4Wall Entertainment co-founder and former CEO, Michael Cannon has acquired the assets and operations of Main Light Industries (MLI). Main Light will remain headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and will retain all current MLI employees, continuing with the current business model of dry hire rental. “Aidas and his team have built a great company over the past 40+ years,” said Cannon. “Main Light has always been considered one of the preeminent lighting rental providers to the industry and among its strengths are its valued long-term employees like Randy Mullican, Giovanni Ciranni, and Rick McKinney who each have been with the company…
Author: James Robertson
Robe Lighting France delivered its first Robe Awards event, a new lighting design, programming and operating competition which saw 10 finalists – whittled down from over 160 initial entrants – to battle it out in person at Les Studios de la Montjoie in the La Plaine St Denis area near Paris where they utilised a full Robe lighting rig. It all started just ahead of the pandemic and lockdowns, when a succession of conversations took place – first ones were in fact over a year ago and between Sebastien Dendele, president of rental company MursDeLeds (MDL), and well-known TV lighting…
Family owned AV Stumpfl GmbH has appointed two executive directors as part of restructuring measures aimed at maximising the acclaimed company’s management efficiency. At the core of the new executive directors’ tasks will be the operative coordination of the screen and media server departments. In her new role as executive director, Stefanie Niederwimmer will be responsible for projection screens, with her colleague Christine Doppelmair taking over her former position as head of sales – screens. Niederwimmer has been with AV Stumpfl since 2004 and has held a number of different positions of strategic importance during that time. Harry Gladow, formerly…
Everyone within the outdoor events industry is looking forward to getting back to work this summer, and IPS have launched a deposit guarantee scheme to help event organisers get their infrastructure secured. Event audiences are desperate to return as soon as it is safe for events to go ahead, although the actual restart date is still to be announced. This lack of clarity is increasingly putting pressure on the finite number of possible event dates for 2021. The recent Government announcements and roadmap for restrictions being lifted have helped, but it is still hard for organisers to commit to a…
So Midwest, Inc. provided turnkey creative and technical services for Self Destructor, the new music video for rock band Chevelle. Executive producer and production designer, Robb Jibson, selected Ayrton Perseo fixtures for the video, which So Midwest concepted, designed, directed, produced and edited. Focusing on science deniers and written before the coronavirus pandemic, Self Destructor is the lead single from the band’s upcoming, space-themed ninth studio album, Niratis (an acronym for Nothing is Real And This Is a Simulation). “Coming up with a theme of a visitor from space carrying a glowing energy orb that would ultimately suck the band…
CODA Audio was chosen for the only large scale symphonic concert to take place in Jiangxi Province during 2020. The province of Jiangxi in China witnessed its only large scale outdoor symphonic concert of 2020 at the Ruijin Sports Centre Stadium in Ganzhou in November last year. Featuring a gala performance by orchestra, singers and actors, the cultural celebration was attended by a number of civic dignitaries who joined the large audience to enjoy a spectacular show. Leading Jiangxi-based audio specialists, Zhongsheng Music International Cultural Media Co., a customer of CODA Audio’s Chinese distributor Tempo, took care of production, and…
The name of Jerzy Owsiak and The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (GOCC, Polish Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, WOŚP) rings a bell in the minds and hearts of millions. In the 29 years of its charitable work, one of Poland’s largest nonprofits has raised over 250 million Euro for health protection and saving children’s lives through providing over 65,200 pieces of medical equipment to public hospitals and clinics in Poland, as well as running six medical programmes and one educational course aimed at improving public healthcare in the country. This year’s Grand Finale Fundraiser event, held on 31st of January…
Over 1,700 miles separate Image Productions Services from Ryman Auditorium, but that didn’t matter much on 23 January when Annie Brobst and The Jake Ash Band took the stage at the improvised livestream studio in the company’s warehouse. Brobst, the New England Country Music Awards Artist of the Year, and Ash’s band, which was formed by four firefighters from nearby Brockton, projected an unabashedly, down-home vibe that would have fit right in on Nashville’s Second Avenue. Reflecting the cheery mood, Brobst even raised a glass to the audience in honour of her hit “Red Wine On Her Mind.” Contributing to…
Martin Tremblay, President and CEO of Solotech, has confirmed that Solotech is expected to acquire Nashville based Morris Light & Sound. This strategic initiative will strengthen Solotech’s live productions and systems integration divisions in the United States, expand inventory and add to team of industry professionals. Morris Light & Sound was formed nearly 30 years ago by industry icon Dale Morris to outfit tours for the country music supergroup ‘Alabama.’ With this step, Morris changed the landscape of touring by creating a unique business model that not only represented and managed artists but also provided full production services all under…
Powersoft has revealed a further 12-month warranty on its renowned rack amplifiers for all customers who register their product for free to MyPowersoft, Powersoft’s online portal. This free extension brings the total warranty length, including the four years standard warranty, to five years. As of the Monday 22 February 2021, all customers buying Powersoft amplifiers on or after this date will need to register their product on MyPowersoft within 30 days of purchase to benefit from the extended extra year warranty. All customers who have previously purchased a rack amplifier prior to this date, that is still covered by the…
It’s a comfort to know that somewhere in the world, 2020 ended with a music festival. That’s what happened in the shadow of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, where the Rhythm & Alps Festival saw off the year with a celebratory vibe enhanced by TomTom Productions, whose Hippotizer™ Media Servers from Green Hippo delivered the visuals for three separate stages. Rhythm & Alps, which has become South Island’s biggest New Year’s Eve party, was also celebrating its 10th anniversary with this event, which was held over the last three days of December. TomTom, based in nearby Queenstown, is the festival’s regular…
Much of the story of a life can be told in music. The songs that lift the spirit in joy and comfort it in sorrow, resonate through the years that mark our time on earth. Claudio Mazzucchelli was inspired by this great voice to create Papa Watch My Fly a livestreamed multi-media operatic work performed at the historic Teatro Coccia. Featuring over 70 socially distanced performers, representing a wide range of musical genres from classical and jazz, to pop and rock, as well as aerial dancers and a “live” painting by Giuseppe Ravizzotti, Papa Watch Me Fly portrays the evolving relationship…
A group of influential women in the UK music industry have joined forces to form Moving The Needle (MTN), an educational support group that launches for International Women’s Day 2021. Its members #ChooseToChallenge the status quo where women come into the UK music industry in droves, yet only hold a third of senior management roles. That’s despite the fact the UK is famed for pushing the boundaries of creative innovation as the world’s second biggest exporter of music – an industry worth £5.2bn a year. Findings from the UK Music Diversity Report published in October by the UK’s overarching music…
Having guided Void through four years of profitable growth and structural change followed by a profitable “Covid” year, David Bissett-Powell has stepped down as Chairman of Void Acoustics. Alex Skan, co-founder and Managing Director of Void Acoustics has made a statement on behalf of the company. “We are extremely sorry to lose David as our non-exec Chair. Over the past four and a half years David has brought tremendous opportunities to us all in the company, and shared with us his wealth of expertise and knowledge of the audio sector. The company has benefitted from David’s guidance and unending enthusiasm…
MAKEITBLUE – the non-profit organisation behind the #LightItBlue campaign – has made its first charitable donation – of £4,000 – to event industry mental health and wellbeing organisation, EventWell. Launched by events industry professionals in 2020 in direct response to the mental health crisis facing the industry, MAKEITBLUE has made its primary area of focus those live events colleagues who have lost work and income through the Covid-19 pandemic. MAKEITBLUE Director Tim Owen, said: “As an events-specific charitable company, EventWell’s mission and objectives align perfectly with our own. We’re delighted to channel our first donation to support EventWell’s pledge towards…
The theatre production of INSPIRE Onmyoji, starring famous Japanese actor Takao Osawa, ran at the 1300-capacity Nissei Theatre in Tokyo from December 31st 2020 to January 6th 2021. This number was reduced slightly to conform to the Government’s COVID regulations at that time. A Umeda Arts Theater production, the show was scripted by Brazily Anne Yamada, Takaya Okamoto, NatsuTeranishi and directed by Junya Yamada. Takao Osawa performed the role of Japanese ancient wizard ‘Onmyoji’, with next generation video, sound and lighting effects, making full use of latest technologies. This included Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision platform (WPM) and Sound Adventures immersive…
Leisuretec is set to distribute Void Acoustics professional audio products throughout the UK. This move means Leisuretec becomes Void’s largest distribution partner in the UK, supplying AV installers, hire production houses and events companies with strong stock holding, knowledgeable technical sales support and efficient after-sales service. “We are very excited to bring Void into our diverse portfolio of professional audio brands. Not only do their speakers sound incredible, they behold an attractive aesthetic that will offer our customers a unique and stylish alternative when planning their projects.” commented Leisuretec Managing Director, Mike Henden. “We are delighted to welcome Leisuretec Distribution…
Production Services Association (PSA) breaks down the key points from the UK Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. A couple of key details: step three (no earlier than 17 May) includes capacity limits of 1,000 or 50% indoor, 4,000 or 50% outdoor, and 10,000 or 25% for seated outdoor. Larger events in step four (no earlier than 21 June) will be influenced by the results of an Events Research Programme (point 133 on the document.) We got together earlier with our colleagues in LIVE to issue a reaction to the PM’s statement. After almost a year of total closure for the…
