AURORA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025, PHILIPPINES

A growing festival with over 150,000 attendees in the Philippines

The Aurora Music Festival was born in 2022 and has since become one of the Philippines’ premier music events. The 2025 edition took place on May 3rd and 4th at Clark Global City in the Pampanga region, drawing over 150,000 attendees across both days. The lineup featured standout artists, including pop group BINI and musician Rico Blanco, pillars of the Filipino music scene.

MixSonic, a company specializing in professional audio solutions and technical event production in the Philippines, was  DAS Audio’s official distributor in the country, also collaborated by facilitating contact among the involved companies and providing DAS technical support.

“This was our first time working on the Aurora Music Festival—one of the most important in the Philippines—and the system’s performance was spectacular”, said Germán Rodríguez, systems engineer and DAS Audio APAC technical support lead.

300 meters of coverage without losing pressure or clarity

The 2025 edition presented numerous technical and logistical challenges that required meticulous planning and sound solutions tailored to the event’s conditions.

With 70,000 attendees on the first day and 80,000 on the second, one of the primary challenges was ensuring uniform, high-quality sound coverage for all attendees. The vast openair venue added complexity: from the stage to the back of the audience area stretched 300 meters, demanding precise system distribution to maintain consistent sound pressure without losing quality or intelligibility.

To address this, delay systems were necessary; when properly aligned, they ensured coherent audio delivery across the entire audience area. Although Clark Global City offers spacious open areas, its proximity to urban and residential zones required controlling sound propagation to avoid disturbing nearby communities. Designing a system that directed acoustic energy toward the audience while minimizing dispersion in unwanted directions was essential.

ARA’s cardioid technology stands out in a large-scale deployment

To meet these challenges, MixSonic configured and installed a complete DAS Audio system, customized for the venue’s size and the expected audience volume. They collaborated with six Philippine companies using DAS Audio systems to gather all required equipment.

The main PA comprised 24 LARA-100 units in a left/right configuration, supported by 20 SARA-100 units as out-fills to enhance lateral coverage near the stage. For sub-bass reinforcement, 16 LARA-SUBs and eight SARA-SUBs were deployed in an electronic arc at the front of the stage. This configuration focused energy on the audience while canceling side dispersion, preventing disturbance to surrounding neighborhoods.

“The 24 LARA-100 modules delivered powerful, clear front-ofhouse coverage, ensuring exceptional sonic detail throughout the venue. The deep, punchy bass of the LARA-SUBs and SARASUBs added spectacular impact that elevated performances by BINI, TJ Monterde, Rico Blanco, and Moira dela Torre”, highlighted Milo Cavarlez.

Additional systems at the stage lip ensured precise, close-range coverage and accurate sound imaging: 16 EVENT-210A units served as front-fills, arranged in eight stacks of two enclosures each. Stage monitoring was handled by 18 ARA-M210A floor monitors and two side-fills, each comprising two EVENT-118A subwoofers and four EVENT-28A units.

“The clarity of the ARA system, the cardioid technology in the arrays and subwoofers, and the mix stability at FOH gave us an excellent working environment on stage”, said Greg V, personal FOH engineer for one of the artists.

A key design element was managing sound over the 300-meter span from the stage to the back of the audience. Six delay towers were installed in three left/right lines, each equipped with 12 EVENT-212A units—72 cabinets in total. This deployment maintained consistent sound pressure and frequency response throughout the venue, ensuring uniform listening experiences even at the farthest points.

Sub-bass reinforcement in the delay lines was completed with 36 EVENT-218A units arranged in four end-fire arrays, each consisting of three lines with three-unit stacks per line, optimizing bass directivity and minimizing off-axis dispersion. All alignment adjustments for these end-fire configurations were performed using four DAS Audio INTEGRAL-M26X processors.

“Music was in your face”

The result was an impeccable technical deployment capable of delivering clear, uniform sound pressure across more than three hectares, satisfying the needs of artists, technicians, and the audience alike. “I would highlight the professionalism and excellent work of MixSonic throughout the design, installation, and operation phases”, added Germán Rodríguez.

From MixSonic, director Milo Cavarlez shared his satisfaction: “It was a technically demanding project, but we’re very pleased with the results. The response from the audience, artists, and organizers has been incredible”. “Music was in your face”, praised the festival organizers, underscoring the system’s clarity and bass impact. “The sub-bass system’s power and the sound coherence throughout the venue were two of the most lauded aspects by both organizers and attendees”. “The support from DAS Audio and its Philippine distributor, ProDynamics, was crucial”.