It’s Showtime for Supernova International Ska Festival

Frederick, MD (November 4, 2025)—Whether you discovered Ska through 1970s and 80s acts like The Specials, Madness and The Untouchables, or thrilled to punk-infused 90s revivalists like Reel Big Fish and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, you know that the genre is the soundtrack for a good time…provided that it’s presented right.

That’s a key element of the long-running Supernova International Ska Festival in Hampton, Virginia. As the largest ska-centric music festival in the U.S, the annual event brings together foundational artists such as Derrick Morgan, The Skatalites and Doreen Shaffer, alongside contemporary acts such as The Pietasters, The Aggrolites, Fishbone, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and others.

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Helping make that happen every year is Showtime Sound LLC of Frederick, MD, which provides full-scale event production services for the festival, including audio, staging, lighting, video and backline services. Marc Chauvin, Showtime’s chief technology officer, said, “The Supernova International Ska Festival is one of our favorite clients. Since 2018, we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with Supernova Ska Fest to bring their vision of a grassroots festival to the ska community from around the world.”

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Vocals are a key part of any ska show, as the enunciation of lyrics is crucial not only for the lyrics themselves but also often the beat as well. With that in mind, Showtime has been using Telefunken Elektroakustik mics for the event since 2023.  Chauvin said, “We’ve been able have the support of Telefunken, one of the festival sponsors, to utilize the M80 series of dynamic microphones to enhance the overall festival experience for artists and attendees.”