Making the Milkshake Festival Shake

Amsterdam, Holland (August 13, 2026)—The annual Milkshake Festival, which bills itself as “an open-minded electronic dance festival,” returned to Amsterdam in late July for its 15^th edition. Held at Westerpark across nine different districts—eight outdoor stages and an indoor area—the EDM event once again had audio support from JUR, which worked overtime to keep the attendees mixing while keeping the surrounding neighborhood from shaking.

JUR has supported the festival since year one, providing video and lighting; by year five, audio was also the company’s remit. “Our goal is to create the best possible music experience within the limits established for the event,” says Niels Koomen, Head of Audio at JUR. “At Milkshake, that means delivering the energy and physical impact expected from a major dance festival, while maintaining precise control over where the sound is directed.”

Residential areas surround the Westerpark location, while the Haarlemmerweg runs directly alongside the festival grounds. As a result, low-frequency control was a priority. With that in mind, JUR deployed 44 Alcons Audio BC543 cardioid bass systems in purpose-designed directional subwoofer arrays at selected areas. The literal aim of the configurations was to focus low-frequency energy towards the audiences while reducing unwanted rearward radiation towards the nearby residential areas.

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Did it work? Across the two-day, weekend festival, only four noise complaints were registered—arguably a low number for a large-scale, multi-area dance event in the middle of a city.

The main systems incorporated Alcons’ LR15 ultra-compact, LR18 compact, LR24 mid-sized and LR28 large-format pro-ribbon line-array systems, supported by RR12 point-source arrays and VR-series loudspeakers. Low-frequency reinforcement was provided by LR18B, BF181 single 18”, BF362 double 18”, BC543 triple 18” cardioid and BQ211 single 21” systems.

The complete deployment comprised six LR15/90, 54 LR18/90, 32 LR24/80, 44 LR28/80 and four LR28/110 line-array modules, together with 22 LR18B, ten RR12, four VR8, eight VR12 and four WR20 systems. Bass reinforcement included two BF181, six BF362, 44 BC543 and six BQ211 systems.

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The complete system was driven by a total of 344 channels of Alcons ALC amplified loudspeaker controllers. To support the scale of the production, additional Alcons inventory was sourced through The Ribbon Network, Alcons’ dry-hire support network, from fellow members Almaro Sound + Vision and TTM Event Facilities.

For the second consecutive year, JUR also deployed Alcons WR20 high-output double 10” pro-ribbon stage monitors with LR18B compact line-array bass systems for DJs in two areas.