For 42 years, Milwaukee has hosted the world’s largest Irish music festival right on the shores of Lake Michigan, and this year wasn’t a year to forget (provided you didn’t drink too much Irish whiskey, if there is such a thing). With over 93,000 attendees, 110 bands in the lineup, Irish cultural activities such as currach races along the lagoon, and plenty of Jameson to go around, this years festival brought something to celebrate for the Irish and non-Irish alike.
With a such a big festival, comes even bigger audio needs. That’s where we came in with our kilts around our waists and scally caps on our heads. Audio Biz and Irish Fest partnered with Allen & Heath, dBTechnologies, and EAW on all 18 stages to bring the power of good sound to the ears of every attendee. Audio Biz also had the pleasure of inviting our dealers and end users for special early access to demo the gear or hear it in action during the festival.
The full range of Allen & Heath consoles lit up from the first soundcheck to the last encore on every stage including Zed, QU, SQ, Avantis, and dLive. Allen & Heath National Sales Manager Pat McConnell and Central Regional Sales Manager Christopher Melendy joined us in Milwaukee helping drive the success of the festival with deployment and technical support.
Veteran engineers from IATSE Local 18 welcomed the chance to work on Allen & Heath desks again at the fest. Many bands also brought along touring engineers that were just as excited that we had partnered with Irish Fest again to provide the consoles. After working on them at Milwaukee Irish Fest in previous years, many engineers have been touring with dLive, Avantis, and SQ and felt right at home with their mix.
Driving the sound at The Ciderboys Stage was the dBTechnolgogies ViO rig. This powerhouse was the driving force for headlining Irish rock bands such as Hermitage Green, Skerryvore, and The Coronas. National Sales Manager Matthew Whitman and US Applications Engineer Chris Wilson helped deploy the rig and system tech for the weekend.
The rig was made up of 18 VIO L212 (main pa), 6 VIO L1610 (down fill), 4 VIO X206 (front fill), 18 VIO S218 (subs), 6 VIO W15T (wedge monitors), 1 VIO S118 (drum sub), 4 VIO C12 (side fills), and 4 VIO S118 (side fills).
Bringing the sound for acts on the Coors Parkway stage and The Snug stage were EAW rigs ranging from the RS series up to EAW Adaptive line. Having so many music stages brings in an equal amount of audio challenges, and thanks to EAW this year, we were able to get creative solutions for the biggest set-backs.
We chose the Adaptive series for the Coors Parkway stage (24 EAW Anna, 8 EAW Otto, and 4 RSX208L) utilizing its ability to adapt the coverage area to prevent sound bleed into the traditional music stage (The Snug). The Coors stage was about 270 feet from The Snug venue, which in previous years was in the coverage pattern of the main PA. The deployed Anna system allowed EAW System Tech Josh Anderson to dial in the coverage area and control the sound. The level 20 feet from the stage was 104dB SPL; at the front of house position, it was 94.9dB SPL; at The Snug, the sound was 81dB SPL. This is a drastic reduction of sound bleed onto the smaller tent stage.
The Snug also had an Adaptive rig deployed to provide even coverage and keep energy off the back wall in a tent stage home to Traditional Irish music performances including 2 EAW AC6 (main pa) and 2 EAW SBX218 (subs).
Production manager for Milwaukee Irishfest Rick Bauer said, "Milwaukee Irish Fest had been attempting to resolve a sound bleed issue on grounds with closely packed stages. We were looking for a way to better "steer" audio and EAW was a suggested solution from the team at Audio Biz. Not only did EAW meet expectations but our entire leadership team expressed their delight in finding a solution that truly worked. Couple that with easy setup and strike, and I couldn't be more pleased with this solution. EAW and Audio Biz delivered."
Audio Biz is so grateful and proud of the partnerships we have with these three brands that have continued to be a driving force in the success of the Milwaukee Irish Fest. Safe to say a great time was had by all involved. We are already looking forward to and making plans for Irish Fest 2024. Sláinte!