Finland - The biggest New Year’s Eve party in Finland takes place in the country’s capital, Helsinki. It features an outdoor concert showcasing some of the nation’s top performers during the build-up to a firework spectacular at midnight. For the 2019 celebration, 70 ADJ fixtures formed a significant part of the concert lightshow that was not only witnessed in person by a large crowd but also by a million viewers on state television channel, YLE.
Taking place in Helsinki’s Senate Square, and attracting a large crowd despite the harsh winter weather, the concert featured a largely female-driven line-up. The headline performer was popular Finnish singer-songwriter Vesala, who had released a new single and look just days before the event. Also performing was trend-setting

USA - A large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures hit the road with Mexican pop rock band Maná when the multi Grammy Award winners launched their North American Rayando el Sol Tour in September. The tour is named after the band’s first hit single.
Maná was founded in Mexico in 1986 and has become one of the most successful rock bands in Latin music history. They have sold more than 40m albums worldwide and won four Grammys and eight Latin Grammys. The Rayando el Sol Tour kicked in Corpus Christi, Texas and wrapped in Los Angeles in December playing more than 30 dates. Their seven-show LA appearance at The Forum broke the six-night record of Kanye West and The Eagles.
Menga Cruz, lighting designer and lighting and video programmer for Maná, chose 122 Claypaky Mythos2, 24 Sharpy Wash and 22 Scenius Unico fixtures for the show’s rig, which he obtained from 4Wa

World - As the LSi office closes for the Christmas break, we would like to wish all our readers a very special holiday and a happy and prosperous 2020. We'll be back with more daily news here at LSiOnline in the New Year, kicking off on 2nd January. Until then, have a great time - and thanks for reading . . .
The LSi team
featured content

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

UK - Polar has promoted Will Turney to the position of national sales manager for its integrated solutions division. Turney will lead Polar’s seven-strong sales team, covering the company’s network of systems integrators across the UK.
Stuart Leader, integrated solutions director, comments: “We have complete confidence in Will’s ability to further enhance our business and continue to drive success. During his time with us, Will has demonstrated that he possesses the technical understanding and personal qualities to meet the requirements of what will be a demanding job. He has always led by example and is well-known and highly respected across the sector.”
Turney adds: “I’m excited about 2020 and beyond for integrated solutions and the changes ahead. The Polar team are an exceptional group that I’m proud to be a part of and I’m looking forward to manag

UK - The Chailey Heritage Foundation DREAM Centre in Sussex uses modern AV technology to make a range of experiences accessible for children and young people for whom it is very difficult to travel. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall opened the centre on 17 October.
Chailey Heritage Foundation provides schooling and residential care for children and young adults with complex physical disabilities, high health needs, sensory impairments, and associated learning difficulties. The new sports and activity centre allows young people in wheelchairs to play indoor sports, take part in drama and musical performances, develop their balance through rebound therapy, learn to drive a powered wheelchair, and broaden their horizons through a ground-breaking immersive experience zone.
“We are honoured to have played a role in creating this amazing facility for such a dese

USA - Ayrton Perseo-S compact multi-function luminaires, which have been developed for intensive outdoor use, made their US debut at the Public Works musical adaptation of Hercules in the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Tony Award-winning lighting designer, Tyler Micoleau, selected the new fixtures, with an IP65 enclosure rating, for the Labour Day weekend production, which traditionally wraps a summer of Shakespeare in the Park outdoor shows.
Hercules is based on the Disney animated film and featured the entire score plus several new songs. The production was from The Public Theatre’s Public Works initiative, which invites communities across New York to create ambitious participatory theatre. More than 200 New Yorkers took part in the dynamic production.
The show marked the first time that Tyler Micoleau has used Ayrton fixtures. Micoleau has worke

Germany - The Black Forest’s steep Ravenna Gorge hosts an annual Christmas Market.
Lending a magical quality to this event, and contributing to its visual appeal, is the 40m high railway viaduct that runs directly over the site. With its massive arches towering above vendor booths selling Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and other holiday treats, the viaduct has become a symbol of the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market.
Accentuating the viaduct’s majestic architectural features and enhancing its transformative effect on the market this year was an outdoor lighting design by Bächle Event & Media that featured 30 Chauvet Professional COLORado 1 Quad IP65 rated fixtures.
Positioned at the base of the viaduct’s arches, the RGBW fixtures were used to bathe the towering structure in an array of evocative colours. The colours that washed the viaduct were changed thro

Poland - Opened in 1947, the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music (aMuz) in Gdańskhas a progressive approach to music education, recognising that training students in classical music doesn’t mean they will stay in the traditional classical field. An Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system is helping students to seamlessly blend old and new instrumentation in the Academy’s concert hall.
Because course content at aMuz is constantly evolving, as well as classical recitals (where very little, if any, amplification is needed) the concert hall is staging increasingly diverse performances, including opera, operetta, musicals, jazz and contemporary classical productions, where electronic instruments play solo or with orchestral instruments.
The 50-year old, 592sq.m venue has an audience capacity of 413 in raked stalls and a balcony, with a 160m2 stage. Its existing small sound reinforcem

France - After more than two years of renovations, the celebrated Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris has recently reopened its doors to the public. With the intention of restoring the venue to its original splendour, the project saw the inclusion of an array of products from ETC and High End Systems.
Christophe Leuba - one of the venue’s two lighting managers who assist lighting director Renaud Corler - recognised the potential of ETC Eos consoles after attending an ETC training session. “I loved the event and as soon as I got back to the Châtelet I arranged an ‘Introduction to Eos’ session for our entire team,” says Leuba.
Subsequently, two Eos Ti consoles were installed in the theatre’s control room - one of which is used in the audience during creation phase - and a more compact Ion Xe 20 was chosen for use elsewhere.
Even though decision-making for

USA - When Sellersville Theatre 1894 north of Philadelphia sought to upgrade its aging lighting rig early in 2019, the venue contacted Artistic Concepts Group for a solution and ended up demoing a number of potential fixtures.
“Michael Wysolmerski at Artistic Concepts was very patient and brought in dozens of lights to demo,” recounts the theatre’s technical director and production manager, Daniel Faga. “We both knew the Artiste DaVinci was the winner as soon as we saw them in the space.”
Sellersville Theatre 1894 is an intimate and historic live performance venue located adjacent to the even more historic Washington House Restaurant & The 325-seat auditorium with cabaret seating is exceptionally busy, hosting hundreds of national and international acts every year.
“Our diverse line-up of performances ranges from comedy to theatre to music of all

Croatia - The historic Istrian People’s Theatre (INK) in Pula is now hosting international music ensembles as well as dramatic productions, thanks to a major audio upgrade. It has recently replaced all of its sound reinforcement and monitoring systems with L-Acoustics Syva and X Series technologies, as well as LA4X amplification.
This European venue has had an eventful life. Its origins lay with the much smaller Teatro Nuovo (New Theatre), built in 1854 when Pula was part of the Austrian Empire. That was replaced in 1879 by a much a grander version, which itself has stood the test of time through various governments.
In 2004, the theatre was officially renamed the Istrian People’s Theatre, City Theatre Pula, and is now generally branded as 'INK' (Istarsko Narodno Kazalište). Its main auditorium has a capacity of 699, spread across the main siting area, lodges for

UK - Clarity, ease of use and the ability to match the colour of the microphone to different skin tones were all reasons why Toby Chevis, director of UK live events company Patch Productions, chose DPA’s 6066 Subminiature Headset Microphones to amplify those who were speaking at the prestigious Cheltenham Literary Festival.
During the 10-day event, the company used a total of 40 6066 headsets across eight venues, including Cheltenham’s Montpelier Gardens and Town Hall sites. Among the famous participants who wore DPA were Andrew Lloyd Webber, Louis Theroux, Rob Drydon and Graham Norton.
“The festival was keen to be as inclusive as possible this year, so being able to offer a microphone with varying colour options and a consistent audio quality was fantastic,” Chevis explains. “I’ve been a big fan of DPA Headset Microphones for eight years now and Patch Prod

USA - To create immersive lighting displays that compliment the colours of the Zimmermann Spring 2020 clothing line, Enlumen recently deployed a Martin by Harman lighting solution at the New York Fashion Week Zimmermann Spring 2020 Fashion Show.
Founded by sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann in 1991, Zimmermann is an award-winning Australian fashion label with 27 stores located throughout Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. Zimmermann recently unveiled their spring 2020 collection during New York Fashion Week.
In order to illicit a more emotional response from the audience, Zimmermann worked with renowned lighting specialists Enlumen to create an immersive lighting solution that accentuated the signature pastel colours of their new collection. To meet these goals, Enlumen designed and installed a Martin by Harman lighting solution featuring VDO Sceptron 10 linear LED vide

Mexico - Light artist and designer Christopher Bauder and composer / music producer Kanding Ray brought their epic immersive kinetic light / sonic art piece SKALAR to Mexico City for a five-week installation, which also featured seven live shows in Fronton Mexico, on the Plaza de la Republica, right in the heart of this massive megalopolis.
Ninety Robe Pointe moving lights plus 65 x double-sided mirrors each with a perimeter ring of 180 addressable pixels and suspended on 195 x custom WHITEvoid motors were at the core of the work.
SKALAR premiered at Kraftwerk in Berlin last year. The former turbine hall of the derelict old power station provided a dramatic, charismatic, industrial cathedral-like backdrop for this powerful piece. It was a huge success, and Christopher’s ambition was always to tour it to other cool places around the world.
Fronton

France - Digital media specialists ArKaos have supplied two media servers, one 4K Studio server and one Stage server, to the new multi-million-pound Parisian headquarters of eSports organisation, Team Vitality.
Called V.Hive, the space is a 10,700sq.ft facility built on three floors, complete with a lively storefront that is open to the public and including a streaming booth, gaming rooms, a content production studio, a cinema, a WebTV studio plus numerous offices.
ArKaos’s Benjamin Bauwens project managed the installation of the servers that are running a series of digital banners, screens and LED lighting elements in the retail area of the V.Hive, which includes a shopping area and a coffee bar plus a training room for players. The company became involved in this project via Best Audio & Lighting, an installation specialist and sister company of leading techni

UK - In November, lighting designer Hayden Borgars included the VL10 BeamWash from Vari-Lite in his design for the UK tour by California ‘rapcore’ band, Fever 333. Using the VL10 BeamWash for the first time, Borgars found its effects versatility, speed and power to be “a perfect fit” for his design.
With the band’s famously unpredictable live performances, Borgars looked for versatile, fast fixtures that could offer endless effects variety, while responding quickly to sudden changes in the show’s flow. “Being able to adapt and move the fixtures was crucial to choosing the VL10s,” he says. “The zoom range was also great and, for this fast-paced show, very necessary - particularly how fast it can go from a 2.2° beam to a 48° wash.”
Borgars was especially keen to explore the possibilities provided by Vari-Lite’s VL*FX Animation wheel. “This was t

USA - Harman Professional Solutions has announced that Brad ‘fixintogetmixin’ Divens will present two masterclasses at the 2020 NAMM show in Anaheim.
In addition to currently working as FOH engineer for Enrique Iglesias, Divens has also worked for Linkin Park, Garbage, Cyndi Lauper, HIM, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Mötley Crüe, Jane's Addiction and more.
Divens will speak at two exclusive Masterclass events, presented by JBL and Soundcraft. Both events will take place on Thursday, 16 January 16 in the AES Academy 2020 room on the fourth floor of the Anaheim Hilton and will be hosted by Soundcraft’s live sound product specialist, Tom Der.
During his Building the Mix masterclass, Divens will discuss and demonstrate his approach to putting together a live mix, including technical topics such as the basics of input gain, EQ, compression, plu

UK - Audiologic has announced that it has been appointed as UK distributor for microphone manufacturer MXL’s UCC range of products.
Andy Lewis, Audiologic managing director, comments: “We’re pleased to be able to offer our customers the MXL UCC product range. Flexibility and scalability are key to successful unified communications and the MXL conference solutions are also Zoom Room certified. This excellent addition to our portfolio is sure to be a very popular choice in the UC sector.”
(Jim Evans)

UK - Focusrite, the global music and audio products company, has announced the acquisition of pro audio solutions manufacturer Martin Audio.
The total consideration to be paid is £39.2m for the business. This will be funded through a combination of existing cash resources and a new loan facility of £40m with HSBC and Natwest. The completion of the loan facility, and hence the completion of the acquisition, is dependent upon shareholder approval in a general meeting on 30 December 2019.
Martin Audio will continue to operate from their headquarter offices and factory in High Wycombe, under the leadership of managing director Dominic Harter. 
Harter comments: “We are excited by the transaction and what Martin Audio can achieve together with Focusrite. Focusrite is a strong brand in the industry and given the geographic proximity of both our businesses we know t

Europe - After 40 years on the market, the General Purpose (GP) truss series from JTE is still one of the world’s most popular multi-purpose systems. Quality performance for medium-sized projects is delivered via its safe and stable plated connection system and classic bracing pattern.
This type of truss is also the industry standard for film productions, which use it to build huge “lanterns” or “reflective panels” for indoor/outdoor applications.
The General Purpose truss series consists of two sizes, the 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12” x 12”) GP30 and 52 x 52cm (20.5” x 20.5”) GP52, which are able to handle a wide variety of support structure needs and loading capacities.
The GP30 is a mid-sized, heavy-duty 30.5 x 30.5cm (12" x 12") general purpose truss designed for conferences, exhibitions, and small venues.
A bigger brother to the GP30, the GP

USA - Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design, along with creative director Brian Burke, provided lighting and production design for country singer Keith Urban’s Summer Festival Tour, which has been running this past year. The lighting rig comprised mainly GLP’s popular X4 Bars and JDC1 hybrid strobes.
As well as providing creative direction for Urban, Tom has already made a name for himself Stateside, winning the KOI Sword last year for his work on Pitbull’s Las Vegas residency and tour.
The Keith Urban tour also had a Las Vegas segment thrown in, with a spot at the CMT Awards in Nashville and two valedictory nights at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, also co-designed with Brian Burke, to round off the tour.
With Hunter Selby assisting in the lighting design, the DX7 Design team commandeered 200 impression X4 Bars and 50 JDC1’s from PRG.
DX7 Design already

Latest Issue. . .