Shambhala Music Festival marked its triumphant 2022 return with a sold-out crowd of concertgoers flocking back to the Salmo River Ranch in British Columbia. While the festival faithful were eager to revisit the familiar surroundings and programming of years past, one of the highlights was a completely redesigned Village Stage featuring a new PK Sound Trinity Black robotic line source system and T218 subwoofers. “PK Sound has been central to The Village for two decades and is a huge draw for the artists performing the stage and the passionate fans packed in front of it,” commented Eroca Colins who, along…
Author: Jacob Waite
ACT Entertainment has acquired Ultimate Support. “We are very excited to add the Ultimate Support Systems product line and their team to the ACT Entertainment family,” said Ben Saltzman, CEO of ACT Entertainment. “Like ACT, Ultimate has a passion for innovation at its core – the ability to design, develop and engineer state-of-the-art products while providing value and quality is unique in the category. The more I got to know Mike and the amazing team at Ultimate, the more excited I became at the opportunity to work together.” By purchasing Ultimate Support, ACT now provides yet another of the industry’s…
As the organisation prepares to embark on its ON TOUR programme of events for the autumn, Production Futures has joined Creative UK as a Federation Member. Creative UK is an independent network that unites the creative industries and generates opportunities for innovation to thrive by investing in creative people and businesses. It works with its partners to connect, invest, champion and support the growth of the creative sector, an ethos which aligns closely with Production Futures’ own ambitions. Hannah Eakins, CEO of Production Futures, commented: “Becoming a Federation Member of Creative UK widens our network of contacts within the creative industries,…
Britannia Row Productions, a Clair Global company, has announced the acquisition of fellow UK-based sound reinforcement provider, Skan PA Hire, to offer an even more comprehensive level of service and support to both firms’ existing and future clients. The transaction was finalised this month. “Since its inception, Skan has evolved to become recognised internationally for its passion for providing the very best service, equipment, packaging, and people to its clients,” stated Nicola Amoruso, Managing Director at Britannia Row Productions. “Skan and Britannia Row have maintained a relationship of friendly competition and mutual respect throughout this time and both parties see…
From their respective corners of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, CAPA College and Backstage Academy have been shaping the future of performing and production arts, live events and arts education for the past two decades with an influence that extends from the West End stage to Hollywood film production to the global tours. Now, CAPA College and Backstage Academy are joining forces for the first time to further enhance Yorkshire’s reputation for arts education. This collaboration will give young people a unique opportunity to benefit from the finest artistic and creative education provided by CAPA College – which is delivered by an award-winning…
PLASA’s PlugFest 2022 will welcome manufacturers, developers and technicians from across Europe to test their products and learn about the latest protocols in Lille, France from 7 to 9 March 2023. PlugFest is an opportunity for participants to collectively test and demonstrate device and system interoperability with the aim of improving reliability, resolving compatibility issues and ultimately improving connectivity between all entertainment lighting and related technologies. The event’s hosts, Hamish Dumbreck (JESE), Peter Willis (Howard Eaton Lighting) and Wayne Howell (Artistic Licence) are experts in entertainment lighting control protocols. They will host a full educational programme, diving deep into interoperability…
Help Musicians has registered Music Minds Matter as a single-focus charity, set up and sustained by Help Musicians, to support the mental health of all who work in music across the U.K. In 2022, the listening ear service – one element of the widening support offer – has seen a 30% increase in calls, signalling an ongoing, growing need for increased mental health support. Creation of the new charity will mean all fundraising income generated for mental health by the charity is solely dedicated towards improving mental health. Music Minds Matter’s first Board of trustees, announced today, represent a diverse…
AdagioPRO — a division of Holmusic — has been appointed the exclusive distributor for Elation Professional, Obsidian Control Systems and Magmatic Effects products throughout Spain. Holmusic is a family-run business with more than 50 years of experience distributing musical instruments and professional audio and lighting systems in Spain and other European countries. AdagioPRO serves as Holmusic’s professional sound and lighting division and distributes professional stage lighting systems to a broad range of market sectors including concerts, rental, touring, installations and broadcasting. The lighting division is based at the Holmusic Group corporate headquarters and warehouse facility in Barcelona. After decades as…
Digital Projection has hired Kevin Bateman and Brahim Belal, who both join the EMEA team as Training and Products Manager, and Pre-Sales Application and Support Engineer, respectively. Bateman recently joined the EMEA team as training and products manager, reporting to the company’s Vice President of Global Marketing, Mark Wadsworth. His main responsibilities are to help develop the product roadmap based on extensive user feedback. Bateman is also tasked with delivering training programmes and increasing sales and customer knowledge of Digital Projection products by developing a comprehensive product training programme for the full product line, online and in-person. With previous experience…
For the first time in three years, the annual Motion Student Conference returned to a familiar venue: Birmingham’s Legacy Arena in Alabama, US. But the building they worked in this summer was changed from the one they knew in the pre-COVID-19 period. The facility had undergone a renovation, making it necessary for the team to adjust their design concept. “This was an interesting year for us, being back in the local arena that we have used before,” said Lighting Designer, Griffin McCravy. “However, because of the renovation we had to make some changes to our original plan, as new limitations…
The Kongsberg Jazz Festival boasts multiple stages across the town, the largest of which is the Kirketorget (Church Square) Main Stage, which hosts an audience of around 12,000. At this year’s event, no fewer than nine of the 18 stages were equipped with CODA Audio systems, including the Main Stage, Gamle Norge Stage and unique Tubaloon Stage. CODA’s Norwegian distributor Rubicon supplies system-tech personnel for the festival, with David Grimes and Terje Sørlund providing designs for the two principal stages. Production specialist, Konsersystemer took care of supplying PA for the Main Stage – one of ten rental companies who were involved…
Regarded as his ‘first farewell tour’, Roger Waters has embarked on a marathon four-month tour of North America, Canada and Mexico, showcasing music from across his incredible career, with an ambitious 360° immersive production boasting Leyard CarbonLight Series LED screens. Building on Waters’ legacy of technically renowned visual productions, This is Not a Drill Tour develops visual storytelling even further to create a truly immersive experience, staging the production for the first time in-the-round, with an awe-inspiring, lightweight 650sq m, cross-shaped Leyard screen, suspended from the roof as the centrepiece, provided by video equipment suppliers, Universal Pixels (UP). “With the…
When Lighting and Set Designer, Morgan Evans was about to embark on his first tour with Jessie J, he chose a floor package largely based around GLP’s versatile impression FR10 Bar, each metre-long batten containing 10 powerful 60W RGBW LED sources. As a design associate to celebrated LD Tim Routledge for the past two years, Evans is a product of the BRIT School – as, coincidentally, is Jessie J. After a few low-key warm-up shows, the serious business started, and they joined forces for a series of shows throughout Europe this summer, before culminating in Brazil’s prestigious Rock in Rio.…
disguise has launched disguise Cloud – a new suite of cloud-ready applications for the media and entertainment industry. Available on a free starter plan, disguise Cloud is built to enable end-to-end remote collaboration across any M&E production. Whether it’s for simple video playback or a complex project with 3D files, disguise Cloud will make collaboration easy by seamlessly connecting remote clients to technical operators and directors on set. “Our goal is to simplify the creative process and allow artists to tell inspiring stories,” begins Niall Thompson, Head of Cloud Solutions at disguise. “After years of helping creatives leverage real-time concert…
LaserFrame and Creative Sounds recently supplied the lighting system for the second ‘Raw’ stage at the Into The Madness festival in Germany. The rig comprised almost exclusively ADJ fixtures, including moving head beam and wash luminaires, LED blinders, and the new multifunctional Jolt Bar FX LED units which are designed to serve interchangeably as washes, strobes, or eye candy fixtures. The two firms have a long history of working with Musical Madness and the companies’ involvement with the festival began more than a year in advance when they provided the lighting for a livestream launch event at the same venue…
Spearheaded by founders Chris Lang and Russell Baker, Captivate AV’s wealth of industry experience and attentive client care informs its reputable approach. Bolstered by the robust foundation of its existing DiGiCo ecosystem, and the company’s enthusiasm for cutting edge technology, Director, Chris Lang outlines Captivate AV’s investment in a DiGiCo Quantum 338 mixing console. “When we started Captivate AV, [the directors] each had our own SD11i console with D-Racks. As our need to supply larger systems grew, we added a SD8-24, SD10-24 and S21 to our inventory, along with various racks and connection accessories,” he said. “When the Quantum series…
One of the most original bands in rock, Coheed and Cambria weave an imaginative tale across multiple albums through storytelling and hard driving music. The latest chapter in the Amory Wars storyline, which plays out on their new album, Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind, was presented live to fans across the country on a summer tour with Elation Professional Artiste Picasso luminaires helping to sculpt the mythical universe. New Jersey-based rental company Squeek Lights started working with the progressive rock band earlier this year on a club tour and served as lighting and video vendor on the…
Mixing a psytrance infused melting pot of colour, light, art and community, Burning Mountain Festival 2022 brought a new energy to the stunning landscape of the Swiss Alps for four days at the end of June. Both stages featured Funktion-One sound, including Vero VX on the main stage, supplied by Austria’s Nomex Eventtechnik with support from Force Production (Czech Republic), and an Evo system from Lylava (Switzerland) on the second stage. The 37-acre site near Zernez village, one of the highest inhabited valleys in Europe at 1450m above sea level, is encased by the River Inn and smatterings of woodland.…
