When discussing the event with the organiser we decided on using a lorry as a stage (provided by a local haulage company) and then for us to setup the stage lighting and sound equipment with power provided by the organisers. With this in mind we set off to plan the event day.
The first step was to organise the different bands and performers to have different sound check and performance time-slots throughout the day. To achieve this we allowed 3 hours for stage setup and line checks and then the performers had different time slots for their sound checks with 10 minute gaps between each one.
Another big part of the planning was the line and channel list. I designed a google form to send to each performer which informed them of their time slots for performances and sound checks as well as asking them questions on what instruments they use and what equipment they will bring. This then allowed me to setup the sound desk before the event with channels and settings ready to reduce the setup time needed on the day of the event.
Rigging and de-rigging also was planned out due to needing to understand how long our setup time would be as well as packing up the stage safely at the end of the event.
When we arrived at the venue at 7am we were informed the stage would be arriving within the hour which allowed us time to setup our sound tent and test the power that was provided to us. In the sound tent we used the Behringer Wing sound desk which had a stagebox connecting into it with 16 mic preamps. We also setup the sound desk network to allow ipad control of the desk when on stage.
Once the stage arrived we used the lorries levelling tilts to make the stage very level and then we pulled back the side curtain to allow us to start the stage setup. The first part of the setup was getting the stage power distribution sorted. This involved using 6 different 4 way blocks around the stage to provide power to the pa as well as the performers. Once the power was sorted we started getting the microphones on stands and the stagebox in position. We then started plugging in the PA and monitors and then the microphones to the stagebox. At this point we had two people on stage and one person at the sound desk which allowed us to go through every input and test the line signals. We also played our sound check music through the PA to start making the top/sub mix match the venue as well as ringing out some unwanted frequencies from the monitors and front of house PA.
We then would start having performers arrive for soundchecks so we went through them one by one to get the gain staging, compression and EQ settings correct as well as routing through the effect busses. For each act we would save the sound desk scene so we can load up different settings when theyre changing over.
Once all of the sound checks were complete we had a planned gap which we used to setup the stage lighting and scenes.
At 2:20pm the performances started. Everything went as planned through the day but we had a few problems with the provided power dropping due to weather conditions. Although this wasn't caused by us we assisted to help resolve the venues problem. There was something further up the line tripping the power. The events music finished at 12:30am which we then began the de-rig which took us an hour and a half.
Once the event was over we spoke to the organiser over the next coming days to have feedback and talk about how everything went for the event. They were extremely happy with what we provided for their festival and we have made plans in the near future to look at next years event with potential of more involvement from our part.