Glastonbury Festival 2025: AV Ignites Worthy Farm With Captivating Performance
At the heart of the Glastonbury Festival's 1,000-acre expanse, over 200,000 music enthusiasts and countless more through exclusive BBC broadcasts, the main stages resonate with the beats of world-class sound systems. This year, the festival featured an impressive array of audio technology, with specialist companies like Martin Audio and Funktion-One taking the reins.
Pyramid Stage: Martin Audio's MLA Series Reigns Supreme
The Pyramid Stage, one of the biggest AV-laden venues at the festival, played host to acts such as Neil Young, The 1975, and Olivia Rodrigo. RG Jones Sound Engineering, working closely with Ben Milton (head of sound) and Martin Audio, supplied the sound system. The front-of-house (FOH) loudspeakers were from Martin Audio’s MLA series, including four hangs of MLA speakers for the main left and right sides, one MLD speaker, and a central cardioid sub-bass array consisting of 32 MLX subs.
The system also included near-field, far-field, and back-of-field delay speakers, as well as in-fill and FOH fills, all using Martin Audio cabinets. This setup, in place since 2008, replaced the previous Funktion-One system on this stage. For the 2025 festival, RG Jones provided a pair of Quantum326 consoles for managing the audio mix.
The Glade Stage: Funktion-One's Vero VX System Delivers Deep Bass
The Glade Stage, a deep bass dance music venue which hosts both live bands and DJ sets, featured a Funktion-One system, particularly their Vero VX vertically arrayable loudspeaker system. The bass configuration included asymmetric bass modules, F124s for bass frequencies, and F132 columns for sub-bass, representing Funktion-One’s latest technology.
Additional Stages: Specialised Sound Systems Abound
- The Park Stage boasted a Martin W8LC system featuring an updated control set-up based on new DX4.0 DSPs.
- BBC Introducing utilised four WPCs, six SX218s, and X12 front fills.
- SWG Events supplied the audio equipment for Woodsies, Left Field, The Park Stage, and BBC Introducing.
Arcadia: A 360-Degree Immersive Sound Experience
Arcadia, run by Arcadia Spectacular, is arguably the most impactful dance area at Glastonbury. The Dragonfly, a 360-degree structure, featured a six-point immersive sound system based on L-Acoustics L and K Series loudspeakers.
The Other Stage: A High-Quality Professional Sound System Awaits
Although the search results do not provide detailed specifics about the Other Stage’s audio system directly, given the festival’s scale and standards, it is likely to involve a similarly high-quality professional sound system. Explicit technical details are not found in the current data.
The 1975's Headlining Performance: ROE Visual LED Display Panels and On-Stage Solutions
iMAG and 4Wall Europe supplied the huge ROE Visual LED display panels and on-stage solutions for The 1975's headlining performance.
Jonny Wharton's Vision: Danley Rigs and the Rave Scene
Jonny Wharton, director of event production for Neuron, explains that the Danley rigs continue the "cultural identity" of the 80s and 90s rave scene. Five of The Common's stages feature Danley Sound Labs point source rig sound systems, supplied by Manchester hire company Neuron AV.
FOH Mixing for The Other Stage and West Holts, IICON, and Genosys Dance Stages
FOH mixing for The Other Stage was handled by two DiGiCo SD10 consoles, with a small format desk for the changeovers, supported by two SD racks. RG Jones supplied the loudspeakers for West Holts, IICON, and Genosys, dance stages in Block9, using Martin Audio Wavefront Precision arrays.
The Dragonfly: A Celebration of Hope and Technology
The Dragonfly, intended to be "a celebration of hope, transforming the machinery of destruction into unifying art to explore the relationship between technology and human intent", is a must-visit for fans of dance music.
The Glade Stage's FOH Audio: Overview and FOH Fills
Over at the Glade Stage, a Funktion-One Vero VX line array system was used for the FOH audio. The system included 8 Y10Ps and 2 V7Ps as front fills.
The Other Stage's Headliners: Charli xcx, The Prodigy, and Loyle Carner
The Other Stage had Charli xcx, The Prodigy, and Loyle Carner as headliners this year.
Looking forward, the next edition of Installation will feature a full report on what is surely one of the AV wonders of the world.
- The Pyramid Stage, throughout its sound system upgrade in 2008, now utilizes Martin Audio's MLA series for front-of-house loudspeakers, with a central cardioid sub-bass array composed of 32 MLX subs.
- The Glade Stage employed Funktion-One's Vero VX vertically arrayable loudspeaker system, including asymmetric bass modules, F124s, and F132 columns for bass and sub-bass frequencies, respectively.
- John Peel Stage, during Jonny Wharton's direction, incorporates Danley Sound Labs point source rig sound systems, preserving the cultural identity of the 80s and 90s rave scene.
