UK - PRG (Production Resource Group UK) has become the latest high profile lighting hire company to invest heavily in SGM's new generation LED fixtures.

They have purchased 46 of the P-5 RGBW wash lights for their busy Autumn and pre-Christmas outdoor season, as part of a general LED inventory upgrade.

Paul Weaver, head of EU asset management, says the company has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with SGM over the years, and this marks the latest chapter. "We have had SGM in stock for the last eight to ten years, using the Palco 3 as our standard weatherproof LED flood but it was time to update our stock."

Says Weaver, "Since the introduction of the new SGM, and Peter [Johansen] coming on board, the company has become really interesting again and there are exciting products coming through such as G-Spot. We see the P-5 as an investment for the long t

Germany - PR Lighting's PR 5000 Framing fixtures have been adopted for the Autumn season opera productions of the famous Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Germany, which combines both the Opera Düsseldorf and Theater Duisburg.

Ordered from Focon Showtechnic, PR Lighting's German distributors, the PR-5000 Framing fixtures were chosen as offering the best quality to price ratio, comparable with the leading professional models in terms of performance.

Specified by lighting and video director, Volker Weinhart (and used by other guest lighting directors), the fixtures, driven by 1500W discharge lamp, will also form part of the theatre's opera and ballet touring inventory, where they will be used on all productions across the world, 300 days of the year. In fact the Opera and Ballet company is one of the largest in Europe with 870 employees including two symphony orchestras with 220 musici

USA - Saskatchewan Roughriders fans enjoy more than a winning football team upon entering the 45,000-seat Mosaic Stadium in Regina each game day. In fact, home and visiting team fans alike are treated to professional in-venue, large-screen video productions that further enliven the atmosphere - with instant replays and highlight packages from Tightrope's ZEPLAY slow-motion system playing a major role.

"We have the challenge of keeping our fans entertained and engaged, and our philosophy is that we're not simply competing with the at-home TV experience - we want to improve on that experience within the stadium atmosphere," said Bill Wright, director of partnerships and game day operations, Saskatchewan Roughriders. "So we show more replays than viewers get at home, along with more close-ups and stats. We create as much on that screen as we can, at the best possible

Korea - Allen & Heath's Korean distributor, Sama ProSound Co., Ltd, recently installed a GLD-80 digital mixing system and ME-1 personal monitor mixer in Gunpo Sungjang Church in Gunpo-si near Seoul.

The church recently expanded, and decided to upgrade the sound system to digital from an old analogue system. Founded in 1984, the church contains a 1200 capacity main worship area with two floors and there is a sub-worship area and cafeteria.

Sama ProSound's brief was to install an easy to use and convenient digital mixer, so the company selected a GLD-80 digital mixer expanded with a AR2412 and two AR84 I/O racks, and with personal monitoring provided by five of the compatible ME-1 mixers, making Gunpo Sungjang Church the first church to install ME-1 in Korea.

"I first saw ME-1 at KOBA 2013, and it really impressed me. ME-1 meets all of my expectations as it is very easy t

France - Urban Peace 3, Europe's largest hip-hop and urban music event, was an all-Nexo affair. 60,000 fans packed into the Stade de France in Paris for five non-stop hours of live performance, headlined by IAM and Sexion D'Assaut. Sound rental provider Melpomen brought Nexo's new STM Series line array systems into the national stadium for the first time, tying into the permanently-installed Nexo Geo S12 PA for extra coverage of the uppermost seating areas.

Urban Peace 3, which comes five years after Urban Peace 2, presented the cream of French rap music on the city's largest and most prestigious stage. The line-up included Stromae, Orelsan, Chris Brown, Youssoupha and La Fouine, and the mix tent hosted some of the best sound engineers in France.

Sound design for the event was done by Thierry Tranchant of Melpomen, with measurement and tuning by Vladimir Coulibre, using 78 'se

Germany - Besides extraordinary talent and the fact they have all made the history of music, another thing legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse all have in common is that they belong to the 27 Club. The members of this fictitious club all died prematurely at the age of 27 in tragic (and obscure) circumstances.

The play of the same name, The 27 Club, directed by British director Toby Gough and performed at the St. Pauli Theatre in Hamburg, pays tribute to these and other music legends. It is a musical journey through time in which first-class musicians from Britain and the United States bow down to their idols and play songs such as Hey Joe, Light my Fire and Smells like Teen Spirit.

Patrick Woodroffe and associated designer Roland Greil dealt with the lighting design. Fifteen Clay Paky

The Netherlands - Hoevenaars LGV BV, a top live event production company located in the Netherlands, recently added Adamson Systems Energia E15 enclosures to their production inventory.

"We were looking for a new stadium size line array system to take our sound department to the next level," explains Patrick Hoevenaars, CEO of Hoevenaars. "The transparency, range, headroom and sheer SPL of this system is just amazing. As soon as we heard it we were sold."

The new line arrays were immediately put into service for the We Love The 90's concert held in Goffertpark Nijmegen in the Netherlands. More than 23,000 people were in attendance for the eight-hour celebration of the music of that decade.

The audience was treated to live performances by many popular artists from the 90's including Scooter, Paul Elstak, Captain Jack, Flamman & Abraxas, 2 Brothers o

USA - Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Centre, has taken delivery of two DMX-controlled Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots from PRG/NJ. Avery Fisher Hall is part of The Lincoln Centre complex on the west side of Manhattan. The concert hall, which is used for a wide variety of events, opened in 1962 and has a capacity of 2,738 seats.

The Cyrano followspots replace aging fixtures. "The new Cyranos are the only followspots in the theatre," says Jason Marsh, associate director of production at Lincoln Centre. "We chose them for their exceptional quality and ease of use."

Marsh notes that productions in Avery Fisher Hall range from classical, rock and pop concerts to corporate events, television specials and network upfronts. "Television is the area requiring the highest-quality lighting, and TV lighting designers have requeste

UK - Cadac has signed an agreement with Waves Audio to license Waves SoundGrid technology in order to provide integration solutions of the two companies' products.

The agreement will enable the two companies to develop an interface solution between Cadac's advanced proprietary MegaCOMMS networking technology and Waves' SoundGrid and plugin products.

"The intention is to integrate Waves MultiRack SoundGrid with our MegaCOMMS networking technology," says Richard Ferriday, Cadac brand development manager. "This will give Cadac users access to the huge range of Waves MultiRack plug-ins, which can then be incorporated with the console's own processing options."

"Waves is pleased that more and more live engineers are able to utilise the SoundGrid platform," says Mick Olesh, Waves Audio EVP. "Consoles fully loaded with SoundGrid make it easier tha

Italy - Genelec has announced that MidiWare Srl is its new Italian distributor. From 1 November 2013, Midiware will be responsible for Genelec monitoring product distribution and dealer support in the region, following a mutual parting of the ways with long-term partner, Leading Technology Srl.

MidiWare is based in Rome and has a local sales office and demo space in the Lecco area close to Milan. MidiWare also represents other brands including SSL, REM, Moog, SE, Novation in both the professional and MI segments. Jarmo Masko, international sales manager is delighted that Francesco Borsotti's team are now part of the Genelec family of almost seventy distributors worldwide:

"MidiWare has a dynamic team that is focused on achieving results for their wide network of dealers and business partners. They have excellent reach into the education sector through thirty years of expe

UK - A global musical phenomenon, Wicked has taken to the road for its first UK and Ireland tour and the Production Resource Group (PRG) is providing a custom-built automation solution and the full lighting system.

The show opened at the Manchester's Palace Theatre to five star reviews and plays until 16 November when it will move on to Dublin. PRG is no stranger to the show, having supported the US tour since 2004.

PRG supplied a bespoke designed automation package for the production. For expediency the system used was set-up in its entirety in PRG's testing facility in New Windsor, New York prior to shipping to the UK. This enabled Wicked's creative team to pre-approve scenic moves, which saved valuable time in the theatre.

To support its UK installation John Galante, systems manager for PRG, joined the PRG and Wicked's technical team at the Manchester Palace Theatr

UK - After 25 years in the business, in the year Artistic Licence celebrates its Silver Jubilee, the company is relocating to a new studio space in London's vibrant Kentish Town.

Based in Harrow, Middlesex, for over two decades, the lighting control specialist has previously occupied the sort of light industrial premises suited to a traditional manufacturer. However, Artistic Licence now operates more as a design house, outsourcing the majority of its product assembly needs.

CEO Wayne Howell explains, "Artistic Licence is an agile company, happy to reinvent itself as the market evolves. The decision to outsource manufacture was one such change, but it has left us in a building that is no longer well suited to the way we operate. Our company philosophy is all about ideas and pushing the boundaries of new technology, and the new studio provides just the sort of environment

USA - At the 65th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards, held in Los Angeles on 23 October, Lawo was awarded the Emmy Engineering Plaque. The award honours achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are important to the progress of the industry.

"I wish to thank all our partners and customers. They have always supported us and pushed us to develop products that better suit their needs and support their rapidly evolving workflow requirements. To me this cooperation is the key to Lawo's success", said Philipp Lawo, CEO of Lawo.

The Emmys' jury acknowledged that as one of the original manufacturers of audio networking technologies, Lawo pioneered the use of telecommunication protocols such as ATM/SDH (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and now RAVENNA (real-time Audio-over-IP technology), making it possible to distribute broadband audio in real time over WAN network

USA - Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson has taken his laid back acoustic sound on the road under the illumination of Bandit Lites. The month-long North American tour in support of his new album Here To Now To You concluded in October with every performance a sold out spectacular.

Lighting designer Scott Holthaus worked with Jack Johnson to create a simple tungsten look, using only scoops and lekos for the main part of the lighting design. Wooden battens and large pulleys give the appearance of "Roald Dahl meets the Italian circus" while 15 scoops and 15 lekos hang from random heights on the five bars.

"While we showcased the old technology, we have some moving heads hidden above in the support trusses to give a bit of pepper," explained Holthaus. "We (per lighting director Leif Dixon's idea) were worried that the artist would soon be bored of the s

UK - The newly opened Da Vinci Studio School was announced as the winner of the Locos in a Different Light competition at the National Railway Museum in York late last night. The competition which saw colleges and universities get to grips with lighting up Mallard and its sister locomotives ran as part of the Illuminating York festival and the museum's Autumn Great Gathering.

The students, who were judged by industry professionals were marked according to a number of categories including; theatricality, energy consumption, conservation and safety and conservation.

Da Vinci Studio School's creative lighting effects brought Mallard's freshly cosmetically restored sister engine Dominion of Canada to life, with subtle steam effects, a highlighted headboard and bell and dramatic red side lighting to provide contrast for its gleaming garter blue paint. Their work scored parti

Kenya - Following a large purchase of PR Lighting's premium discharge and LED automated lights, Nairobi-based rental company Homeboyz Entertainment Services has considerably broadened awareness of the Chinese company in east Africa.

Homeboyz, whose range of services includes turnkey event management, end-to-end event / AV production and hosting a famous urban FM radio station, has an outreach that includes other east African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia.

Mainly specialising in rental/hire for the concert, corporate, theatre and club markets, they were attracted to the PR Lighting range after being introduced by the manufacturer's African sales manager, Lawrence Mao.

"We hit it off straight away," reports Homeboyz' CEO, Myke Rabar. "We had heard about PR Lighting in the past and seen them at international trade expos ... and

USA - A team of professionals with notable backgrounds in commercial and theatrical lighting, new product development, industrial design, engineering, finance and manufacturing have come together to form Aquarii, Inc., a provider of engineered LED lighting solutions.

Aquarii designs and manufactures LED light fixtures that bring unprecedented flexibility to venues, from front-of-house operations and house lights for performing arts centres to overhead lighting for municipal arenas. Created to make versatile LED lighting both practical and affordable for a wide range of facilities, Aquarii's lighting fixtures unite a variety of desirable features in one instrument, at price points that make it compelling to convert entire facilities from conventional lighting to LEDs, says the company. The company headquarters is located in Camillus, NY.

Led by Raymond Carrock as president, the

USA - Emmy Award winning lighting designer Oscar Dominguez from Darkfire Lighting used Robe MMX WashBeams for the first time on the 2013 NCLR American Latino Media & Arts (ALMA) Awards.

The star-studded extravaganza which celebrates the best of Hispanic talent, creativity and contributions made to film, television, music and the arts in the US was staged at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and presented by Mario Lopez and Eva Longoria. Longoria was also the executive producer of the ALMAs and kept everyone on their toes this year sporting seven different and equally stunning dresses throughout the evening!

This was the fourth year that Dominguez has lit the show, a task on which he collaborated closely with production designer Steve Bass.

His starting point for the lighting was the detailed set and his approach to lighting this was very architectural, accentuating its prominent

World - Heavy metal icon Black Sabbath continue their Reunion Tour in Latin America, Europe and the UK with a grandMA2 light console. The tour celebrates the band's reunion last year and supports their album 13, the first with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. Baz Halpin is the tour's lighting designer and Michael Keller, lighting programmer.

Keller selected the grandMA2 for the tour since he's most comfortable programming that platform. "We're carrying the grandMA2 light with us now, but you can find grandMA2 in most places. grandMA2 does everything I need."

Keller initially migrated to grandMA2 "for its networking" capabilities, he says. Since then he's discovered that "it's a very friendly board. Once you get your profile set up it's easy and powerful. There's nothing you can't do on it." Upstaging provided the lighting for the tour.

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UK - The Hospital Club is a prestigious private members club located in the heart of Covent Garden, renowned for showcasing and supporting emerging musical talent. In a bid to strengthen its reputation further, the venue has opened a new performance space designed by the award-winning Russell Stage Studio, to accommodate live bands, DJs and comedians. At the audio helm is a Peavey Commercial Audio HiSys loudspeaker system, supported by a wide range of additional PCA kit.

The new 100-capacity Oak Room has quite a history: it previously housed Grammy Award-winning producer, Nigel Godrich's recording studio; and before that, it was the home of Eurythmics' Dave Stewart.

Under its new guise, The Oak Room has already treated members and guests to an eclectic mix of entertainment: The Reuben James Trio kicked off live music proceedings on 12 September, and a couple of days later Turi

UAE - Wireless Solution Sweden AB is creating magic at the new MusicHall in Dubai with a system that provides an intelligent solution to a multi-use space. The venue is the second of a concept opened by brothers Michel and Jean Elefteriades who opened the original MusicHall in Beirut 10 years ago. It serves as a live entertainment hot spot as well as restaurant and nightclub.

The brothers found the popular Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel on The Palm in Dubai, which was looking to expand on their large event space and saw MusicHall as a good fit. The space already had an adequate stage, lounge area and dining facility, so it just needed an interior makeover and new lighting scheme.

In addition to the proper areas in place, the venue had a good existing infrastructure which included four over-stage trusses with winch control and some existing power and dimming provision through a ha

Australia - The Cube Wodonga is the city's most recent and exciting attraction. Located right in the heart of Wodonga's CBD, The Cube Wodonga is a modern performance space that can house 1000 people standing, 320 people at round tables or 410 in theatre mode.

The flat floor capacity and a stage that can be flipped to allow performances in the courtyard make it unique to north-east Victoria and southern NSW.

Professional Audio Services were called upon to supply audio requirements to this multi-purpose space including a JBL VRX PA.

"The JBL VRX was specified by the consultant although we have a VRX rig ourselves which we had used a few times in the old venue and their technical manager was very impressed by it," commented Tony Boon, managing director of PAS. "We agreed it was the best PA for the new venue especially as we had plenty more to add to it if require

Spain - Robe lighting has just launched the Spanish version of its complete website (www.robe.cz/es/ ).

Users from Latin America, Spain and other Spanish speaking regions will now be able to find all the main content available in their own language, including information on all the new and existing products and their technical specifications, plus the latest from the company's busy newsroom.

Regional sales manager for Latin America, Guillermo Traverso, comments, "It's really great news to have the official Robe lighting site in Spanish now! It is a great opportunity for everyone using the Internet daily as an information and communication tool to be able to access this in their own language.

"It is also another great advance for the Latin market in general and we hope that, combined with our highly proactive social media channels, we can continue to provide an exci

Poland - Once described by tourist guides as 'the most beautiful cinema in Europe', the Capitol Theatre in the Polish city of Wroclaw has led a chequered existence. But a multi-million zloti rebuild and restoration saw the venue reopen in September with a whole new lease of life... and a comprehensive Yamaha audio system at its heart.

Originally constructed in 1929, the Expressionist building was partially destroyed during the Second World War. The damaged parts were rebuilt by Poland's post-war Communist regime in the angular architectural style of the time and, from 1955, it became one of Poland's best loved theatres. But disaster struck again in 1997, when further major damage was inflicted by flooding.

Thanks to a major EU grant, the venue has just reopened after a two year, PLN83m refurbishment, which sees pre-war, post-war and brand new architecture cleverly harmonised t

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