Yes it's the year of celebrations : after my 7th year touring with Roger Hodgson, I realise this is my 15th year with Night of the Proms ! I guess that goes to show that I'm a very loyal asset to any team … ;-)
It's gonna be a tough tour this year : 30 shows in less than 6 weeks, with many back-to-backs.

And there we go again : my 13th year doing the annual Night of the Proms tour . More than 30 shows in Belgium , Holland , Germany and Luxembourg , starring artists like Wyclef Jean , Gloria Estefan , Amy McDonald , Mark King , and many others ... off course with the usual 70 piece symphonic orchestra + choir . I take care of the Electric band’s backline , and run clicktracks and timecode to keep this huge band in time with itself and with the lightshow .

This is the eleventh year that I'll be joining the Night of the Proms tour as a keyboard tech & DAW operator (or ClickMeister as my German friends like to call me) . We're doing 35 shows this year in Belgium , Holland , Luxembourg and Germany , spread over 2 months including production rehearsals . This edition's artists are SEAL , Alison Moyet , Nile Rogers , Mick Hucknall , James Blunt , Angie Stone , DIV4S and some more local names . I'll be sitting on stage again in between the electric Band , starting track after track from my double Logic MIDI/MADI rack , spitting out clicktrack , loops and timecode to sync the lightshow & video .

2 one-off shows with Night of the proms : 1 in Denmark on april 2nd & 1 in Kiel on april 9th . The Denmark show is the first we did up there and should open up doors for furture touring in Scandinavia . The Kiel show is the first show we did for our new German sponsor Aida cruise operater . This one was for the launch of their newest quite impressive cruise ship . We played open air in the harbor
for aprox 40.000 people , with a specialy arranged version of "music" syncing with a fireworks show . A lot of preparation for just those 2 shows , but who knows where it will take us next .... ...

This is the 10th year in a row that I'll be working for the Night of the Proms , providing this great production with some MIDI magic , clicktracks , loops and SMTP timecode to sync the whole thing together . This year we have Boy George , Grace Jones , John Fogerty , Kid Creole (and some amazing looking coconuts) , sir Cliff Richard and the German multimedia project Lichtmond . Personally I think it's one of the best editions in years & I'm enjoying it a lot . We're doing 35 arena shows in Belgium , Holland and Germany starting end october and ending just before Christmas .

September is a quiet month for me , so it's the perfect time to upgrade my trusted MIDI rack & turn it into a MADI rack . More and more , rather than just triggering modules & stuff like in the old days , I'm operating the clicks & loops for live shows , sending out timecode as well for syncing the lightshow & triggering video cues . I use 2 macs (one is a backup) , that run in wild sync , and they're both hooked up to a yamaha 01V/96 for easy routing and switching between the 2 machines .
Up until now it always involved a lot of cabling & DI's , but I've decided to go completely digital from source to destination (mac to digital FOH desk) . That means connecting and routing everything through adat pipes to the 01V/96 & then out into a RME ADI648 spitting out MADI signal over BNC .
I'll try it out on the forthcoming Night of the Poms tour from october to december . It should make life easier for all parties involved , as well as improve reliability and sound quality .

Haff oktober we start rehearsals for the anual Night of the Proms tour that goes on until Xmas . The tour is devided in 3 blocks : Belgium , Holland & Germany . Main act this year is Roxette , and we also have OMD , Toots Thielemans , Alan Parsons , Sharon Den Adel , Heaven 17 and a few others on board .

As usual I'll be programming and running the clicktracks & loops and take care of all keyboards , electronic drums & orchestral percussion . There's only 2 of us to take care of the massive backline (my good friend Chris Oliver as a guitar tech + myself) , so we wont be bored .....

2 Night of the Proms shows in Charleroi + 2 days of rehearsals + some additional programming . It’s a routine job , working with a team that runs efficient like a factory ... what can I say ? ... It’s good to see everybody back again , but it won’t have the charm of the “real” proms at the end of the year .... good freshing up though ... and we’re having Chic as a headliner , so we’re gonna have a funky good time ...

Happy birthday to me ! Yes that’s today , and we’re travelling to Germany for 20 shows in 12 major cities . Finally some action !
staying at one location is cool for a while : no building and breaking and lot’s of time off , but it also gets boring ...
So 4 more weeks to have fun and tour around Germany , and we’ll all be home the day before Xmas to spend quality time with family and friends .
A perfect way to end the year!

The Belgian part of the tour is finally over : we did 14 shows in the Antwerp sportpaleis . Now moving to Holland where we’ll do 11 shows in Arnhem and Rotterdam . This gives us the change to prepare our set and “rehearse” the travels for the German part of the tour in december .

For 8 years in a row , I’ll be working for the Night of the proms . This tour kicks off half october and goes on until Xmas . We’re doing around 50 shows in Belgium , Holland and Germany .
This is really a massive production : we have 1 full trailer of backline only ( and only 2 bacline techs ) . Not surpisingly if you know that the production is based around a 74 piece classical orchestra , including a grand piano , a harp , 4 timpanis , xylofone , concert bass drum , etc .... There’s also a full electric band , including V-drums , an advanced percussion setup , keys , bass & guitar .
My main job is to program and operate clicks and loops , program keyboard sounds , and setup the backline . Programming the clicks is really a challenge sometimes . Some of the classical stuff has very complex multi tempo and multi signature changes .
It took me a few years to get my head around the classical way of notating and interpreting rhythms , but I finally feel I’ve developped a good working relationship with the conductor .
I also get the freedom to add a personal touch to the music as well : a percussion loop her , a sound FX there ... this makes this work really enjoyable for me . I hope to keep on doing this for many years to come .

A live TV show , featuring a number of European popstars , and backed by our NOTP orchestra . We did the same concept e few months back in Paris , so this is nothing new , only smaller .
I spent a lot of time programming clicktracks again ... and this time nothing will go wrong ... ;-) .....

This must have been the biggest show I’ve ever done . Live for 600.000 people , and broadcasted live all over France . It is off course the French National Holiday , and we are invited with the NOTP orchestra to provide the musical background for the French stars . The main part of my job - besides setting up the backline - is to program and run all the cliktracks and loops . It’s a lot of preparation for a one-off show , and a bit tricky , since they keep on changing stuff until the last moment ...