Staged by event promoter Disco Donnie Presents (DDP) in April at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Ubbi Dubbi attracted more than 30,000 fans each day as top EDM artists joyously celebrated the communal experience of live music. Dallas-based L-Acoustics Certified Provider Onstage Systems was the exclusive audio supplier for Ubbi Dubbi, which was billed as the first large-scale North American festival to make its official post-pandemic comeback.
For the primary “Ubbi’s Stage,” Onstage flew six L-Acoustics K1 over eight K2 per side as the mains, with eight KS28 subs groundstacked below each array, plus 16 SB28 double-stacked in groups of four across the face of the stage with a single Kudo enclosure atop each sub-cluster for frontfill, all driven by LA8 amplified controllers.
“I am really loving this rig size; six K1 over eight K2 is a perfect match for many of our shows,” enthuses Onstage Audio Department Manager Jeremy Helt. “It’s compact, not too heavy, a perfect combination of K1 and K2, and friendly in the truck pack as well. Given the size of the main hangs and the audience area, no delays were necessary. The width of coverage from K2 meant we didn’t need an outfill covering the VIP area either.”
“L-Acoustics’ Soundvision has become an extremely reliable tool for predicting audience coverage, tuning details, and even timing effects,” Helt continues. “Autosolver, in particular, has taken so much time and trial-and-error out of the process that everything is now very streamlined. In most real-world situations, there is little tuning to be done if the Soundvision process has been correctly completed beforehand.”
The festival’s secondary “Dubbi’s Stage” featured ten K2 per side as the mains with a massive double-stacked wall of 24 SB28 subs spread out across the stage face, all driven by LA8. The “Zoom Room” stage utilized arrays of four K2 per side plus SB28 subs, while the “Ubbi Dubbi World” circular shade structure featured a four-stack surround design using Kudo with K1-SB subs to support trance acts
Both stages were also equipped with “Texas headphones” for stage monitoring. These comprised three Kara over one SB18 sub per side for DJ sidefills and were similarly LA8- powered. According to Johnston, “Texas headphones were the requirement on every rider this year because they look cool and sound amazing,” Helt says.
For Onstage Systems CEO/President Hyacinth Belcher, Ubbi Dubbi was a tremendously welcome return. “Seeing all the smiles—people glowing with happiness to finally be able to attend festivals again—to listen to our favorite artists, and be outside under the sun and the stars—it was incredible,” she adds. “Witnessing the faces of artists, crew, and attendees when the rig powered up and music traveled across the landscape was priceless. Music heals, and we were all there soaking in the beautiful elixir!”
