One of the largest hip-hop festivals in Canada, the fourth annual OVO (October’s Very Own) Fest drew more than 35,000 fans to Toronto from August 1 to 3. Kevin Hart headlined day one of the three-day event; J. Cole, Big Sean, YG + Jeremih took the spotlight day two; and Drake hosted day three, along with guest performances from Future, Pharrell Williams, U.K.’s MC Skepta, Kanye West and Krept & Konan.
Launched in 2010 by Toronto-born, Grammy award-winning Drake, the size and scope of the festival has grown annually. The event is held at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre so it can handle the thousands of fans the three-day festival draws.
Eighth Day Sound, headquartered in Highland Heights, OH, provided an Adamson sound reinforcement system for this year’s event. The international sound company recently took delivery of E-Series and S-Series loudspeakers for concert sound reproduction around the world. OVO Fest was one of many festivals where Eighth Day Sound deployed the rig this summer.
“The high end of this P.A. is one of the clearest, and smoothest I have ever heard — not harsh at all, and extremely consistent,” explains Demetrius Moore, FOH engineer for Drake. “The low end is huge, with a smooth range — great for my hip-hop 808s and my R&B kick drum.”
The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre is a bowl-shaped outdoor shed with a seating capacity of 16,000. That includes 5,500 reserved seats under the 60-foot high covered roof, 3,500 seats under the open sky and another 7,000 seats on the grass bowl.
In order to ensure pristine coverage, Eighth Day utilized Adamson’s Blueprint AV software to design the system. The predictive simulation modeling software provides a straightforward GUI with complex simulation options that aid in system design. In a venue like Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, the multi-point extrude surface lets the user set multiple inclines and elevated surfaces to ensure consistent coverage throughout the venue. The AutoShoot function determines how many cabinets are needed and once hung (virtually), the Mechanical tab tells the rigging team everything they need to know for a seamless load-in and set-up.
The System
For the OVO Fest, the main P.A. consisted of left-right hangs made up of 18 Adamson E15 and three Adamson E12 line array enclosures, with sidefill arrays made up of 12 E15 and three E12 enclosures to blanket the seating areas.
The E15 and E12 utilize Adamson’s E-Capsule, loaded with two 7-inch Kevlar Neodymium mid transducers and two 4-inch HF compression drivers for mid-high energy with minimal distortion at very high SPL levels. The E-Capsule is flanked by two separate enclosures, each containing Adamson’s proprietary Kevlar Neodymium 15-inch or 12-inch woofers.
The OVO Fest P.A. is powered by racks of PLM 20K44 amplifiers which combine a true 4-in, 4-out configuration with a new core module, Dante networked signal distribution, and system control and monitoring. The amplifiers were rack mounted and located stage left during the event.
“The P.A. was solid — we didn’t need delays at all,” adds Moore. “The sound was clean with a consistent SPL throughout the venue and it was plenty loud.”
Subs and More Subs
Two subwoofer arrays — eight Adamson E119s each — were hung next to the main P.A. An additional 32 E119 subs were stacked 2×8 per side to deliver Drake’s signature low end.
Moore notes that “the subs were stacked two-high to keep a low profile on stage, as a matter of fact, we put lights on top of them to better blend them into the set.”
Adamson’s E119 subwoofer was developed with input from Eighth Day Sound. It not only bolsters the low-end of the E-Series but also meets the demand for a powerful, compact sub that would pack well into U.S. trucks, U.K. trucks and sea containers. The enclosure is loaded with a single lightweight, long-excursion 19-inch SD19 Kevlar Neodymium driver utilizing Adamson’s Advanced Cone Architecture and Symmetrical Drive Technology. The driver employs a dual 5-inch voice coil for high power handling with a dual-spider suspension system for extra stability. The driver is utilized in a front-loaded enclosure, designed to reproduce clean, musical low frequency information.
Out in Da House
Moore manned a DiGiCo SD7 (at 96k) at front of house, roughly 150 feet from the stage. “My goal when mixing is to give the impression that you are listening to a vinyl record with similar dimension and movement,” he explains. “This can actually be done with the SD7 — the quality of the preamps as well as the busing is amazing. In my opinion, there is nothing out there with the same sound and flexibility, I can’t see myself specifying any other console.”
Moore continues, “Drake’s live vocal sound is Avalon’s VT-737sp analog channel — that unit and I have developed a relationship that puts Drake’s vocals right there in the mix and no matter what seat you have in the house, you will feel like he is singing right in front of you.”
Other outboard gear includes a TC Electronic 2290 dynamic digital delay and a Yamaha SPX2000 digital multi-effects processor. A 24-channel Abelton Live 9 effects rig with Waves, Lexicon and AMS plug-ins completes the setup.
Sean Sturge, monitor engineer for Drake, also utilized a DiGiCo SD7 located stage left. “All of the bands were on in-ears,” he explains. “Drake likes the Sennheiser G3, which he uses with JH Audio in-ear monitors (Roxanne). We had plenty of channels available for in-ears and wireless microphones. Drake uses a Sennheiser 9000 Series wireless microphone system during all of his performances. We were well equipped for everyone that performed during the festival.”
As an annual event, the audience is accustomed to bigger and better every year, and this year was no exception. “It is very important that we exceed our fans expectations every time out,” concludes Moore. “Fortunately, the audio system sounded incredible and the fans and performers were blown away. I have to admit, it may be hard to top this next year.”
CREW
Sound Company: Eighth Day Sound
FOH Engineer (Drake): Demetrius Moore
Monitor Engineer (Drake): Sean Sturge
FOH Engineer (other acts): Stephen Curtain
Monitor Engineer (other acts): Edward Ehrbar
P.A. Techs: Dustyn Pfeiffer, Drew Mavar
P.A. SYSTEM
Main Hangs: (18) Adamson E15/side, (3) Adamson E12/side
Outer Fills: (12) Adamson E15/side, (3) E12/side
Subs: (8) Adamson E119/side (flown); 32 E119 ground stacked
Amplification: (30) PLM 20K44
Drive Processing: (2) LM44
FOH GEAR
FOH Consoles: DiGiCo 7
Outboard: Avalon VT-737sp, TC Electronic 2290, Yamaha SPX2000, Abelton Live 9 effects rig with Waves, Lexicon and AMS plug-ins
MONITOR GEAR
Monitor Console: DiGiCo SD7
IEM Hardware: Sennheiser G3
IEM Earpieces: Jerry Harvey Audio Roxanne
Wireless: Sennheiser 9000 Series
