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That rush of wind hits you the moment you step foot on the grounds. The feeling of Summer and all the endless opportunities to see your favourite shows surrounds you as does the sound of tens of thousands of other people with the exact same feeling. You have one goal, get as close to the stage of your favourite performer as possible. You beeline it for the stage early enough to get close, but not close enough as you clearly were not the only to have this line of thinking. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to hear everything thanks to festival sound systems and how they work.
Sound engineers have the responsibility to make sure everyone attending any festival is enhanced by the acoustics of the performance. Even if that performance is outdoors with 80,000 other people. The quality of the final results will prove how much time and effort the engineer had to work on this masterpiece that is festival sound.
The importance of acoustical treatment in a recording studio is well known to sound engineers, but a well-tuned acoustic environment at an outdoor music festival is highly unlikely. This will always affect the time spent on optimising the acoustic tuning that is necessary in these kinds of environments. Though more time is spent on the tuning to ensure the best quality, the final results cannot be argued with as is apparent at festivals such as Coachella, Bonaroo, and even international festivals. Without the appropriate treatment, sound engineers are largely left to their own devices to make these festivals happen against all conditions being thrown at them. Some of these conditions are man-made problems such as not having the proper equipment, or the touring artists needing to have their own digital mixer used instead of the one you’re supplying. Some of these conditions are naturally occurring however, and most likely nothing can be done about them.
Having wet equipment is never a good idea, but some artists have continued to work through the hazardous conditions and simply sang accapella while the technicians rush to get everything covered from the outdoor environment that suddenly turned on them. This means the equipment can no longer perform at its highest potential and likely large numbers of people will not be able to hear the concert going on in front of them. Even investing in the best PA system and microphones will be a wasted effort against the atmosphere of nature’s chaos.
To help keep things running and operating, it’s highly possible that the stage itself will be covered in a dome or curved like fashion to keep equipment from being damaged thus allowing the performer to continue their concert for as long as possible until the last possible moment. Some artists have already shown they are more than willing to perform in the rain as long as the fans continue to stand in the rain and sing along with them.
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
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