WORLDSTAGE
Making Waves
At Outdoor Festival
Engineering sound for the Bud Light Concert Series
in Coco Kay. by R. Maxwell
With many regions of the continental United States experiencing some of the most
challenging winter weather conditions in recent memory, who doesn’t think about
spending some quality time in the tropics? For roughly 1,500 beer and music enthusiasts, a recent Bud Light Concert Series was the perfect cold weather escape. Held
in late 2008, and sponsored in association with Royal Caribbean International, the
Bud Light Concert Series completed a stint at Coco Kay — a private island in the
Bahamas leased by Royal Caribbean exclusively for use as a resort destination.
PORT PARADISE
If ever the ideal location for sun, surf and music existed, Coco Kay is it. After tendering into port, guests were treated to the perfect day — right on the beach with the
Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop. Featuring a 60 x 32 foot stage located adjacent to
the sea wall with the event’s theme of Port Paradise emblazoned across the top front
stage truss, the concert included performances by Canadian rockers Barenaked Ladies
and US-based acts O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) and All American Rejects.
Miami, FL-based Interface Sound, which specializes in live sound for concerts and
the special events market, was contracted by Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser Beer’s parent
company) to provide sound services for
the event. Ralph Alvarez, owner/operator
of Interface Sound, discussed the setup
and the intricacies involved in making it
all come together.
“For starters,” said Alvarez, “
everything had to be shipped to the job site.
This project required even more detailed
planning than most concerts because if
something was overlooked, running back
to the shop or to a local store for parts
was not an option. We also had to be
particularly attentive to the weight and
volume of the equipment so that shipping costs were manageable. With this
in mind, we decided to use a self-powered sound system to avoid the headache
of shipping racks of heavy power amps.
In doing so, we minimized the amount
of gear on the equipment roster, better
contained the shipping weight, and had
a more efficient pack-out.”
The Bud Light Concert Series’ close proximity to the beach caused it to be a challenge for audio engineers, who kept equipment protected from saltwater and sand.
LAY OF THE LAND
The sound system deployed for the
Coco Kay concert drew upon an extensive assortment of loudspeakers from
the D.A.S. Audio Aero catalog. The
main left-right house system consisted
of 16 D.A.S. Audio Aero 38A powered,
medium format line array modules, flown
8 per side. For low frequency reinforcement, these were augmented by 12 Aero
182A 2K powered subwoofers, positioned on pallets (to prevent them from
settling into the sand), stacked two high,
and distributed evenly across the front of
the stage. Completing this portion of the
system, four D.A.S. SML-15A powered
floor monitors were distributed across the
front of the stage for front fill — resting on top of the 182A 2K subwoofers.
Loudspeaker processing was handled by
a BSS Soundweb 9088iis.
According to Alvarez, “All three acts
played through the D.A.S. house system,
but the monitor situation was considerably different. The Barenaked Ladies
