Pickathon marks 25 Years with Martin Audio Cascade Sound

Marking a quarter-century of shows, Pickathon 2025 chose a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision system to celebrate at the picturesque Pendarvis Farm

The most famous roots festival on the Northwest Pacific Coast, Pickathon 2025 celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with Martin Audio. The four-day honky-tonk, spread across nine stages with 55 acts, was another resounding success thanks to this sound technology.

When word spread that the festival was looking to upgrade its main stage sound, local AV rental company Cascade Sound quickly invested in a new speaker setup to showcase. Meanwhile, Martin Audio’s Simon Honywill set to work on the design of the project.

“It’s a very cool and crafted festival, and the aesthetic changes every year,” said Honywill. “Sustainability is a core value here and pretty much everything gets repurposed in some way.” At the heart of this year’s design was a series of rhythmic timber cylinders, forming a dynamic backdrop to the Paddock Stage.

Preserving the festival’s crafted design while also addressing previous noise complaints, Honywill used system design and cardioid subs to control coverage and reduce boundary SPL. On the stage itself, the site topography dictated that the left and right stage wings should be optimised differently. Hangs of nine WPC per side were complemented by 10 SXC115 in a broadside formation across the front – a setup which was also expected to meet the aesthetic.

A deliberate design choice kept the PA on display to highlight its performance. The setup included eight FP12s for front- and outfill, two THS with two SXC115 for sidefill, and XE300/XE500 for artist monitoring, all powered by iKON iK42 DSP amplifiers in 1-box resolution.

Martin Audio’s influence continues globally, with other venues adopting this technology. At POC POC Garden in Ho Chi Minh, the system delivers immersive sound, showcasing how premium audio can transform live music.

Find out more at martin-audio.com