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| The main stage included EV XLC line array system powered by Dynacord H5000 amplifiers with RCM26 DSP modules |
The Manly Jazz Festival is a major event on the Sydney calendar. It began 37 years ago through the passion of Horst Liepolt, the post-war jazz producer and promoter who heavily influenced the jazz scenes in Sydney, Melbourne, and New York. Although events ran over 11 days this year, the popular free outdoor concerts take place over October’s Long Weekend Holiday—the first Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of the month.
The setting could not get any better this year. Summer-like weather, over 90 acts—including Terrell Stafford and Bob Barnard—and, of course, the picturesque backdrop of the famous 2.4 km Manly Surf Beach, made a great recipe for success.
Electro-Voice loudspeakers and amplifiers
Other ingredients required for a great show were supplied by Eclipse Lighting and Sound. Five stages were constructed by the Canberra crew and fitted out with Electro-Voice loudspeakers and amplifiers. The main stage took a day to erect and included the ever-reliable and great-sounding XLC line array system which was powered using Dynacord H5000 amplifiers with RCM26 DSP modules. Multiple XW12 loudspeakers served as monitors and four ZLX loudspeakers were used as in-fills.
“How can you not enjoy working in these conditions and location? The crew is really loving the show and the Manly Beach hospitality,” commented Chris Neal from Eclipse Lighting and Sound. “With great views just behind our stage, how could we not be happy?! We are very pleased to be part of this great festival for the first time, and, as usual, the EV gear does the job it was designed to do.”
Stage two, the second-largest of the five, was located a little down the Manly Corso. EV X-Array XN and XDS loudspeaker systems were deployed together with ZX5 monitors and EV X-Array Xi-1152 as out-fill speakers.
Three smaller stages scattered around the tourist precinct showcased more of EV loudspeaker systems for live performances. These included ZXA1, ELX, ZX5, ZLX, Xsub, and DMS1122 systems. With real estate tight on these stages, Eclipse’s engineers operated remotely from iPads to allow the client to allocate more space for food stalls.
A job well done!
Judging by people’s faces, how long they stayed at each stage, and the vibe in general, the event was a great success. The largest open air jazz festival in Australia definitely keeps getting bigger and better every year. Congratulations to Manly Council, the event organisers, volunteers, all the performing artists and the crew from Eclipse Lighting and Sound for a job well done!
