ADELAIDE, Australia –South Australia’s Summer Sounds Festival, a four-week outdoor concert series, featured live music for a 2,100-capacity audience seated in a “party pod” configuration.
More details from L-Acoustics (www.l-acoustics.com):
South Australia’s Summer Sounds Festival was a four-week outdoor concert series offering the joy of live sound to a 2,100-capacity audience. Eighteen shows ran the whole month of January, with festivalgoers safely and comfortably spaced in “Party Pods” that accommodated four to six people each.
The festival celebrated Australian artists such as Bernard Fanning, Spiderbait, and Hayden James.
Five Four Entertainment, Groove Events and Secret Sounds collaborated on the events, which also drew upon Adelaide-based L-Acoustics rental network partner Novatech to provide sound reinforcement.
The concert series also offered enough in the way of lighting and video to assure visiting artists that they wouldn’t need to add extras or floor packages. The festival-sized rig included Martin Atomic 3000s, GLP Impression X4s, Martin MAC Vipers, Claypaky Sharpy PLUS, ProLights ARENACOB4FC blinders and Hungaroflash T-Light Strobes, all controlled from a MA Lighting grandMA2 full-size.
Since Novatech worked closely with the promoters on the stage design, they have also been able to incorporate scrims on either side of the stage that hide the main PA and also frame the large LED I-Mag screens that flank it, making for a professional and clean stage look.
The left and right I-Mag screens measure 3.6 by 6 meters, and they are comprised of ROE CB5 5.77mm pitch panels. The upstage LED wall is 8.4 by 4.8 meters, using the same panels. All screens are powered by Brompton SX40 processing and connected via Brompton Tessera XD fibre optic data distribution. Live I-Mag vision is captured with six HD cameras running through a Ross Carbonite switching system.
Although fans were restricted to their pods, festival goers could choose from VIP, Gold, Silver, or Bronze seating packages. VIP pods occupied the first five rows and boasted an exclusive toilet block, faster drink service, and a choice of premium drinks.
L-Acoustics reached out to Novatech managing director Leko Novakovic to get his perspective on the viability of this new way to experience live music.
“While some people were apprehensive about being ‘penned in,’ all doubts were removed after the first weekend,” Novakovic reported. “About 80% of the feedback we’ve heard is that this is the way all festivals should be staged from now on, COVID or not. Most people want comfort and luxury, and to be able to sit down,” he explains. “The VIP and Gold sections are really nice, with their white picket fencing and vines, and everyone has tables and chairs. The Silver and Bronze pods that are further back are on raised decks, so everyone has good sightlines. Audiences need to experience this system for the first time to appreciate how great it is.”
Novakovic adds that this festival was made possible thanks to the support of the South Australia authorities, especially by the territory’s Health and Chief Public Health Office Professor Nicola Spurrier, which in turn got the nod of approval by South Australia’s Premier Steven Marshall.
The success of the Summer Sounds Festival demonstrates that close collaboration between promoters, providers, local authorities, and artists allows for innovative and sustainable ways to experience live music during the pandemic.
Check out the Summer Sounds Festival 2021 program at https://summersoundsfestival.com/. Novatech can be found online at https://www.ncet.co/.
