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Europe - Shure has announced the three winning bands in its recent EMEA-wide band competition Call for Legends – Live. The first prize winners are the Lehmanns Brothers, an eight-piece soul/funk band from France.
The competition ran from September to December 2016 and the requirements were that bands entering had to be based in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, or Africa) and to have a strong passion for live performances. To prove this, bands had to upload a video of a gig in front of a live audience, along with a band biography.
The winning groups receive Shure equipment worth thousands of Euros, and the first-prize winner additionally has the opportunity of playing live at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival, and of taking home a professional audio and video recording of their festival performance.
The competition has exceeded all expectati

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UK – Impact Production Services (IPS) has added nearly 200 aPix2 high resolution indoor LED video panels to its inventory, supplied by A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd (AC-ET).
IPS, which offers equipment dry hire through to complete technical production services for events, approached AC-ET’s specialist Video sales division when it was looking to make a significant investment in a high resolution LED screen system to service the latest needs of its rental clients.
AC-ET recommended the aPix2 panel due to its 2.9mm pixel pitch, which is suitable for today’s applications demanding ever higher display resolutions – such as corporate / AV presentations or other types of content benefitting from a smoother look.
The Video sales division supplied IPS with 198 x 0.5sq.m aPix2 LED panels, plus related screen processors and flybars, creating a total display ar

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USA - Nestled in the northwest corner of Dallas County, Texas next to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the City of Coppell is home to nearly 40,000 residents. To more efficiently communicate news, events and information, the City has invested in a digital signage network powered by Navori Labs’ QL digital signage engine.
Utilizing digital media has been a clear benefit for disseminating important information to both staff, residents and guests who visit the municipal building on Parkway Boulevard. Powered by an on-premises QL Professional solution, the multi-seat software offers a flexible content creation, management and playout toolset for the dissemination of information to approximately 25 screens – including messages tailored for specific departments such as Facilities Management, Parks and Recreation and Human Resources.
Perhaps more importantly,

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USA - Effective 3 February 2017, Audio Biz has been appointed to represent Community Professional Loudspeakers in the Midwest region, comprising Northern and Central Illinois, the Eastern half of Wisconsin, and the state of Michigan.
Founded in 1991 by Randy Stenson and Les Murin, award-winning Audio Biz, Inc. represents leading manufacturers of professional audio, video and lighting products. The company is located in Ingleside, Illinois and operates a 4,000 square foot office facility, which houses administrative, training, sample warehousing and demo fabrication areas.
“We represent, sell and support the best manufacturers in the industry, so we are proud to be partnering with Community and look forward to supporting their team in this region of the country,” said Beth Mickel, sales manager at Audio Biz.
Steve Young, Community’s North America sales direc

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South Korea - South Korean based LIVE-LAB has recently learnt and used to great effect the CueCore1 and CueCore2 products. Lotte World theme park is one of the largest in South Korea. LIVE-LAB specified and installed the CueCores for solid-state architectural lighting control within the theme park and also for a special themed event for Halloween in October.
The CueCores were used to control the lighting fixtures within the Halloween House. When visitors walked in they could select a button that would activate a strobe and “kill” a zombie.
After these first successful installs in the theme park, LIVE-LAB has gone on to use the Visual Productions products in a couple of other installations. In Samcheok (a province of South Korea) a CueCore was used to control the lighting of projections in the window of the main Cinema here. More recently in Yoeju, the CueCore was

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UK - VER supported award winning grime artist Skepta with a one off, sold out show at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Delivering an intense homecoming performance in front of a receptive crowd, the North London artist was joined onstage by an array of collaborators including Kano and Wretch 32 for a blazing hot, career spanning retrospective including tracks from the Mercury Prize winning fourth album, Konnichiwa.
Streamed live to a worldwide audience via Apple Music, the show rocked the 10,000 capacity venue with trademark social comment and intelligent beats resonating against a towering backdrop of dazzling imagery and vibrant colour.
Supporting the show via their full service London operation, VER supplied a large 23m x 7m (5888 x 1792 pixel) upstage LED wall, created using over 600 LED tiles to deliver stunning 6K video, flanked by twin sets of LED video

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Norway - Sousan Azimrayat, commercial director and Peter Stewart, technical director from ASL - Application Solutions (Safety and Security) Ltd, joined the Prime Minister of Norway, local dignitaries and media at official opening event for Holmestrand train station in Norway.
Arriving by train at Holmestrand station guests were greeted by the local Mayor of Holmestrand and Knut Edmund Knutsen, project manager for Jernbaneverket (Bane NOR), the Norwegian government agency for railway services.
Holmestrand train station is a new station engineered into the mountainside of the Holmestrand municipality along a tunnel 12km in length. The celebratory events in December marked the completion of more than six years of constructions works, numerous transport interruptions and regular noise pollution to the residents of this otherwise rural town in Norway.
Sousan Azimraya

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USA - Coming off a year of touring with EDM artists like The Chainsmokers, Cash Cash and Tritonal, designer Aaron Kovelman was accustomed to creating big slashing looks with lots of intense beams, crazy truss angles and ample helpings of eye bleeding audience lighting.
Taking on an anniversary concert for his hometown friends and jam band legends The Bridge, however, required him to wear a different more subtle lighting design hat. He donned it very well too, creating some pure live band looks with help from Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures.
“Coming off a lot of electronic dance music shows I was very excited to light up a full band of musicians,” said Kovelman. “I wanted to go for as clean of a setup as possible, with straight lines of fixtures – something very simple, but also super sophisticated, yet still with its share of crazy looks.”
Kovelman

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UK - Shermann Sound Systems continues to go from strength to strength, recently supporting many shows within and around their home city of Glasgow, Scotland.
Shermann is a prestigious brand renowned for over 30 years, especially within the UK, for their professional enclosures, and it was recently acquired by Sono Vie Ltd.
This Scottish pro audio company offers PA equipment for rental and touring used in several performances.
"Audiences appreciate hearing the difference,” says Alan Beattie, the owner. "Customers once again are choosing Shermann Audio products for their outstanding vocal clarity as enjoyed by audiences at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.”
The festival featured 16 performances and in excess of 18,000 visitors, with artists and performers including Dylan Moran, Julian Clary, Ohmid Djalili, Adam Hill, Paul Merton etc.
"Glasg

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USA - The new Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land is everything you’d expect of a performing arts centre in Texas: big, bright and bold. The $84m venue, which officially opened in the Houston metro area this month with a strong line-up of events including Jerry Seinfeld, Don Henley, Dave Matthews, Reba McEntire and the touring production of Dirty Dancing, comprises 20,000sq.ft that combines the programmes of concert hall, civic centre and theatrical centre in a single shape-adjusting venue.
But the new Smart Financial Centre Performing Arts Centre at Sugar Land also has Texas-sized sound thanks to an L-Acoustics K2 line array system installed by LD Systems and designed by consultant Scott Bray of Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc. (WJHW). “This is a premier performance venue for the entire region, so they wanted the absolute best sound possible, and

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UAE - Nearly 200 Robe fixtures were used by award-winning lighting and show designer Terry Miranda of Lighthouse Productions to light a special production of musical Fakhrak Ya Watan (The Pride of a Nation) for the 2016 Ras al-Khaimah National Day Celebrations on the eve of the United Arab Emirates 2016 National Day event. Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) is one of the seven Emirates making up the UAE.
The spectacular, performed by a cast of over 800 singers, dancers, actors and poets of all ages, was attended by His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member of the UAE & Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, plus a host of dignitaries and VVIPs as well as 10,000 members of the public.
The show, which included eye-catching projections mapped across a 92m wide set and performance / presentation area, celebrated UAE’s achievements over the last 45 years and pres

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Malta - The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC), the youth version of the international televised music competition, took place at the end of 2016, with lighting designer Anton Borg Olivier designing a fully networked Avolites control and dimming system to power broadcast-ready stage and green room lighting.
Hosted by Malta in the capital city of Valetta, JESC '16 reported a total live average audience of 3.9m viewers across 14 markets; the biggest audience for four years. With viewing figures this size, Anton relied on Avolites' advanced Timecode functionality to ensure creative director Ismael Portelli's multi-layered show went off without a hitch.
"Avolites Titan version 10 software makes running a timecoded show very easy," he explains. "Since all songs are given a different start time, all I had to do was choose the page of required playback faders and the desk

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South Korea - Amadeus has announced the install of a massive speaker system, featuring the newly-released PMX 12 D self-powered active speakers, within a new multi-disciplinary institution, the Arts & Creative Technology Centre (ACT), in Gwangju, South Korea.
ACT Centre puts Gwangju at the forefront of global art, design, and culture dialogue. Launching with a major festival and exhibition in November 2015, ACT Centre commenced a dynamic year-round programme of activities that brought together leading Asian and international talents to share, collaborate, and inspire.
Located on the site of the former provincial government building in Gwangju, ACC hosts several institutions and facilities that include the ACT Centre, the Research Institute for Asian Culture, Library & Archive, Centre for Children, multiple theatres, and exhibition halls, and the May 18 Memoria

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UK - RCF UK has announced the first of two showcase events, specifically focused on its burgeoning D-Line HDL series. This will take place in Hall One at Sage Gateshead on 14 March, between 12 noon-6.00pm, hosted by Nitelites. Set demos will take place at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.
The launch of the HDL10-A reinforced the huge success earlier of the original HDL20-A active composite enclosure - since when the series has gone from strength to strength.
Now RCF is offering the first opportunity for European pro audio professionals to listen to the much smaller process-controlled HDL6-A and at the same time attend the first UK demo of the large-format HDL50-A, complete with control package.
These will line up alongside the HDL10-A and HDL20-A - both permanently installed at Gateshead Sage - as well as NX and TT product.
Dean Davoile, head of RCF UK comments: “This is

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UK - The Earth Hall at the Natural History Museum was selected as the venue for the exclusive book launch of Rutland Hall Publishing’s Timeless Treasures, an illustrated hardback showcasing regal Indian weddings.
The Museum welcomed over 300 guests who spent the evening exploring the regal culture of Indian marriages, characterised by abundant gift-giving and lavish displays of jewellery and textiles.
The Earth Hall provided an inspirational backdrop for the canapé and drinks reception, welcome speeches and glittering showcase of new high-end fashion collections from Sabyasachi and Cartier. Guests were invited to purchase signed copies of the new release and offered the rare opportunity to privately view the Earth’s Treasury collections throughout the course of the evening.
Maia by The AC’s project manager Charlie Womack oversaw the venue’s event

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UK - Blackout has appointed the event industry’s first Trailblazer Live Event Rigging apprentices, with a double appointment, January 2017.
The drapes and rigging specialists welcome Roisin McClearn and Bridie Lane to its team. The Trailblazer Live Event Rigging Apprenticeship, part of the governments’ Trailblazer scheme encouraging three million new apprentices by 2020, was launched by the National Rigging Advisory Group (NRAG) in September to provide formal training to new recruits, supporting them beyond the National Rigging Certificate Level 2, and to plug the gap in trainee numbers to fill increasing demand throughout the rigging industry.
Blackout selected Rosie and Bridie from over 70 eager applicants, to become the first individuals in the UK to embark on this groundbreaking events industry training. Following an online application process, the pair proceed

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Europe - Belgian sound engineerJan De Rycke has just finished the second leg of the In the Shadow of Toon Hermans tour, carrying a dLive S Class digital mixing system, comprising a dLive S5000 Surface and DM48 MixRack.
"dLive sounds great and has a huge amount of processing power, flexibility and useful plugins. Details like the selectable and steep HPF - the most underestimated parameter on any sound desk - and the gain reduction spectrograph, show Allen & Heath has got it right,” says Jan De Rycke. "Another main benefit for me is the full redundancy throughout the system, which is essential in high end live sound."
This leg of the tour visited 34 cities in Belgium and The Netherlands, celebrating the centenary of the birth of renowned Dutch comedian, singer and writer, Toon Hermans. The tour saw his friend and manager, Herman Van Hove, collaborate with singer,

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UK - Thomson Ecology senior marine consultant, Sarah Marjoram, has been working with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and American Artist Leo Villareal on an Illuminated River art installation in London which aims to revitalise and enhance the bridges of the Thames. This will be a permanent light installation from Albert Bridge in Chelsea to Tower Bridge in central London.
Over one hundred design teams from 20 countries entered a competition run by the Illuminated River Foundation and the Mayor of London. Six teams were shortlisted including Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands (LDS) who approached Sarah for specialist advice on the possible impacts of lighting the bridges on the Thames’s marine ecology. LDS went on to win the competition.
LDS has teamed up with a renowned American artist, Leo Villareal, who is famous for his project The Bay Lights which lit San Francis

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USA - The Long Reach Long Riders and Behind the Scenes will host their annual fundraising raffle at the USITT Conference 9-11 March in St. Louis, MO. This year’s raffle will celebrate the 14th Anniversary of the Long Reach Long Riders annual charity motorcycle ride. The Riders have raised well over half a million dollars for charity in their years of touring some of the country’s most beautiful areas.
The Behind the Scenes Boutique will also be open for business during the show featuring an assortment of Behind the Scenes swag and the famous Long Reach Long Rider T-shirts and kazoos.
Tickets for the raffle are an affordable $5 each or five for $20 and can be purchased at the Behind the Scenes booth #2229 throughout the show. Winning tickets for nine regular prizes and one grand prize will be drawn at 1pm on Saturday, the final day of Stage Expo.
The pr

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UK - In the heart of London’s trendy Portobello Road the UKAI sushi house has recently undergone a complete makeover with a new Martin Audio CDD sound system provided by Old Barn Audio (OBA).
Immersed within the sophisticated and stylish decor is not only a superior Japanese kitchen, but a real eclectic mix of music which OBA has ensured will be heard with maximum clarity and separation.
UKAI owner, Amir Moaven, was also convinced after being recommended to OBA by a Portuguese restaurateur (and mutual acquaintance) - for whom the installers had provided a Martin Audio system some 18 months previously. “He was clear that he wanted high quality background music,” reports OBA director, Neil Kavanagh.
The space is divided around a U-shaped room, with a restaurant and separate chill-out lounge.
In the main bar are a pair of Martin Audio’s CDD10 (housing

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Slovenia - Aca Lukas’ blend of rock-fused Balkan folk music has garnered the Serbian artist a loyal following throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The popular singer’s diverse musical talents were on full display recently at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, where he played two and a half hours of hits from his eclectic repertoire.
Accenting the colourful performance was a vivid multi-faceted light show created by Mario Curkovic, using a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue and Maverick fixtures supplied by Akustika Bahun.
Curkovic had eight Rogue R1 Beam and four Rogue R1 Wash fixtures as well as four Maverick MK2 Washes in his concert lighting package. The Rogue R1 Beam and Rogue R1 Wash fixtures were hung from above stage truss, while the Maverick MK2 were flown from circular trussing suspended above the audience. This allowed Cu

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UK - With cheesy jokes, sometimes questionable costumes and a central tale of good versus evil, a traditional Christmas pantomime is a staple of the festive period. But, to ensure that everyone has a great time a lot of hard work goes into creating the right panto atmosphere, from writing a great script to getting a good cast. Often, the unsung heroes of the piece are the lighting team who design the show’s mood.
From lighting the bright rooms of the prince’s castle to establishing the dark gloom of the villain’s lair, panto lighting is vital to get right, as Leigh Mulpeter, who owns the lighting design company Little Leigh, knows full well. “Over the Christmas period we were hired to manage and provide the lighting for a production of Dick Whittington at the Hawthorne Theatre in Welwyn,” begins Mulpeter.
“For a show of this nature and a venue of t

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Germany - More than 100 Claypaky Scenius Profile luminaires accompanied German hard-rock legends Bad Uncles on a winter tour of their homeland in support of Memento, their first new album in 10 years, with longstanding production designer Jerry Appelt selecting the innovative fixtures to create spectacular, multi-layered lighting looks.
Appelt has worked with Bad Uncles since 2002. As a result, he is accustomed to creating the high production values the band desires. "They're a fantastic band with very powerful music which is a great base on which to create stunning looks," he explains. "They want to give their fans the best possible experience so their standard for visuals is very high."
For the Memento tour, the band's brief dictated a classic, high-impact rock show that incorporated a diverse range of powerful stylistic elements and reflected the identity and

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Russia - A total of 16 P-5 LED wash lights played a crucial role the in the Moscow Ice festival, notably in the Family Circle, which was a huge ice installation in Moscow’s Victory Park (Park Pobedy).
The festival represented landmarks from Russian cities such as Moscow, Crimea, St Petersburg, Volgograd and Vladivostok. The statues were 5-6m high and together they formed an ice city completely made from real Siberian ice. More than 1,000 tonnes of natural blue ice had been shipped in for the construction. The Kremlin fortress, which was 10m high and 40 m long, was the centrepiece of the ice city. From six slides descending from the Kremlin wall, visitors could glide their way down to the different regions of Russia.
Adding coloured light to the sculptures added a whole new dimension and brought them to life after dark. Using P-5 wash lights for seven of the sculptu
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