACT Director of Operations Barbara Goicoechea noting: “The cooperation with IPS was excellent as always and our client was extremely happy.…
Author: Jacob Waite
For Wincent Weiss’s arena tour in March 2025, the renowned design studio ST. ROBO developed a fully integrated show design – including set, lighting and content, as well as IMAG and creative direction. The design concept and implementation were developed in close collaboration within an interdisciplinary team dedicated to developing a new visual language for the artist. The focus was on emotional impact, technical finesse and a deliberate departure from traditional stage conventions. Pop singer and songwriter Wincent Weiss became known for his authentic German-language songs and energetic live shows – characteristics that also played a central role in the…
girl in red’s latest headline tour has marked a creative and logistical milestone – not least her triumphant night at OVO Arena Wembley. Behind the scenes, Production Manager, Eric ‘EZ’ Wade of EZ Services and Tour Director, Andy Lewis of JTW TOURING led a tight-knit, trusted crew through an ambitious international routing, balancing design innovation with on-the-ground feasibility. With support from Artist Manager, Ben Blackburn, Creative Director, Isak Jenssen, and design studio, Human Person, the team built a visually iconic and emotionally resonant live show, translating seamlessly from intimate club venues to arena stages. “This campaign was about scaling up…
L-Acoustics in collaboration with Black Meteor, today launched The Art of Sound, an illuminating three-part documentary series that merges scientific discovery with artistic insight to explore sound’s fundamental role in human evolution and its continuing influence on our daily lives. Directed by Andrew Lancaster (Accidents Happen, starring Geena Davis; The Lost Aviator; and Joud), the series premiere, Sound is Fundamental, debuts today on The Art of Sound by L-Acoustics channel on YouTube. The episode features musician, performer, writer, and multidisciplinary artist David Byrne alongside researchers Robyn Landau (Kinda Studios) and Dr. Erica Warp as they investigate our primal connection to…
Portman Lights, the Polish manufacturer known for its iconic, eye-catching fixture designs seen on stages from global tours to top TV shows, has just flipped the script — and the switch. They’ve opened their factory doors to musicians. In a move that bridges craftsmanship and creativity, Portman has transformed the heart of its Gdynia-based factory into a fully functional concert stage — using only their own static lighting fixtures, including the latest hybrid product, OMNIRAY. The launch of Portman Factory Sessions, a new YouTube series, invites artists to perform live in the very space where the company’s renowned lighting products…
AllofUs is a creative design firm based in Los Angeles, founded by Ricardo Rojas and Alec Maassen. The collective offers a unique, all-in-one creative solution for clients, operating across multiple creative disciplines — combining show design, lighting design, production design, creative direction and visual content into a seamless, integrated package. This setup brings a “clear, focussed, and united creative vision” to projects, allowing all creative and technical departments to work in perfect harmony and balance with one goal in mind: creating the best show possible. “We take a harmonious and intentional approach, blending creativity with technical expertise to seamlessly bring…
Originally constructed for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, France’s national stadium has played host to countless iconic sporting moments in recent history. The latest chapter in the Stade de France’s rich legacy was a cultural triumph, as the stadium set the stage for Burna Boy’s latest performance – a landmark event that saw the Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer become the first African artist to sell out the 80,000-seat venue, supported by a collective of creatives and production specialists driving the carnival-inspired, high-energy spectacle. On site, Production Lead, Temidayo Oladehin was supported by Lolade Akinsiku, Temilade Kadri, Kemi Odeyemi,…
Having recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and welcomed its 1,000th team member at the end of 2024, L-Acoustics entered 2025 with the announcement that Bryan Bradley has joined the company as CEO, Americas. The news was jointly shared by global L-Acoustics Co-CEOs Laurent Vaissié and Hervé Guillaume, to whom Bradley reports. In his new role, Bradley will oversee all operations across North, Central, and South America, dividing his time between the company’s global headquarters in Westlake Village, California, and a new Americas operations and creative hub set to officially open later this year at Nashville Yards. What initially attracted you…
As someone who has visited many offices through my time at TPi, it must be said there is something special about Adam Hall Group’s German HQ. Based in Neu-Anspach – a short drive from Frankfurt – the company’s campus houses all the brands under the Adam Hall Group umbrella and is set up to be not just a hub for the group but a place to inspire. From the opening foyer, which features several pieces of memorabilia including guitars played by some of the world’s biggest rock ’n’ roll stars, it acts as a reminder of both the foundations of…
Having worked with the classically-inspired pop trio for several years, STUDIO/ led the creative charge for Clean Bandit’s recent show at The London Palladium. The intimate performance was part of #BRITsWeek for War Child! which saw notable artists perform in famed venues across the city in the lead-up to this year’s BRIT Awards. TPi sat down with Show Designer, Jack Fox of STUDIO/, to learn more about the creative process. For the uninitiated, STUDIO/ is a creative agency which specialises in show design and creative direction. Recently founded by the team at Really Creative Media (RCM) – themselves veterans of…
“It was such a surprise be recognised by our peers and colleagues at the TPi Awards,” Cruickshank stated proudly, speaking to TPi shortly after the ceremony. “We’ve put a huge effort into stepping up how we deliver shows over the past few years, so it feels good to know it’s been noticed.” As a proudly independent lighting and video rental outfit, Colour Sound Experiment thrives by staying true to its ethos. With no outside investors to answer to, the team remains focussed on the craft of live production and people. Cruickshank elaborated: “Our uniqueness is being able to offer technical…
Launched in 1997 with the KF900, ADAPTive technology remains a benchmark in live sound. More recent releases like the AC6 build on EAW’s legacy of products such as Anya, Anna and Otto — each introduced as the touring industry was embracing line array systems. Almost three decades on, how has ADAPTive stood the test of time? Well, to begin with, ADAPTive continues to be the only line source PA system with a high enough driver density to create a multi-driver, single acoustic source out to 13KHz. This is true for a single cabinet, or any length ADAPTive array. “ADAPTive was…
There is no doubt that audio prediction software plays a key role in the modern show, with system designers working side by side with FOH engineers on the design of a sound system, performing all the required calculations before even setting foot in a venue, with the goal of ensuring the best experience for the audience and managing off-site noise issues and multi-stage interference at festivals. Officially launched at ISE, Funktion-One’s Projection 1.0 system design software uniquely provides fast wave-based simulation for low-frequencies for greater accuracy when predicting bass array performance. “The origin of Projection goes back to the launch…
In support of Foster The People’s latest US tour, FOH Engineer Adam Rowley recently hit the road with East London-based alt/indie-pop band, Good Neighbours. “I’ve known Oli, the lead singer, for a long time. We used to write together before the pandemic, so it was lovely to be part of this tour – a real full-circle moment,” he told TPi, as the dust settled on a successful 42-day, 30-show run. “We used Clair Global to fill in the gaps alongside my FOH setup. The main advantage of working with such a large company, especially when we needed such a small…
Having diversified its line-up in recent years, Download Festival is not only growing in a programming sense – adding more hard rock bands to its roster – but the event has also bolstered its production value. “Expectations from festival audiences is at an all-time high,” Live Nation’s Andy Copping told TPi. “It is super important to offer a ‘wow’ factor at festivals now, as well as the lineups fans are eager to see something creative on the production side too – it is just as important.” Reflecting on the 2024 edition, Copping mentioned Dan Braun’s production design. “Having seen what…
What influenced the creation and feature set of the NXW? “Our users requested a portable wing featuring motorised faders and full front-panel backlighting. These features make programming easier, allowing for playbacks to be colour-coded for quick recognition. The ability to upgrade the universe count of the wing after purchase, was also high on the request list, to ensure our customer’s investment is future proofed. We now offer options to upgrade NXW up to 128 universes when needed. Being a wing, it relies on the user’s laptop. Nowadays, many laptops do not feature a network port, and an increasing number of…
Technical Academy, run by the Southbank Centre in collaboration with ABTT, The Albany, ATG Entertainment, Factory International, Live Wire Productions, National Theatre, Roundhouse, Royal Albert Hall, RNSS, and The Production House, offers a unique, no-cost opportunity for aspiring live event technicians to gain hands-on experience. Its mission is to remove social, cultural and financial barriers and open doors to backstage careers in live events and theatre, as TPi discovers. “There is a looming skills crisis in the sector,” said Southbank Centre’s Amber Lee, Project Manager for Technical Academy. “This is in some part due to COVID-19 and people leaving to…
Fulfilling our representation mandate and being the voice of 2,500 event production members, the PSA have recently participated in several discussion sessions at industry events with similar themes related to collaboration, the event ecosystem and vital role freelancers play. In May, we will participate in a Power of Events panel session at PLASA North discussing the topic The Power of Cross-Sector Collaboration (no spoilers here, promise). Back in February we were at Confex/Event Production Show considering the events ecosystem with a panel of agency and supplier representatives, between these and other discussions, we reflect and reinforce the recurring theme that…
