On Broadway - UK-originated productions and creatives received 13 prizes at this year’s Tony Awards. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which premiered in London in December 2023, was this year’s biggest winner at a ceremony held in New York’s Radio City Music Hall. It won awards including best sound design and a special award for its illusions and technical effects team, with Miriam Buether taking home the prize for best scenic design of a play for the show.

Sunset Boulevard, directed by Jamie Lloyd, picked up three prizes, including best revival of a musical and a best actress gong for Nicole Scherzinger, while performer Jak Malone took home best featured actor in a musical for Operation Mincemeat.

SOLT and UK Th

UK - PLASA Show 2025 is now open for free registrations. This September, the UK's market-leading trade event for live entertainment technology will set the stage for breakthrough products, big ideas, and invaluable industry connections. Celebrate entertainment technology and the people behind it at PLASA Show, returning to its home at Olympia, London from 7–9 September 2025.

Drawing 7,500+ professionals from across the global industry, the show offers unrivalled access to 250+ leading brands, an expert-led seminar programme, and hands-on experiences with next-generation technology.

Headline sponsored by Robe, PLASA Show 2025 features an expanded show floor filled with world-class manufacturers, distributors and service providers. Attendees can explore the latest tools and technologies for lighting, audio, AV, staging and rigging – all under one r

Mexico - Mexican band Matute is playing dates in Mexico and the US with their Disco Stereo Tour, which takes fans on a journey through ‘the most iconic LPs of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s’. Claypaky Tamboras, Sharpy X Frames and Midi-B FX fixtures light up the stage as Matute ‘blends the analogue charm of vinyl with immersive visuals and a setlist packed with dance floor classics’.

The group has established a loyal fanbase over nearly two decades, especially among Latin American and US audiences who crave their live shows that mix Spanish- and English-language hits from some of the most influential artists of the disco era. The new tour will highlight the influence of past decades on modern music, creating a concert that feels fresh yet has elements of nostalgia.

Matute’s Jorge D'Alessio helms the creative production of the tour.

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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

The Netherlands - A dynamic package of Robe moving lights has been installed at the busy P3 popodium music venue in Purmerend, a city and municipality in the province of North Holland in the west Netherlands.

The recent upgrade, originally planned before the pandemic and delivered once the restrictions started being lifted, comprised 14 x Esprites, eight Paintes, 16 x LEDBeam 350s, eight LEDBeam 150s and four T1 Profiles.

P3 has two music halls – of 850 and 350 capacity – and a theatre space that accommodates 130. The venue opened on April Fool’s Day 2006, and the now head of technical and production, Ferry Veenman has worked there for 17 years, the first six as a bartender, and one of the regular lighting technicians, Edo van Randen, has clocked up 18 years. In that time, they have seen a constant stream of great shows and superlative music.

France - Etienne de Crécy, the Lyon-born electronic music maestro has blazed new paths by giving his sounds the space (in both the literal and figurative sense), to flourish. This is evident in his current tour, which celebrates 30 years of his pioneering work, not only in his musical performance itself, but also in the supportive stage production design by Pierre Claude.

“I love minimalism and I try as much as I can to leave as much space as possible for artists and their music,” said Claude. “For me, that’s what the audience primarily expects at a concert. Etienne de Crécy wanted to take this even further; he wanted a track to be immediately identifiable by a colour, so that on social media, people would know which track is which, just by seeing a photo. He also uses this approach for his album covers, which are very minimalist and instantly reco

UK - As UK City of Culture 2025, Bradford is playing host to an extensive programme of events in the arts and entertainment field. With a rich and diverse cultural heritage as the backdrop to a year of celebration, Bradford 2025 has invested in a number of existing and new creative spaces to further opportunities for people to engage in cultural events. One such significant venue is the appropriately-named Loading Bay, a multi-use arts centre located in a disused warehouse.

Music, comedy, talks, exhibitions, immersive theatre, and even live video-gaming take place across its two performance spaces and gallery. To ensure the best possible experience for artists, performers, and audience members alike, the Bradford 2025’s technical team enlisted Bradford-based production specialists Pro Audio Systems (PAS) to supply and install all the audio and video techno

UK - IPS (Impact Production Services) has announced the launch of its new website (www.ips.co.uk), marking the next major step in its ongoing work to enhance customer experience and improve operational efficiency. The launch follows the recent opening of IPS’s new warehouse in Milton Keynes, a major physical upgrade now mirrored by this significant digital development.

The new website represents a substantial improvement on the long serving platform that supported IPS through many years of growth. As user needs have evolved and the scale of operations expanded, the redesign was driven by the goal of creating a modern, intuitive, and transparent digital experience that better reflects IPS’s service-led approach.

Built with functionality and accessibility at its core, the refreshed site features a fully mobile responsive interface, enhanced ai powe

USA - Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, part of the Nemetschek Group, has announced the availability of its AI Assistant (Preview), an innovative new tool designed to give users instant and accurate answers to their Vectorworks-related questions.

As a preview feature in the release of Vectorworks 2025 Update 5, the AI Assistant (Preview) marks the first phase of integrating AI learning technology into Vectorworks software, with the long-term goal of providing more intelligent, personalised, and time-saving solutions to designers.

Available through the Help menu and the Vectorworks Home Screen, the built-in AI assistant is designed to give customers quick, context-aware answers to their questions, allowing them to stay focused on their creative work. Whether users need to learn new features or simply seek guidance, the AI Assistant

USA - At InfoComm 2025, dBTechnologies will highlight scalable solutions engineered to meet the diverse demands of today’s integrators - from small commercial installs to large-scale, networked systems.

A key focus will be the IS Installation Series: passive, weather-resistant loudspeakers designed for seamless integration in permanent installs, including hospitality, retail, and outdoor environments. Built for reliability and consistent voicing across models, the IS Series offers flexibility for any project scope. Regular demos will be held in Demo Room W230D.

The company is also demonstrating the wide range of its live sound reinforcement products with Vio, DVA, Fifty Line, and Opera Reevo Series.

The Constant Curvature Vio C Series delivers precision-controlled sound for venues that demand consistent coverage and ease of deployment. Thes

Italy - K-array has announced a landmark step forward in AV-over-IP integration. Through a simple software update, its full line of Kommander amplifiers is now NDI-enabled, making K-array the first professional audio brand to natively embed the Network Device Interface (NDI) protocol directly into its amplifiers. No external gateways, licenses or additional hardware required.

NDI is a low-latency, IP-based protocol capable of transmitting synchronised audio, video, and metadata over standard networks. While widely adopted in the video broadcast and live production sectors, its expansion into the audio domain marks a strategic evolution, one now being driven by K-array’s adoption.

“Bringing NDI into our amplifiers, at no cost to the user, demonstrates how our software-defined architecture is ready to embrace every evolution of AV-over-IP,” says

USA - Avante Audio, a member of the ADJ Group of Companies, is set to present its latest pro audio solutions at InfoComm 2025 this week. Avante Audio's products will be featured prominently within the immersive AVL Experience, along with sister company ADJ Lighting, at Demo Room W230A and booth #7973.

The AVL Experience is designed to provide attendees with a comprehensive demonstration of integrated audio, video, and lighting systems. Avante Audio's participation will highlight its commitment to delivering high-quality, versatile audio solutions suitable for various applications, from live events to permanent installations. Attendees who visit demo room W230A can join an immersive audio, video and lighting experience at select time to hear the impressive clarity of Avante Audio.

Among the products on display will be the Akro Series, Avante Audio's f

Europe - Celebrated Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, has delivered his latest live offering through an L-ISA immersive spatial audio system, an all-encompassing sound experience taking fans through three decades of operatic and orchestral excellence.

The tour’s core sound engineers all began their careers with UK tour supplier, Britannia Row Productions. FOH engineer Davide Lombardi, systems engineer Alessandro Cestaro and monitor engineer Stefano Serpagli, describe the rental house’s partnership as a familial experience.

Davide begins: “I started in the Britannia Row warehouse in early 2000s; Britannia Row and particularly Bryan Grant, gave me my first opportunities in the international live music business, so when there is a chance to work together, it’s always a real pleasure as it feels as though I’m coming back home.”

Working w

Thailand - AtlasIED has announced the opening of new offices in Thailand. This move represents a significant step in the company’s global expansion efforts. The new location enhances AtlasIED’s presence in the APAC region, allowing the company to provide innovative solutions and dedicated, on-the-ground support to customers worldwide.

Located strategically in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, the new office will function as a regional hub for customer engagement, operations, and sales. This setup will enable AtlasIED to effectively meet the needs of its expanding client base throughout Asia and beyond.

"The launch of our Thailand office serves as a launchpad for opportunities that expand not just our geography but also our influence and impact, positioning us to drive innovation and customer engagement as we continue to write the next chapter of our

USA - The 60th edition of the Academy of Country Music Awards saw a return to the Ford Centre at The Star in Frisco, Texas – hosted by country legend Reba McEntire for the 18th time.

Co-lighting designers Michael Berger and Travis Hagenbuch both have a long association with the event, starting out as interns many years ago. “It’s been a nice full-circle experience working with Travis in this capacity since he really took me in during that first year,” credits Berger.

This year a vast armoury of over 160 GLP fixtures illuminated artist performances (with a nod back to highlights of the last 60 years). Leading the charge were 73 JDC Lines (500s and 1000s), which edged the band risers, the award presentation stage and other areas.

The latest generation of the popular hybrid strobe – the JDC2 IP – also made a high-profile app

USA/Europe - Elation has announced the launch of its new OPS Series (Outdoor Permanent Specification), a durable, long-lasting solution for permanent outdoor installations.

The OPS series enhances some of Elation’s most popular IP65/66-rated lighting fixtures, providing a ruggedized version designed specifically for demanding environments such as theme parks, cruise ships and other marine environments, museums, experiential installations, and more. Built for long-lasting performance in harsh conditions, the OPS Series ensures consistent, reliable use in both indoor and outdoor settings.

The OPS Series incorporates more durable, robust materials, including corrosion-resistant components and protective finishes, to create a hardened version of the fixtures. With this rugged specification, Elation offers an even more reliable solution for projects on

UK - Solstice AV has announced the latest addition to its leadership team, with the appointment of Louise Abbey as the company’s new marketing director.

Louise brings more than 20 years of B2B marketing knowledge and experience to the company, having held senior positions across vendor, distributor, and reseller organisations operating in the fast-paced ICT sector. Louise will lead the company’s marketing strategy, working as a key advisor to the board and collaborating with Solstice’s vendor and reseller partners to unlock new opportunities and drive mutual profitability.

Based at Solstice AV’s Gloucestershire headquarters, Louise’s appointment follows recent milestones for Solstice AV, including the recent appointment of Chris Ball as chief finance & operating officer, plus UK distribution partnerships with LED display leader LianTron

Germany - d&b audiotechnik has introduced Create.Control, a standalone software that opens the creative possibilities of the d&b Soundscape ecosystem to a wider range of users.

With Create.Control, the creative freedom of object-based mixing now gets its own space, enabling sound designers, engineers, and creatives to explore extensive features in an independent environment - whether in pre-production or during a live show. Users can design and prepare projects offline, adding a new layer of flexibility and creative workflow to the d&b system across churches, theatres, and concert halls.

Create.Control brings peace of mind to system engineers working with guest engineers and creatives. By having a dedicated native software for the mixer, there is no longer the need to share the R1 system interface to creatively work with Soundscape. While

Spain - Madrid is packed with nightlife options to suit any taste and any budget. With so much choice, clubs and bars in the city need to work hard to stand out, and Ayala 120 is doing just that. 

Nestled discreetly in Madrid's exclusive Salamanca district, between Goya and Manuel Becerra, Ayala 120 seamlessly blends elements of a sultry nightclub, high end cocktail bar, and lively salsa club, making it a go-to spot for those looking to party late into the night. 

With a capacity of 300 and music playing from 7pm until 6am most days, the club needs a reliable and memorable sound system to keep the dancefloor full and to ensure customers keep coming back. To make this happen, the owners looked to high-end loudspeaker manufacturer Renkus-Heinz.

“Our goal was to transform the customer experience from ordinary to extraordinary by providing an

USA - Bose Professional has announced the global availability of the Forum series multipurpose loudspeakers. The Bose Professional Forum series offers fidelity and high output in a compact, install-friendly form factor.

“Forum full-range coaxial point-source loudspeakers are incredibly clear and loud, delivering outsized performance in an ultra-compact enclosure that solves the most common issues designers and installers face,” said Shawn Watts, director of product management, Bose Professional.

“Forum raises the bar by combining precision engineering with the installation flexibility required to configure mounting options on the fly. The proprietary Beamwidth Matching Waveguide ensures signature Bose Professional sound quality, delivering consistent frequency response, clarity, and projection, while the surprisingly small cabinets can be rotat

USA - EAW has added the UXA4807D to its successful installation amplifier line. The new addition will debut at InfoComm 2025.

UXA installation amplifiers offer onboard processing that includes FIR and limiter settings called greyboxes. Greyboxes come preloaded and can be assigned to each output from a pull-down menu using intuitive software. Ample user-adjustable EQ, limiter/compressor and delay settings are available to fine tune the installation.

“Through the creation of the UXA Installation Series and specifically the UXA4807D, we are making it easier and faster to specify and integrate EAW systems,” says TJ Smith, president of EAW. “We understand that today’s consultants and integrators do not have time to review mountains of specifications and download settings. EAW UXA installation amplifiers save time during specification, integration

The Netherlands – PPDS has announced the appointment of AV/IT specialist Marco van der Knaap as its new global product manager of Philips LED displays.

With a 25-year career dedicated almost exclusively to LED, Marco will support the team in navigating the marketplace, continuing to position the expanding Philips direct view LED displays range in line with PPDS’ global strategy and growth ambitions. He is based in Amsterdam and reports to Jeroen Brants, global product director for LED at PPDS.

Marco comments: “I am thrilled to join PPDS and to take on the responsibility of growing the Philips LED business. With Philips' strong brand presence and the support of an exceptional team, I see tremendous potential to deliver ever more innovative solutions that exceed customer expectations worldwide. PPDS shares an unparalleled commitment to bringing i

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