DIRIYAH MUSIC FESTIVAL

WITH A PLETHORA OF INTERNATIONAL ACTS STARRING OVER FOUR WEEKENDS, DIRIYAH MUSIC FESTIVAL REPRESENTS ANOTHER HUGE STEP FORWARD FOR SAUDI ARABIA’S AMBITIOUS DEVELOPMENT PLANS.

We’re witnessing historic times for Saudi Arabia. With the country throwing open its doors to the world, 2019 saw a packed schedule of high-profile events throughout the year – all contributing towards the ultimate goal of fulfilling the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030. Amongst the many events to take place, Diriyah Season – and specifically Diriyah Music Festival – was one of the most attention-grabbing.

Imagine Dragons, Clean Bandit, Maluma, Marshmello, Pitbull, Shaggy, Lil Wayne, Future, Usher, Akon, Calvin Harris, Major Lazer and Swedish House Mafia were just a few of the A-list acts who were brought in by Live Nation Middle East for the event, which took place over four weekends from 22 November to 14 December. Taking on the mammoth task of managing the various and far-reaching requirements of such an extensive roaster of talent was Senior Producer, Jim Digby, and a team of incredibly talented festival event specialists. Having already worked on several projects in the Kingdom, including 2018’s Diriyah Season as well as Riyadh Season and the gigantic show from Korean boy band BTS in October 2019, Digby is well aware of what it takes to mount ambitious events in Saudi Arabia and create success.

“While the region is still gaining its reputation as an international concerts destination, it’s important for the incoming artists to know that we can support the most technically complex shows, and that many of the people facilitating them will be familiar names and faces,” he began. “This helps to inspire confidence for those who have not yet had the pleasure of performing here, and it means that we are prepared to handle the most sophisticated A-list artists. As w ell as the high levels of competency on the ground in Saudi, Digby was keen to draw attention to the Kingdom’s technical capabilities, which are as sophisticated and capable as they are anywhere in the world.

To fulfil the technical requirements for the Swedish House Mafia show, the producers enlisted the help of MediaPro International to deliver complete technical production, with Al Laith taking care of the main scaffolding works, Stageco building the cantilever stage and ER Productions providing lasers, in addition to support from Grucci. Digby was again impressed with the suppliers. “The technical delivery of the shows was absolutely outstanding,” he beamed. “In a country still relatively new to the industry, the shows were delivered with just the same quality and competency as they would be in London, New York or any other major market that’s been doing shows like these for decades.” And the incoming artist crews’ reactions to the scale and quality of the production were nothing short of amazement. “We are always looking to put a variety of artists on stage in Saudi, and the feedback we got from them was universally positive,” Digby commented. “Some of them couldn’t believe what they were seeing.”

QUALITY AND COMPETENCY

Each of the shows throughout the Diriyah Season were performed to the stunning backdrop of a colossal stage, designed by PHNTM Labs. Digby revealed that the original concept for the stage is from a sketch by James Craven, Live Nation Middle East President. “We were juggling ideas about the kind of delivery that would have a great impact on that site, and James sketched out a vision that was instantly viable,” he recalled. PHNTM Labs and AES were able to turn that rough idea into the stage and MediaPro then layered in the technical audio visual delivery. “Credit must also be shared with Agrekko, FlashArt, Stage FX, Reidel, and EFM,” he added.

Digby explained why PHNTM Labs’ Founder, Gabe Fraboni, was vital to the success of the production. “There was great potential for synergy within PHNTM Labs and the type of artists being targeted for the season,” he said. “Gabe’s history as Creative Director for Martin Garrix was a good fit for the 2019 potential artist line-ups, and it was evident that we would be aided by someone with significant reach into the EDM world.” Digby’s previous experience with Fraboni during a Linkin Park album cycle informed his decision to enlist PHNTM Labs to handle the creative. “This, in-turn, helped uplift confidence for the potential artists”.

A TEAM EFFORT

Led by Production Manager, Stephan Vorster, and Special Projects Director, Hugh Turner, MediaPro’s technical supply was extensive to say the least. Nitin Kurup, Senior Technical Director Audio, oversaw the install of the main PA, which was made up of L-Acoustics K Series, with 40 K1s, 16 K2s, 12 K1SBs and 40 KS28s utilised. Delays came courtesy of 32 V-DOSCs, while 24 Karas were purposed for front fills.

Due to the wide variety of artists who performed throughout the four weekends, a series of consoles were provided for control; among them were two DiGiCo SD7 Quantums, two DiGiCo SD5s and two DiGiCo SD10s, as well as two Avid S6Ls and two in-house Yamaha CL5s. The overall video canvas was created using 400 sq m of 4.81mm and 450 sq m of 8.33mm LED screens. Video Operator, Omar Zaid, oversaw the output, which comprised 4K @60hz content through two disguise 4x4pro media servers, with two Barco E2 Tri-Combos and a Barco EC-210 event controller.

MediaPro’s Senior Lighting Operator, Marno Snyman worked with Turner and Fraboni to specify an extensive main lighting rig, which comprised 176 Robe MegaPointes, 40 BMFL Blades, 38 Spiiders 20 Claypaky Scenius Profiles, 202 CHAUVET Professional Rogue R3 LED beams, 124 SGM Q-7s, 178 ORB300 LED blinders and 150 Color Imagination PIX ARC LED battens. Four Robe BMFL LTs were also used for followspots, with four RoboSpot controllers. Control came courtesy of two MA Lighting grandMA2s and one grandMA2 Light for the stage. The network ran on Luminex, with a GigaCore 16-RFO, two 14Rs and three LumiNode 12s. Colin Silvers, MediaPro’s Head of Rigging and Trussing, brought in 123 EXE Technology D8+ 1,000kg hoists and 50 CM Lodestar 500kg hoists, along with eight CM D8+ 2,000kg hoists for the main PA hang. Around 600m of Litec QD30 truss were used for subhangs.

Speaking after the event, MediaPro’s COO, Shaam Pudaruth, said that the quality of the production “spoke for itself”. He commented: “We were delighted with how the stage came alive once all the technical elements were incorporated into the massive structure. Each and every technical element had its place in the design, and the visuals were absolutely stunning.” Pudaruth explained that MediaPro has a long and successful relationship with many of the parties involved. “Working with Live Nation is always a real pleasure,” he commented. “The level of understanding is great, and it led to the delivery being met with 100% satisfaction. Jim and Gabe are consummate professionals and brilliant at what they do. It really was a team effort and, without everyone working together, there’s no way that it would have been possible.”

A HUGE WIN

While the standard set up throughout the month was far from simple, for Swedish House Mafia’s performance on 14 December, the production pulled out all the stops to recreate the DJs’ full touring rig, complete with floating stage and the signature three giant rings of lighting, symbolising the three members: Steve Angello, Axwell, and Sebastian Ingrosso. The main backdrop for the stage was a massive 56m by 15m Unilumin ULS 5.95mm LED

screen, onto which the stunning Swedish House Mafia visuals were showcased, all controlled by four disguise 4x4pro media servers and an Analog Way Aquilon RS4 with four 4K 60hz outputs. The distinctive rings were made from three 5m-diameter circular trusses, automated by 12 Kinesys 1,000kg hoists and three Kinesys 500kg hoists, with LibraCELL control operated through Kinesys Vector Motion Control System software. The rings were loaded with 157 GLP impression X4 Bar 10s and 50 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s, with 56 TMB Solaris Flares. A further 102 EK Lights Color Ranger Q27s added to the effect. The main rig comprised 91 Robe Mega Pointes on the top edge of the LED screen, with 10 Claypaky Sharpy Wash 330s lighting the three DJs and 16 Claypaky Scenius Profiles as floor package and hung for backlight. The touring LDs specified two MA Lighting grandMA2s and one grandMA2 Light for control.

The crowning glory to what had already been a spectacular line up of events, the Swedish House Mafia show was one that Digby was extremely proud of. “It was absolutely phenomenal,” he praised. “For us to be able to pull off their full touring set up, please the client and stakeholders and give the audience the full Swedish House Mafia experience in Saudi Arabia was a huge win. It was very much a collaboration – team play, with everybody positively understanding the challenges, was vital to the success of the production.”

A THREAD THROUGH THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY

Of course, with such an ambitious production taking place in a country that is still relatively new to the mainstream live events industry, there were bound to be challenges. “There remain some challenges with the immigration and customs processes, but these are being addressed with great priority”, highlighted Digby. “The nature of these needs coupled with the very short lead times make the customs and immigration process one of the few standout challenges.”

However, notwithstanding the occasional hiccups with supply chain, Digby explained that the audience reaction made all the hard work worthwhile, and the support from the government is robust. “There are so many firsts happening in the Kingdom. Last year’s Diriyah Season was the first time men and women could could attend an event like this together, enjoying international music in the same space,” he said. “We saw on display as vibrant a joy as you would see anywhere else in the world, coming purely from the music, which was extremely touching. Digby described the production as “emotional to behold”, commenting that it was impossible to miss “the absolute joy that the audience was sharing with the artists on stage”. He added: “We ended last year feeling that we just might have helped pull a new thread through the fabric of society. We must have – this year brought even larger audiences, an expanded season of shows and a greater variety of artists.”

In addition to bringing great events to the country, productions like these help to ensure the necessary infrastructure is becoming available in the Kingdom. “We are attempting, wherever possible, to enlist support from Saudi companies,” he said. “It’s important that we demonstrate our desire to see the Kingdom, it’s people and the available skills flourish. If we can align these things, then we can help create sustainability and demonstrate that the investment is in the long game.

Looking to the future, Digby has lofty aspirations for the Saudi live events scene. “One long-term vision is, with a lot of effort, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East may end up on the regular touring circuit,” he said. “There’s easily the potential to play three or four cities inside Saudi alone. And while artists might struggle to justify playing a one-off concert, being able to offer five or six shows in close proximity suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. With luck, the future holds major A-list artists here, regularly able to deliver their full touring show.”

Photos: Ob Panakal

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