CANADA: The Western Canadian Music Alliance has announced that Regina, Saskatchewan has been named host city for the 14th annual BreakOut West, taking place from October 13 – 16, 2016. SaskMusic, Creative Saskatchewan, Tourism Saskatchewan, City of Regina, and Regina Hotel Association have all taken part in bringing the annual festival, conference and Western Canadian Music awards back to Regina, which last hosted the event in 2012. The first Western Canadian Music Awards was also hosted in Regina in 2003. “We are very excited to bring BreakOut West 2016 back to Regina,” said Robyn Stewart, Executive Director of the Western…
Author: Festival Insights
UK: European RFID solutions provider PlayPass has recruited Festival Awards founder Steve Jenner and Live Music Consultant Howard Monk to lead its expansion into the UK market. The appointments follow a breakthrough year for the Belgium-based company which saw it successfully deploy 100% cashless systems at major live events across multiple countries including Germany (Lollapalooza Berlin, Melt! and Splash!), Spain (Low Festival and Cruïlla Barcelona), Thailand (Road to Ultra and Together Festival) and Hong Kong (Clockenflap Festival and Rugby 7’s), among others. In addition, its RFID access control system was used by all attendees at Belgium’s flagship rock festivals Rock…
In 1998 Trish Tucker-May set up Passion 4 Juice as a way of overcoming the problem of finding something healthy to eat at festivals and events. As an expert in nutrition, Trish always found it frustrating and difficult to find food that she wanted to eat while enjoying her favourite festival. Festivalgoers are becoming more discerning and with the rise of diverse street food, festivals need to offer a range of catering that meets the needs of those on special diets. I have noticed a shift in the type of experience people are seeking. As well as a great line-up,…
THAILAND: Following a massively successful event in 2014, together with Retox Sessions and Contango, 808 Festival has announced its return on Wednesday December 9 2015. The event will once again take place at the BITEC Convention Centre in Bangkok. Last year saw 808 Festival in Thailand expand to include the addition of a second stage and a line-up that included more underground music, and the event returns this year with the same format but boasting a star-studded line-up that is jam-packed with Grammy nominated producers and the electronic dance music industry’s biggest DJs. The 808 Arena is the event’s main…
USA: It’s always exciting being involved in something new and innovative, so Nashville based lighting and visuals designer Chris Lisle was delighted to be invited by production manager Jim Dorroh of LEO Events to light seven performance stages at the inaugural KAABOO festival recently staged in Del Mar, California. Chris specified 20 x Robe BMFL Blades as a major part of the lighting scheme for the Sunset Cliffs (main) Stage of the three-day event, a music ‘experience’ and a specially curated ‘sound voyage’, combining rock music and some EDM with comedy, incredible food, contemporary art, great vibes and premium amenities.…
CARIBBEAN: SXMusic is a brand new, boutique electronic music festival set to unfold from March 9 – 13 2016 on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. In a crowded global festival market, this carefully conceived, five-day event in a dreamlike location promises a unique, unforgettable experience for those lucky enough to enjoy it. Jamie Jones, Dubfire, DJ Tennis, Lee Burridge, Adriatique, Thugfucker, Blond:ish, Francesca Lombardo and Psychemagik complete the first wave of artists. St. Martin is a small island where temperatures hover in the 80s all year round. This dual territory paradise features rolling green hills, endless white sandy beaches,…
GERMANY: West London based lighting and visuals specialist Colour Sound Experiment was asked to supply lighting, LED screens and crew for the Perry’s Stage at the first Lollapalooza Festival in Berlin. Perry’s stage, named after Perry Farrell – the lead singer of Jane’s Addiction who started the Lolla phenomena in 1991 – is now synonymous with the best of dance beats and sounds. This year’s headliners included Fatboy Slim. Colour Sound’s crew of seven was led by Kester McClure. Onsite, they all worked very closely with Festival Republic production managers Spike Beecham and Kevin Sutherland, and in fact it was…
AUSTRIA: By all accounts, the laser show at this year’s Lake Festival in Austria was spectacular. Pro laser show company Laserfabrik used four Laserworld RTI NANO RGB 30 laser systems together with Lasergraph DSP controllers for covering the whole venue and creating magnificent coloured effects. The German Laserworld company Ray Technologies GmbH, located in Valley next to Munich, manufactures high end show laser light equipment, especially for demanding applications like touring, cruise ships and multimedia shows. The RTI NANO RGB 30 laser systems were especially developed for well colour-balanced high power applications. Due to them being waterproof IP 65, they…
UK: Having revealed the first two phases of its upcoming winter edition, which sees Art Department, Âme, Guy Gerber, Nina Kraviz, Maya Jane Coles and festival curator Nic Fanciulli amongst names announced, The Winter Social has added a third wave of acts to its line-up. Taking place at Kent County Showground on Saturday February 6 2016, The Winter Social will now welcome Nic’s La Familia collaborator and B2B companion Joris Voorn to join ranks, as well as scene-shifting Drumcode boss Adam Beyer. Eats Everything is set to make his Winter Social debut, alongside Radio 1 DJ B.traits and Circus Recordings…
USA: As it has the for the past four years, Firehouse Productions relied on a HARMAN Professional Solutions audio system for the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, featuring JBL VTX line arrays and Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers. Firehouse cited high performance, durability and ease of setup as keys to its continued reliance on HARMAN Professional Solutions components. This year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival featured performances from Kanye West, Coldplay, Sam Smith, Puff Daddy, Fall Out Boy, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Lopez, David Guetta, Kenny Chesney and many more. One of the most successful live sound production companies in the United…