The sun shone brightly on the Herefordshire countryside as a 19,000 strong crowd gathered in early August for Lakefest, an event that’s fast becoming one of the UK’s most popular family music festivals. Headliners the Charlatans, Example, Madness and Bananarama were supported by a varied lineup of performers on a range other stages, all of which were equipped exclusively with NEXO sound systems.
On the main stage, Swansea-based Total Audio Solutions rigged their NEXO GEO M12system as usual with left and right hangs of 12 boxes each supplemented by eight flown MSUB18s and additional RS18 subs on the ground. More GEO M boxes were used for front fills and delays, with NEXO P12s in service for monitors and Total’s original 1990s Alpha system proving more than capable in the role of side fill. Power and processing for the main stage system came from NEXO’s NXAMPMk2 Powered TD Controllers, monitored throughout the event using the NeMo system remote control and monitoring app.
Over on second stage Funkytown, Danny Kitainik and the team at Serenityaudio wasted no time stacking their new NEXO Alpha+ system. “It’s the best investment I’ve made”, commented Kitainik from the 2000-capacity tent, with the Alpha+ system ready to go well ahead of schedule. “It sounds great, it’s easy to stack with no lifting required and it’s pretty much plug and play.”
Along with colleague Bernard Bertrand who provided technical support on the main stage, Nicolas Poitrenaud from NEXO’s Engineering Support team was on site to help optimise system performance, in this case advising that the articulation of the waveguide block and addition of flanges to the Alpha+ M210 Main Modules should be set for wide horizontal and narrow vertical dispersion to ensure consistent coverage of the Funkytown audience, a process that took just a couple of minutes. “NEXO really got it right with Alpha+,” continued Kitainik. “It’s everything you could want in a sound system. It really is beautiful!”
Ahead of performances by artists including Newton Faulkner, Reef and East 17, the Funkytown stage was also rigged with NEXO GEO M10 / MSUB15 side fills, M10 front fills and P12 monitors.
Over at the Retrospective of House, it was the inspiration for Alpha+ – NEXO’s original classic Alpha system – that proved the perfect choice to power sets by legendary DJs including Todd Terry and Judge Jules, while more of Serenityaudio’s NEXO inventory was in evidence on the Cheshire Cat stage and at the Cocktail Bar, the former equipped with stacks of GEO M10s on MSUB 15s and the latter with long-serving PS15s on the stage supplemented by compact NEXO ID24s for the outside areas.
As much as Lakefest is about bringing people together with the music they grew up with, it’s also about family fun, with wrestling, BMX displays and circus performances all enhanced by soundtracks delivered with uncompromising punch and clarity by NEXO systems, proof of the extraordinary versatility and range of the NEXO product catalogue.
“Lakefest demonstrates how rental companies can achieve an excellent return on their investment in NEXO products, with systems that are flexible and scalable for deployment on everything from a cocktail bar to the main stage,” commented NEXO UK Sales Manager Rich Soper, himself an experienced tour sound engineer. “It’s also great to see our customers working together and the NEXO Engineering Support team on-site helping to deliver a 5-day festival where everything ran smoothly and everybody has a really good time.”
