Festival Focus 2019

FESTIVAL FOCUS 2019

Live event design and technology highlights from the busy, summer festival season.

MA LIGHTING: SPOT FESTIVAL

The annual music festival in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, showcases up-andcoming Danish and Scandinavian talent. Artists and bands from all corners of popular music play various stages across the town. This year’s festivities feature over 25 stages, 200 acts and an extensive MA Lighting presence.

Lighting Designer and Programmer Heiða

Kristín Ragnarsdóttir used an MA Lighting grandMA3 light console to run lighting on her stage, that was reserved for WILM (Women In Live Music), a European non-profit organisation that supports women working behind the scenes and backstage. This stage was also special this year, because for the first time ever in Denmark, it was run by an all-female tech crew.

Ragnarsdóttir explained why she voted for MA: “The MA system is my first choice for everything from theatre to concerts. It is very important for me to be able to personalise the setup to fit my needs of the moment which the grandMA2 software does easily. It is highly reliable, has intuitive

controls and a lot of flexibility in programming which makes it ideal for ‘busking’ festivals. For a stage with a very varied genre of performers it was important that each act had a lighting design to fit their aesthetic. A play on warm and cool along with dramatic side and backlighting gave us a good foundation to accommodate everything from greenlandic metal to reggae for children!”

Lighting trainee Louise Bagger added: “Being a self-taught lighting technician and coming from a different type of console, I was excited and a little bit nervous to try out the grandMA3, but thanks to Heiða, I quickly gained an understanding of the console, and of how easy it is to personalise a setup to your exact needs. The console design offers a nice straightforward outlook of all the faders, executers and the two screens. With the touchscreen and keyboard, making changes to your setup is very simple. The experience with WILM and with Heida as my mentor was amazing and I learned a lot about light programming for different types of shows. I really enjoyed the grandMA3 and I cannot wait to get even more hands-on experience with an MA console soon!” www.malighting.com www.spotfestival.dk

EVENT GENIUS DELIVERS RECORD BREAKING CASHLESS WEEKEND

This May bank holiday, Event Genius recorded its busiest ever cashless weekend, becoming the first UK company to service four cashless events simultaneously, across two countries.

By using Event Genius Pay, fans attending a selection of UK events including Forbidden Forest (UK), Pier Jam (UK) and Chelmsford Racecourse (UK) were all given the chance to pre-purchase credits online. The technology was also seen overseas at Annie Mac’s Lost & Found Festival in Malta. On arrival, these credits were loaded onto RFID enabled wristbands, received in exchange for their ticket, that could be used to buy drinks, food

and merchandise with a quick tap at the events’ bars or vendors. Over recent years, ensuring the award-winning cashless POS, Event Genius Pay, was developed to be robust, reliable and scalable has been a high priority for the business. The early May bank holiday weekend, that saw the Event Genius team travel over 4500 miles across the UK and Europe, to deliver events processing in excess of 200,000 transactions via 700 devices, is a clear indicator of just that. “Everyone at the business has worked their socks off to make the early May bank holiday a success. This was a landmark occasion not just for Event Genius, but for the UK cashless market in general and I couldn’t be prouder of the team for making it happen. Full steam ahead now towards an exciting summer!” Reshad Hossenally, Founder & Managing Director. www.eventgenius.co.uk/cashless-rfid/

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL: COACHELLA

A little bit of magic happens every evening in April around 7:20 in the Coachella Valley. That’s when the sun sets behind the San Jacinto Mountains, filling the sky with glorious reds and ambers, creating the perfect setting for taking stunning photos and for becoming immersed in the sounds of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

“We needed a versatile rig for our time slot on the Coachella Outdoor Stage,” said Chandler. “Although we could afford more subtle moments later on in the evening, I was looking for fixtures that would provide a lot of impact earlier on during sunset. Video helped provide a lot of that impact, and that’s why I incorporated eight video walls into the rig to supplement the lighting. The STRIKE 1s also provided a lot of impact, and their colour temperature was actually very complementary to the sunset going on behind the stage. The ÉPIX Strips helped outline the configuration, even when it was still bright outside.”

Chandler ran 20 STRIKE 1 fixtures across the stage at uniform heights. “All of my STRIKEs were facing straight into the crowd to create some really impactful moments,” he said. “With some fog blowing across the stage, we got some cool silhouette looks.”

The 34 ÉPIX Strip Tour fixtures in Bob Moses rig were hung horizontally across the width of the stage facing the crowd at a 45° angle. Chandler positioned the RGB linear fixtures at five different heights to create a zig-zag pattern that added a sense of angularity to the stage, endowing it with greater depth, while retaining the classic rock ‘n’ roll looks that

characterised the band’s earlier shows.

“Symmetry and geometry play key parts in this design, along with the juxtaposition of the old-school vintage look of the blinders against the colourful neon effect of the strips,” said Chandler. “My goal was to keep this show in line with the look of the original touring show. This incorporated a lot of the same fixtures, including STRIKE 1s and ÉPIX.”

Describing his Coachella show as having “a rock ‘n’ roll vibe with a modern twist,” Chandler welcomed it as an opportunity to revamp the look he created for Bob Moses.

“There were a lot of moving parts, including adding video content, custom staging, and upscaling the lighting rig,” he said. “It was a case of trying to redesign and upscale without losing the signature look and feel of a Bob Moses experience. It was rewarding to have all of those moving parts come together on a stage and to see crowds immersing themselves in the final product.”

Beyond achieving the balanced looks he wanted for Moses, Chandler kept practical issues in mind when creating the band’s Coachella rig. “One of the biggest challenges with festival shows is designing the rig for speed on and off stage,” he said. “I used only LED fixtures to cut down on the need for dimmer racks, bulky cable runs and wait time for lamps to strike/cool down. From a practical point of view, being able to use rugged 4-pin cable with the ÉPIX was a huge bonus. I also enjoyed the auto address feature of the drive units. It didn’t matter which fixtures were rigged where, as long as our pre-loomed cable paths were the same, the drivers auto addressed the fixtures flawlessly once connected.”

Chandler also had to make his rig as camera-friendly as possible with flicker-free fixtures featuring adjustable PWM. In addition to its extensive television coverage, he notes that plenty of photos at Coachella are taken on mobile phones. Both fans and camera crews were able to capture moments that added something special to those magnificent Coachella Valley sunsets. Photo Credit: Parker Burr www.live.coachella.com www.chauvetprofessional.com

FOH Engineer, Andrew Thom; Head of Lighting, Joe Byrne; Venue Manager, Louise McElvanna; Audio Chief, John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh; System Tech, Ryan Noble.

PSI: CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL

The brainchild of local playwright Martin Lynch, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (CQAF) was developed by Festival Director, Sean Kelly, and helped into fruition by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in conjunction with Belfast City Council. Using the arts as a pulling point, Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter was regenerated to become one of the city’s most vibrant and architecturally appealing areas.

Founded in 1999, the event now takes place over 11 days. This year, from 2-12 May, it hosted over 150 different shows in 30 venues. For the second year running, Production Services Ireland (PSI) has been tasked with providing and overseeing the technical aspects of the Festival Marquee venue.

PSI’s John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh was the Festival Marquee’s Audio Chief and Monitor Engineer. He told TPi: “I’ve worked on this event for several years with a different company, and since joining PSI have loved working on the event with our new Adamson PA system. PSI supplied CQAF for the first time in 2018, but as we hadn’t properly moved into having a full audio rental service, we sub hired. As a result of the Adamson purchase, we’re now set up to deal with these high-profile live events in Belfast and across Ireland. “This event in particular carries a lot of respect because, over the years, acts such as Guy Garvey and Calvin Harris have come to play here before becoming huge names. Everyone wants the opportunity to watch the next big thing.”

This year, Echo and the Bunnymen, Horslips, Nina Conti, The Hypnotic Bass Ensemble, Yola and Anna Calvi were amongst the eclectic line up. The Adamson system comprised main left and right hangs of 14 S10s, 12 Adamson S119 subs, 4 Adamson S10s for infill and front fill, and 6 Adamson S10s as flown delays. The system was powered by 3 Adamson E Racks, each fitted with 3 Lab.gruppen PLM 20K44 SP amplifiers.

The Marquee’s monitor system was the first outing for PSI’s new Adamson M15 wedges, freshly acquired following a trip to Prolight + Sound 2019. A total of 16 wedges were deployed into monitor world. The system was powered by 3 Adamson E Racks (each fitted with 3 Lab.gruppen PLM20K44). At both FOH and for monitor duties, Midas PRO2 consoles were specified, using 2 Midas DL431 splits. PSI also supplied 4 ways of RF via Sennheiser EW300 G4 c/w 935 hand helds, and 8 units of Shure PSM900s.

“We’re proud to have been able to deliver, and to now have the capabilities to provide, the kind of sound quality the event deserves,” said Hesky. “I was very happy with how the PA went in and how it performed, and our client was delighted too.”

The PSI audio team was completed by Andrew Thom at FOH and apprentice Ryan Noble looking after the stage.

Along with providing audio, PSI also handled the lighting package for the annual event. PSI’s Head of Lighting, Joe Byrne, managed the production design. He commented: “I try to cover bases for the different genres coming through the doors and provide different looks for each. The overhead rig remained largely the same as last year, but this year the floor package changed around every night as we wanted the repeat punters to get a different experience from each gig.”

In order to do this, PSI supplied a larger floor package than last year. “Personally speaking, it was my first time working on CQAF and so I wanted to up the game and make an impression for both the audiences and our client.”

Byrne’s design required 12 JTE Pixel Pars for cyc wash, 14 Robe MMX Spots, 18 Philips Vari-Lite SL350 wash, 8 Martin by Harman Atomic Strobes and an Avolites Tiger Touch II operating desk.

He said of his equipment choices: “The Robe MMX has great optics and can produce some really nice sharp-edged animation effects, which work as both aerial and theatrical looks, so these were perfect for the festival. The Philips SL350 is a small wash lamp which has nice pastel colours and works well with the more theatrical musical acts.

Head of Audio, Adam Collins, acted as PSI’s Client Liaison at the Festival Marquee. He added: “Next year, PSI will deliver an even bigger production design - we want to give people something highly significant in terms of production values within the Belfast music scene. This stage is one of many

used during CQAF and we want to continue adding value to the growing demand for this festival.

“It’s a small, local and intimate project with international names, and that makes for such a good vibe. PSI is glad to have supported once again, and the staff were brilliant to work with. We’re very proud to be part of this multiday event and to enhance the wider Irish live music and arts community.” Venue Manager Louise McElvanna shared her final thoughts on the festival: “This was our second year having PSI as production supplier in the Festival Marquee and they were a dream to work with, all the team are so professional and genuinely passionate about their work. The sound and lighting was amazing at every single show and we had so much positive feedback from both audiences and artists.” Photos: PSI and Bernie McAllister www.cqaf.com www.productionireland.com

HENLEY AND GREAT ESTATE FESTIVAL

INTERFORCE: HENLEY FESTIVAL

Security and enforcement specialist, Interforce, formerly TSG, will provide uniformed patrols to ensure public safety and the prevention of crime and disorder at Henley Festival this summer.

Production Manager, John Harris, met Interforce at Event Buyers Live and brought the company into Henley Festival’s restructured security model; designed to maintain its acclaimed customer service provision.

John Harris commented: “We hope that Interforce, which is trained to a higher level than SIA, with a police style approach, will respond to our audience and ensure we continue to meet the high standards Henley Festival is renowned for.”

Interforce better highlights the company’s priorities too, providing efficient specialist interventional support and enforcement to deliver public safety and crime prevention solutions to organisations and environments, while differentiating it from the greater private security industry.

Interforce Managing Director, David Boswell, said: “We’re busier than ever, which is a product of Business Development Manager, Duncan Cullen, explaining the rebrand to clients/potential clients, highlighting Interforce’s weight of unique selling points and detailing our experience across the event model. Interforce is a versatile organisation working in partnership to reduce risk, reduce vulnerability and help deliver safe, secure events. We’re delighted to be in the mix with the other proven parts of Henley Festival’s security effort and we’re really looking forward to the 2019 edition.” Photo courtesy of All Access Communications www.henley-festival.co.uk www.interforce.org.uk

BLITZ: THE GREAT ESTATE FESTIVAL

The Great Estate Festival, returned to Cornwall, on the 31 May – 1st June with Blitz, a GES company, providing projection mapping.

Held annually on the grounds of Scorrier House, The Great Estate Festival is now in its third year and attracts over 7,000 visitors per day. The 2019 event featured major international headline acts and what organisers called a “rambunctious mix of comedy, theatre, music and the arts”. Headliners for this year’s included The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club, James and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Lumatec Visuals delivered projection mapping element of the festival with Barco 3-chip 32,000 lumen projector supplied by AV and event production company Blitz.

Ben Hall, Event Promoter, from The Great Estate commented: “The Great Estate has become the most rambunctious garden fete and as

organisers we want to create a memorable experience for the thousands of visitors. We know that working with specialists such as Blitz and Lumatec, our visitors will be treated to spectacular visuals and effects.”

Simon Carter, Owner, Lumatec Visuals added: “We are pleased to be working with The Great Estate Festival this year. It’s a superb event full of creativity, and it really gives us a chance to showcase our projection mapping and invite some special guests to add to the Cornish art scene. And of course, working with industry experts such as Blitz just adds to our offering.”

Tom Chaney, Head of Video at Blitz commented: “We are thrilled to be part of this year’s The Great Estate festival. Lumatec are true specialists in projection mapping, so it’s great be working in partnership with them to provide an amazing show for the festival.” Photo: 52eight3 Limited www.greatestatefestival.co.uk www.blitzges.com

SERIOUS STAGES: BBC RADIO 1 BIG WEEKEND

Middlesbrough partied when BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend came to town, with Serious Stages supplying the three stages and site structures in Stewart Park, 24 – 26 May, 2019.

Miley Cyrus, Stormzy, Mumford & Sons and The 1975 were among the plethora of headline artists and rising stars on the bill at the summer’s first major festival for the Serious team. The BBC events team oversaw the whole event, with its main focus on artist content and broadcast output for TV, streaming, radio and social channels. They engaged Festival Republic to produce the live festival site and Nine Yards to manage the site infrastructure.

Tony Wheeler, founder of Nine Yards stated: “We have worked on previous BBC Big Weekends several years ago, then last year returned for the Perth iteration and it’s been great supporting Festival Republic’s delivery of what has been a great experience for the artists and fans here in Middlesbrough.

“As ever, with this event we have been working at an outside site not used for a show of this type or scale before, so that has required attentive planning and a meticulous build. Serious Stages has been a key component supplier once again in providing the stages, which not only look great on TV but can accommodate the fast turnaround of artists all bringing in their production set pieces.”

The main stage was a Serious 25m Space Roof flanked by a pair of goalposts carrying screens, PA and branding, giving an impressive 38m frontage onto the main arena holding a crowd of up to 25,000 people.

Serious provided the three storey FOH platform, assisted viewing platform, four 12m GT Asteroid speaker delay towers and four camera platforms.

The second stage, inside a giant big-top, was a 31m and 14m platform, split into performance stage, with wings for tech and rear loading area served by two loading ramps. Serious FOH, camera towers and assisted viewing platforms were also installed inside the tent, with an exterior scaffold video screen support at the front of the tent relaying the bands to the outdoor food court.

Serious constructed a 14m by 9.5m stage deck for the BBC Introducing stage in a smaller Saddlespan tent, with a single storey FOH structure and camera tower.

All three stages had camera tracks on platforms located on their front aprons, giving the BBC premium camera positions to meet their broadcast requirements.

Tim Norman, Serious Stages’ on site Project Manager, commented: “It was satisfying to deliver three stages that looked great for the live audience and in the broadcast footage. It was a very well organised build and egress working with the BBC, Festival Republic and Nine Yards, making it a pleasure working on this show.” Photos courtesy of Plaster. www.bbc.co.uk/events/e4q9hn www.stages.co.uk

TAPPIT: LEOPALLOOZA

Tappit, the global cashless payment solution, has announced a partnership with the multi-award-winning grass-roots music festival, Leopallooza. The partnership will see Tappit’s cashless solutions rolled out to the festival’s 5,000 attendees and signifies the continued growth and success of Tappit’s UK base.

Now in its 13th year, Leopallooza will offer festivalgoers a cashless experience with spending tied to their personal RFID wristband. Attendees using Tappit’s cashless technology will benefit from an enhanced payment experience, including faster queues and seamless, secure transactions. Tappit will also be empowering the festival’s organisers with access to valuable data on attendee behaviours, providing actionable insights on how to improve the customer experience throughout the three-day event as well as growing profits.

This strategic partnership also coincides with the appointment of a new Director of Business Development for UK and Europe Gavin Barnard and Head of Sales in UK and Europe Craig Poskitt. Barnard joins Tappit with a wealth of experience working with RIFD within the live events industry. He will be supporting Poskitt, who brings with him a specialist network in the sporting industry and joins from Wales Rugby League, where he was

Commercial Director. The pair will work together closely and be responsible for growing the company’s expanding partnership network across the UK and Europe.

These announcements closely follow a string of national and international wins for Tappit across Europe and APAC, with recent milestone partnerships including the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 and Manchester City Football Club.

Jason Thomas, CEO of Tappit commented: “It has been an incredibly exciting year for Tappit globally, and our growth in Europe is no exception. As a business, and as a team, we’ve gone from strength to strength and we’re delighted to welcome Gavin and Craig. Furthermore, our strategic partnership with Leopallooza - one of the most innovative and forwardthinking festivals in the UK - will only help bolster this growth even further.”

On the partnership, Hannah Marsh, Marketing and PR Manager at Leopallooza said: “What started over a decade ago as a small party in a field for a group of music-loving friends has evolved into an awardwinning family-friendly festival. We pride ourselves on the atmosphere and experience that we create year-on-year. Our goal is to ensure that festivalgoers feel safe with their transactions and spend as much time as possible watching our amazing acts instead of queuing, and partnering with Tappit will help us do exactly that.” Photo courtesy of The PHA Group www.justtappit.com