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Martin Audio partner Soundworks of Virginia equipped the five main stages of the long-running Richmond Folk Festival, an annual celebration of American culture and roots music, with the manufacturer’s state-of-the-art optimizable Wavefront Precision line array speakers.

Promoted by Venture Richmond, a non-profit organization, this three-day free festival, with which Soundworks have been involved for more than a decade, is held annually in the city’s downtown Riverfront Plaza area—spanning an area of almost 20 acres. An offshoot of the National Folk Festival, it is one of the largest events in Virginia, drawing around 200,000 visitors from across the country and featuring more than 30 global artists.

Some 130 Martin Audio components were specified across the site, and Soundworks’ founder and CEO, Steve Payne, notes that this exhausted all 124 available channels of their 31 iKON iK42 amplifiers, which were detailed to drive the various PA rigs in 2-box resolution.

For the main Altria amphitheatre stage they turned to Martin Audio’s largest format WP, fielding 12 WPL enclosures per side, over three SXH218 per side. Four WPS were deployed for frontfills, with an additional CDD-LIVE 15 on top of an SXP218 on each stage flank for sidefills.

The smaller Dominion Energy Dance Pavilion (under an 80ft x 160ft tent) saw eight WPC flown per side over two SXH218 subs bridged per side, with CDD-LIVE 15 over an SXP218 on each wing providing sidefills. In addition, 10 Martin Audio XE500s were provided as stage monitors.

The CoStar Group Stage was rigged in an 80ft x 120ft tent with six WPS flown per side over two SXC118 subs. The CarMax Stage was similarly configured but with the addition of four XP12s as outfills and delays. Finally, the smallest of the tents (50ft x 100ft) housed the Virginia Folk Life Stage where four WPC were stacked on top of an SXH218 subwoofer on each side.

The long-standing relationship between Capital Sound (part of the Solotech UK Group) and the major week-long Hungarian Sziget Festival, resumed this year after the two-year hiatus.

This six-day event on the Danube—situated on the remote Hajógyári Island (Óbudai-sziget), north of Budapest—draws between 500,000-600,000 visitors, and always pulls a major list of global superstars across its stages. This year was no exception, with Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys, Stromae, Kings of Leon, Lewis Capaldi, Tame Impala, Nina Kravitz and Sam Fender among the many familiar faces.

As befits one of Europe’s largest musical and cultural festivals, the technical infrastructure was first class. This included Martin Audio’s multi award-winning MLA loudspeaker array, which has been a regular and reassuring sight for audiences and visiting sound crews alike on main stage since 2015.

According to Robin Conway, Solotech Senior Technical Advisor, the main stage sound design continues to evolve as the production team strives for increased perfection, once again working alongside Hungarian audio crew chief and system designer, Marci Mezei, and local Martin Audio partners, BG Event.

They were fortunate to be able to benefit once again from the huge experience of Mezei, who has been involved with Sziget since 2001, initially starting on the smallest Pesti Est stage, before working up to main stage since 2004. And he ensured the partnership with Solotech once again produced a slick outcome.

BG Event provided auxiliary support for an inventory which included nearly 200 enclosures deployed on main stage alone, along with rigging, cabling, racks, chain hoists and motor control. BG also provided additional Merlin network management systems (and distro) to support their MLA family boxes.

The main PA comprised 17 MLA per side, with a single MLD Downfill at the base of each hang. Sidefills were an equally symmetrical 15 MLA (plus single MLD Downfill) on each flank—all underpinned by 42 MLX subwoofers (in 14 x 3-high cardioid stacks). Frontfills consisted of six MLA Compact (set on alternative sub stacks) and infill wing coverage was provided by 12 MLA Compact, set in 4 x 3 high stacks.

FOH delays comprised four further MLA Compact (left and right) while four additional delay positions were set further down the field, each populated by hangs of either eight or nine MLA (with an MLD Downfill in all cases), and a pair of MLX to handle the low frequencies. This provided an aggregated cabinet count of 182 units servicing main stage.

In addition, Solotech provided all system drive and control, complete stage systems, console and RF.

Ironically, while Solotech has now perfected the onsite design over the years—and getting inventory on and off the island is a well-drilled procedure—the challenges they faced were mostly logistical in a post-Brexit, post-Covid world, as Robin Conway explained.

“It was always going to be a challenge working in Europe post Brexit and the pandemic, with inflated costs of shipping, carnet etc,” he said. “However the production team were confident in our ability to deliver the festival audio and to deal with any additions. We have a great relationship and hope it will continue beyond 2022.”

MLA again found favour with many of the visiting sound engineers. According to Marci Mezei, many commented directly to him about the quality of the PA and the enjoyable experience it gave them—including Sigrid’s FOH sound man Jan Halsvik and Dua Lipa’s Will Nicholson, while techs from Tame Impala and Stromae voiced similar approval.

Of course Sziget is only one of three major Hungarian festivals serviced by Solotech and BG Event, with Volt and Balaton Festivals, managed by the same production team, taking place earlier in the summer. “The relationship works well and we’re able to limit our shipping to a single Artic trailer from the UK for these shows,” states Conway. “The system rolls from Volt to Balaton and then returns home before re-prep for Sziget later in the summer.”

Solotech personnel supporting Marci Mezei and his team included Mark Cleator (FOH and system) and Kevan Snuggs (monitors and stage). Meanwhile, Marci Mezei commended his own crew, consisting of BG Event’s Gabor Bacskay Mazsi, who looked after system and FOH duties, and Robert Szentesi and Aleksandar Aleksandrovic who were at the stage end.

In addition to main stage, other stages equipped with Martin Audio systems provided by BG Event, included the Samsung Colosseum and TicketSwap Party Arena`.

On the former, this included 12 MLA Compact in two hangs of six, MLA Mini, 16 WSX subs and 10 MLA Compact at the delay position. For DJ monitoring they supplied four XE500 and a pair of Blackline S18+. Artists appearing included Ben Klock, Denis Sulta & Mella Dee, Eelke Kleij, Paula Temple, Honey Dijon, John Talabot, Joris Voorn, Kölsch, La Fleur, Matador, Seth Troxle, Sasha, Zioner and Joone.

For the Party Arena, where Steve Aoki was among a cast of headline DJs, they provided 18 W8L Longbow, in two hangs of nine enclosures, six W8LM, 30 SX218 subwoofers, 12 CDD-Live12 and eight WPS with iKon amps. Delay 1 featured a further 10 W8L Longbow and the second delay point was populated by 12 W8LC. Four XE500 featured among the DJ monitors.

Stated BG Event’s Szentiványi Balázs, “The Party Arena was once again a success this year and we received so much positive feedback. The old Longbow system was ideal for the electronic music genre, and the cabinets’ large format, and the additional speakers deployed, really did their job.”

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With a frequent presence at the Glastonbury Festival site at Worthy Farm, where they service a number of stages, SWG Events also provide technical support for Pilton Party.

Although lesser known, it occupies the same site as the popular John Peel Stage—and features equally prominent headliners.

This year it was the turn of Elbow, supported by Easy Life to take the stage at Pilton Party 2022, where the same PA system that graced the Pyramid stage this year—Martin Audio’s WPL Wavefront Precision line array—was in position again, and Pyramid production manager Emma Reynolds-Taylor repeated her role.

Both bands had turned in stunning performances on Pyramid stage this year, and Pilton Party saw a reprise. Besides that, SWG Events provided sound reinforcement for Easy Life when they played the BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury in 2019.

The confidence the company now has in specifying WPL is borne out by SWG head of audio, Simon Purse’s comment: “We have now done so many shows this summer with WPL that sound engineers have built confidence playing through it, and have got used to the workflow.”

On either side of the stage SWG flew 12 WPL elements, which they ran in 2-box resolution from their iKON iK42 amplifiers. Providing front fills were eight of their W8LM Mini line arrays, while 12 of their powerful Martin Audio SXH218 (2×18”) subs were designed in a monoblock across the front. And for good measure they also provided eight of their new Martin Audio XE500 stage monitors for reference sound.

Appraising the performance of the SXH218 Simon Purse said, “The sub response was brilliant … you could really feel it from the kick drum, and we achieved 100dBa at FOH, with no complaints.”

So powerful was the main system that no delays were required to boost sound at the back. “The field itself extended to 110m and WPL comfortably threw to the 90 metres necessary for the audience coverage area,” he confirmed.

Elbow FOH engineer, Danny Evans, also registered a positive experience aboard the Martin Audio PA. “There was plenty of headroom, with impressive clarity, and the coverage was good with consistent level and even tonality around the whole audience area. This allowed me to focus on, and enjoy mixing Elbow’s show.”

Emma Reynolds-Taylor added her own endorsement. “When we were going over the specs with our supplier, SWG, to sign off on all the tech, I was happy to see they proposed this audio system, as we’re always really pleased with the results on Pyramid. We have a vast variety of acts, of all stages of their career, at Pilton Party, and the for all acts throughout the day was exceptional.”

Summarising his own experience of the event, Simon Purse said, “This was our last green field site of the year, and it was great to go out on a high.”

FOH on systems and support bands was freelancer Dan Wooles, while the stage team was headed by Joe Bailey (monitor engineer) and responsible for patch was Fraser Wilks—both from SWG.

Heavily supported by the local City Council, Brighton & Hove Pride—a celebration of Brighton’s LGBTQ+ community, annually attracts crowds of around 250,000 people to the seaside resort.

While the origins of the event date back to 1973 Capital Sound (part of the Solotech UK Group) has provided main stage sound reinforcement for the last three events. Having supplied PA and control for headliners Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue, following a break for COVID they were back in the 63-acre Preston Park site for the 2022 edition which featured Christina Aguilera and Paloma Faith as headliners on the Saturday and Sunday respectively.

After deploying Martin Audio’s award-winning MLA loudspeaker array for Britney Spears back in 2018, the enforced break caused by the pandemic had enabled the British manufacturer to move the ground-breaking control technology further still, now enabling the production company to deploy the new Wavefront Precision (WPL system) that proved such a hit this summer at the UK’s two predominant Glastonbury and BST Hyde Park festivals.

Working alongside production manager Dean Parker, at Wilde Ones International Events, their sound design was based around main hangs of 18 WPL per side, with a stage right side hang of six of the smaller WPC, and a larger drop of 12 WPC elements stage left.

Maintaining continuity with Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision family, filling the sound at the front of the stage were eight WPS, while providing the all-important low frequency extension were 20 of Martin Audio’s ultra-powerful 2×18” SXHF218 subwoofers, designed in a castellated cardioid broadside array across the front of the stage.

Stage monitoring comprised further Martin Audio systems in the shape of 16 x LE1500 floor wedges, four SXHF218 and six TORUS T1215 constant curvature arrays.

Now 11 years old, Chris Evans’ popular CarFests show no signs of running out of gas, as some 50,000 people again took to Laverstoke Park Farm near Overton, Hampshire—owned by 1979 Formula One World Champion, Jody Scheckter—for CarFest South. Inaugurated by Evans back in 2011, the event raises funds for Children in Need.

The event is a regular client of Martin Audio partner SWG Events, the south-west-based production company, who provided a full sound and light package. This included their market leading Martin Audio WPL line array, which provided sound reinforcement for a broad range of artists. These included Kaiser Chiefs, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Tom Odell, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Faithless Soundsystem, James Blunt, Judge Jules, Bob Marley Revival and Rick Parfitt Jnr, Paloma Faith and Steps.

The fast-moving performance area is built around three differently configured stages—flanking a DJ stage occupied by Chris Evans himself—all set in a line.

SWG Events have traditionally deployed their W8LC but this year that older Martin Audio system was redeployed to delay duties—in two hangs of eight—as their new Wavefront Precision (WPL) took pride of place. The two main hangs of 12 WPL were driven in 2-box resolution from iKON iK42 process controlled amplifiers, as were a stage right out hang of 12 WPL. An additional six-per-side WPC provided infills between the stages, while across the front, 20 Martin Audio SXH218 subwoofers were set in a broadside array to provide LF extension.

Further to that, four stacks of two W8LC were deployed for front fill on the larger of the stages with an additional 16 W8LM for front fill across the lip of the smaller two. Finally, 32 XE500 Martin Audio stage wedges were placed across the two main performance stages.

With two stages constantly flip-flopping this was a high energy show—as SWG’s Simon Purse, who had overall responsibility for the audio, explained. And with many of the acts bringing their own sound engineers and control the FOH position was well populated with mixing desks.

SWG put out an experienced crew, with Ryan Bass and Adam Andrews at FOH, providing mixing duties where necessary, while Matt Pope and Olly Hayward patrolled the stage. Overall project manager was Ian Williams.

Although the two-day festival was prone to sudden weather changes, the PA coped admirably and the sound crew were able to achieve levels up to 98dBa at FOH, while observing the offsite threshold of 65dB. These were set by noise consultant Simon Joynes of Joynes Nash Acoustic Consulting.

Stated Simon Purse, “We do a lot of work with Joynes Nash; they are familiar with MLA [the precursor of Wavefront Precision] and realise it’s a useful tool for councils when it comes to environmental noise on sensitive sites.”

He added that since SWG Events acquired WPL at the beginning of the summer the system has never been in the warehouse. “It’s absolutely proved its worth and has been out nearly every weekend since we purchased it. We are now able to appease local councils as well as satisfying guest sound engineers.”

Summarising CarFest, he said, “The site is challenging because it is so large, and having all stages running more or less simultaneously and sharing the same PA, certainly keeps everyone engaged. But we pulled it off … WPL worked really well, and we will certainly use it again here.”

Simon Joynes agreed. “This system deployment continues to deliver benefits in offsite noise control, measured against comparable events,” noted the consultant.

Photography by Filiz Moore.

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