News

LONDON — George Michael kicked off the six-week-long final leg of his "25 Live" tour in San Diego in mid-June, marking his first live performance in North America in 17 years. The concerts are the third and final leg of an almost two-year tour, celebrating Michael's 25 years in show business. The tour has seen the former Wham! singer play to 1.3 million fans at 80 shows in 12 European countries, and included two nights at New York's Madison Square Garden. The entire tour, which began in 2006, featured a stage full of Sennheiser and Neumann microphones, including the singer's wireless handheld of choice, a Sennheiser SKM 5200 fitted with a Neumann KK 104 S capsule.

BEIJING — In one of the most-watched global media events of the year, the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing was held on Aug. 8 at the newly constructed Beijing National Stadium (known informally as “The Bird’s Nest”). The Opening Ceremony marked the beginning of the 29th Olympic Summer Games. Sound Media Fusion facilitated the event audio system design, programming and deployment, which prominently featured JBL VerTec line arrays, Crown I-Tech amplifiers and Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing consoles.

NEW YORK — Sunset Thursdays is a series of summer gatherings held on the patio at P.D. O'Hurley's, a bar and grill overlooking the Hudson River from Pier 84 at West 44th Street and 12th Avenue. A sundown celebration featuring soothing sounds designed to help bring the week to a close on a more serene note, the events enlist the talents of DJs who spread their aural ambience over the crowd using a sound system featuring 10 of QSC's powered HPR122i loudspeakers.

OXNARD, Calif. — L-ACOUSTICS has announced the launch of the K1/KUDO Pilot Program. This announcement follows the recent publication of an interview with Christian Heil and Stéphane Ecalle at Prolight 2008 in which L-ACOUSTICS unveiled the V-DOSC sequel and the future creation of a global DOSC Network.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Atlantic City Hilton recently installed a new Yamaha PM5D digital audio console for front of house use in their entertainment venue. A state-of-the-art venue built to showcase the talents of celebrity entertainers, the theater boasts a seating capacity of over 1,400. The console was purchased by Yamaha dealer, ACIR Professional in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. “We are extremely happy that the Hilton decided to purchase a second Yamaha PM5D,” states John Grasso, ACIR Pro co-owner. “This console is so popular and familiar, that it’s a breeze to set up a show for visiting engineers. The Hilton knows that if they have any questions about the console, we’re right around the corner and there to assist.”

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The place to be seen in the Lebanese capital Beirut is the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Centre’s Sky Bar, whose roof terrace is open to the stars during the hot summer nights. As well as fantastic views of the city and the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the venue features a Turbosound installation.

FRANCE — For the past 10 years, the Ile de France region has supported the Solidays music festival to raise AIDS awareness.  A play on the words solidarity and holidays, Solidays is dedicated to both concepts, and its timing in the event calendar means it represents the kick-off for the festival season in France. As this year was the 10th anniversary of the festival, a fifth stage was added and a vast electic selection of hip-hop, rock, reggae and techno artists invited to perform. French PA company Melpomen, which has provided PA support for the last decade, was able to use three generations of NEXO’s GEO Series line array loudspeakers in their FOH systems.

NEW YORK — Donna Summer, singer/songwriter/pop culture icon and five-time Grammy winner, is back with Crayons, her first full-length studio release in 17 years. Summer embarked on the “Stamp Your Feet” tour with N.Y.-based SK Systems and Tom Heinisch at the controls of the summer U.S. swing. They spec’d a DiGiCo CS D5 at FOH and a DiGiCo D-1 at monitors to handle the roughly 50+ inputs from the stage — and he anticipates they’ll be adding more inputs with the addition of local orchestras in certain cities.