Adam Hall Group supports festival and musicians in the region

The words “finally, live music again!” could be heard everywhere. At the Brickworks Open Air Festival in August 2021, almost 1,800 visitors made their way to the idyllic grounds of an old brickworks in Neu-Anspach – situated in the Usinger Land (Hochtaunuskreis) region in Germany – over two days. And they were thrilled, because across two stages, in glorious summer weather, a total of 12 bands with very different musical styles took turns to perform until late into the night. When entering the extensive grounds, strict adherence to the 3G rule was observed, and visitors could use the Corona test station at the entrance to get their hands on an up-to-date negative result.

For the Adam Hall Group, it was a matter of course to support this regional festival in Neu-Anspach – which happens to be the company’s local hometown neighbourhood – with professional equipment for sound and lighting, just as was the case in previous years. On the main stage, lighting equipment from Cameo’s wide range of products created varied and atmospheric moments time and again. In addition to Cameo, the small “cave stage” was also equipped with plenty of pro audio equipment from LD Systems, which ensured a clear and groovy festival sound.

“We have been associated with the Ziegelei Brickworks Open-Air Festival for years, and naturally want to strengthen our region and the music industry. That’s why we are happy to support this event in Neu-Anspach, and provide good bands with the right equipment from our professional range.”
Markus Jahnel, COO und Geschäftsführer der Adam Hall Group

When bands such as Kozmic Blue (Janis Joplin Tribute), Hattler, Achtung Baby (U2 Show) and April Art took turns on the big stage over the two evenings, the professional lighting design, in addition to the great music and top sound, created an atmospheric mood and heightened the emotions of the musical output. For the audience, the acts merged musically and visually into a whole that should stick in the memory as unforgettable moments.

Perfect lightshows with Cameo

On the main stage, there were three lighting levels, which were combined into two clusters via the Art-Net Splitter Xnode 8. Four ZENIT W600 Outdoor LED Wash Lights shone in the direction of the audience and allowed the musicians to see into the front rows of the crowd. Five Cameo F2 FC (full-colour) Fresnel spotlights with RGBW LEDs, aimed directly at the stage, provided permanently great lighting for the performing bands.

Four Cameo EVOS W7s rotated in the middle truss level. These LED wash moving heads each deliver a massive 12,500 lumens of luminous flux, and are equipped with 19 full-colour 40-watt RGBW LEDs. The particularly wide zoom range enabled the operators to illuminate individual scenes in a targeted manner, but also to create creative lighting productions with varied colour magic.

Two Cameo EVOS W7s were mounted in the back truss at the rear of the stage. Four Cameo EVOS S3 spot moving heads with powerful 350-watt cool white LEDs were also in action there, and their rotating and static gobo wheels were used again and again. The six Cameo THUNDER WASH 600 RGBW lights mounted in the backtruss – with their 648 SMD LEDs and the particularly powerful 3-in-1 functions strobe, blinder and wash light – immersed the musicians on stage in completely different mood worlds depending on the musical direction, from electrifying strobe thunderstorms to radiantly bright wash light effects with glowing colours.

Power from LD Systems as drum-fill on the main stage

If drummers don’t use an in-ear system, they need a rich monitor sound on stage, that’s for sure. And this is where LD Systems delivered the perfect solution. As a drum-fill, two active 15-inch bass-reflex STINGER SUB 15 A G3 subwoofers (which can deliver up to a maximum of 133 dB SPL) provided the necessary punch in the low-frequency ranges. A Stinger 282A G3 served as the active full-range speaker on top. With its two 8-inch woofers and the BMS tweeter driver, a wide frequency spectrum at a powerful 131 dB max. SPL is possible. With this active drum-fill from LD Systems, every drummer got the optimal control they needed to keep a metronome-like beat.

Colourful atmosphere and groovy sound

With plenty of lighting equipment from Cameo, the small “cave stage” at the edge of the festival area also hosted emotional shows by musicians such as Lava 303, Puerto Hurraco Sisters, and Treptow. Eight Cameo AURO BEAM 200 DC Beam moving heads – with their Osram SIRIUS 132 W discharge lamps – arranged in pairs got the bands and the audience in the mood each evening. Two Cameo F2 T Tungsten Fresnel spotlights were mounted on Gravity tripods to the left and right of the stage. They illuminated the scenery with true-to-life colour renditions.

LD Systems active loudspeakers were also used as powerful PAs on the small stage. On the left and right, two STINGER SUB 15 A G3 15-inch bass-reflex subwoofers were set up in combination with STINGER 12 A G3 active 12-inch 2-way loudspeakers on distance poles. For monitoring, three 12-inch 2-way DDQ 12 loudspeakers were placed at the front of the stage. These active speakers use specially programmed Sharc DSPs, whose 24-bit/48kHz converters have a remarkable dynamic range of 127 dB.

Achim Schmidt, owner of the Brickworks site, and proprietor of the “Die Scheuer” cult club for live music in Idstein Wörsdorf, is the promoter and – with his team – the organiser of the Neu-Anspach festival, which is usually held each year. After a total of three days (because the third day played host to the legendary Hochtaunusspiele), Achmed, as his friends like to call him, was satisfied with the number of visitors and was definitely pleased that the festival could take place at all this year with the permission of the city and the health department. And with all that said, let’s look forward to the summer of 2022 already, when the Brickyard will hopefully open its doors again for the iconic festival.

Overall responsibility as technical manager for audio and lighting at the festival was in the hands of Felix Bücher, who is also team leader for quality assurance at the Adam Hall Group.