SOUTH KOREA: Few music festivals in Asia blend global star power and musical diversity quite like the Seoul Jazz Festival, and its 18th edition once again transformed Seoul’s Olympic Park into a hub of world-class live performance. Held across four stages and featuring more than 60 international and Korean artists, the 2026 event attracted music fans from across the region while showcasing a wide range of professional audio solutions from NEXO.

Among the festival’s headline attractions were performances by fourteen-time Grammy Award winner Herbie Hancock, seven-time Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste and ten-time Grammy Award nominee Janelle Monáe, all appearing at the 15,000-capacity KSPO Dome. To support the venue’s demanding audio requirements, local NEXO rental partner Way Audio deployed a large-scale STM system designed to deliver consistent coverage and high-impact performance throughout the arena.

The main system comprised left and right side-by-side hangs featuring 15 NEXO STM M46 Main and 15 STM B112 Bass line array elements per side. Low-frequency extension was provided by STM S118 subwoofers, while additional hangs of STM M28 modules were utilised as side-fill systems to ensure comprehensive coverage throughout the venue.

On stage, NEXO’s versatile P+ Series point source loudspeakers were deployed as precision monitoring solutions, while NEXO GEO M12 systems were used for stage-fill duties, providing performers with accurate monitoring and consistent coverage across the performance area.

While the KSPO Dome hosted many of the festival’s biggest international acts, another notable NEXO deployment took place at the outdoor 88 Lake Waterfront Stage, where Way Audio utilised its newly acquired NEXO Alpha+ system as the primary front-of-house solution.

Designed to combine the deployment simplicity of point source systems with the performance benefits of line source coupling, Alpha+ proved particularly well suited to the venue’s amphitheatre-style audience layout.

“Legendary Alpha power combined with the ability to control the HF directivity of the M210 Main module made Alpha+ perfect for this application, providing excellent coverage of the tiered, amphitheatre-style seating,” reports Jordan Lee, Chief System Engineer at Way Audio. “And being a stacking system makes Alpha+ really quick and easy to rig.”

The deployment highlighted the capabilities of the latest evolution of the iconic Alpha platform. More than three decades after the original NEXO Alpha became a fixture of touring productions and nightclub installations around the world, Alpha+ reimagines the concept for contemporary applications. The system combines an ultra-powerful long-throw design with a compact three-box format, offering engineers the flexibility to deploy it on festival stages, in theatres and clubs, or in venues where flown line arrays may not be practical.

Across both indoor and outdoor stages, the Seoul Jazz Festival demonstrated the breadth of NEXO’s portfolio, from large-format STM line arrays and versatile P+ Series loudspeakers to the latest Alpha+ platform. Together, the systems helped deliver consistent, high-quality audio experiences for audiences attending one of Asia’s most celebrated music festivals, reinforcing NEXO’s continued presence at major live events across the region.