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USA - Rising American country music star Canaan Smith has been touring with Robe Pointes and LEDWash 600s, specified by lighting designer Sooner Routhier, whose objective was to create a fresh and vibrant look for each show on the first US leg of the artist's 'Stompin' Grounds' tour, also his first full headlining venture.

Visiting a variety of different sized venues, Sooner's starting point for the design was a series of corrugated, metal, graffiti art pieces in set carts which are positioned onstage. These were inspired by artwork that Canaan had created on his smartphone, bringing a real personal touch to the performance space.

The 12 x Pointes and eight LEDWash 600s were also rigged on the set carts and in various other positions on the floor and overhead trusses to get

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UK - The Theatres Trust, the national advisory public body for theatres, has announced a renewed commitment to the protection of theatres with a new strategy and visual identity and the launch of our Theatres Trust 40 programme of events.

Says the Trust, "As the voice for theatres we use our knowledge of policy and practice to promote the value and benefits of theatres in use. We want live theatre to have a place in everyone's lives.

"We are committed to delivering a more powerful campaigning voice. Our expert advice will be more visible and more influential in the planning system and within the theatre industry. We will create new opportunities to discover more about theatres, and we will increase the levels of capital grants and funding we provide."

Chair of the Theatres Trust, Tim Eyles, says, "Our new strategy and visual identity mark the start of an exciting next

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Rap On Broadway - Hit musical Hamilton has won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Telling the story of America's birth and founding father Alexander Hamilton in rap and R&B style, judges described it as "a landmark American musical". In its 100-year history, it is only the ninth musical to win the prize, which is normally given to plays. Its writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda said: "To win today is beyond my wildest dreams. It is a tremendous honour to even be considered."

The win adds to a series of accolades given to the show, which has grossed more than $60m (£41.9m) in advance ticket sales and has been sold out for months. The musical won the 2016 Grammy Award for best musical theatre album, and Miranda was given the 2015 MacArthur Genius Grant.

Just Giving - Sir Elton John has topped the list of the most generous celebrities, having given away near

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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

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USA - Following the release of the SolaSpot Pro 1000 and SolaWash FX 1000 luminaires at the recent Pro Light & Sound Exhibition, High End Systems has announced several key promotions within their sales and management teams.

Jeff Pelzl has been promoted to general manager of High End Systems; a 26 year veteran of the company, Pelzl has worked in numerous roles within the organization throughout his tenure, most recently in marketing management and as sales manager for the Pacific Rim territory.

Additionally, in the restructuring of High End's sales organization, Sean Hoey is assuming a new position as US national sales manager, while Scott Kinnebrew will now be handling sales for the Northeast US region.

Jeff Pelzl commented, "I'm excited to take on this new role for the company, and believe my years of experience in many facets of our operation has more than prepared m

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Germany - Powersoft took to the new hall reshuffle at Frankfurt Messe like a duck to water at this year's Prolight+Sound, as they reported another highly successful outing.

As ever, interest in Powersoft's amplifiers continues to run high. But the feature that particularly pleased Francesco Fanicchi, the company's brand and communication director, had been the radical decision to promote popular series such as the 'X' and Ottocanali families by application, rather than technical characteristics.

"This new concept brought us closer to users' needs and enabled them to choose the right amps for the right applications," he said. "In particular, it helped us to make the distinction with our two rack amp lines that are now well delineated."

Visitors were also impressed by the latest reboot version of Deva, the company's multimedia device that integrates solar power, bi-direc

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Germany - One of the highlights of the show is the Prolight + Sound International Press Awards (PIPA).

More than 100 dedicated special interest magazines from all over the world voted for the best pro audio equipment and musical instruments of 2015/2016 in 38 categories.

This year, Electro-Voice received a PIPA award for the second time in a row: the X-Line Advance compact vertical line array loudspeaker system convinced the jury in the concert sound category.

Introduced in spring 2015, X-Line Advance is gaining industry notice for providing a satisfying combination of precise, linear output, a best-in-class performance-to-size ratio and a user-friendly rigging system. Last year, EKX series loudspeakers from Electro-Voice prevailed over the competition in the portable sound category.

Guillermo Wabi, product manager for concert sound systems with Electro-Voice, prou

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Germany - Robert Juliat was very happy with its position in the middle of the Lightpower Village in Hall 3.0 where its products attracted a constant stream of visitors for the whole duration of the show.

The array of RJ Zep LED profile and Fresnel fixtures drew much attention from theatre, event and display technicians, as did the Merlin 2500W HMI touring spot and the 300W LED Roxie followspot, which both continue to lead the way in followspot innovation.

But perhaps the biggest scene-stealer was the Dalis LED cyclorama light which brought with it some exciting new developments to the technology that took the show by storm in 2015. In addition to the award-winning Dalis 860 Cyclight, which has been flying off the shelves since last year, Robert Juliat also unveiled a new Dalis footlight batten and a Dalis wash light.

The Dalis LED Footlight 862 is a 150W LED batten wit

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USA - Singer, dancer and actress Tinashe is out on her 2016 Joyride world tour beneath an Elation Professional rig of SixBar 1000 LED battens and Platinum 5R Beam moving heads with graphic elements displayed across an LED wall made up of Elation EMAG4 LED panels. The efficient lighting and video package is highly versatile and creates surprisingly big looks for the moody but active show.

Lighting and production design is by DK Production Design of Evanston, Illinois, a turnkey visual solutions provider that worked with creative director Jamaica Craft on the look of the show. Their first tour with Tinashe, DK Production Design created the lighting and staging design as well as content creation for the LED screen together with Craft, who they have been working with for years.

The SixBar color-changing battens, which feature a six-color LED multi-chip, can be used for a varie

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UK - When Hungry Bear Media produced Michael McIntyre's Big Show, the new Saturday night entertainment show that aired on BBC 1 this weekend, they brought Showforce's crew in to assist. The show is hosted by Michael McIntyre and features a variety of acts and talent, the production was recorded in front of a live audience at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

A six-week run of filming began at the end of February and was completed in early April. Showforce provided a team of 22 who were on site for two nights each week, delivering crewing requirements for the theatre, the backstage area and to support the production's suppliers.

The Showforce crew assisted backstage across the whole production, assisting the production's suppliers, this included: loading in Plus4Audio's equipment; transferring PRG's lighting rigs to the stage; unloading and installing a video wa

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UK - The Prolight Concepts Group will be launching a brand new website and e-catalogue on 3 May 2016. The new website, www.prolight.co.uk, has been designed on a flexible user-friendly platform providing improved navigation and functionality on a multitude of devices. The same information that users are used to is still present, but with the added benefit of a whole host of extra bells and whistles. The company is also set to reveal a brand makeover with a refreshed logo and slick new style.

"As of 3 May 2016, you will be able enjoy the ultimate user-friendly experience and peruse the new website," the company says. "Not only is this compatible with all web browsers, it has been designed to be easily navigated on tablets, mobile devices and more as it automatically adjusts to any screen size. The website houses extensive information on the products, brands and services they of

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USA - Ashly Audio has appointed LVX Marketing to serve as its manufacturer's representative in northern California and northern Nevada. Between them, LVX president Ed Ulibarri and LVX CEO John Hernandez have over 50 years of experience working with professional audio manufacturers, and their combined experience in the retail market extends even beyond that.

"We bring a lot of perspective from all sides of the market," said Hernandez. "We're excited to partner with Ashly - a respected pro audio company that's been designing and manufacturing innovative products right here in the United States for over forty years. With Ashly on our line card, our clients will have access to a diversity of amplifier, DSP, and user interface configurations to perfectly fit audio instillations and applications of all sizes."

"We have a lot of respect for Ed and John's experience and loyalty to

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UK - Adlib supplied an L-Acoustics 'racks-and-stacks' audio solution plus a full support package and crew to Years & Years recent UK tour which saw the chart-topping rising star synthpop trio from London playing a series of sold out theatres and arenas.

Adlib were brought on-board by production manager Steve Down. Two of their most experienced regular engineers, Sam Proctor and Hassane Es Siahi were tasked to ensure that band engineers Pablo Campanara (FOH) and Harry Bishop (monitors) received impeccable support.

Due to the variety of venues on the itinerary, Pablo specified a system with great flexibility, so an L-Acoustic's K1 / K2 package, which in the largest iteration - as used for Wembley and Birmingham - comprised of 12 x L-Acoustics K1s a side with four Kara downs for the main hangs and 12 x K2s a-side for the secondary / side hangs.

The 18 x SB28 subs were gro

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UK - A.C. Video, a sales division of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) is hosting an Open Day on Tuesday, 26 April 2016 at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, to demonstrate the latest innovations from their portfolio of cutting-edge brands.

With only a week to go, there are still some free places left for the informal event, which will showcase the division's UK-exclusive brands at the forefront of video production in the entertainment and AV integration sectors. These include Green Hippo media servers, ProLights high performance video displays, Just Add Power receivers and Luminex Ethernet switches.

Other featured brands include Draper, Christie Digital, Philips Signage Solutions, AViary - and from the company's Audio sales division, Dynamic Audio Device.

In addition to a product overview and 'hands-on' training sessions, A.C. Video will also demonstrate how these co

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Czech Republic - Italian pro audio manufacturer Outline has announced Primaton s.r.o. as their exclusive distributor for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Headquartered in Praha (Prague), Czech Republic, Primaton is already very well connected to the professional touring, production and installation market due to their involvement with MA Lighting, Robe, ARRI, Doughty and other lighting products through their sister company LightNeq.

LightNeq currently offers services in lighting design and technical proposals for large events, such as the Ice Hockey World Championships, Olympic House of the Czech Republic in London and many other important projects in the field of concert tours in the Czech and Slovak Republics.

Founder Pavel Lenoch stated, "We had been looking for a quality loudspeaker manufacturing partner to fulfil the demand for quality professional audio products.

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UK - PRG XL Video, the UK operation of global event technology provider Production Resource Group (PRG), has announced an addition to its corporate account management team.

Thomas Walsh joins PRG XL Video from Hawthorn, where he was a project manager, supplying multi-discipline production services to a variety of events. Events Thomas has delivered include the Coronation Festival Gala at Buckingham Palace.

Prior to working at Hawthorn, Thomas graduated from Leeds Beckett University with an honours degree in Creative Music and Sound Technology, and subsequently gained broad industry experience working as a technician and production manager for Aztec Event Services.

Thomas will report to Guy Vellacott, PRG XL Video's director corporate group, who comments, "We're really pleased to welcome Thomas Walsh to the team. He has a strong technical knowledge of event production a

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Germany - Philips Lighting is celebrating its Entertainment division's most successful Prolight+Sound show to date. With a record number of on stand visitors, the Entertainment team is crediting Prolight+Sound's new concept and location in the Eastern section of the Messe for the boost.

"We really saw a noticeable increase in visitors to our stand from previous years," says Philips Entertainment general Manager Grant Bales-Smith. "The show's new set-up, along with our completely new stand concept, worked well to highlight to visitors our fresh and original approach."

Philips Lighting opted to theme its stand 'inspired by light', with a large video screen displaying stunning imagery of natural light. Lighting designer Mark Wynn-Edwards created a range of looks that worked with the video to fully immerse visitors in the experience and demonstrate how Philips understands and

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UK - Midas has announced the launch of the Midas M8000, an ultra-high performance 192 kHz, eight-channel A/D converter with "unprecedented audio and sonic performance".

Andy Trott, SVP, Enterprise & Entertainment Division states, "For over four decades, Madas has been the undisputed leader in audio and sound performance, especially known for its award-winning microphone preamplifiers and best sounding mixing consoles.

"Our Manchester Innovation team spent over three years and close to 1 US$m to develop what we believe is the world's best-sounding A/D converter. Based on advanced multi-bit delta-sigma architecture and a revolutionary high-speed TDM interface, the converter's performance delivers close to 120 dB of dynamic range with sampling rates up to 216 kHz."

Andy continues, "We are especially proud of the M8000's incredible audio performance, which industry standar

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UK - Quantum Special Effects designed two new products for Adele's sell out world tour - a bespoke tourable rain system and storm blasters that can deliver up to a minute of non-stop confetti across an entire arena.

Working closely with Adele Live 2016 show designer Es Devlin and production manager Richard Young, Quantum is supplying over 100 shows across 44 arenas.

Quantum's team of in-house designers and engineers had just eight weeks to design, develop and build the new Q: Rain Graphix and just a fortnight for the Q: Storm Blasters.

Providing a genuine indoor downpour for Adele's performance of Set Fire to the Rain is Quantum's new digital rain system the Q: Rain Graphix. The system creates a four-walled curtain of rain around the singer whilst she remains safe and dry within.

Mike Badley, engineer at Quantum, built and designed the system. He said, "The

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USA - While his first show of the year may have launched in February, Billy Currington, ever the consummate country summer ballad crooner, is crisscrossing the nation continuing his Summer Forever Tour with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites.

The singer-songwriter, with nine No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, recently released It Don't Hurt Like It Used To, the third single off his sixth studio album, Summer Forever.

Having provided lighting packages for Currington for more than five years, Bandit Lites was ready to once again provide gear, service and support for when the Must Be Doin' Something Right singer kicked off his first headlining show.

Lighting designer Chris Shrom used some of Bandit's newest acquisitions in touring inventory, Elation's ACL 360 Bars, Robe Robin Pointes, Elation Cuepix 2-Cell

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USA - History resonates throughout Worcester City Hall and the surrounding common area. It was from this spot on 14 July, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence was first read in New England. Tradition has clearly enriched this ornate granite building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, but at times, it has also created special challenges.

Such was the case recently, when Worcester wanted to build a City Hall broadcast studio. Unable to expand the size of their historic structure outwardly, city leaders were forced to turn inward, creating their new studio in the building's basement. They did this in spectacular fashion, thanks to a skillful design by Jonathan Lipsy that drew on the performance features of Chauvet Professional LED fixtures.

"The basement wasn't the first option, but it turned out to be the only option for the studio," said Lipsy, who

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South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa has made the largest LumenRadio investment in Africa to be used for The Forever Living Products 2016 Global Rally at the Ticketpro Dome in North Riding Johannesburg.

"I was impressed when seeing the LumenRadio system at the roadshow DWR hosted at the UJ theatre a few of years ago," said Stuart Andrews, lighting operations manager at Gearhouse Johannesburg. "The LumenRadio guys had really done their research and development and could answer any query I had so thoroughly that I had no doubts that it would deliver. It's such a vital link in the chain that to go with a system that doesn't offer complete peace of mind simply wouldn't be acceptable."

Gearhouse Cape Town was the first to purchase a LumenRadio system. "We used this wireless system before in Johannesburg with great success," he said.

The new gear was installed and set up at

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