Austria ­- High in the Austrian Alps, nestled amidst breathtaking scenery, lies Onkel Willy's Hutte. This Alpine restaurant and ski hut is more than just a venue for traditional Austrian food and stunning views, it’s also a party haven. The sound system was crucial to achieve their goal of the best view, culinary and music experience, which is why they chose Void Acoustics.

The venue needed a powerful sound system capable of filling the outdoor space and withstanding the harsh Alpine climate. Freezing winter temperatures presented unique installation challenges for the speakers in the outdoor dining areas, as did the limited electrical supply up in the mountains.

Alongside the outdoor speaker challenge, the venue’s indoor spaces also needed a sound system capable of creating the perfect atmosphere for diners.  

Musikuss Tonkultur, Void'

USA - Princess Cruises has upgraded the lighting rig in its 1000-seat Princess Theatre on the Crown, Emerald, and Ruby Princess ships. In a project completed in 2023, Princess Cruises fleet lighting supervisor Matt DeJong and the Princess Entertainment technical team selected Robe Lighting TE (Transferable Engine) fixtures, ushering in a new era of LED lighting technology to enhance the cruise line's entertainment offerings and sustainability credentials.

The Crown Class lighting revitalisation project included 69 Esprite Profile, 87 Spiider, 78 Painte Profile, 98 LEDBeam 150, and 48 ParFect 150 wash luminaires, which has reduced the Crown Class’ overall electrical consumption by an impressive 50%. This not only benefits the environment but also leads to reduced HVAC draw and overall fuel costs. Additionally, it significantly reduces operational and mainte

Europe - Sometimes, the best new ideas are those that make us most uncomfortable. Such was the case with brutalism, a school of graphic and architectural design that emerged in the 1950s.

Emphasising stark, bold form and function over ornamentation, brutalism represented a radical departure from traditional thinking. Although many criticized this new concept as “unromantic”, it ultimately caught on, reshaping our notions of design, and taking the human imagination to new places in the process.

This summer, some seven decades after brutalism first shook things up in the design world, highly regarded lighting and production designer Bryan Barancik has channelled its visceral power to create a gripping, deeply moving show for Lenny Kravitz on the four-time Grammy winner’s 27-city European tour, which began23 June in Hamburg at Sporthalle. 

USA - The Venice Performing Arts Center (VPAC) in Venice, Florida, has recently undergone a significant lighting upgrade with the installation of Elation Fuze PAR Z175 luminaires, facilitated by production and integration company Thunder City Pro. The venue, which previously relied on conventional Lekos and Fresnels for stage lighting, now offers an enhanced visual experience using state-of-the-art LED wash luminaires with dynamic colour mixing and motorised zoom.

“The goal was to incorporate colour mixing and moving lights to enhance the concert experience,” stated Justin Stancil, president of Thunder City, who notes that the upgrade also included Focus Spot 5Z moving heads from Elation sister company ADJ. “The new lighting system really allows for far more dynamic and exciting scenes for all of the concerts and theatrical shows they present.”

World - Initially billed as a “reunion tour”, Blink-182’s World Tour 2023/2024 marks the band’s 30th anniversary and first tour with original singer and guitarist, Tom DeLonge, since 2014. Given the significance of the tour, front-of-house sound engineer Charles Izzo and monitor engineer Ray Jeffrey knew there would be high expectations for quality audio during performances from both the band and its audiences around the globe. Pulling from their past experiences with the brand, the duo set their sights on a variety of DPA Microphones vocal and instrument mics.

To ensure the band delivers unbeatable sound on stage throughout the North American and European legs of the World Tour, together Izzo and Jeffrey selected DPA’s d:facto 4018VL vocal microphones for singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus. They also deploy DPA mi

Taiwan - 1 Sound, an American-made premium loudspeaker brand, celebrated its launch in Taiwan with a demo event, organised by official distributor Seapower Technology. Held at the New Taipei City Government’s conference room, a mid-sized theatre with tiered seating for about 330 people, the venue offered a perfect space to showcase the impressive capabilities of a whole range of 1 Sound speakers. The demo presentations were given by 1 Sound’s APAC sales executive, Leonardo Dani and Seapower Technology CEO, Douglas Chang.

“The audience consisted of mostly systems integrators who had nothing but positive things to say. 1 Sound, though a relatively new brand with just two years in the global market, left a strong impression,” explained Chang.

“Taiwan, known as the global hub for high-tech industries with giants like Taiwan Semiconductor Compan

Italy - Trans Audio Video (TAV), one of the leading brands of cine-video-photo production products, and Sony Europe supported the creation of exclusive images during Vasco Rossi's live concerts held in Milan from 7-20 June and then in Bari from the 25-30 June. For the first time as many as 22 cameras were used, most of them with full-frame sensors, all part of the Sony line-up to create a film about the iconic rock star during the live events at the San Siro stadium.

The Stadio Comunale in Bibione on 2 June hosted the zero dates of Vasco's tour, where filming with the same Sony cameras was tested and optimised.

Director Pepsy Romanoff, with the Except production company and the technical supervision of the production services company EMG Italia, wanted to give a typical cinematographic connotation to the filming. The aim of conveying the intense emot

Morocco - Prolights’ Halu Pix illuminated the 24th edition of the Mawazine Festival, organised by the Maroc Cultures association. This event, spread across six different locations between Rabat and Salé, attracts over two and a half million spectators each year with performances by top-tier artists from the Arab, African, Moroccan, and international music scenes.

For the stage at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat, Kilmi Musique - in collaboration with EcmaPro Systems, the Prolights distributor in Morocco - provided and installed the event's lighting setup, selecting Prolights' Halu Pix.

These LED matrix modules ensured an extraordinary visual experience with 3D volumetric graphics depicting the star of Morocco. This captivating visual effect was achieved through the pixel mapping function, allowing control of each individual LED source.

UK - Fabric London has extended its relationship with Martin Audio, dating back nearly a quarter of a century, by announcing a substantial upgrade to its flagship Room One.

Since the installation of Martin Audio W8C, Blacklines and WSX subwoofers at the start of the new millennium, the club has never looked back, having gone through several generations of Martin Audio systems - maintaining its faith in the state-of-the-art sound systems offered to its roster of world-class DJs.

But when it came to the latest refresh, technical manager Matt Smith decided to follow a different path. Nervous at the prospect of losing what he describes as “that distinctive Room 1 sound”, he asked Martin Audio if they would overhaul the existing 20-year-old W8L line array by fitting it with new drivers. The High Wycombe manufacturer was happy to oblige.

Howeve

USA - When OC Local acquired the long-established The Pizza Store in Laguna Hills, they engaged Dan Burdett of locally-based dB Media Services to provide a new audio system that would deliver premium quality at a competitive price. dB had previously tidied up a third-party install at one of the restaurant group’s other venues and OC Local were keen to achieve the same audio standards for their remodelled new venue. Burdett recommended, designed and installed an Optimal Audio system for The Pizza Store.

“Optimal Audio was a great option for this project because of its high performance/low cost ratio. Restaurants don’t always have the required budget available for media technology, so the Optimal Audio product matched the needs of the budget without any audio compromise, as well as meeting the high-performance standards expected by dB Media,” explains

UK - Avolites’ D9 lighting console, and an Avolites AI Qgen media server running Avo’s proprietary Synergy protocol, were at the heart of lighting and video control for Arcadia Spectacular’s new live experience launching their Dragonfly conceptual art installation, which debuted at Glastonbury 2024.

Originated and designed by Arcadia’s Pip Rush (creative director) and Bert Cole (technical director), the 30m-long, 8.5m-high biomechanical dragonfly is built from an ex Royal Navy Sea King helicopter and was surrounded by a 50,000-capacity evolved geometric ‘energy field’ at the festival.

The sculpture ‘awakened’ every night of Glasto at 23:30, presenting Warraloo - a breathtaking nine-minute show developed by Arcadia in collaboration with the Whadjuk Noongar nation of Western Australia and based on the dragonfly’s pup

Colombia - Christie HS Series 1DLP laser projectors deliver a spectacular immersive experience to visitors of La Selva, an educational geodesic dome designed to foster appreciation and preservation of the Colombian rainforests. Located in the Parque Empresarial El Tesoro shopping mall in Medellín, this project is a collaborative effort between the mall and Lonko Labs.

To honour these vital ecosystems and raise awareness about their conservation, Parque Empresarial El Tesoro created La Selva, a sensory experience made possible through a realistic and immersive digital environment developed by Lonko Labs.

La Selva features a 13m (43ft) diameter and 8.5m (288ft) high dome with a negative pressure system. The exterior closely resembles a traditional maloca or jungle dwelling, while inside the dome, six 13,500lm Christie HS Series projectors are blended

China - A team from Netherlands-based creative studio Live Legends recently completed a bold technical scheme for the Sir.Teen Group and their Club Been, a new venue and entertainment concept that has burst onto the highly competitive nightlife scene in Beijing, China. Headed by project director Serge Patist and lighting designers Thomas de Vries and Bas Knappers, the brief encompassed set, video, lighting and audio.

For the venue’s lighting design, over 250 Robe moving lights were selected, including 144 Spikies, 76 Viva CMYs and six T1 Profiles.

Other creatives involved in the project from Live Legends included Daan Oomen (creative director and principal designer), Stefan Peters (interior designer), Rik Schoutsen (video specialist), VFX artists Jim de Brouwer, Robbert Lubken and Boudewijn de Kraaij, plus music producers Joos van Leeuwen and Maart

Spain - The ancient temple of San Miguel in the Spanish city of Cuenca provides a stunning backdrop for Luz Cuenca, a fully-immersive sensory experience offering an artistic expression of the cultural wealth of the city.

Drawing on the city’s history, which is closely linked to art ­- and especially abstract art - Luz Cuenca is a multimedia exhibition that combines artistic lighting techniques and a dramatic orchestral music score with 2D and 3D projection mapping.

Digital immersive experience specialist Ibercover Studio was in charge of production and content design, turning to leading AV company Fluge to design and supply a high-quality sound system for the project.

Jesús Catá, AV project engineer at Fluge, explains: “Ibercover Studio asked us to design an immersive, robust and high-quality audio system as a key ele

France - The Twist Years at the Eiffel Tower Theatre in Paris follows a group of young people who traverse the moral and social revolutions of the tumultuous 1960s through some of that decade’s formative music. Recounted via music classics of the era, from French and international artists, all songs are presented live beneath an Elation rig of Fuze Profile and KL Profile FC luminaires.

Boris Jacob, from Elation’s French distributor Best Audio & Lighting, handled lighting design on the project. He comments: “This show really gives pride of place to the Elation brand with the Fuze Profile and the KL Profile FC. The luminous flux and high CRI, the identical colorimetry between the Fuze and KL series, as well as the silence, make these fixtures the perfect choice!”

A flexible framing fixture for theatre and TV, the Fuze Profile house

UK - ETC architectural lighting and power control has been selected for the refurbishment of major music and arts venue, Bristol Beacon. Specialist systems integrator and ETC dealer LSI Projects installed the lighting fixtures and power systems including ETC ArcSystem fixtures, Echo and Paradigm, F-Drive, Sensor3 and ColorSource ThruPower power controls, Response networking and more.

Hailed as ‘one of the great cultural icons of modern-day Britain’ by Arts Council England, the Bristol Beacon is recognised as a world-class music and arts venue which has been hosting performances - including for artists such as The Beatles and David Bowie - for over 150 years.

The selection of ETC products is a significant upgrade aimed at enhancing the Bristol Beacon’s visual and operational capabilities. The chosen products, which include Paradigm and Echo syst

Spain/UK – LED displays from Spanish manufacturer Alfalite have been installed in a new centre of excellence for education and research in AV content and process at London’s University of Greenwich. The centre, which has been named SHIFT (Shared Hub for Immersive Future Technologies), aims to be a pioneer in the study and development of advanced AV technologies.

The installation includes an Alfalite Modularpix Pro 1.5 ORIM VP XR LED wall, which will provide an advanced platform for the creation and display of XR content. The system was supplied and installed by Mo-Sys along with StarTracker Max systems and other XR solutions for a complete VP XR experience.

Through the new centre, the University of Greenwich will design virtual production training programmes for industry professionals, participate in research and knowledge exchange projects to id

Denmark – Copenhagen’s Bremen Teater has recently upgraded its audio system, with the Midas HD96-24 Console at the heart of the setup. With a seating capacity of 650, the venue is renowned for hosting a variety of events, including the popular TV2 shows Live Fra Bremen and ALOHA!. It has also been the chosen venue for award ceremonies like the Steppeulven and the GAFFA Awards.

Given the eclectic schedule and the necessity to accommodate guest productions with unique lighting and sound setups, Bremen Teater faced significant audio challenges. 

To address this, the theatre collaborated with Danish ‘super partners’ Matrix Sales, led by Claus Pederson, and Bremen Teater’s chief engineer Mikael Flensborg, to design an audio system that could seamlessly integrate with the existing infrastructure.

Centra

Germany/USA - Colorado-based Brown Note Productions recently fielded 120 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s and 12 JDC1s to help provide a riveting backdrop and enhance the natural wonder that is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

The production they were brought in for was a fast-moving, high-octane performance by South African DJ/producer Black Coffee, who was joined by LP Giobbi, THEMBA and DJ Holographic.

Situated south-west of Denver, at an elevation of 6,500ft, the amphitheatre is a 9,525-capacity, sloped, all-seated venue with an illustrious history since opening in 1941.

Working to a set designed and project managed by James Dutton of High Scream, Brown Note Productions has - over the past 16 years - produced over 1,000 events at Red Rocks, ranging from concerts and films to private events, according to its president, Ryan Knutson. For this productio

Netherlands - Since 1996, Concertzaal Tilburg has been an important platform in the Netherlands for a wide range of performances, from classical concerts to pop music and spoken word events. The 743-seat auditorium, known for its versatility, hosts everything from small symphonic and chamber music to amplified concerts, festivals, musical theatre and conferences. To better serve its diverse programming and audience, Concertzaal Tilburg has upgraded its audio with a new L-Acoustics Kara II concert sound system, marking another step in the venue's ongoing commitment to providing quality experiences for both performers and attendees.

"Our goal with this upgrade was to address some of the acoustic challenges we've faced over the years," says Pernel van Herpt, technical manager at Concertzaal Tilburg. "The Kara II system gives us more flexibility to accommodate o

Belgium - Spa is best known for its mineral water and legendary Formula One circuit, but each July the small Belgian city welcomes almost 200,000 visitors for the annual Francofolies Festival.

This internationally renowned festival promotes contemporary music, conceived and designed with respect for the environment and sustainable development. The programming and artists reflect the values ​​upheld by the festival: multiculturalism, the dissemination of Francophilia worldwide, and advocacy for a modern and innovative vision of culture.

With headline performances from French singers Christophe Maé and Patrick Bruel, Congolese singer and rapper Gims and French folk-rock band Louise Attaque, this year’s festival took place from 18-21 July.

Sound for the Pierre Rapsat main stage was provided by Belgian production technology specialist Art

USA - As a New York City XR Studio dedicated to democratising virtual production, WLab leverages cutting-edge Brompton Technology LED processing and Pixreal Avatar series, offering a unique opportunity for first-time virtual production filmmakers to kickstart their journey in this revolutionary field.

WLab emerged from a fundamental quandary: the world of virtual production, while evolving rapidly within studios such as Disney, Amazon, and Sony, remains an enigma and a luxury to students, artists, and independent creators. “We questioned why such a critical and transformative aspect of modern filmmaking should only be accessible to a privileged few, and how we could resolve this imbalance,” says WLab’s co-founder, Tommy Wu.

With a team of passionate filmmakers from New York University (NYU), School of Visual Arts (SVA), and Savannah College of

UK - SWG Events joined forces with fellow Martin Audio network partner 22live recently to field a massive 80 premium loudspeakers from the British manufacturer at Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City FC, over a memorable weekend.

The Saturday event, called Ashton Gate Presents BS3, saw American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo headlining an all-star 10-act bill, that included Craig David, Jess Glynne, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Spoony and local legend, Roni Size, playing to a 27,000-capacity crowd.

The staging then changed for the Sunday, which saw Kings of Leon playing the venue as part of their Can We Please Have Fun world tour.

SWG Events’ head of sound, Simon Purse explained the PA design, which he had overseen. Left and right main PA comprised drops of 16 WPL, supported by two out-hangs of 12 elements in each. 

There were a further two delay tower

Saudi Arabia - The Ultimate Fighting Championship hit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time this summer. On 22 June, UFC Fight Night lit up the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, with Unusual Rigging & Engineering on board to supply the full production rigging.

Richard Hoare, rigger at Unusual commented; “This event wasn’t just a first for Riyadh, but for us at Unusual too. We’ve served as house-riggers for the event when it’s taken place at the Etihad Arena previously, but on this occasion, we won the contract to supply the full scope of production rigging. We worked alongside DLM, the rigging consultants for IMG and Bowie Ebrill who was onsite overseeing the installation and removal.

“Production manager Phil Campbell of IMG, was really pleased with the work and professionalism that our team had supplied as house riggers in Abu Dhabi an

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