CODA Audio makes a splash for 10,000-strong crowd at Songkran Festival

Thailand’s Songkran Festival is more than just a celebration; it’s a national outpouring of joy, tradition, and togetherness. Marking the Thai New Year, this iconic three-day holiday transforms towns and cities into playful battlegrounds of water fights, vibrant parades, and cultural festivities. Streets shut down, hoses come out, and people of all ages take to the roads in a shared moment of renewal, laughter, and unity. Headliner discovers how a CODA Audio system helped the revellers soak up the atmosphere…

Beyond the splashing and soaking lies a deeper cultural story: one of ritual cleansing, traditional beauty contests, and community spirit. 

From Bangkok’s busy avenues to the epic celebrations outside Chiang Mai’s MAYA shopping centre, Songkran blends centuries-old customs with modern energy, drawing both locals and tourists into one of Southeast Asia’s most unforgettable festivals.

This year saw a large gathering outside the MAYA shopping centre, where a large stage hosted a wide range of performances, including DJ sets, live artists, dance, and more.

Handling the audio for the 10,000-strong audience in this open-air setting was Bangkok-based Coconut Sound, which supplied a CODA Audio system. A valued customer of CODA’s Thailand distributor, Modern Solutions Plus, Coconut Sound has been a CODA Audio user since 2018, and its ViRAY and AiRAY systems are in constant demand across the country.

Aimed specifically at medium-sized tours and fixed installations, ViRAY compact line array systems have been optimised to deliver the best possible audio quality, fulfilling the exacting needs of today’s global markets and surpassing the expectations of both user and listener, making the system ideal for this event.

Meanwhile, CODA’s AiRAY unique package brings together the high output of a large system with the flexibility of a compact system, creating a new category in large reinforcement systems – perfect to ensure each of the 10,000-strong audience could hear pristine audio. 

Designed for touring and installation applications, the AiRAY is perfectly suited for arenas, theatres, houses of worship, corporate events, clubs and touring.

For the Chiang Mai event, which featured leading Thai artists J.Jetrin, Retrospect, and The Toys, Coconut Sound deployed a system comprising a main PA of eight AiRAYs and four ViRAYs per side, with side hangs of six AiRAYs with four ViRAYs per side.

The low-end reinforcement consisted of 16 x SCP sensor-controlled subwoofers with a number of HOPS8 (8” high output point source) units used as front fills.

“With the city bustling to the sound of many events, including a large DJ set-up in close proximity to MAYA, the system needed to deliver sufficient power and coverage to ensure that the crowd’s enjoyment of the artists was not compromised,” explains Coconut Sound’s Wichak Chanmuang, who designed the system. 

“The system achieved this with ease, leading to high praise from all the front-of-house engineers and the client. The sound was excellent!”

“With reliable and expert support from Modern Solutions Plus, Coconut Audio covers a wide range of applications with their CODA systems,” adds Paul Ward of CODA Audio. 

“They are a great example of a company that recognises the versatility and adaptability of our systems and deploys them to maximum advantage at indoor and outdoor events on every scale.”