SLS Production Unleashes A Bouquet of Impressive Tech for UAE’s OFFLIMITS Festival Debut

SLS Production powered the inaugural OFFLIMITS music festival in Abu Dhabi with an assortment of industry leading AV technologies, bringing a high-impact immersive audience experience to what is being hailed as the first open-format music festival in the UAE and the largest of its kind in the Middle East. Held at Etihad Park on Yas Island, the landmark event was headlined by UK pop icon Ed Sheeran and featured a wide-ranging international lineup including Faithless, ARTBAT, Kaiser Chiefs and One Republic.

In alignment with Sheeran’s technical requirements, his audio team insisted on Meyer Sound systems, prompting SLS Production to collaborate closely with them throughout the design and deployment stages. The British artist’s audio engineers worked alongside Meyer Sound specialists whom flew into Dubai to co-develop the system layout with SLS’s senior Meyer Sound engineer.

SLS Managing Director Edwin Cheeran notes the Meyer Sound Panther’s growing significance in their large-scale event arsenal following the company’s strategic investment in the system, as he comments, “Panther has become an integral part of our AVL toolkit. The series gave OFFLIMITS the tools to deliver a sonic experience that matched the scale and emotion of Ed Sheeran’s performance – clean, powerful and unforgettable.”

The event spanned four stages: T11 Main Stage, Meteor Stage, Club X Stage and Head Stage; among which the T11 Main Stage, in particular, required a robust, high-fidelity solution capable of delivering full-range clarity and consistent coverage. The system here featured 36 units of the Panther L and 8 units of the Panther W line arrays, supported by 24 units of the Leopard and 24 units of the LEO M, in addition to 4 units of the Lyon W and 8 additional Lyon W cabinets. Uncompromised high-impact low-frequency punch at the main stage was provided by 18 units of Meyer Sound 2100-LCF and a whopping 42 units of the 1100-LFC subwoofers.

For the Club X Stage, a more compact Meyer Sound setup was deployed with 10 units of the Leopard tops and 4 units of the 700-LFC subs, while the Head Stage relied on 18 units of the Lina tops with 6 units of the 1100-LFC subs. According to the SLS team, the smaller configurations delivered precision and energy that defied their size, particularly at the Head Stage where output exceeded expectations.

Beyond the Meyer Sound framework, a hybrid audio system was implemented to support other performance areas; which included the likes of the JBL VTX A12, A8, VT4888 and VT4880A components for mains and subs, with monitoring delivered via L-Acoustics X12 and X15 enclosures, while side fill duties were covered by Kara II arrays paired with SB18 subs. Wireless and RF management was handled using Shure Axient ADX and AXT systems, complemented by the brand’s SM58 and KSM9H microphones.

On the visual front, the lighting inventory featured a dynamic blend of Spiider, BMFL and iFORTE fixtures – all from ROBE, in addition to Ayrton Cobra and Rivale units, and Claypaky HY B-EYE K25s + Cyclops Lighting ZOOM 19 II elements. Uncompromised control over the mesmerising lighting design was provided via grandMA3 Full Size and Lite consoles from MA Lighting.

The SLS team also provided a high-performance LED deployment on the Meteor Stage, which included a massive 910m² curved wall made up of INFiLED 4.63mm outdoor panels. Additional displays including a TP Link 3.9mm Mesh LED front screen, Absen PL3.9W pillar screens and a main LED wall featuring Fablux 3.9mm tiles, were also provided by team SLS for various performance areas.