ROSKILDE FESTIVAL Situated outside of Copenhagen, Roskilde Festival erected its temporary city for 8 days of music, culture and revelry. TPi’s Stew Hume was on site meet the suppliers and volunteers who make this unique non-profit event possible...
It started with 2 college students who dreamt of recreating Woodstock in Denmark, but Roskilde Festival is now a beacon of the European Festival circuit. Each year, the 8-day festival opens its gates to some of the biggest names in music - and 130,000 festival goers! This year was no exception, and the likes of Eminem, Bruno Mars and Gorillaz took to the iconic Orange Stage. Throughout the non-profit’s history, one element has remained constant within the mindset of organisers - audience experience is paramount! To witness this mantra first hand, TPi stopped by to see the latest developments, most notably its recent partnership with Meyer Sound - Roskilde’s official sound partner. Production Manager, Lars Liliengren gave a brief history of the event; like many among the extended festival family, Liliengren started as a volunteer, fulfilling multiple roles before joining full time. He began: “What separates Roskilde from other festivals is our dedicated team of volunteers,” began Liliengren. “Roskilde is a non-profit event with all earnings after expenses going to myriad worthwhile causes. But the whole event would be impossible without our volunteers who do everything from office work, stage management and security.” The PM explained everyone
- from the volunteers to suppliers and the crew - shares the same common goals and points to this as the reason for the festival’s success over the years. The supplier ranks, including ETP on staging, lighting specialists Comtech, Obscura, Litecom, Victory and Vigsø as well as Mediatec providing screens and Meyer Sound, in conjunction with Bright Group, handling audio. THE SOUND OF THE FUTURE The relationship between Meyer Sound and Roskilde Festival has been in bloom for almost 10 years. Liliengren reminisced about the first time working with the company. “The first time we used a Meyer Sound system, the company - off their own backs - used to send crew to help the onsite team tune the PA.” The PM said this drive for perfection to ensure the ultimate audio experience for the audience meant Meyer Sound became part of the proverbial festival woodwork. So, when it came time to reassess contracts, there was one company Liliengren wanted to bring on board. He added: “We are always interested in working with companies who share similar ethos to us and Meyer Sound really tick that box!” 66
