USA - One of the industry’s longest serving lighting designers, Michael Ledesma, has been lighting one of music’s most enduring artists, Carlos Santana, for the last six years on the guitarist’s House of Blues residency in Las Vegas.
For the latest run of House of Blues dates in May, Ledesma supplemented the house lighting system with a multitude of gear that included Elation Professional SEVEN Batten colour-changing LED battens, Arena Par Zoom LED Par lights, and Protron Eclypse hybrid LED luminaires, along with upstage LED video screens made up of Elation EVHD panels. Innovative Concert Lighting supplies the gear for Santana’s shows at the House of Blues.
An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live plays at the House of Blues in Vegas for eight weeks each year and is booked through 2020. Ledesma, who has been lighting shows for over 40 years

Sweden - With over 45,000 audience members per night, over three consecutive dates, the Scandinavian dance trio returned to live performing - following a six-year hiatus - with a major production at Sweden’s Tele2 Arena (as reported in LSi June).
Production managed by Mattie Evans and mixed at FOH by sound engineer Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Sargeant, the SHM team chose to use Britannia Row for the highly-anticipated gigs.
Rabbit, whose connection with Brit Row spans two decades, noted that the company is great to work with as all of the team “get fully involved in the design of the system; it’s always good to have the best people onboard”.
Britannia Row’s Josh Lloyd was the production’s sound sy

UK - Orbital Sound is partnering with the Edinburgh Fringe venue The Pleasance to stage a two-day training event in advance of this year’s Festival.
The course addresses the specific requirements of audio for the dynamic environment of fringe theatre, providing venue crews and technicians of all skill levels with the essential ingredients needed to develop their audio knowledge.
Led by Orbital Sound’s head of education Mike Thacker, Fringe Fundamentals for Sound runs from 24-25 July in Edinburgh, with a total of 35 places available.
With a 20-year track record for professional theatre audio training, Orbital Sound’s dedicated education centre in London hosts a regular series of specialist courses. Managing director Chris Headlam expands: “We hav

UK - Prolight Concepts Group has been appointed exclusive UK distributor for Lynx Pro Audio’s sound reinforcement product offering.
All Lynx Pro-Audio products are designed in-house by their team of engineers and manufactured in their headquarters in Valencia, Spain.
Lynx Pro Audio’s Ben Sinclair comments: “Prolight Concepts have grown very quickly, establishing them as one of the UKs premium distributors. I had the chance to welcome them during a recent visit to our factory and have no doubt that they are the perfect partner for us. They are committed to service and quality and we are very excited to have them as our exclusive UK distributor.”
Chris Beesley, product sourcing manager at Prolight Concepts Group adds, “The addition of Lynx Pro-Audio to our distribution portfolio is a logical step forward enabling Prolight Concepts Group to offer an addit

The Netherlands - Located in Amsterdam’s Nieuw-West district, where a major programme of urban renewal has been carried out in recent years, De Meervaart is a multi-purpose venue which includes two theatres, three foyers, two studios and 10 further meeting rooms of different sizes. Between them they can host a diverse range events for between two and 2,000 people.
With many international artists performing at the venue, alongside the needs of extreme flexibility and portability, De Meervaart technical head Martin Keereweer has relied on Yamaha digital mixing consoles.
“About 13 years ago we invested in Yamaha M7CL-32 and LS9-16 consoles, which still work flawlessly,” he says. ”But with the busy schedule of events here, there was a constant demand for more equipment. We will continue to use the M7CL and LS9, so it made sense to invest in Yamaha again.”

USA/Europe - Ohio-based hardcore act Beartooth, are currently touring around the world, taking on festival season with two dLive Wings set-ups.
Danny Harvey (FOH engineer) reports, “The size of the C1500 is ideal for travelling, being able to fly with it is amazing and having that much power in two fly cases is perfect for international acts, making their sound consistent all over the world.
“I love the way dLive sounds and how easy it is to customise everything. At the bigger festivals I always manage to get positioned front middle on the FOH tent due to the C1500’s small footprint.”
Supplied by V2 Productions for their US dates and Captured Live for shows in Europe, the band’s set up consists of two dLive C1500 surfaces, paired with two DM48 MixRacks, covering both FOH and monitors. Additionally, the FOH console is equipped with a Waves card, used for

UK - BishopSound is making its debut at the Glastonbury Festival 2019. BishopSound speakers are to be used exclusively on a new stage being run by the long-established Glastonbury suppliers, Bristol based A1 Entertainments.
For the stage, which will be used to host up and coming DJs, BishopSound has supplied four Beta BB118 enclosures and four Beta BB215s. The BB118 is a passive sub-woofer particularly popular with DJs for its tight, well-defined bass frequency response. Each speaker will handle 1,000 Watts RMS from 35-100Hz with 107dB sensitivity.
The BishopSound Beta Twin 15 BB215 is a passive, upright full range speaker fitted with 'Easy Move' wheels. Like the BB118 it will also handle 1,000 Watts RMS, offers 101dB sensitivity and a frequency response from 56Hz-20kHz.
Andrew Bishop says: “We're thrilled and delighted to be bringing a British sound back to G

USA - The Cult have been making their way across America celebrating 30 years of their 1989 album, Sonic Temple. They're touring light: just a bus and a trailer in tow to transport the band, consoles, backline, control package, and touring team, which is just two engineers. At FOH position, Stephen McGuire is working from an SSL L300.
McGuire has been mixing The Cult for four years and used an L500 console for FOH duties on their previous outing. “It's literally just me and the monitor guy on this tour; I needed to get a desk that is powerful, phenomenally quick to set up, sonically geared for The Cult and can fit in the trailer. The SSL L300 was the perfect choice.”
McGuire says he loves mixing The Cult, and describes them as a good old school rock and roll band: no tracks, no click, everything is in the moment, and they give him license to mix.

USA - At InfoComm 2019, Martin Audio held the world premiere of both the latest Wavefront Precision optimised line array, WPS, as well the integration of BlackTrax real time tracking for its immersive audio experience, 3-D Sound Adventures. In addition, it also marked the US launch of the company’s latest powered point source range, BlacklineX Powered.
Up first in the demo room was the debut integration between Martin Audio’s immersive Sound Adventures and the renowned BlackTrax real-time tracking technology. Based on a ground-breaking new algorithm, which converts Real-Time Tracking Protocol (RTTrP) signals to Open Sound Control (OSC) commands, the BlackTrax integration showcased how performers could be tracked seamlessly with both lighting and localised audio for a truer, more impactful AV experience.
This was followed by the US premiere of the latest powered poi

Singapore - Kheong Sen Lim has joined d&b audiotechnik as business development manager for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, based in the company’s Singapore office.
Kheong has spent the last 30 years working in various capacities in the audio and performing arts industry. He has hands-on experience in sound system design, distribution sales, system integration and project management.
Fluent in English, Malay and Chinese, Kheong will travel across the APAC region, predominantly focusing on enhancing reach and awareness of the latest developments from d&b, including the SL-Series and the Soundscape system.
Most recently, Kheong was a senior consultant for Marshall Day Entertech, based in Melbourne, providing theatre and sound system design advice to a variety of clients in Australia, New Zealand and globally. He has a degree in Recording Arts, with diploma

Europe - Pro audio manufacturer Audac has introduced a series of online seminars aimed at professional audio engineers, systems integrators and technicians.
‘With these first online seminars we have taken a new look at what educational tools we have to offer to the installers of our innovative audio solutions.” said Tom Van de Sande, CEO at Audac. ‘We noticed that we are getting a lot more momentum all over the world, which is why we had to adapt our educational offer so that we can easily reach these new users as well.”
These videos are the start of a complete database of online training videos that will highlight all functionalities of Audac products. Audac will work with two different levels: Level 1 is an introduction to the Audac range and will be available to everyone. Level 2 will be a hands-on training of our different products and functionalities and

The Netherlands - The Panama nightclub in Amsterdam has been at the forefront of the Dutch music scene for more than 16 years, presenting a wide variety of styles and featuring a balanced mix of global and local DJs. The venue has a capacity of over a thousand and as well as its essential nightclub function, acts as a multi-purpose events space that puts on a diverse programme of events.
The production team at Panama has progressively improved the sound system at the club over the years. Although happy that its existing system was good and met most of its needs, the club’s management wished to take the club’s audio provision forward and introduce even greater clarity, power and detail, to further enhance every aspect of its offer.
Seeking a more immersive solution, Panama choose Pioneer Pro Audio XY Series loudspeakers and appointed AVL Rent under the leadership of

USA - Belgian pro audio manufacturer, Apex Audio, has reinforced its US operations with the appointment of experienced industry professional, Ineke Priepot. Based in Nashville, TN, Priepot’s role is sales and business development with the aim of setting up and running a dealer/rep network across the US.
Priepot will be handling the full range of Apex DSP audio products including the Intelli-Series system processors, with particular emphasis on the newly launched Class D SMA-1 amplifier module.
“Ineke is a highly experienced sales professional who knows this business inside out,” says Apex managing director, Paul Van Hees. “She is also a respected sound engineer with a strong technical background and has a solid network of contacts in the US, so we’re confident that she’ll be able to help us establish the Apex brand in the US.”
(Jim Evans)

Germany - Wireless audio system engineer Victor Lang recently helped The Voice of Germany improve its wireless in-ear monitoring coverage with new Wisycom solutions. With a reliable RF signal that extends from the stage all the way to the back of the audience and backstage into the green room, Lang turned to the Wisycom’s MTK952 Wideband Dual transmitter, MPR50-IEM Wideband Receiver and MAT288 Matrix Combiner.
For The Voice of Germany, Lang employed the Wisycom IEM system – the MPR50-IEM and MTK952 – along with 40 channels of Shure Digital Axient for all the wireless mics through the MAT288 to create multiple antenna coverage/zones.
“One of the big reasons the producers wanted to try out the Wisycom IEM system was because of the difficulty they had in the past in getting full coverage in each of the key zones,” he says. “I was confident that

USA - Orlando-headquartered Professional Wireless Systems has expanded their rental programme with the addition of Lucas Lewis, national rental manager. The announcement was made by Jim Van Winkle, general manager.
“Our organisation continues to expand,” explains Van Winkle. “We have always had a national rental presence but have lacked a specific point person - Lucas is now that person. This will allow us to provide our products and services to a broader base of customers. We are very excited to have him on board.”
Based in Orlando, Lewis is charged with not only working with production companies, but also reaching out to establish a presence with houses of worship, schools, and corporate AV.
Prior to joining Professional Wireless, Lewis worked with PRG as an audio asset manager where he oversaw the flow of assets internally moving between different lo

Spain - Alfonso Luria Carrió has been appointed sales manager for d&b audiotechnik Spain.
Carrió, who has worked in the pro audio industry since he was 16, joins the team from SoundLight Spain. He will focus on coordinating the activity of all d&b partner organisations and consolidating growth in the fixed install market. Carrió’s appointment follows the announcement of Christian Orcin as the new managing director of d&b audiotechnik Spain in March.
“I am happy to join the d&b team, and very excited to be able to offer complete support for our customers across Spain along with a clear strategy and vision,” says Carrió. “d&b is very well known for the high quality of its products and the excellent education and support our technical te

USA/UK - Following the release of her second studio album, The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt has recently completed her headline North America and UK tour, accompanied by an Allen & Heath SQ-5.
With a compact footprint, SQ has rapidly found favour with touring acts, as Curtis McKenna (FOH / mons engineer) explains: “I was looking for an easily transportable fly-rig and I love the fact that with SQ, I can have my entire show in a case, jump on a flight and then show up anywhere around the world and not only have the same great sounding show as the night before, but have it up and running within five minutes. It just works right out of the box.”
Having been an Allen & Heath GLD user for the past four years, McKenna found the decision to purchase his own SQ-5 an easy one.
“I came across the SQ

Spain - Covering 81 hectares of Spanish countryside, Palmeral Resort is a prime location for weddings and other family celebrations. Aiming to create memorable experiences and lasting memories, a zoned Yamaha audio system is deployed.
Situated at Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo, 140km south west of Madrid, Palmeral Resort is set amongst palm trees, fountains, attractive gardens and a lake.
The resort’s management needed to deploy quality sound in all areas, but with the versatility to manage each area independently or as groups, depending on the needs of each event. El Palmeral owner Esteban Robledo reports, "In a resort covering such a large area and with so many different zones, the use of analogue technology would obviously have been a mistake. Digital audio networking gave us the opportunity to centralise the control and the possibility to manage t

Australia - As a long-term user of DPA microphones, the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has been quick to adopt the Danish manufacturer’s Core by DPA amplifier technology, which has now been successfully incorporated into DPA d:screet Miniature, d:fine headset and d:vote instrument microphones.
Already the owner of a substantial amount of DPA stock, STC recently added 75 d:screet CORE 4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphones to its inventory and is putting them to good use on a number of productions, including a new version of Tennessee Williams’ classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Ben Lightowlers, STC’s head of sound and audio visual, says: “Once the new Core technology arrived, I was keen to put it through the rigours of a regular season at STC. The goal for us in theatre is to not distract the audience with an obviously mic’d tonality but rather aim for a

Denmark - Flipside Soundsystem has designed and installed a Yamaha-based audio system at a new bouldering gym in Copenhagen
“Pretty much everyone at Flipside enjoys a fair amount of indoor bouldering, so we were both surprised and excited when Josh Glanville and Francesco Ragazzi of Beta Boulders asked us to work on the sound system for their new 10,000sq.ft bouldering gym,” says Flipside managing director James Cooper. “Our first instinct was to want to achieve something that sounded better than the gyms we all climb in.”
Although Beta Boulders has climbing and training areas, it is also much more. With a yoga studio, cafe and co-working spaces, it is designed to bring people from all over the Copenhagen area together.
“We connect people through climbing, work, culture and needed an audio system that could be used by any staff member, but flexible enou

Japan - Cho Kabuki: Yoshitsune Senbonzakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees) is one of the most popular kabuki plays in Japan. Senbonzakura itself, a ‘Vocaloid’ song launched on the Japanese video-sharing website Nico Nico Douga, originally became a major hit leading to live stage performances and novels, and creating a new collaboration - Hanakurabe Senbonzakura. This was a kabuki production first, bridging the past and the present, and premiered at the Niconico Chokaigi Festival in 2016.
When the ‘Cho Kabuki supported by NTT’ event was held recently at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Martin Audio Sound Adventures system made an auspicious Japanese debut. This is known as one of the main event booths of Nico Nico Super Conference, which is annually held in Makuhari Messe during the May public holiday and is designed with the aim of reproducing

Italy - Italian festival Ralf in Bikini took place on 25 April, offering 12 hours of techno, house and minimal music from Italian and international DJs, including Ralf, the event’s protagonist, at Cattolica’s Bikini Disco Dinner.
For the first time, the festival featured an Outline GTO loudspeaker system.
Emporio On Stage from Scandicci (Florence) was the rental company responsible for the sound design and the installation of the Outline systems, using GTO as the main rig and Mantas 28 systems for both the beach stage and the roofed zone.
Mauro Bianchi, owner of the White Events agency and co-organiser of Ralf in Bikini, stated: “I’d already had the pleasure of listening to the GTO at Rimini’s Music Inside Festival, in an indoor situation, and greatly appreciated its ‘elegant badness’.
At Ralf in Bikini, it was the first

UK - Third-year students from Mountview Academy recently performed BOY, an immersive play in which the audience could interact with the actors on stage.
Tasked with creating the sound design was student sound designer John ‘JP’ Guerrier, who had become familiar with the TiMax spatial reinforcement capabilities following a training workshop. He decided the technology would be ideal to support an immersive soundscape that every member of the audience would respond to.
Mentored by sound supervisor Dafyyd Gough - himself a professional sound designer - JP established a 10.2 loudspeaker system, including a pair of overheads, distributed around the Mountview’s black box studio theatre space.
TiMax created live overhead train announcements, supermarket PA effects and also a preacher’s speaker box effect with the help of the onboard EQ.
“We used T

UK - London-based technical event specialists Light Fantastic Production Services has announced six appointments at its Borehamwood base.
Five of the new additions have taken up technical roles in the company’s warehouse and fabrication workshop, whilst the sixth new team member has joined the project management team.
Jed Burns and Taylor Bunn have joined to expand the capabilities of the LFPS in-house fabrication workshop. Lauren Tanner, Joe Bentwood and Pius Yiga have become warehouse technicians, whilst Ned Lay has taken up the role of a project manager.
LFPS managing director Rob Myer comments: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome new talent to the Light Fantastic family, particularly during what has been an extremely busy period for us. Adding these new faces to our team adds strength throughout key areas of our business - we are really looking forward t

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