On the Waterfront 2026

From 18th–21st June 2026, Liverpool’s On the Waterfront Festival returned to the iconic Pier Head, bringing together thousands of music fans against one of the UK’s most recognisable city skylines.

The festival featured performances from Paul Weller, Red Rum Club, Cream Classical, Snow Patrol, together with a strong supporting line-up across the four-day event.

For this production, Adlib were responsible for the complete audio deployment across the site, while LCR supplied the lighting, video and rigging infrastructure.

I was contracted by Adlib as the System Engineer for the main stage. My responsibility was to design, deploy, optimise and manage the PA system throughout the festival, working alongside each touring production team and their visiting front-of-house engineers to ensure every performance was delivered as intended.

PA System

The main system consisted of:

* 56 × CODA Audio AIRAY line array modules * 24 × CODA Audio SCP subwoofers * 14 × CODA Audio SC2 flown subwoofers

This configuration provided the headroom required for a varied programme of artists while delivering consistent coverage throughout the audience area. The combination of ground-stacked SCP subwoofers with flown SC2 arrays allowed precise low-frequency control across the festival site.

System Engineering

Large outdoor festivals require considerably more than simply hanging loudspeakers. Every deployment begins long before the first truck arrives on site, with prediction modelling, system design and coverage planning.

Once on site, the system is assembled, verified, aligned and tuned before being handed over to the touring engineers. Throughout the festival my role was to manage and optimise the PA, supporting each visiting engineering team and ensuring the system consistently met the requirements of every production.

Working with different touring engineers across multiple headline artists means every day presents new technical challenges, making communication and adaptability just as important as the system itself.

A Fantastic Liverpool Festival

On the Waterfront has become one of Liverpool’s flagship outdoor music events, combining a spectacular waterfront location with an outstanding line-up every year.

It’s always a pleasure working alongside the exceptional crews from Adlib, LCR, the visiting production teams and the festival organisers to deliver an event of this scale.

I look forward to returning in the future.