A three-day, open-air summer festival held in the heart of Geldern, in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region each year, the Straßenparty-Geldern embraces range of musical genres across its five stages. For the 2024 outing, two of the largest stages featured line array PA systems from Wharfedale Pro.
Sound specialist Rockline, provided the sound system for the main stage, with the second stage handled by event technicians Ambiento. Wharfedale Pro was chosen for both stages to ensure consistency for the event’s most anticipated performances.
‘There were a lot of different bands in the mix, with very short change-over times between their performances, so I was on hand to ensure the event – and the Wharfedale Pro gear – ran smoothly,’ reports IAD GmbH Applications and Solutions Manager, Christian Boche.
‘From rock and tribute bands to DJ sets, choirs and dance groups, the variety of different genres was impressive, and gave the WLA-1 system a real chance to shine.’
In addition to versatile performance, the festival needed a sound system that would be cost-effective and easy to deploy. Wharfedale Pro’s WLA-1 and WLA-210XP systems were chosen for their flexible rigging options and Ease Focus compatibility, allowing upfront acoustic simulation, critical for an inner-city festival with multiple stages.
The main stage PA system comprised six WLA-112 flown per side, with a further WLA-112 for fill on the left and right. Four WLA-21BX subwoofers were stacked on the left and right, plus three WLA-121 subwoofers as a centre cluster, were set at the base of the stage. In this configuration, the system provided coverage for an audience of up to 2,000. A smaller system was required on the second stage, named Bühne Schwarzbrenner, with a total of four ground-stacked WLA-210XP loudspeakers on each side, driven by Wharfedale Pro’s own DP-N amplifiers.
Timelines for the event set-up were tight, with just three hours in total for complete audio gear implementation on the main stage, including a soundcheck for the first performers. ‘With only three technicians on site, getting the gear rigged and ready was a challenge,’ Boche says. ‘The Rockline-VT team made use of Ease Focus using WLA-GLL files to do the acoustic simulation, which helped to streamline the process. The simulation was spot on.
‘Besides the pristine sound, both systems received praise from band technicians, including those who were not previously familiar with Wharfedale Pro,’ he adds. ‘After mixing and working on these systems they were convinced with the quality and performance of the WLA range.’
More: www.wharfedalepro.com
