FESTIVALS REIMAGINED
ROCK WERCHTER An Adamson PA system sounds out a series of intimate concerts at Rock Werchter’s new Zomerbar to raise funds for Live2020, a new industry solidarity fund for the Belgian live music industry…
Taking place at Festivalpark Werchter, under the North West Walls towers on 2-5 July, the organisers of Rock Werchter launched a series of intimate concerts at the festival’s new Zomerbar to raise funds for Live2020, a solidarity fund to support the Belgian live music industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasked with bringing the unique sonic experience to life was Systems Engineer, Patrick Demoustier. As the only member of the Rock Werchter Live2020 audio crew, the Sound Designer reflected on where he was when the lockdown of live events came into effect. “I was in Maastricht, the Netherlands, mixing a BLOF when the lockdown first happened,” he reported. “We were three days into a 35-date theatre tour when the news broke.” Having been involved in previous incarnations of Rock Werchter – a stalwart of the audio team since 1986 – Demoustier has witnessed the evolution of the event from its heady days at Torhout to 2019’s five-stage extravaganza, with 60,000 festival revellers in attendance daily. “This year, of course, was completely different due to the pandemic,” he conceded. “Attendees were seated at tables with one small stage. Instead of 60,000 faces, organisers suggested a 400-person maximum capacity each day.” Despite the COVID-19 safety precautions and guidelines, the muchlauded ‘Werchter philosophy’ of technologically advanced shows and high-quality performances stayed the same. “Although the stage was small, it was beautiful and expertly decorated, as were the dressing rooms,” Demoustier recalled. “While the field was
surrounded by containers, they were decorated with pieces of wood, so not only was it safe – it looked very pretty.” Rock Werchter Live2020 marked Demoustier’s second foray into live events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – his first was a livestreamed TV broadcast from a beach for the Concert at Sea Festival, complete with a small, suitably socially distanced audience. “It is another large Belgian festival that is typically held on that beach for thousands of attendees every year,” he explained, before sharing some thoughts on getting back to work at Werchter. “It was a very emotional experience; it felt so unreal to be in the same place as you would be each year, but with added restrictions in place with a smaller audience.” On site, health and safety precautions helped ensure the safety of the performing artists and the crew. “We all wore masks and alcohol hand gel was in abundance. PRG also built and deployed a UV-C device to disinfect talkies and microphones every night,” he explained. “The audience had to stay seated at tables that were 3m apart and drinks and food could only be ordered by scanning a barcode on the table, with table service. There were also more than 100 toilets available for attendees.” With a “super tight” budget to contend with, the crew decided to harness a small in-house kit. “With one band per day, which played twice, there was plenty of time for set up and soundcheck with one sound engineer.” The PA system comprised a main hang of 18 Adamson E15s and an under hang of six E12s. Subwoofers came in the shape of 12 Adamson 51
