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UK - Now 11 years old, Chris Evans’ popular CarFests show no signs of running out of gas, as some 50,000 people again took to Laverstoke Park Farm near Overton, Hampshire - owned by 1979 Formula One World Champion, Jody Scheckter - for CarFest South. Inaugurated by Evans back in 2011, the event raises funds for Children in Need.
The event is a regular client of Martin Audio partner SWG Events, the south-west-based production company, who provided a full sound and light package. This included their Martin Audio WPL line array, which provided sound reinforcement for a broad range of artists. These included Kaiser Chiefs, Rag 'n' Bone Man, Tom Odell, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Faithless Soundsystem, James Blunt, Judge Jules, Bob Marley Revival and Rick Parfitt Jnr, Paloma Faith and Steps.
The fast-moving performance area is built around three differently configured stages, fl

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UK - The newest Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) campus at Queens Park officially opens on 28 October and houses the Mix Master studio centred around the Audient ASP8024-HE console. According to ICMP’s head of industry partnerships and business development, Ace, “it is constantly in use for lessons as well as student projects and has received nothing but great comments and reviews from staff and students alike.”
Designed by Veale Associates, the studio was part of phase one of ICMP’s £2.5m development project, which also includes a high-end recording studio, state-of-the-art post-production facilities, as well as the Audient mixing and mastering studio.
Alongside the large format mixing console from Audient, there is a rack packed with hardware from SSL, Empirical Audio, Aphex and Lexicon, and a selection of speakers from PMC, Yamaha & A
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South Africa - Blue Array Productions has become the first technical supply company in South Africa to take ownership of a DiGiCo Quantum 338, purchased from DWR Distribution.
Over the past 17 years, Blue Array has become known for its professional service in audio rental and productions. Their DiGiCo journey started in 2016 with the investment of a SD5, which was also a first in the SA market. Today they are home to a DiGiCo S31, SD11, SD5 and now the Quantum 338, all taken care of by senior sound engineer Nathan Thiart and the Blue Array Team.
“The idea behind our latest purchase was to specify rider-driven equipment that would also cater for local audio engineers,” said Nathan, who also heads the Blue Array office in Johannesburg. “We considered the SD12-96, nothing too big nor too fancy, and something that would satisfy the local market. Our main necessity w

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USA - Comedian Nikki Glaser’s first HBO comedy special is a no-holds-barred hour of comedy. Taped late last year at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado in front of a sold-out audience, Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Filth premiered on HBO on 16 July and is available to stream on HBO Max.
Chief designer at E26 Design, Marc Janowitz, who served as lighting and production designer for the special, sought a sparkle lighting effect to go along with the set’s backdrop glitter curtain. He found what he was looking for in Elation’s SparkLED twinkle effect, proprietary technology included in the Elation Rayzor 760 LED wash moving head, as well as other Elation luminaires.
“When we were exchanging design and visual ideas, Nikki showed us a picture from a show she had done in a Vegas showroom where there was a glitter curtain,” Janowitz recalls. “She really li

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USA - In a city famous for its nightlife, this year’s Life is Beautiful festival, produced in partnership with Another Planet Entertainment, boosted Las Vegas’ reputation for big, bold, and electrifying events to new heights.
Staged over three weekend nights in late September, the ninth edition of Life is Beautiful occupied no less than 18 blocks of downtown Sin City to accommodate non-stop revelry by crowds estimated at up to 150,000.
The main musical attractions were at the Downtown and Bacardí stages, both equipped with Meyer Sound systems provided by Solotech. At the Downtown Stage, where headliners like Calvin Harris, Gorillaz, Jack Harlow, and Arctic Monkeys pumped up the night, the party-level sound was powered by a Panther large-format linear line array loudspeaker system.
“We all recognised that the close ties between Meyer Sound and Life is Beaut

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USA - Shure invited top professional women in the theatre industry from around the globe to join Shure President and CEO Chris Schyvinck for a panel discussion around the evolving role of women.
Panelists included Vicki Hill, front-of-house operator for theatre (UK), Nancy Lam, chief theatre technician, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (Hong Kong), Victoria (Toy) Deiorio, head of sound design at DePaul University (US) and Stephanie Farina, adjunct professor at The Theatre School at DePaul University.
The live online broadcast provided a myriad of topics ranging from what inspired these professionals to pursue this career, to challenges faced in the industry and global regions, to advice they have for young women interested in theatre production.
“This talented panel of women from all over the globe really provided some fantastic insights into their dive

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UK - frame:work is a community organisation for creative video professionals working in live events, installations and virtual production. Here, frame:work co-founder Laura Frank tells us what to expect at the first in-person event, a two-day conference, set to take place on 3-4 November at central London’s CodeNode . . .
What led to frame:work becoming established within the professional video / entertainment technology industry? Did you feel there was a gap in the market for a sector-specific education and networking event?
Laura Frank: “Creative video professionals have spent years at conferences that speak to only part of the challenges faced in our work. My co-founders and I wanted a forum where someone who works across film, broadcast and live performance could talk about producing content and managing screens control for those very different productio

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South Africa - It was a celebration of talent at the fourth edition of the DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards held at Time Square’s SunBet Arena in Tshwane after a two-year interval due to the pandemic. The event coincided with the lifting of all COVID-19 regulations in South Africa, allowing local celebrities and delegates to feel a sense of freedom as they attended the broadcast event produced by Don’t Look Down with technical by AV Unlimited and Visual Frontier appointed for lighting design.
The DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards honours those working in television, radio, music, sports and comedy, as voted by viewers living in South Africa. The show opened with a cameo appearance by Leanne Manas, was hosted by Lawrence Maleka and included performances by artists including Tuks Senganga, Boohle, Pabi Cooper, Kamo Mphela and Zakes Bantwini.
“What I love abo

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Japan - Rock in Japan made its post-COVID-19 return this year and did so in very different fashion. The five-day event was reborn as an urban style festival in a new location, having moved to the Soga Sports Park in the coastal resort of Chiba from its previous home of Hitachinaka.
The change of location had been a major concern for those managing and promoting the shows, as Soga Sports Park is located near residences and in a densely populated shopping area. Additionally, it was the first time that a festival had taken place here. The potential of noise pollution problems caused challenges for the production team.
“We had to adopt a completely different the approach,” stated Shuzo Fujii, president of MSI Japan, the sound production company. “Up until now, we have always focused on how far we could throw our MLA loudspeaker array, but this time we had to think in

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Belgium - Girl band K3 are back on the road performing to their enthusiastic young fanbase, complete with a tightly choreographed show produced by Studio 100 and lighting designed by Jeroen Opsteyn from creative outfit Painting with Light (PWL) who worked closely with choreographer, Tommy Gryson.
Wanting to keep the focus firmly on the performers, a minimalist ‘bare stage’ production concept was developed without video but with a big emphasis on lighting to provide the visual atmospherics including a kinetic essence that flowed throughout the performance with the dance movements.
This was delivered by Opsteyn with a carefully chosen rig that includes 40 x Robe Tetra2 moving LED batten fixtures that play a key role in the lighting design, which, together with a series of smartly designed props and costumes and the tight choreography, help bring the stage alive with

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Spain - It’s been a busy summer for BTM Sound as a full programme of concerts and festivals returned to Catalunya in 2022 following two years of COVID-19 lockdowns. The Girona-based events services specialists deployed Nexo systems at festivals at Porta Ferrada with performances from Iggy Pop, Herbie Hancock and Jamie Cullum, Mas Sorrer and Sons del Món on the Costa Brava at Roses, where headliners included Andrés Calamaro, Gipsy Kings and Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals.
In a stunning location overlooking the Mediterranean, the Nexo System at Sons del Món comprised of 12-box line arrays of Geo M12 to cover an audience depth of approximately 60m, with eight pairs of MSUB18 sub bass cabinets across the front of the stage. Nexo’s P12 point source speakers were used for font and side-fills, and performers enjoyed precision coverage from Nexo’s 45N12 stage monitor

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Slovenia - The venue known today as Dom kulture Kamnik (DKK), located to the north of Ljubljana in Slovenia, was built in 1953 as part of the Kamnik Chemical Industry. Constructed by the workers themselves, DKK was designed to be a cultural entertainment centre to serve the local community. Although the main stage incorporated hoists, the venue was primarily used as a movie theatre until it temporarily closed its doors in 1991.
With the idea of revitalizing live performances came the decision to renovate the building. Over the past two decades, a variety of improvements have been made, including the recent installation of a stage machinery system from ETC Rigging, comprising Prodigy P2 hoists, Helix cable management, a ColorSource Raceway prewired power and data distribution system, and a QuickTouch Preset controller.
“Back in 2017, we were at DKK installing an ETC C

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Expensive Tastes - Tickets for next year's Glastonbury Festival will cost £340, organisers have confirmed. Festival-goers will be charged £335 plus a £5 booking fee for standard tickets, plus a £50 deposit. The last time tickets went on sale, in 2019, they cost £265 plus the booking fee for what should have been the 2020 festival, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The music event will return to Worthy Farm in Somerset from 21 to 25 June 2023, and tickets - which usually sell out in minutes - will go on sale on 6 November. Fans must register before purchasing in a bid by organisers to stop ticket touts.
Bittersweet - The Lord Mayor of Liverpool said winning Eurovision was "bittersweet" and vowed to do his utmost to honour the Ukrainian sister city. Councillor Roy Gladden has written to the Mayor of Odesa after Liverpool secured the right to host the 202

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UK - Production Futures exists to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop real careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film industries. The organisation’s Breakthrough Awards, presented in association with TPi magazine, recognise the impact of up-and-coming talent in all areas of production, with nominations made by tutors, mentors, colleagues or peers.
This year, the six winners received their awards at the Production Futures ON TOUR event which took place in late September at Production Park in Wakefield. The event was the first of a series taking place across the UK in the coming months and saw more than six hundred young people through its doors. Thirty-five brand partners from the worlds of audio, lighting, TV, virtual events and global logistics, were on hand to offer in

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Austria - Oper Im Steinbruch, the annual opera event set in the Roman Quarry ampitheatre of St Margarethen, has become a summer staple, with production values as big as the stage itself: At 80m wide and 30m deep, it is Europe’s largest outdoor stage. Event sound designer Volker Werner relies on the object-based spatialisation of TiMax SoundHub to ensure the classical opera narratives, such as this year’s Nabucco by Verdi, are simple to follow for the 4700-capacity audiences.
As remarkable as the size and scale of stage and event, is that each year since inception in 2017 the speaker positions are integrated into the main stage scenery. A total of 98 loudspeakers occupy 53 speaker positions on the main stage and these are spatially unified by a redundant system of two 64-channel TiMax SoundHub processors with Dante which handle the spatialisation

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UK - As part of its overall sustainability initiatives, Shure is improving its packaging to be even more environmentally friendly. Packaging for new Shure products prioritises the use of recyclable and renewable materials.
New products will be packaged using 75 percent recyclable and/or renewable materials in 2023. In addition, the company is also improving packaging sustainability by:
Committing to source a greater portion of our paper and fibre-based packaging from suppliers that are certified by sustainable forestry organisations such as FSC, SFI and/or PEFC, with the intention to eliminate non-certified packaging by 2030.
Optimising packaging for efficient distribution and logistics (creating packaging that better fits onto pallets and shipping containers to maximise space, which reduces transportation fuel and emissions produced by excess shipments).
E

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USA - UK manufacturer Optimal Audio has announced the appointment of TMP Pro as a distributor in the United States.
Optimal Audio, part of the Focusrite Group, manufactures a one-stop solution of control, amplification and loudspeakers for small to medium sized commercial installations, with a focus on supporting multi-zoned venues.
Based in Connecticut, TMP Pro is the pro audio, video, lighting, and pro accessories division of The Music People, an Exertis/Jam business which distributes more than 200 premium brands across the US. The company’s substantial distribution capacity is based on strong relationships with its brands, allied to a capacity to exceed expectations through the expertise of its certified specialists.
David Henry, national accounts manager, TMP Pro comments, “We are proud, honoured, and excited to offer our US dealers access to the Optima

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Sweden - Martin Audio has announced the appointment of Winther Sound Solutions (WSS) as its new distributor for Sweden.
Although a young company, WSS already has an impressive track record with Martin Audio products having worked as a dealer for the last two years. During this time, they have transacted some impressive business deals, resulting in system deployment in some prestigious sites. One such venue is the recently upgraded Circus in Stockholm where an immersive audio system has brought this theatre arena into an all-Martin Audio domain, with the addition of CDD now supplementing their existing MLA array.
WSS is headed by Mattias Winther, Pontus Svensson and Mårten Ihre - a team with an impressive heritage in the Swedish market. According to Flemming Bjerke, Martin Audio’s sales manager for the Nordic region and Germany, they have more than proven themselves

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USA - Patrick Dierson and The Activity have been involved in the Made In America Festival in Philadelphia since 2014 and this year turned to Elation Professional Proteus, Protron and Smarty luminaires as key elements of a lighting package supplied by 4Wall.
“Our goal is always to provide as many of the various lighting tools that guest LDs expect to find at modern festivals so that we can ensure that the cloning of their existing shows are as seamless as possible,” commented Patrick Dierson of The Activity. “We also have to take into account the proper design placement of all of the elements so that the design has various layers and fills the overall visual space, not just for the attendees but also for the live stream’s camera shots.”
The Activity provided the overall production design, lighting directors for all stages, project manager, art director, and t

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USA - From 2014 to 2017, the University of Houston Cougars football team won 16 straight games on its home gridiron - the John O’Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium - marking the longest active home winning streak in the nation at the time. However, the PA system for the facility, which opened in August of 2014, didn’t share quite the same success, quickly falling victim to the area’s increasingly volatile weather and early component failures.
In response, LD Systems was recently able to step in and remedy the situation with a loudspeaker design from L-Acoustics that offered vastly better audio quality via a streamlined combination of K, A, and X Series products.
TDECU Stadium - its official name derived from the Texas Dow Employees Credit Union, the largest credit union in Houston - is built on the site of the former Robertson Stadium and also hosts the XFL's Houston R

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Singapore - Hope Church in Singapore has invested in a further shipment of Ayrton Eurus Profile luminaires through its exclusive distributor for Singapore, Total Solution Marketing. The new fixtures will complement the Church’s existing stock of Eurus Profile that were first purchased in 2021.
Part of Ayrton’s 6 Series, Eurus Profile is its first multi-function profile luminaire to be launched under the new SLIM-21 TM programme for miniaturising fixtures and reducing their weight, and boasts optics specifically developed for applications requiring perfect image reproduction.
Steven Yeoh, technical director at Hope Church, explains how they came to choose more of this particular fixture, and how the fixtures will be used at the church: “Hope Church Singapore organises various events within our 1,400-seater The Axis Auditorium. Our programme ranges from small scale

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Belgium - Toyota Motor Europe has had plenty of developments to share with customers and the media of late thanks to its impressive array of recently introduced hybrid and electric vehicles. Now, with the opening of its Brand Experience Centre in Brussels, it also has a sleek and engaging new platform for highlighting these innovations.
Located in a former workshop that has been transformed into a contemporary auditorium complex, the new facility features an event space/theatre, studio, and Sky Lab meeting rooms. Auvicom, which has been a major AV supplier to Toyota Europe for over two decades, was responsible for the design and equipment installation at the new centre in consultation with the D-Side Group event agency.
The facility’s 400m2 events space is fully equipped to stage press conferences, product launches and other live happenings, including recording and l

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UK - On Saturday 15 October, DJ technology exhibition BPM 2022 will open its doors at Solihul’s Cranmore Park Conference and Events Centre
Co-organised by Mark Parkhouse, Jack Wilson and Kris Dawber, BPM 2022 will include a busy show floor featuring ADJ, Bose, Chauvet DJ and Neutrik, FBT, RCF, HK Audio, Mackie and more.
The seminar programme – powered by ProMobile Focus and organised in association with Pro Mobile, NADJ, SEDA and the Mobile DJ Network – will cover topics as varied as how DJs can best connect with Gen Y and Z, how businesses can benefit from more digital marketing, and your remix skills can improve courtesy of a masterclass with renowned DJ and producer Paul Dakeyne.
Elsewhere, visitors will be able to compare sound systems from Bishopsound, Citronic, Bose, FBT, HH, HK Audio, Mackie, RCF and Studiomaster in a like-for-like demonstration area

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Spain - Registration is now open for Integrated Systems Europe (ISE 2023). With just under four months until opening day, ISE 2023 already has over 52,000 sqm of space booked, over 30% more than the exhibitor space in 2022.
So far, over 700 companies are already committed to exhibiting, and alongside long-standing flagship exhibitors, ISE 2023 will play host to several new brands making their debut.
Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events managing director, stated: “We can’t wait to return to Barcelona with ISE 2023. This year’s show exceeded expectations, and we are looking forward to a bigger and even better event at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via in January 2023. We already have a great show floor packed with industry-leading brands and we’re working hard to ensure that, yet again, ISE goes above and beyond expectations.”
ISE 2023 will showcase technol
  1. Audio Architecture to distribute Voice Acoustics
  2. Roadie Cookbook supports mental health charities
  3. Lightware supports Lara’s Atlantic crossing
  4. Showman’s Show puts focus on sustainability
  5. Leyard LED display debuts at Permeke Library
  6. Wavefront Precision in full bloom in Shrewsbury
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