MerleFest 2018, Wilkesboro, NC MerleFest 2018 (pictured above) wrapped up its 31st year with more than 75,000 country, bluegrass and Americana fans attending the four-day… Read More »Bringing the Music Outside: Six Recent Festivals
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FRANKFURT, Germany – Chalk this up as one for the record books — three major tradeshows on two continents during the same week. The NAB exhibits opened from April 9 to 12, 2018 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Frankfurt, Germany’s Prolight+Sound kicked off the next day, from April 10 to 13, while the M.I.-oriented Frankfurt Musikmesse, was held on the same expo grounds (in different halls) from April 11 to 14.
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Terry Lowe and Joe Lamond Look Back and Forward The 2018 NAMM Show in Anaheim proved to be the most successful ever by almost any… Read More »Parnelli Awards and NAMM Commit for the Long Term
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From January 25 through 28, a record-setting 115,000 attendees made the annual pilgrimage to Anaheim, CA for the Winter NAMM show but this year’s expo was a whole lot different than those of past years. First of all, and perhaps most noticeably, the exhibit space increased by some 20 percent, mostly due to the opening of the new, two-level Anaheim Convention Center North (ACC-N), which provided a home for a new wing dedicated to professional audio, lighting and event technologies.
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The 17th annual Parnelli Awards gala, held Friday, Jan. 26 at the Anaheim Hilton during NAMM 2018, honored Bobby “Boomer” Thrasher, Jonathan Smeeton and John Stadius with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Visionary Award and Audio Innovator Award, respectively.
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Not even a sudden declaration of war slows down Bobby “Boomer” Thrasher, a “no-problem-only-solutions” kind of guy. In 1990, Billy Joel had done a USO show in Washington D.C., and he wanted to do more overseas. “To make it financially feasible, we tacked on some dates between Japan and Australia,” says Steve Cohen, Lighting/Set Designer for Joel. So in January of 1991, they had a deal that if USO would pick them and their four semis’ worth of gear in Japan and deliver them to the Philippines and then on to Australia, they could do it.
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Appropriating the advertising slogan of a well-known insurance company, front of house engineer Chris Conley knows a thing or two, because he’ s seen a thing or two. Conley caught his first break in the late ‘80s while working security at a music club in Detroit, where he was born and raised. One night, just hours before all-girl L.A. grunge-rockers L7 were due to play, the house engineer, Conley’ s longtime friend, received a call.
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Cruise Production, 3G and Jonas Provide Audio for a High-Seas Adventure
For the fourth year in a row, Cruise Production teamed up with 3G Productions and Jonas Productions for the Welcome to Jamrock Cruise, a five day reggae festival on the high seas. More than 4,000 fans packed the sold-out Independence of the Seas to enjoy performances by such reggae luminaries as Damian and Stephen Marley, Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Cocoa Tea and Tarrus Riley. In all, more than 40 artists and DJs kept the party (and the audio crew) going nonstop with live performances, DJ sets and a reggae sound clash DJ battle. The cruise set sail from Fort Lauderdale on November 13 with stops in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
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“The definition of an innovator is ‘a person who develops a new design, product, or who has new ideas about how to do something’,” says Jack Kelly of Group One Limited, distributor of DiGiCo consoles and other pro audio and lighting brands. “John Stadius has continued to develop new ideas and designs for many, many years and has helped redefine what’s possible in the pro-audio industry.”
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George Petersen, FRONT of HOUSE editor, put together his annual list of holiday gift ideas for sound pros for the Dec. 2017 issue of FOH. You can find it on page 33, or just read on for the introduction to the article and click the link to download a PDF of the page.
Let’s face it – sound reinforcement pros are not easy to shop for. We already have enough cutesy chachkas and useless trinkets to last a lifetime – or longer. What we could really use is something meaningful that could make a difference in our everyday lives. So with that goal in mind, we present our annual holiday gift guide. Here are our suggestions of great gifts for the 2017 holiday season.
House engineer Andy Kern and Lonely Dog Productions owner Tony Cottrill on the non-televised gigs staged within the PBS Bluegrass Underground venue, the Volcano Roomxt
A truly unique room — naturally beautiful and with amazing acoustics — makes a memorable music venue. The Volcano Room, a venue that seats 600, is the home for a popular radio and television series Bluegrass Underground, as well as a variety of non-televised concerts each month.
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Audio Achievers Voted Best in Their Region by FOH Readers
Readers across the continent weighed in on which sound company deserved the certificate, bragging rights and the chance to take home the “Parnelli Hometown Hero Award of the Year” at the Parnelli Awards gala in January. There are some fresh faces along with several who are returning to the winner’s circle, but they all offer up a few things in common: a dedication to customer service, a commitment to constantly investing in their inventory and an unflappable commitment to getting the job done. Meet the people running the companies named as the best in their region by readers of FRONT of HOUSE.
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