Business
White Paper Explores Reopening Live Events Safely
A new white paper, “Reopening Live Events Safely: An Industry View,” looks at how to keep production pros safe as the industry reopens.
Tour Sound
Business
Music Climate Revolution Launches as Touring Resumes
Reverb, a musician-led environmental nonprofit, has launched Music Climate Revolution, a campaign to help bands shrink the environmental footprint of their tours.
Live
Live Sound Reawakens As U.S. Tours Return
As U.S. tours cautiously start to hit the road in June, a whole new post-pandemic production world awaits.
Blogs
What’s It Like to Mix for 4,000 Fans in a Pandemic?
As the U.S. gets vaccinated, concerts are starting to come back—but what’s it like to mix for 4,000 fans during a pandemic?
Business
Live Nation, Veeps Outfit 60-Plus Venues for Livestreaming
Live Nation Entertainment and Veeps, the livestream platform run by co-founders Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte, have started equipping over 60 concert venues across the U.S. to offer turnkey livestreaming.
Live
Mario Leccese, Live Sound Veteran, Passes at 60
Veteran live sound pro Mario Leccese, director of Operations for Solotech US, has died.
Business
DCR Nashville Nets Paul Owen
Veteran live sound executive Paul Owen is joining full-service event production company DCR Nashville as its new president.
Live
Kim Walker-Smith Returns to the Road
Front Porch Productions has been supplying the control package for Christian artist Kim Walker-Smith's current series of four-date mini-tours.
Business
Solotech Acquires Morris Light & Sound
Solotech expands its Nashville footprint with the acquisition of event production and system integration company Morris Light & Sound.
Business
Britannia Row Marks 45 Years
Britannia Row Productions marked 45 years in live production this year. Here's the whole story, from Pink Floyd to the Pandemic and beyond.
Business
Special Event Services Builds New Headquarters
Even the pandemic could not stop tour and event sound provider Special Event Services from opening its new 52,000-square-foot company headquarters in Mocksville, NC.
International
Tour Beats the Pandemic with an 80-Ton Boat
Violet Road bought an 80-ton boat, turned it into a tour bus on water, added an Alcons PA and kept touring this past summer.
Live
Live Nation Urban Launches Black Tour Directory
Aiming to foster greater inclusivity in production roles on tours and events, Live Nation Urban has developed The Black Tour Directory.
International
Barry O’Hare, Legendary Jamaican Engineer, Dead at 56
A mainstay of Jamaica’s recording and live sound scene for decades, engineer Barry O’Hare died from COVID-19 on Saturday, September 19, 2020.
Live
Billy Strings’ Drive-In Tour Rolls On
Bluegrass sensation Billy Strings’ “Meet Me at the Drive-In” tour is on the move, playing socially distanced drive-in venues like Wilkes-Barre’s Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
International
Rolling Stones Exhibition Gets Atmos-Infused PMC Setup
'The Rolling Stones – Unzipped' museum exhibition will feature a PMC speaker system to present immersive concert footage.
Live
Live Sound Turns to Congress for Help
The summer months are usually the busiest of the year for the live sound industry. While September typically sees the industry start to ease into a slightly less hectic fall season, the autumn of 2020 finds live sound professionals...
Business
d&b audiotechnik to Offer Certified Pre-Owned Systems
German loudspeaker manufacturer d&b audiotechnik is now offering certified pre-owned loudspeaker systems.
Live
FOH Engineer Vinnie Kowalski, Dead at 58
FOH engineer Vincent Kowalski died July 17, 2020, closing a 40-plus year career that saw him tour with Blondie, fellow Long Islanders Dream Theater, Savatage, Kirk Franklin, Thin Lizzy, John Fogerty and Peter Frampton.
Gear and Technology
Nexo Launches ID14 Point Source Loudspeaker, S108 Subwoofer
Nexo is launching its new ID14 point source speaker and companion S108 subwoofer as part of its ID Series of high-power compact cabinets.
Business
Concert Livestreams Evolve Quickly During COVID-19
As the live music drought continues, artists like Trivium and Underoath, as well as sound companies, are turning to livestreaming to keep working and connect with fans, rapidly evolving the concert livestream in the process.
Live
Indie Band’s Tour Sound Ready to Wreck and Roll
L.A. pop-punk act The Wrecks rips it up live, but that's aided by an inspired high-tech, low-cost system the band carries on tour.
Business
Crew Sues Over Deadly Tour Bus Crash
Lawsuits fly over last fall's deadly tour bus crash that killed a monitor engineer and injured seven others.
Live
Inside Stereophonics’ In-The-Round Sound
Stereophonics filled arenas on its most recent UK tour—not only with audiences but with creative sound engineering, too, ensuring the audio held up when the band played a third of its show on a mid-floor B stage.
Live
The Vocal Chain that Brings Halsey’s Vocals to Life in Concert
Halsey is known for her genre-hopping, and FOH engineer Simon Thomas ensures her vocals play the part with an SSL Fusion.
Business
Roy Williams, FOH Engineer for Robert Plant/Led Zeppelin, Dead at 73
A veteran of the live concert business, Roy Williams helmed the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion and multiple Robert Plant tours.
Live
Danny Leake, Legendary Studio/Live Engineer, Dead at 69
In addition to working as Stevie Wonder’s FOH engineer for three decades, Danny Leake also recorded dozens of top artists in the studio, leading to six Grammy nominations for his efforts.
Live
Bon Iver Tour Rolled Out with Firehouse
Firehouse Productions deployed L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology for the second leg of the ongoing 2020 Bon Iver tour.
Live
Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix on Mics, Quarantine
Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix muses about his favorite live mic and the unexpected benefits of quarantine times.
Live
On the Road with Jason Aldean
Until the coronavirus pandemic derailed the spring touring season, country star Jason Aldean was packing arenas nightly with help from Nashville’s Spectrum Sound.
Live
Live Sound Showcase: Guster
Alternative folk-pop mainstay Guster spent the start of the year on the road with a U.S. acoustic tour that not only showed off the band’s instrumental skills but also found it performing with an unlikely monitor setup.
Business
Clair Global Jumps into Community Disaster Relief
Live sound powerhouse Clair Global is helping create temporary disaster relief structures for use during the coronavirus outbreak.
Live
Tyler the Creator Tours with Waves eMotion LV1
Tyler The Creator's monitors are mixed nightly on a low-key, lightweight Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer
Business
Recording Academy Establishes COVID-19 Relief Fund
The Recording Academy/MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund will help musicians and touring pros whose livelihood has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Business
Industry Reacts as Coronavirus Shuts Down Tours
Live sound pros are grappling with a touring shut down across the U.S. that is intended to help curb the spread of coronavirus.
Live
Alison Krauss Hits the Road with ProductionOne
Memphis-based ProductionOne fielded its new Alcons Audio LR18 line array for shows with the bluegrass icon Alison Krauss.
Live
Hairball Turns It Up with EV
Arena-rock tribute act, Hairball, has been touring loud and proud with the help of Purple Hat Productions and a sizable EV/Dynacord system.
Live
Keeping the Mix Cool for Art on Ice
European ice skating show Art on Ice toured with an Allen & Heath dLive desk this year.
Live
DirectOut is In with Hans Zimmer Tour
A top touring draw in Europe since 2018, the symphonic The World of Hans Zimmer tour carries a variety of DirectOut gear.
Live
Wicked Takes Quantum Leap with New Console
The touring edition of the Broadway musical Wicked has taken a DiGiCo Quantum 7T console on the road.
Business
Solotech Acquires Miami’s Pro Sound Inc.
Canada-based Solotech makes further advances into U.S. live production and systems integration markets with new acquisition of Pro Sound Inc.
Live
Legendary Monitor Engineer Brian Hendry Passes at 67
Monitor engineer Brian Hendry spent 40 years mixing top acts, from Tom Petty to Jennifer Hudson.