Maestra delivers Groove on the Grass
Published: MEA
UAE: Maestra Dubai took responsibility for the full technical production of the recent Groove on the Grass at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. Produced by the Artists Network, the event saw around 5,000 people enjoy performances from the likes of Rӧyksopp, Agents of Time, Dewalta, Marc Houle and Steve Bug across the two stages.
‘We’re excited to be part of the energy and success of this great phenomenon which is known for putting production values high on the agenda,’ said Maestra Dubai’s managing partner, Tom Clements. ‘It’s always good to be asked to supply a full technical design and equipment package and efficient to provide just one point-of-contact for the client.’
Setup for the event gets underway a day in advance of the show with the erection of a 20m-wide ground supported stage and decking system to which lighting, video, PA towers and a complete sound system are added. This is set up below a saddlespan tent structure from Wicked. This is completed in 24 hours and lighting and video is programmed and ready to go for sound-checks the next day before the show kicks-off at sundown.
To get the right sound system for the event, Maestra turned to local audio specialists, Delta Sound. Being in a residential area, the design needed to control, direct and focus the sound to minimise unwanted pollution. Delta met this need via an L-Acoustics Kara system with low end reinforcement from SB28 subs for the main stage. This was supplied together with a Yamaha LS9 console, plus all the various DJ kit specified on the individual artist riders.
The lighting was based on an overall generic event production design which can then be modified and adapted to suit any specifics required by headline artists. The standard design incorporates 40 moving lights – currently a mix of Claypaky and Martin Professional – plus 20 Showtec Sunstrips, 24 Atomic strobes and 12 blinders. All of these were run through a ChamSys MQ100 lighting console.
For the second stage, which is a tented arena, lighting comprised 12 moving heads and a collection of DMX-controllable mock-neon LED tubes, which were installed as a kinetic light backdrop. While the audio was thanks to a smaller Kara system.