Perfect weather, almost 10,000 excited punters, a stretch of beach, a stellar line-up and a massive stage laden with an incredible array of AV technology. Sandance on the Palm was back and better than ever last month, and S&S caught up with production manager Ryan Marginson to get the details on what makes Dubai’s favourite beach festival a hit.
The venue
On a stretch of beach on the opposite side of the Atlantis resort from beach club Nasimi, the second annual Sandance took place last month, delighting punters with its combination of music festival, beach bar, carnival and nightclub.
Numerous F&B outlets kept thirst at bay, and rental beach towels were on hand for those wanting to go for a dip or simply relax on the sand. For those wanting to dance though, a sizable ‘dance floor’ area in front of an imposing stage lay in wait, as well as a series of raised decking that served as VIP sections.
“There’s one long stretch of beach, about 190 metres long, by about 50 metres wide. Last year we punched 9,000 people so this year we widened the beach a bit more and added the raised decking areas for VIPs and we ended up getting close to 10,000 people in,” explains Ryan Marginson, who juggled his full time gig at super-club Sanctuary to oversee the event’s production, including stage design and acting as show caller on the day.
“I think this is the biggest beach location in the region. And one of the biggest in the world, surely,” he adds.
And despite having a contingency plan in place should Dubai’s weather have taken a turn for the worse, Marginson jokes that some meteorological events may have even been a plus.
“If we’d had a sandstorm before the event it would be great because you’d have natural haze everywhere and be able to see every beam of light!”
The stage
Supplied by Apex, the stage featured all-silver trusses and was open, with no back or sides, to ensure the surrounding view of the Palm and the iconic Atlantis hotel wasn’t obscured.
“This year I designed the stage in terms of the way the lights were hung. Originally we wanted to swing it out and have the stage in the ocean, but we couldn’t do it in the end because of line of sight,” says Marginson. “Last year, a lot of the rig was just dead-hung from the mother rig; this time, we floated trusses and created more of a visual extravaganza.”
The line-up
The Brand New Heavies, Roger Sanchez, 2 many DJ’s, Sander Kleinenberg and Australia’s Sneaky Sound System were just some of the 25 acts to grace the Sandance stage.
Each had a specific technical rider that required closely-followed organisation to ensure all the artists and their crews were happy. “I consolidated them into a master list,” explains Marginson. “It’s a festival event so some DJ’s will play on the same equipment, and some we added in extra elements for.”
Sander Kleinenberg, for example, is renowned for the visual and aural elements of his shows, so Marginson says some additional kit was required to fulfil these factors. “He used VDJ’s to mix video content, much like how normal DJ’s mix audio. He used the latest equipment, the DVJ1000’s and the SVM-1000.”
The suppliers
Focus Light and Sound was contracted as production partner and to supply all equipment and backline. The firm then worked with Showtech who provided much of the sound system and lighting, as well as technical staff – production manager Shoaib Moideen, sound engineer Wasim Shaikh and lighting engineer Benzy Razi.
“We also brought in a laser machine from A+O as well as some 7k Falcons that were used at the front entrance,” adds Marginson.
The challenges
Aside from the obvious challenges associated with an outdoor gig on a beach – “All kit was heavy duty and waterproof,” says Marginson – there was also was a highly unusual hurdle for the production team to overcome.
“The biggest challenge, that everyone laughs at, but we’re very serious about, is that the concert is right next to Dolphin Bay, and dolphins don’t react too well to all the noise,” he explains.
“The dolphins don’t really hear the top frequencies, but they hear the sub because bass travels everywhere, so we have to keep that in check.”
The coastal location near a hotel and a residential area also threw in a curve ball. “Being so far away from the hotel – nearly 800 metres – and having the main speakers pointing away from it helped, so that guests weren’t really affected at all.”
The positioning of the stage perpendicular to the shore line, ensuring speakers were not pointing towards the residents across the water on the opposite Palm ‘frond’ helped to keep sound levels down, as did some innovative thinking.
“We’ve been doing experiments with white noise out on the water to counteract the sound as well, based on an idea that I used at a festival in Australia. It’s basically the use of a monotone, natural white noise, that sounds like hearing running water, so if you set up a speaker that covers the full spectrum, it cancels out the frequencies that might be intruding,” explains Marginson.
“We did festivals 200 metres from residents back in Australia, stuck up a PA with white noise through it, and had no noise complaints. You have to watch where it’s set up, how far away it is.
The tricky thing for us is that the optimum spot is midway across the bay between the mainland and the first frond. And if we go to the first frond, it’s too close to the residences and you end up having to have 275 degree coverage before it’s effective. But we’re working on it and it seems to be paying off.”
The technical elements
Complementing the musical acts was a spectacular fireworks show as well as a number of visual effects based on a media server format.
“We are using a VDJ – Cold Fusion – as well as my own Hippotizer,” says Marginson, who also acted as lighting designer for the event, and used a combination of a grandMA and MA server to programme the show.
LED screens were mixed with projectors to factor in the different ambient lighting of a festival that runs from day to night. “Projections you won’t see until sunset, so we have to have the LED screen for during the day primarily,” he says.
Kit List – Supplied by SHOWTECH
AUDIO
1x Soundcraft Vi6 Digital Mixer (FOH Desk) 96 channel
1x Avalon 737 SP
1x Soundcraft MH4 56 channel mixer
5x XTA DP 448 Processors
12x DBX 160A Compressor
2x BSS GATES – 504, 4 channel each
1x SPX 2000 Effects
1x SPX 990 Effects
1x TC Electronics D2
2x Pioneer CDJ 1000 player
2x Pioneer DJM 800 Mixer
2x Pioneer CDJ 2000 Mixer
1x BSS RTA Mic & Smartlive
Vertec line array (main PA)
24x JBL Vertec 4889 Tops Speaker
16x JBL Vertec 4880 Bass
6x Crown MA 5000 Amplifier
18x Crown MA 9000 Amplifier
16x Crown I T 6000
Delay towers
12x JBL Vertec 4888 Tops Speaker
8x JBL Vertec 4880 Bass
8x Crown Macro I-5000
8x Crown Macro I- 9000
4x Crown Macro I-12000
Side-fills
4x JBL SRX 725 1200 watts
4x JBL SRX 728 Bass 1600 watts
Stage audio
16x JBL Monitor VRX 915
Stage audio side-fills
2x DBX 260 Processors
2x Crown MacroTech 5000Vz Amplifier
2x Crown MacroTech 3600Vz Amplifier
2x XTI 4000
3x DBX 4800 Processors
6x Crown Macro Tech- 5500
6x Crown Macro Tech-3600Vz
4-Ch Shure UHFR with KSM9 + Beta 58
6-Ch Shure UR4D with Beta 87 + Beta 58
LIGHTING
20x ROBE 1200 Spots
20x ROBE 1200 Wash
24x PAR 64 cans Cp 61
24x PAR 64 cans Cp 62
6x MOLEFAY Blinders DTS 4 LITE
6x Martin Atomic strobes
20x LED batons – Colour Fusion
1x grandMA full-size
RIGGING/TRUSSING
PROLYTE H52V 24 x 14 x 10 metres
VISUALS
2x SANYO 15000 Ansilumens