The 40th anniversary edition of the annual Henley Festival this summer in the UK, presenting an eclectic mix of music, comedy and art, offered a main Floating Stage placed in the River Thames backed by a fleet of boats as well as a variety of other venues equipped with sound reinforcement systems by long-time audio provider RG Jones (London) working with production manager John Harris that were headed by a range of Martin Audio loudspeakers and supporting components.
This year’s artists on the main Floating Stage included a diverse selection that included Sir Tom Jones, Craig David, Katherine Jenkins, Jack Savoretti, The Script, and Pete Tong with the Ibiza Classics Orchestra. The sound system was manned by Mark Edwards using an established design by Simon Honywill.
The site is unusual as it is around three times wider than it is deep, and three arrays each side of the stage structure are required to deliver the requisite coverage; the outer arrays feature nine deep hangs of MLA Compact arrays, the forward facing comprise further seven deep MLA Compact arrays, and the inner coverage this time was provided by four Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) arrays plus some W8LMD frontfills.
“It’s a tricky system to get right,” says Honywill, “as some seats are extremely close to the stage. But years of working on this site go a long way to guaranteeing a first-class audience experience.”
Elsewhere, The Comedy Club, with Andy Parsons, Milton Jones, Maisie Adam, Russell Kane and others in the line-up, saw support from RG Jones’ Sam Liddiard utilizing a W8LM/WLX system. Rosie Tarrant could be found in the Bedouin Bar with a Martin Audio DD12/SXC118 system for a varied mix of world and folk music, and in the Jazz Tent Olly Wickes was tasked with a stream of different acts, handled by an MLA Mini system. Finally Dan Langridge was anchored in The Riverside Restaurant, mixing the resident dance band on a W8LM/WLX system.
A highlight of this year was the appearance of Boney M in the Big Top with a 9-piece band and a raft of backing singers supporting original member Liz Mitchell smashing through their list of hits. Mixed by Honywill on his first use of Martin Audio TORUS constant curvature arrays, he notes, “The result was one of those one-off joyous things which make you realize why you still do this for a living.”
Honywill also partnered with LIPA student Sheridan Burns, who came under his tutelage as part of Henley Festival’s new RISE programme. The festival was set up in 1982 as a charity, its mission being to stage a music and arts festival for the local community. To coincide with its 40th anniversary, they set up RISE to support emerging talent, both in front and behind the spotlight, and Burns was selected by RG Jones to fulfill RISE quota.
Harris, referring to TORUS and the sound set-up in general, concludes, “Henley Festival is proud of its long association with RG Jones and is excited to see and hear the developments in technology that they introduce to our stages.”
