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30 May 2025

USA - The lighting design community is mourning the loss of Paul Marantz, co-founder of Fisher Marantz Stone, who has passed away. A lighting visionary, he helped to transform the perception of lighting design as a profession.

Alongside Jules Fisher, Marantz co-founded the company that would become Fisher Marantz Stone in 1971, creating a legacy of creativity and genius that continues to inspire to this day.

Paula Martinez-Nobles, president, Fisher Marantz Stone said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Marantz. Paul and Jules founded the company that would become FMS in 1971, creating a legacy of creativity and genius that continues to brighten our lives and the world around us. Thank you, Paul, for your wit and wisdom. We honour your life and legacy.”

Initially working in theatre lighting, Marantz held a strong inter

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29 May 2025

UK - Teddy Swims’ record-breaking and sold out I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy tour headed across the UK and Europe with PRG providing video, automation and lighting, including their brand-new GroundControl Multi for the Followspot system.

Having amassed over 8.7bn streams globally, Teddy Swims has captured the hearts of music fans worldwide with his live show and chart-topping hits such Lose Control and The Door. For his 2025 UK and European leg of the I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy tour, the team once again chose PRG to provide lighting, automation and video, but this time upgrading to PRG’s latest followspot innovation – the GroundControl Multi.

The GroundControl Multi is the newest addition to PRG’s GroundControl Followspot family. This system can control up to 16 lights through a single Ground

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29 May 2025

Hungary - Lightware Visual Engineering emphasised its status as a European-based technology company to clients and colleagues at its recent seminars. With all product design and manufacturing carried out at its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, the message was clear: ‘Lightware is well-positioned to face the current global challenges with confidence and ensure its customers continue to benefit from an efficient service and cutting-edge technology’.

As supply chains face increasing uncertainty, Lightware’s commitment to local, European manufacturing offers a reliable and future-ready alternative for partners across the continent and around the world.

Although manufacturing is centralised in Budapest, Lightware operates across a total of 18 offices worldwide, supporting customers in the EMEA, APAC and Americas regions. This combination of Europe

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29 May 2025

UAE - Situated in the luxury residential area of Dubai Hills, on the Business Park, DUO Gastrobar has joined the growing list of haute cuisine restaurants being sucked into the fast-developing neighbourhood.

Founded by Duoband Restaurant Group from St. Petersburg, headed by Renat Malikov and Dmitry Blinov, it has already earned a Michelin star for their cuisine, while their clientele ‘luxuriates in an interior characterised by light, airy colours and natural materials’. The musical ambience is delivered by Martin Audio’s CDD series.

It wasn’t the aesthetic of the white CDD5s so much as the sound quality that had impressed the owners, according to regional distributors Pro Lab LLC. Already with a presence in the area, the operators were aware that Martin Audio is the brand of choice for many upmarket establishments and also for project designe

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29 May 2025

Germany - The Digital Signage Summit (DSS) Europe concluded with a record of almost 500 delegates following three days of strategic insight and technologies at the Hilton Munich Airport, Germany. Organised by invidis in a joint venture with Integrated Systems Events (ISE), DSS Europe took place from 21-23 May, bringing together innovators and thought leaders to debut its new three-day format.

Florian Rotberg, conference chair and managing director of invidis consulting, reflected: “Over the past three days, DSS Europe 2025 has not only set a new benchmark for innovation and collaboration but has also highlighted the pressing challenges and future opportunities that our industry must address.

“From groundbreaking advancements in digital signage to meaningful conversations about sustainability and user engagement, this year’s summit has truly red

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29 May 2025

The Netherlands - The 3,000-capacity Poppodium 013 concert hall was transformed into a nightclub when NachtCollege brought its all-night party to the Dutch city of Tilburg in mid-April. Technical production was led by the venue’s in-house team, headed by senior lighting designer Paul Cox.

To help deliver the immersive experience the event called for, 48 ADJ Vizi Beam CMY fixtures were dry-hired from local rental supplier Spectrum AV to supplement the venue’s house rig. Paul arranged the fixtures across four trusses – two on each side of the dance floor – running the length of the hall. The upper trusses were mounted near the ceiling with fixtures suspended downward, while the lower trusses hung directly below, with fixtures positioned upright. This layered setup allowed Paul to fill the air above the crowd with intricate, overlapping beam patterns th

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29 May 2025

Europe - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera has launched QuikPunch, the latest in its innovative ‘Quik’ series, which started with the QuikSpot launched at the end of 2024.

QuikPunch delivers precise, high-quality light via its Fresnel lens, featuring a 13º – 60º zoom, with no stray light and 8,000 lux at 3m. It is optimised for fast set-up and practical operation and comes complete with a battery-driven PrepBox and ChargingPlate. It delivers Astera’s colour science, based on its high-colour-rendering RGBMA Titan LED Engine – but as it happens with QuikSpot, QuikPunch adds OutputGain for deeper colour saturates.

It does exactly what the name suggests, ‘punching’ high-quality light into the picture while consuming just 75W of power, producing an output equivalent to a 200W LED PAR for stage and event use. All this plus an impres

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29 May 2025

USA - InfoComm is offering visitors to this year’s show a ’2030 Vision’ into the future.  Attendees who drop by the Chauvet Professional booth (6453) at the Orange County Convention Centre will be able to experience a sampling of that promising time.

The company is ensuring that the future is bolder and brighter than ever thanks to technologically advanced products like those in Chauvet Professional’s Ovation Rêve family, which includes the Rêve E-3, a full-spectrum LED ERS-style ellipsoidal. With colour temperature presets ranging from 2800 to 8000K, the Ovation Rêve E-3 maintains remarkable brightness and high-quality light with emulated redshift for a tungsten feel.

Also representing the Rêve family at the show will be the ultra-bright Rêve P-3 IP, an IP65-rated multi-colour full-spectrum-white LED PAR with power and quality of light

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29 May 2025

USA - AV Stumpfl will continue its year-long 50th anniversary celebrations at InfoComm 2025, bringing its new media server platform, Pixera zero, and its flexible AnyShape projection screen technology to the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando.

Following its introduction to European audiences as ISE and Prolight + Sound earlier this year, Pixera zero will make its North American trade show debut at InfoComm, giving US-based AV professionals their first in-person look at the most compact member of the Pixera ecosystem. Visitors to booth 1760 can also experience AV Stumpfl’s versatile AnyShape screen, highlighting the creative potential of projection surfaces that go beyond the rectangular norm.

Designed for maximum performance in a minimal footprint, Pixera zero is available in three models – PXZ-0, PXZ-2, and PXZ-4 – and offers up to fou

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29 May 2025

Canada - Denis Richard, who unexpectedly died on 29 March 2025, was a pioneer in the Canadian music touring and production industry. During his nearly 50-year career, he made a significant and lasting impact on the growth of the entertainment lighting production and rental industry in Canada. In that time, he toured with and managed lighting and production services for live artists and supported multiple popular TV productions. Christie Lites has paid tribute:

“For the last 30 years, Denis was a key account handler for Christie Lites’ Toronto office. His professional life exemplified his exacting high standards. Denis led by example, always demanding as much from himself as he did of others. He loved and was fascinated by people. His curiosity about what drove others meant Denis got to know those he worked with and what they wanted swiftly. Many of the l

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28 May 2025

Switzerland - Tim Routledge became one of the first production designers to specify GLP’s new versatile and supercharged Creos – part of a cornucopia of lighting that animated Florian Wieder’s set design at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Basel.

These washlights were joined in the designer’s toolkit by another newly released GLP fixture, in the shape of 12 Mad Maxx CW fat beam searchlights, along with 200 impression X5 IP Bars and well over 100 randomly dispersed JDC1 hybrid strobes.

But it was Creos, with its 18 × 40W RGBL LEDs, motorised 1:12 zoom and seamless pixel clustering that took the accolades at the 12,400-capacity St Jakobshalle.

Tim Routledge had been seeking a particular fixture to sit underneath the transparent LED screen. He contacted Simon Barrett at GLP UK, who instinctively suggested Creos.

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28 May 2025

UAE/Qatar - Disney’s The Magic Box, a spellbinding theatrical spectacle that brings classic Disney moments to life in a bold, arena-scale production, opened last month in Doha after a successful five-week run at the Etihad Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Behind the scenes of the UAE leg of this technically complex tour was Unusual Rigging & Engineering (URE).

With a need for fly bars, Kinesys automation, and high-capacity performer flying winches, the show is a theatrical production layered within an arena tour - demanding a rigging solution that blends theatre precision with touring efficiency.

“From the moment I joined Proactiv Entertainment, I’ve always enjoyed working with Unusual Rigging,” said Dani Marin, senior technical manager at Proactiv Entertainment, the company behind the Middle East tour. “They’re my go-to team

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28 May 2025

USA - Ayrton Rivale Profiles and grandMA3 full-size consoles with two grandMA3 Processing Unit L packages played key roles when Wooli made his headline debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on 12 April.

Wooli, the dubstep producer and DJ also known as Adam Puleo, brought his Mammoth Mountain III show to the Red Rocks venue in Morisson, Colorado. The third edition of the production marked his first time headlining at the outdoor amphitheatre where he was accompanied by guest artists.  Red Rocks is on the bucket list for a wide variety of artists,” says Alex Wroblewski, who has been Wooli’s tour director for more than two years. 

“For Wooli’s first show at Red Rocks we wanted to go bigger than we ever have before and use every available foot of that stage. We even added lighting and lasers to the audience bowl to create a more immersive ex

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28 May 2025

Slovenia - Making a “simple wall of light” uncluttered by any scenic pieces or barriers, and not disrupted by any restrictions has been a long-held dream of Crt Birsa. “It was on my wish list,” said the co-founder of Blackout Lighting Design. “I’ve always wanted to create a simple wall of light, very populated, mathematical, and clean – that’s it!”

Birsa got the opportunity to create such a wall when he lit EMA 2025, the Slovenian national Eurovision pre-selection event, which was held at Studio 1 of Slovenian National Television in Ljubljana. The results speak for themselves. Working with his fellow Blackout designer Anze Trstenjak, and frequent collaborator, set designer Greta Godnic, he created a 3D light wall that actually acts more like a window – a window that opens the imagination to unlimited vistas of mind-bendi

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28 May 2025

Thailand - Held in April, Songkran is a festival which celebrates the traditional Thai New Year. The three-day public holiday is marked by the widespread throwing of water, which takes place on a grand scale amidst joyous celebrations. Numerous other events take place alongside the giant annual water festival, helping to create an atmosphere of community togetherness and fun.

In the city of Chiang Mai, as well as a host of street shows, the focus of Songkran was the large gathering outside the MAYA shopping centre, where a large stage hosted a wide range of performances including DJ sets, live artists, dance, and more.

Handling the audio for the 10,000-strong audience in this open-air setting was Bangkok-based Coconut Sound, who supplied a Coda Audio system. A valued customer of Coda’s Thailand distributor Modern Solutions Plus, C

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28 May 2025

China - Zhujiang New Town is a new business, tourist and cultural centre in the Chinese port city of Guangzhou, home to Huachenghui (Mall of the World) where it’s said that locals can eat out every night for a month and never dine at the same place twice.

Come nightfall, Shisantang LiveShow is the destination for after work relaxation and for clubbers to enjoy a varied programme of indie rock and electronic music in a vibrant, neon-lit venue, all powered by a Nexo sound system installed by Hertz Audio.

For a space in which a line array might have seemed most appropriate, the sheer power of Nexo’s P18 point source loudspeaker makes it the FOH solution of choice at Shisantang LiveShow, partnered with Nexo L18 subs. Four clusters of P18/L18 cover the main audience area in front of the stage with Nexo PS10R2s filling in the front rows.

More P

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28 May 2025

Japan - Shimokitazawa ReG is a music venue in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, close to Shinjuku and Shibuya districts. At 230-capacity standing, Shimokitazawa ReG is an intimate venue, which only enhances the excitement of seeing some of Japan’s brightest independent bands there.

The PA has been designed to be felt as well as heard, in a full mind-body experience. To deliver that feeling, the mixing console is a DiGiCo Quantum 338 supplied by Hibino, DiGiCo distributor for Japan.

The venue’s size ensures that every audience member has a perfect view of the stage, but it also means that every piece of equipment must earn its place and be of the highest possible quality. The venue opened in 2010 with a DiGiCo SD8, which has provided excellent service and has been enjoyed by musicians and staff alike for the last 15 years. When the time came to update, the ch

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28 May 2025

USA - The Mid-Atlantic region has recently become something of an enclave for Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision line array series - and in particular WPC.

A flurry of recent sales in the Mid-Atlantic has helped weave a powerful network of users, giving each access to lucrative cross-rental opportunities when large event support is required.

This was highlighted by Martin Audio USA’s Northeast regional sales manager, Martha Callaghan. She reports that Kennedy Event Services recently bolstered their existing WPM inventory by upscaling to 16 WPC, supported by 12 SX218 subwoofers in the tri-state New York Metro region. 

Midway Productions also added 16 WPC to their 32-strong WPM fleet, as well as investing deeper in iKon amplifiers. They are based in Christiansburg, VA, servicing the many large higher education systems in the region, such a

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28 May 2025

Canada - Mr. Light Solutions, a full-service production company based in Toronto and led by founder Matthew Reicker, recently deployed a robust lighting data distribution system built around Obsidian Control Systems’ Netron product line for season one of a yet-to-be-announced streaming series.

Filmed in both studio and outdoor locations around Toronto, the winter-themed series faced some of the harshest weather conditions in recent memory - including temperatures dipping below -20°C, heavy snowfall, and freezing rain.

Reicker has worked on many different types of productions in his nearly 15 years in the entertainment lighting industry - theatre, corporate events, concerts, and film - and in many capacities from lighting designer and programmer to crew chief and production manager. A member of IATSE Local 873, he launched Mr. Light Solutions in 20

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28 May 2025

USA - Green Hippo has announced the shipment of its new, award-winning 4U Hippotizer MX Series Media Servers, Hyco MX and Meuse MX. 

Made for demanding live event production, Hippotizer Hyco and Meuse provide ‘unrivalled playback and generative performance’. With expanded storage capacity, users can manage larger projects and assets with ease. Enhanced generative content performance, especially with platforms like Notch and TouchEngine, ensures smoother, more responsive creative workflows.

Additionally, increased playback performance means more reliable, high-quality output even under demanding real-time conditions. Finally, these systems will be equipped with 4x 4K outputs and two optional input slots providing the flexibility and performance for any job.

The full Hippotizer MX Series offers five new customisable, dependable, and futu