African Woodstock spectacular debut for NEXO GEO M12 in North Africa

One line array of the main stage with Nexo M12s.

As the original Woodstock Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, there’s an on-going temptation here and there to compare this or that event to this mammoth historic feast of music (and mud).
Nevertheless, there’s one Festival, maybe slightly more discreet, that could match easily the comparison, both in terms of attendees, and quite historic too, on its very own way, dedicated to World Music in its widest expression.

NEXO GEO M12 mid-size line array made a spectacular debut in north Africa, taking its place on the main stage at the colourful Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco. Often called the ‘African Woodstock’, this eclectic music, arts and culture festival is in its 22nd year, attracting 400,000 visitors to see more than 300 artists perform.

Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival 2019 main stage, equipped with complete Nexo M12 system.

This year, among many others, attendees could acclaim Susheela Raman, Tinariwen, Moh! Kouyaté, Maâlem Omar Hayat, Majid Bekkas Afro Ganoua Jazz Ensemble, Reggae legends Third World, and many others.

Nabil Krat, Tekos Morocco CEO.

In a joint initiative between NEXO and its new distributor in Morocco, Tekos, the first GEO M12 system in north Africa was deployed on the mainstage.
The system was set up, left and right, with arrays of 12x M12 modules (total of 24), running in active mode, plus 16x MSUB18s, left and right, in cardioid mode. The system was running on a Dante network, with a Yamaha digital CL5 console and RIO units at front-of-house.

Nabil Krat from Tekos Morocco, reported that “sound was impressive with huge dynamics. Visiting sound engineers from La Scène Musicale in Paris appeared to have total confidence with this new system, and were very comfortable with the headroom.
This event gave us great visibility for NEXO’s prospects in Morocco.”