Germany - Mega Audio, based in Waldlaubersheim, near Frankfurt am Main, has partnered with VUE Audiotechnik for distribution of its loudspeaker products. The partnership will provide VUE with Mega Audio's well-established sales network and support structure, and in turn Mega Audio will have access to VUE Audiotechnik's expanding loudspeaker products.

The partnership was a logical next step for Mega Audio explains Burkhard Elsner, CEO, Mega Audio. "This partnership is ideal for both of us; we have unprecedented access to VUE's European demo inventory as well as the added bonus of manufacturer's presence in demos and training. Mega Audio has a deep understanding of the German marketplace and will bring in new opportunities that take advantage of VUE's innovative designs and qualit

USA - It was Nashville's turn to host the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, and the four-day event in Music City was packed with enough star power on and off the ice to excite thousands of hockey fans. Morris, formerly known as Morris Light and Sound, was charged with conceptualizing and executing the audio and lighting installations and providing 24/7 production management at five venues during the weekend. Morris deployed large complements of Clay Paky Mythos and Sharpy Wash 330 fixtures at three of the locations.

Matt Geasey, visuals department manager at Morris, and his team oversaw the lighting design, 3D rendering and equipment specifications for multiple activities. For the free IntelliCentrics Outdoor Concert Series, part of the Bridgestone Winter Park venue in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, he selected 90 Mythos and 30 Sharpy Wash 330s for the Hond

UK - York-based Rock-Tech prides itself on being a comprehensive, one-stop solution for all the technical needs of today's houses of worship. As well as equipment supply and installation, the company's service includes free training seminars to help worship staff get the best from their equipment. This year Rock-Tech has teamed up with Yamaha to deliver training on QL and TF mixing consoles at venues across the UK.

Thanks to the continual improvements in live and installed audio technology, as general audience expectations rise, those in houses of worship do so in parallel. Rock-Tech's training helps to ensure that users not only get the best from their mixing console, but the entire signal chain from performer to loudspeaker.

"Our course aims to give church sound technicians a solid grounding in how sound works and how to solve common problems. Feedback, unexplained buzze

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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

Finland - Newly established Finnish theatre sound consultancy Wavemark has recently specified and installed a complete TiMax audio showcontrol package into the Finnish National Opera (FNO), as part of a new audio system designed and implemented by Wavemark's Santu Sipila. The TiMax2 SoundHub audio spatialisation processor and TiMax Tracker automation system were sourced through established Finnish TiMax distributor, Electro Waves, for a major audio refurbishment of the venue's main auditorium.

The FNO is the only professional opera company in Finland, tracing its history back to 1911 - though the Ballet was founded later in 1922. The Opera's fortunes have flourished alongside those of the country itself, though for decades the company occupied the tiny Alexander Theatre, in 1993 it moved to its own purpose-built Opera House as soon as it was finally inaugurated. The main audit

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders (LRLR) celebrated their upcoming ride through the Desert Southwest with a raffle and live auction to benefit Behind the Scenes during the USITT Conference in Salt Lake City last week. Sales of raffle tickets, some key donations, and sales of BTS and LRLR-branded swag raised over $15,000 for the charity. The LRLR 2016 ride, dubbed the Radioactive Ride, starts on 4 June in Las Cruces, NM. The riders cover all their own expenses so everything they raise goes to the charity. Sponsor a rider today at www.behindthescenescharity.org/lrlr.

Festivities led off with the traditional kazoo parade led by Bill Sapsis and many of the LRLR. Following the parade, students representing the USITT Chapter at Penn State University made their annual presentation of proceeds from their ongoing fundraising activities and Pledge-a-Product partners A.C.T Lighting (dot2

USA - Ultra Miami 2016, a major U.S. EDM event staged along Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, attracted over 150,000 music fans and party people for three days of festive enjoyment with some of the best dance sounds on the planet. This year, Robe BMFL and Pointe moving lights were prominent on three major stages - the Main Stage, the Live Stage and the Carl Cox & Friends Arena - all helping create visually stunning environments.

The production design for Carl Cox & Friends, and the Worldwide Stage was created by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting. Contracted directly by Ultra, Steve was also the lighting designer for the main stage, where he collaborated closely with creative director Richard Milstein and production manager Ray Steinman to develop a unique Ultra concept that also took into account the requirements and specs of all the headliners - a veritable Who's Who of EDM A-lis

Spanish Stroll - The Rolling Stones performed in front of hundreds of thousands of jubilant Cubans, delivering a historic concert in a country that once considered the band's music subversive. Coming two days after Barack Obama finished the first trip to Cuba by a US president in nearly 90 years, Friday night's free gig in Havana cemented the communist-run island's opening to the world.

The veteran rockers started their first-ever show in Cuba with Jumpin' Jack Flash, a song recorded in 1968 when Cuban rock fans were secretly sharing pirated vinyl records and risked being sent to rural work brigades to cure "ideological deviation".

"We know that years back it was hard to hear our music in Cuba, but here we are playing. I also think the times are changing," singer Mick Jagger said to a roar from the crowd. Jagger spoke in Spanish throughout of the 18-song show of hit

USA - Spurred by worldwide growth, Meyer Sound has announced a number of new hires and promotions, creating a technical solutions team that adds depth to the company's respected global technical solutions and support programme.

John Monitto, an 18-year veteran of Meyer Sound, has been appointed to the newly created position of director of technical solutions. In his new capacity, Monitto heads Meyer Sound's business development team, a group of key managers that partners with consultants and integrators to offer comprehensive project support from initial design through final commissioning.

"Over the years, John Monitto has continually demonstrated exceptional leadership and technical expertise," says John McMahon, vice president of solutions and strategy. "With Meyer Sound branching into new, exciting verticals, we're confident that John will maintain the continued success

Germany - Area Four Industries and its four brands (MILOS, TOMCAT, LITEC and James Thomas Engineering) extend a very special invitation to visit them at this year's Prolight+Sound Exhibition from 5 - 8 April 2016 in Frankfurt, (Hall 3, Level 0, Booth D71). All brands will be hosted at the booth managed by Area Four Industries, which serves as the technical and sales interface between all four of its brands and their customers.

On show will be TOMCAT's EVO truss -The unique, collapsible design of EVO truss frees up space in your warehouse and when transporting in bulk.

New rectangular truss and ceiling brackets from MILOS will feature. Filling in the gaps of their end-to-end solutions for truss and support structures, the new rectangular truss from MILOS will be making its worldwide debut at Prolight+Sound. A special surprise is waiting for visitors to the truss section of

Germany - Entertainment motion control systems expert XLNT Advanced Technologies is exhibiting its CyberHoist II system at Prolight+Sound Frankfurt in Hall 3.0, Booth G73.

The variable speed chain hoist system, CyberHoist II has been specifically designed to manage and accommodate the creative, logistical and physical rigours of automation design for entertainment environments, large-scale events and touring.

"We are looking forward to demonstrating the CyberHoist II system in live presentations throughout ProLight+Sound," says XLNT's director of sales and marketing, Marc van der Wel. "We invite show visitors to come and talk to our knowledgeable and qualified team of sales and application engineers in Hall 3.0, Booth #G73, a new location since the show's new set-up this year. As ever we're keen to discuss their latest project's requirements, demo our products and answer a

Germany - Robe will bring impact and style to booth D80 in Hall 3 of the Frankfurt Messe for Prolight +Sound 2016, taking a booth size three times larger than before, accommodating literally hundreds of guests that will "recreate a timeless classical theatrical environment".

This visual treatment will provide the backdrop for two new key products - the DL7S Profile and the DL7F Wash which are specifically aimed for theatre and television markets.

The eye-catching stand will feature a special space where the hourly One Man One Light show will play daily, every hour on the half-hour, with the first show at 10.30 a.m. and the last at 18.30. It will illustrate the power and versatility of Robe's elegant BMFL Blade profile fixture built for stage and performance applications.

The entire mood of the booth will transform over the course of each hourly period allowing v

USA - KLANG:technologies GmbH of Aachen, Germany has recently appointed Group One Ltd of Farmingdale, New York to serve as its exclusive product distributor for the US and Puerto Rico. The announcement comes from KLANG:technologies founder and chief marketing officer Pascal Dietrich.

"Group One is the perfect distribution partner for KLANG in the States," says Dietrich. "In addition to having one of the industry's most active and effective sales and marketing teams, they have a deep knowledge base and highly attentive support effort for all of the products they represent. That's why Group One has such an extensive network of top acts, engineers, houses of worship and AV consultants using their brands' products; they're literally everywhere that quality sound matters."

Group One President Jack Kelly agrees: "We have deep relationships with both engineers and rental companie

Poland - Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2016 has yet again set a new all-time high in viewership and engagement, it was the biggest eSports event in ESL history.

The finals of the tenth Intel Extreme Masters season were seen by more than 34m unique viewers - a staggering 32% increase on last year. The three-day main event itself saw 113,000 fans stream into the Spodek arena and IEM Expo, with the finals of each Intel Extreme Masters tournament taking place in front of 10,000 fans in the sold-out stadium.

The ESL relied on the experience of Aram for the planning, design and technical production of all five stages including the giant main stage and also 11 trade fair booths. Aram was responsible for the concepts and the complete technical and set designs of all stages including rental of lighting, multimedia, scenic, audio, trussing, rigging as well as custom made automation

UK - Lighting and visuals specialist HSL is supplying lighting and production rigging for the recently opened theatrical staging of Jeff Wayne's 1978 cult album War of the Worlds at the Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, London, produced by Bill Kenwright.

The work is based on HG Wells' 1879 novel about a Martian invasion and has the additional resonance of being played completely with a mix of orchestral and electronic musicians conducted by Wayne himself.

Directed by Bob Tomson, it boasts a star studded cast and is narrated by Liam Neeson - who appears via video - and an equally talented technical and creative team includes lighting designed by Tim Oliver and set by Ric Lipson for Stufish.

HSL's John Slevin, project managing the account, comments, "We're extremely proud to be supporting this production for the first time in the West End. The design is vib

USA - Ultra Music Festival once again took over Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami to celebrate the conclusion of the annual Winter Music Conference and kick off the summer electronic dance music festival scene with seven stages and some of the biggest DJ's in the EDM circuit. For the fifth year running, AG Production Services was called upon to provide its massive dome structure for two of the stages at Ultra.

"For the past five years, we have provided what has become a staple at music festivals and larger outdoor events, our Mini-Mega Structure for the Carl Cox & Friends Stage at Ultra Music Festival," says AG Production Services president Andrew Gumper. "A scaled down version of the Mini-Mega Structure, which was used on the Worldwide Stage has also become a staple. Both structures use the same trussing and rigging materials and are highly configurable while still providing im

USA - A variety of Audio-Technica 40 Series broadcast & production microphones and M-Series headphones have been used to both capture and deliver a remarkable sonic and visual art installation in Times Square, New York City.

From 1 April, Soundwalk Collective, an international sound collective based in New York and Berlin, will present Jungle-Iized: A Conversation With Nature - a month-long interactive multi-sensory art installation that will transform Times Square and transport over half a million visitors daily to the heart of the Amazon.

Presented in partnership with David de Rothschild, The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC), Times Square Arts, Audio-Technica and CXA+ART, the immersive installation includes a participatory audio experience and an interactive video, to encourage a conversation with nature and to heighten awareness of the environmental impa

UK - David Graham technical director of the National Student Drama Festival approached All Access Staging and Productions once again this year to sponsor the festival. "In previous years we had t-shirts made for the attendees to wear, this year we decided that we would provide everyone with a pair of dirty rigger gloves with the All Access logo on," says Matthew Bull, sales and marketing manager. "Everyone was delighted with them, helping to ensure they had the appropriate PPE for their daily fit ups."

This year All Access Staging and Productions also gave a talk and training session as part of the daily workshops open to all at the festival. "Everyone who came went away knowing the company a little better and gained some practical knowledge," comments Bull. "I feel it is important that we can pass on some free training to people starting off in the industry, giving them confi

USA - Grammy-award winning hip-hop and R&B artist CeeLo Green recently completed an eleven-city Love Train tour celebrating the release of his new album Heart Blanche.

Although past performances featured a full acoustic band, CeeLo wanted to "pull it back" for this tour and, for these audiences he performed with just a sax and flute player, a percussionist and a DJ. However, the simplicity of CeeLo's stage masked a complex production with music ranging from hip-hop to jazz and a sophisticated audio system using an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 mixer and DM48 MixRack.

Art Merriweather, CeeLo's front-of-house and monitor engineer used wireless mics for CeeLo and all three backup vocalists and connected the sax player's pedal board, the percussionist's feeds and the DJ via direct inputs to the DM48 MixRack on stage.

Merriweather mixed and grouped these sources into as many as

Slovakia - Engineers from KV2 Audio are putting the company's VHD5.0 large format concert system through extensive testing in preparation for its first major public performance. The system will be used for two sell out concerts in Bratislava, Slovakia for one of the country's leading performers Lucie B

Austria - Nexo's STM Series modular line array design has been tested in -15°C temperatures and delivered winning results for Austria's volksmusik superstar Andreas Gabalier.

Now one of the most successful performers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Gabalier was the headline act at the WinterParty concert, held in Seefeld in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria. The show presented new challenges for the WinterParty's rental company Rental Pro Austria; an increase in the audience size and a new stage position to accommodate it.

To service the larger event, Rental Pro Austria teamed up with its Czech Republic partner Rental Pro EU, pooling their inventories of Nexo STM line array elements necessary for the large and wide outdoor venue.

"Last year, we used STM but the system was configured only with M46 main cabinets and S118 sub-bass modules because the venue was smaller

UK - Set in 1960's Yorkshire, Heartbeat is one of the most successful dramas ever to be screened on British television. With 18 series and 372 episodes, the show was regularly watched by more than 14m viewers and spawned two spin-off series.

Now, for the first-time ever, this iconic show is being adapted into a stage production that will visit several venues across the UK. White Light is providing the lighting equipment for this world premiere which has now opened at the Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Originally broadcast on ITV1, Heartbeat is set in the fictional village of Aidensfield and focuses on the local police force having to deal with the day-to-day events of living in a rural community.

The stage version of the show is being produced by David Graham Entertainment Limited. Managing director David Graham comments, "We have lots of experience in adapting

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