dBTechnologies USA Strikes the Right Chord on Irish Fest's Main Stage The 45th Milwaukee Irish Fest returned August 14-17, drawing a total of 130,000 guests over the four-day event to the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park for what has become the world's largest Irish music and cultural festival. Now on their fourth year at Milwaukee Irish Fest, dBTechnologies USA struck the right chord on the festival's Main Stage, partnering with AudioBiz to power performances from the Red Hot Chili Pipers, Cherish the Ladies, Hermitage Green, Maebh McGlinchey, The Howley Brothers, Elias Alexander, and The Bog Bodies. System deployment and optimization on the Main Stage was a collaborative effort between dBTechnologies USA's Matthew Whitman, a veteran front-of-house and systems engineer now serving as national sales manager, and newly hired Scott Thompson, alongside AudioBiz's Shawn "Redbeard" McLoughlin and Brian Christ. Together, the teams deployed a full-scale VIO system celebrated for its sonic accuracy and control, ensuring tonal integrity across the expansive site. The system comprised nine VIO L212 line array modules per side with three L1610 down-fills, delivering uniform horizontal dispersion and extended low-mid response. Low frequencies were reinforced by a cardioid digital arc of eighteen VIO S218 subwoofers on the ground, delivering controlled bass extension down to 28Hz while reducing rear spill. Four L1610 front fills covered the near field, with X310 units deployed as ADA fills for accessible seating areas. On stage, artists relied on eight VIO W15 monitors, while X315 units over dual S118 subs per side provided full-range side-fill support. "Once we had the VIO system flown and powered on, everything pulled right up in AuroraNet," McLoughlin of AudioBiz explains. "We were then able to walk the local union stage operators and also touring engineers through the ins and outs of AuroraNet, as well as the granular per-box control and monitoring we have in the rig." "It was flawless with the deployment and execution of the large VIO system on the Ciderboys Rock Stage," he continues. "Many returning engineers stopped by to hear the rig and reconnect with the dBTechnologies team, with several commenting that the VIO system was the best sounding rig on the festival grounds." Reflecting on the weekend, Whitman notes: "After years as a road warrior, stepping away to focus on family, it felt great to be hands-on for a moment -- setting up and tuning these systems across Irish Fest. Doing it in a kilt, celebrating a part of my heritage, was like returning to my roots, in more ways than one. A sound-back-to-my-roots moment, you might say." "We added a Fifty Line System for traditional Irish artist and DJ fusion sets on the Celtic MKE stage," McLoughlin says. The compact yet powerful dBTechnologies system, with Fifty Tops left and right arrayed on their respective Fifty Subwoofers, delivered up to 137dB SPL and was optimized with FIR-driven DSP for phase-coherent mixes across the audience area. 
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