A day dedicated to music – LD Systems & Cameo at Fête de la Musique in France

In just four decades, the “Fête de la Musique” has become a global phenomenon: originating in France in 1981, the 21st of June is now considered a day of music in hundreds of cities worldwide, when musicians and artists of all kinds perform in public free of charge. Concerts were also held that day in the garden of the newly renovated Chateau Le Nessay in Brittany, which were also reported on by French television, among others. The French integrator and event technology service provider VBS was responsible for the sound and lighting – and relied on the MAILA Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array from LD Systems, among others.

“The end customer wanted a sound system that was visually discreet but still met the highest quality standards,” explains VBS Managing Director Vincent Bestin. “The MAILA already convinced us during the first demos with its compactness, low weight and simple setup. Moreover, thanks to the modular concept, we can design the sound as the situation requires.”

Le Nessay

For the open-air sound reinforcement in the garden area of Le Nessay, VBS used its new LD Systems MAILA system with six flown MAILA SAT Array Satellites and one MAILA SPA power amplifier module per stereo side. In the bass range, VBS opted for three STINGER SUB 18 G3 subwoofers each, which were perfectly matched to the MAILA satellites via a preset for the LD Systems DSP 44K DSP power amplifiers. VBS also relied on the STINGER G3 series for the stage monitoring for the artists, consisting of STINGER 12 G3 as floor monitors and a STINGER 12 G3 + STINGER SUB 15 G3 subwoofer at the DJ booth.

The live and ambient lighting at Le Nessay was implemented entirely with Cameo spotlights. On stage, EVOS W3 and W7 LED Wash moving heads provided broad colours, while OPUS H5 Beam-Spot-Wash Hybrid moving heads in the rig and on the floor acted as beam and effect lights. The atmospheric architectural illumination of the Chateau was achieved with IP65-rated ZENIT W600 LED Wash Lights and ZENIT P130 PAR fixtures.

Le Dock

Le Dock, a few kilometres away, also celebrated the Fête de la Musique on the 21st of June. The later the evening, the more the two-storey pub and restaurant in the harbour of St. Malo regularly transforms into a live and club venue including a dance floor. In the run-up to the event, the venue operators decided to replace the ageing sound and lighting set-up with new components. For the bar and dance floor areas on the ground floor, VBS opted for a flexible system consisting of 16 CURV 500 arrays, each with three S2 array satellites and four CURV 500 I SUB 10″ installation subwoofers, as well as STINGER SUB 15 G3 subwoofers, which, in addition to a pleasant background sound, also provides sufficient sound pressure when the action shifts to the dance floor. On the upper floor, DQOR 3 and DQOR 5 installation loudspeakers on the sides and on the central roof girders provide sound reinforcement for the restaurant area.

For the lighting setup at Le Dock, VBS relied entirely on Cameo: NANOBEAM 600 RGBW beam moving heads for beams and mirror ball effects, HYDRABEAM 4000 RGBW lighting systems with RGBW quad LED moving heads for beam sweeps through the room, THUNDER® WASH 600 W 3-in-1 strobe, blinder and wash lights for strobe effects on the dance floor, and ZENIT Z180 G2 LED PAR fixtures for illuminating the walls in the restaurant area.