TELEFUNKEN Supplies Mics for Supernova Ska Festival 2026

TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik, based in South Windsor, Connecticut, returned as an official microphone sponsor of the Supernova International Ska Festival in 2026. The event took place on 12–13 September at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, with more than 30 artists across two stages, and it was streamed on Veeps.

Microphones on both stages

Beyond the sponsorship title, the company supplied the microphones used on both festival stages for vocals and instruments in an outdoor setting. TELEFUNKEN notes that ska combines vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion and horn sections, which calls for microphones that keep sources separate at high volume. TELEFUNKEN pointed to its Dynamic Series, the M80, M81 and M82, which it designs for touring and festival work.

Alan Venitosh of TELEFUNKEN said the company's microphones were actually on the stages, not just part of a sponsorship deal.

How the link started

The relationship with Supernova began in 2024, when TELEFUNKEN sponsored the Philadelphia ska band Catbite and gave the group brightly coloured M80 dynamic vocal microphones. That arrangement has now grown into a partnership with the festival as a whole. Marc Chauvin of Showtime Sound also spoke about seeing microphones designed with studio-level attention to sound used in a live setting.

The 2026 lineup

Artists named for the festival included:

• The English Beat, Derrick Morgan and Yellowman;
• Jeff Rosenstock, The Slackers and The Aggrolites;
• The Pietasters, The Impossibles and Catbite;
• Bumpin Uglies and The Planet Smashers.

An anniversary year

The festival coincided with the 25th anniversary of TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik in the United States. The company serves studios, broadcasters, touring crews and live engineers from its Connecticut facility. Marketing manager Connor Rowen said the company wanted to be at Supernova as part of the production, not only as a sponsor.