Known as Asia’s largest and finest Blues phenomenon, the Mahindra Blues Festival brings together some of the best Blues musicians in the world for 2 days of guitar-rippin’, soul-trippin’ music at the iconic Mehboob Studio in Mumbai.
Since its inception in 2011, the Mahindra Blues Festival has been instrumental in bringing down international Blues legends like Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker Jr., Taj Mahal, and Walter Trout, among others, to Mumbai – fuelling a burgeoning interest in Blues music in the country. MBF is also now recognized as the most prominent platform in the country for Indian Blues bands to perform along with the best Blues musicians in the world. Owing to this very solemn dedication to Blues music, MBF was nominated for the ‘Keeping the Blues Alive’ award presented by the The Blues Foundation of America. And in 2019, MBF returned with a fantastic line-up featuring the likes of Blues greats like Beth Hart, Charlie Musselwhite, Sugaray Rayford, Brandon Santini, Arinjoy Trio and more.
Building on its legacy, the show this year sported an enchanting look and feel, the technicalities of were commissioned with the best in world class pro audio gear facilitated by India’s most iconic rental services company – Electrocraft.
To ensure a top-class aural environment, the team first mapped the expanse of the entire venue and with all the data in, they proceeded to commission high performance pro audio systems at each of the designated performance and audience locations. At the main performance area, team Electrocraft deployed an all L’Acoustics system that featured multiple elements of the highly acclaimed K2 system along with multiple numbers of the SB28 subwoofers stationed at FOH, with multiple numbers of the ever dependable dV-Dosc system used as fills and delays, while a slew of high performance X15 HiQ loudspeakers were deployed as the on-stage monitoring solution. Perfect positioning of the loudspeakers coupled with precision tuning of the system ensured a superlative quality sound experience which was evenly spread through the audience area and delivered optimum impact. Two units of the inimitable S6L console from AVID (S6L 24D & S6L 32D) ensured smooth workflows for the principal show engineer as well as the guest engineers and assured the highest level of music reproduction at all performances that took place at this stage. The backdrop for the stage here comprised multiple numbers of ‘floating’ LED screens which induced a sense of awe and grandeur among the audience. The movement of these LED screens was controlled through high speed fully automated and individually programmable Movecat motors which were commissioned by team Electrocraft.
To maintain sonic uniformity and the characteristic L’Acoustics tonal signature, the stage at the other performance area was also commissioned with multiple elements of the K2 system along with multiple numbers of the SB28 subwoofers at FOH, with high performance X15 HiQ loudspeakers deployed as the on-stage monitoring solution. Once again, consoles from AVID were deployed at this stage, with the celebrated SC48 board shouldering FOH duties while the highly decorated Profile board was put into action for monitoring. Additionally, to support the performances taking place at the garden, Electrocraft equipped this space with the compact yet powerful Y-series system from d&b Audiotechnik along with multiple numbers of loudspeakers from Roger Drego’s signature series of products as the artist monitoring solution. And since the bar area and pre-function areas were equally busy in terms of crowd gatherings, these spaces were equipped with their own designated setups featuring Dynacord’s nimble and impactful Wavefront system.
Needless to say, MBF 2019 was a roaring success, and the organizers couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome. A member of the organizing team commented, “2019 witnessed MBF leaping ahead in terms of the overall experience that we delivered to our audience. Not only were they mesmerized by the top quality of music put together by our line-up of world-class performers; but they were also blown away by the look and feel of the whole show. Even the artists were extremely pleased with the vibe here. Top marks for Roger and his team at Electrocraft for putting together a mind-blowing technical setup with the amazing moving LED backdrops and breath-taking sound!”
