Are there any technologies that you're seeing used more frequently in live events nowadays?  

In the world of lighting, one innovation we've definitely seen is there are a lot more brands being used on shows. There always used to be a lot of the familiar names from GLP to Robe to Clay Paky, but you are seeing a lot more brands coming and being used on the biggest stages in the world. You can put this down to many reasons. In lockdown there were less fixtures around, so people had to be a bit more flexible of the ones they used. But I mean, two big notable shouts-outs are Elation and Chauvet which are on a lot of the biggest tours right now. And Astera have also found themselves a really nice niche in the market, which is great to see because it means that, for lighting designers, there's more options than ever in terms of when they're creating a show.  

The move to ST 2110 has definitely been a dominant conversation when speaking to anyone involved in the video industry. A lot of that is being driven by the sheer amount of data that is needing to be used on these shows. It's interesting, when you go from year to year, just how big the video departments are getting now, in terms of the level of quantity they have to deal with. 

In the world of audio, it's interesting to see just different people coming to the market with different options for engineers. Sound Devices came in in a very big way at ISE with an alternative when it comes to a wireless solution, which has definitely been an industry development. Direct Out is a brand that you're seeing almost on every single show when it comes to audio processing. And it's interesting how it's a product that seems to be as popular with front of house engineers as with playback technicians.  

Can you think of cutting-edge applications of stage technology that enable something to be done that was previously impossible?  

Tracking is a topic we talked about ISE last year, but I think we're only starting to see the outer limits of what this solution can offer a production. The fact that they have this tracking positional data on an artist on a stage, means that the automation department can really be sure where their artist is all the time, which has implications for safety, and for transitions between songs. Let’s just say, an artist finishes a song, lights go down, that track information can mean that the video department knows exactly where they are to catch that next shot, to really sync things up and making things even tighter and giving the artist more freedom. They're obviously still gonna have their marks they have to hit, but it's just allowing everyone to be a lot more flexible than it used to be.  

Stay informed! 

ISE is the world-renowned annual tech show for the AV and systems integration industry, taking place in Barcelona, 3-6 February 2026. For updates on technologies for live events, including audio, lighting and staging, and to discover more about ISE 2026 as details are released, sign up for updates. 

Don't miss out – join our community today and keep up to speed with all the latest industry trends.