USA - Following the success of Halestorm's third studio album Into the Wild, the Grammy-Award winning band returns to the road for a rock tour that takes high-octane energy and powerful female voices, including special guests Lita Ford and Dorothy, and combines it all into one epic event.

Bandit Lites is providing a lighting package that brings mind-blowing visuals to Halestorm's hardcore sound. By using Clay Paky Sharpys, GLP X4S fixtures within black truss towers (evoking a modern, updated look to par ACL Bars), Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes, Bandit 5x5s and GRNLite LED Battens, lighting designer Julie Cox focused on creating a rig that could "push fixture capability instead of quantity", adding, "The fixtures are in their highest effect settings to really up the visual op

China - Nexo's newly-installed public address solutions in one of the world's most modern airports have exceeded targets and expectations. Now up and running in the Mid-Field Concourse of the Hong Kong International Airport (Chep Lak Kok), the PA installation is the culmination of a six-year process, and is being described as a game-changer for public address intelligibility, quality and user experience.

The Mid-Field Concourse (MFC) is a new building which adds 30 gates to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Initiated by the Hong Kong Airport Authority, the MFC is a key component of the airport's expansion plans, which include the opening of a third runway and Terminal.

In 2011, acoustics and AV consultant Arup Hong Kong started the process of defining a future-proof strategy and design for the MFC's public address capability, looking at all acoustic, technological an

Taiwan - As one of the most influential Buddhist organisations in the world, Taiwan's Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) embraces environmental protection within its Buddhist practices.

For two recent events - the second Global Followers Assembly and the annual Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Service - DDM employed modern digital technology and LED lighting to conserve energy and reduce pollution, seamlessly integrating advanced science and art into their traditional ceremonies. ETC's Taiwanese dealer, Ming Li Engineering & Consultant Co, provided ColorSource and Source Four LED Series 2 luminaires and an Eos family control system to light up the two great events.

Both the Global Assembly and the Dharma Service were held at the DDM World Center for Buddhist Education in Taiwan. Approximately 10,000 followers from around the world attended the 2015 Global Assembly, and after

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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

Czech Republic - Czech PA company, MB Agency, has invested in Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing system as part of an upgrade to its hire stock.

The system was used for the first time when MB Agency was appointed by the Czech Forestry Association to manage the technical production of its 20th Anniversary Gala Ball, which took place recently at the cultural venue, Aldis, in the city of Hradec Kr

Copyright Row - Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a copyright row over the song Stairway to Heaven, a US court has ruled. A Los Angeles district judge said there were enough similarities between the song and an instrumental by the band Spirit to let a jury decide. The trial has been scheduled for 10 May.

Stairway to Heaven, released in 1971, is widely seen as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time. The copyright infringement action has been brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s, and claims he should be given a writing credit on the track. Led Zeppelin guitarist Page and lead singer Plant are reputed to have written the track in a remote cottage in Wales.

By Royal Appointment - Kylie Minogue will perform for

UK - Straightpoint has named Simon Paine logistics supervisor, bringing to the role three decades of tier one supply chain experience from the automotive sector.

The force measurement, load monitoring and suspended weighing load cell manufacturer prides itself on short lead times, putting Paine at the forefront of one of the most important departments at the company.

He says, "That doesn't faze me at all. I am used to less than 24-hour lead times in certain instances. I intend to use the skills and tools that I have learnt during more than 30 years in logistics. Initially, I will review working practices and subsequently consult with the team to understand their issues, concerns and roadblocks."

Straightpoint director David Ayling adds, "Simon's recruitment follows suit with recent acquisitions in that he brings to the team perspective, experience and proven success as

Italy - Japan's view of the world and the beauty of its nature has been displayed across seven giant pillars installed at Milano Salone 2016 - created using 140 Panasonic 55" inch professional video wall displays.

The installation is designed with the theme of K?KAN - the Invention of Space and sees 140 TH-55LFV5 panels arranged into seven pillars each over six metres high. It combines the traditional culture of Japan with state-of-the-art technology.

Milano Salone attracts approximately 310,000 visitors and 160 participating countries each year. It has a strong influence on the design industry as a launch pad for the latest global design trends. In recent years, it has evolved beyond its role as a design exhibition and is drawing attention as a platform of expression for many brands.

(Jim Evans)

Brazil - NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has selected Lawo to provide VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) broadcast control and monitoring solution for its production of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, which take place in Rio de Janeiro in August. The production will also utilize Lawo's innovative IP Commentary System. The announcement was made today by Timothy Canary, vice president of engineering, NBC Sports Group.

With the selection of Lawo's VSM and its LCU, Lawo's IP Commentary System, NBC Olympics will implement new, enhanced control flexibility at both the NBC Olympics production compound within the International Broadcast Centre in Rio, and for the NBC Olympics' studios in Stamford, Conn.

VSM will be the overall control system for NBC Olympics' core routing and tally management, connecting to multiple 3rd party devices on an IP backbone, utilizing approx

UK - In February, KV2 Audio were involved in a unique, immersive and intriguing live event at Nottingham Arts Theatre.

It is not often that any venue can boast 40,000+ performers in a live multi-sensory experience - let alone the welcoming and intimate Nottingham Arts Theatre - but the two sold-out Be Play One shows saw just that.

One is the soundscape from the UK Pavilion Milan Expo 2015, which sought to highlight the importance of the UK's honey bee in our food chain and plight as a species.

At the production, 12 musicians were augmented by live-streamed signals from Brackenhurst, Nottinghamshire - where the sound of a 40,000+ strong honey bee hive was instrumental to the sonic experience delivered to the audience via a fully immersive 15:2 surround sound system made up of KV2 Audio products.

Following listening tests undertaken at Hoare Lea's Londo

UK - As you approach or leave Newcastle Central Station on the train, you have your breath caught as you catch sight of the mighty River Tyne and its many famous bridges, but why would you turn your head the other way? This is why the Staiths are so easily and often overlooked, in favour of their skyline dominating neighbours. They do however deserve their moment in the spotlight, as they are a key link to the region's industrial past.

The Staiths, a giant wooden structure on the Gateshead side of the River, has helped carve the North East's industrial past by facilitating the exportation of coal to the rest of country and far beyond. As the coal industry fell into decline towards the end of the 20th century, this structure of wood declined also and with it part of the North East's history. However, after a heritage grant and lottery funding, in 2015 the Staiths was able to op

UK - Filmed at Belfast's vast T13 Urban Sports Park and Event Space, Can't Touch This is new, fast paced entertainment from the BBC. Hosted by Zoe Ball and Ashley Banjo, the show pits contestants against each other as they navigate their way through a huge assault course in the hope of 'touching' the ultimate prize.

Working with LD Gurdip Mahal and Gaffer James Tinsley, Aurora shipped an extensive equipment package to the historic former shipyard to ensure the team had exactly what they needed to spotlight all the action.

With over 60 Spacelights plus a variety of tungsten heads being hung to provide fill throughout the former warehouse, the venue had an almost film set feel, however the LD soon added plenty of automated fixtures to get things moving.

Seventy-two GLP X4 fixtures provided the main wash to the set with Martin Viper Performance, Rush PARs and SGM P

Taiwan - The National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Taiwan has recently opened and is expected to have more than 5m visitors in its first year.

Audio Light Systems supplied & installed the wireless lighting control system to all 175 specialist display cabinets. Each of the cabinets was fitted with Universal Fibre Optic lighting systems which required full wireless dimming control.

Steve Aitchison a senior engineer at ALS spent months designing and fine tuning the correct system for the project and said, "The museum needed to have day to day control of each light in each cabinet throughout all the floors. We provided a portable touch screen in each gallery so the non-technical staff could easily change or fine tune the lighting. I'm really pleased with the project. Our team in Taiwan did a great job."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Following on from last year's £500,000 investment, Fisher Hires has responded to client demand and invested another £275,000 into the business, significantly increasing sound, video and lighting stock.

New products include: Nexo speakers such as the versatile Nexo ID24, and the 45N 12 stage monitor, ChamSys MagicQ lighting consoles, more Panasonic display screens including the super bright 80" LED, plus a wide range of mics from Shure, AKG and Sennheiser as well as Yamaha QL5 mixers.

Lighting capacity has also increased with the purchase of SGN G spot IP Rated Movers, Robe Robin Viva LED Profiles and more of the popular ETC Source Fours LED Lustr's.

Graham Beswick CEO of the Fisher Productions Group said, "I am extremely proud of the work that we do across the Fisher group and our rate of growth. This growth has enabled us to carefully select a compreh

Germany - As in past years, the Production Resource Group (PRG) created their spectacular Highlight Show in the Festhalle at Prolight+Sound 2016.

The first show took place at the event of the LEA Awards, where a spectacular laser display accompanied the performance of the musical group Glasperlenspiel. Afterwards, during the exhibition, the highlight show was played every half hour, showcasing the high quality equipment and show creation capabilities of PRG.

Besides the conventional lighting, video projections and the powerful sound system, an extraordinary and exceptional laser show took place.

More than 400W of laser power were implemented, including the world's-first presentation of a completely new show design lighting fixture - the RTI NEO SIX RGB white light beam arrays with analogue modulation and beam deflection. This new fixture allows for creating twist and w

South Africa - The Splashy Fen Festival is aptly named. Started on a trout farm in the spring of 1990, South Africa's longest running music festival serves up giant helpings of outdoor fun in and out of the water for thousands of visitors every year. There are also arts, crafts, games and plenty of music, from folk, rock, and techno, to mbaqanga (the up-tempo jive music of the townships), and the wonderfully distinctive Zulu style of isicanthamiya.

Over 1500 different groups have performed on the Splashy stage over the past quarter century. This year, the venerable festival got a bold new look, courtesy of a dynamic contemporary main stage lighting design by Shaniel Laloo that was anchored by Strike 4, Rogue R2 Wash and Legend 230SR Beam fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"The festival has been an institution with a loyal following - everyone loves its relaxed atmosphere

South Africa - Rivers Church in Durban has invested in a new MA Lighting dot2 core console which was specified by Rivers' head of lighting, Ed Helliwell. Helliwell is based at the Rivers campus in Sandton Johannesburg, but also oversees the lighting and visuals departments of the busy Durban venue. He's a big advocate of the flexibility of the MA control platform and has had a great experience with the grandMA2 in Johannesburg, which has just opened a brand new 3000 capacity auditorium which is in addition to their older 1200 capacity space.

Durban has also been refurbished to increase the capacity to 950 with a new balcony, and that seemed an appropriate time to upgrade elements of the lighting.

The previous console was old and having issues, so when Helliwell attended a course run by MA's South African distributor DWR to introduce and highlight the power and simplicity o

UK - Busy rental company Storm Lighting, based in Woking, Surrey, has invested in 30 x Robe BMFL Blades and 30 x LEDWash 1000s for their ongoing work which includes a diverse range of premium corporate events, leading theatre tours and some music shows.

This new sale follows Storm's initial Robe purchases made in 2014, of LEDBeam 100s, LEDWash 600s and Pointes. These fixtures have all been a great success, and impressed with their reliability and the excellent customer service from Robe UK, Storm founders Dave Knapp and Pete Kramer decided to continue their commitment to the brand. The BMFL Blades and LEDBeam 1000s replace some older moving lights.

Robe UK came to Storm and conducted a demo explains Dave, "As soon as I saw the BMFL Blades I knew they fitted the bill! We were hugely impressed with the output, the speed and the compact size of the unit."

They also have a

Germany - PR Lighting reported one of its most successful shows ever at this month's Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt.

Visitors to the Messe were hit with promotional banners from the moment they arrived, announcing a competition to win prizes based around five little humanoid robots, which had earlier performed on CCTV's Lunar New Year Gala 2016, celebrating the Chinese New Year. In Frankfurt they were performing to I'm Sexy And I Know It, which was synced to the spectacular lightshow. And after revelling in the show, many of the awe-struck visitors were fortunate enough to leave the booth with souvenirs, prizes and mementos after competing in the company's 'lucky draw'.

Away from this light-hearted crowd pleaser, there was more high technology in evidence, as the serious business was focused on the Chinese company's new BWS series. Using advanced lamp technology t

Germany - Laserworld launched several new products at this year's Prolight+Sound, amongst them also two world-first releases: The RTI NEO SIX RGB beam arrays and the HB-Laser Poseidon 3D-HydroMatrix HD.

The stand concept was completely different to past years, as there was no actual show on display at the booth but a huge bar, surrounding a tall tree in the middle of the stand.

Several lasers of the new tarm Series and others created ambient laser effects and a multitude of laser of the Garden Series illuminated the tree and the bar with hundreds of tiny light dots. A specially created Sweet RGB Dreams shot was presented to customers at the bar - RGB representing the base colours for the utmost white light laser systems nowadays.

Additionally, - more than 400W of laser power. The brand new RTI NEO SIX RGB white light beam arrays with analogue modulation and beam

Germany - The introduction of d&b NoizCalc at Frankfurt's 2016 Prolight+Sound has brought some much needed promise to the serious subject of far field noise immission at open air events.

The new d&b software tool, created in collaboration with noise consulting and software development experts, SoundPLAN, will enable system designers to assess how multiple complex and coherently emitting sources, such as d&b line arrays and subwoofer arrays, will impact on areas outside the listening field - to internationally recognized standards. NoizCalc is a further radical enhancement in the prediction and planning toolbox for existing d&b systems.

At the exhibition stand, dedicated workstations gave visitors a chance to take a closer look at NoizCalc as well as the recently launched Dante enabling DS10 Audio network bridge. And whether mobile or installation, the complete loudspeaker

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