In early September, Brown Note Productions (BNP) teamed up with their client to deliver an incredible virtual music festival in Colorado. A staggering 7,500,000 fans tuned into the concert, hit play, and plunged into the first-of-its-kind immersive experience. BNP supplied all audio gear required for festival production, including Clear-Com 's FreeSpeak II Digital Wireless Intercom, for a completely wireless solution at the client's request.
In a normal summer, Denver-based BNP would execute countless live events around the country but given the social distancing requirements implemented by COVID-19, companies like BNP are developing new ways of producing events within these requirements. In this case, that meant producing the festival onsite as if it were a typical live show, all while keeping the crew and artists socially distanced and streaming the content to an online audience. BNP brought on Denver local John Kendrick to assist with the comms solution.
This concert series was unique in its nature because it was livestreamed with no crowd, so it was going to be unique in its comms solution as well. The producer of the show asked for a completely wireless solution, and I had honestly never done that before for a live show, Kendrick explained. But this was a fun experiment, and it worked!
The event featured two renowned headliners each night, who played to a crowd of production staff and executives, while their main audience tuned in online. The seating area ahead of the FOH mix position was converted into the main stage, whereas the venue's main stage was used as the production area and for side stage needs, like hair and makeup. Audience interactions were in chat windows on the concert's website as well as over social media platforms viewers could choose emojis and make comments or requests that would then be projected on the venue walls via video projection, which was the primary way of bringing the removed audience into the show in real-time.
After a quick consultation with Clear-Com s application engineering team, it was decided that FreeSpeak II, operating in both the1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, would be the most appropriate wireless solution for this first-of-its-kind virtual concert experience. The system was comprised of two FreeSpeak II bases, one operating only 2.4 GHz, the other operating exclusively in 1.9 GHz, 10 1.9 GHz FreeSpeak II transceivers (with two splitters), 10 2.4 GHz FreeSpeak II transceivers (with two splitters), 25 1.9 GHz FreeSpeak II beltpacks, 25 2.4 GHz FreeSpeak II beltpacks, and various lightweight, single-muff and double-muff headsets.
Getting everyone over to wireless was actually ideal for COVID because it allowed the layout of the tech worlds to be very spaced out to account for social distancing, stated Kendrick, And I can t speak highly enough of the FreeSpeak II Base II CCM. Being able to make every necessary change to a comms pack via my phone, iPad or computer is invaluable in helping maintain social distance and continue working while in this pandemic.
Key personnel who would require the most point-to-point connections, including directors, production executives, LX board operations, and broadcast audio, were all on 1.9 GHz packs, while support staff including projector technicians, dimmer technicians, and camera operations were on the 2.4 GHz packs and used a 4-wire or 2-wire ties between the systems, creating multiple partylines to get them the calls they needed. Production communications largely relied on six partylines for audio, video, cameras, spots, electrics and the production team.
Aside from ensuring the comms solution was effective, it also needed to be conducive to a safe working environment, in compliance with COVID requirements. The producer of the show was very proactive in maintaining the health and safety of the artists and the on-site team members, Kendrick explained. All traveling staff had to complete COVID nasal swabs prior to travel, all locals were nasal swab tested onsite; daily temperature checks were mandatory each morning and masks were worn at all times. Everyone was assigned their own beltpack and headset to use for the duration of the event, and after the day's work, batteries were dropped off, sterilized and redistributed the next morning. Everyone was great about the conditions as I think we were all just happy to be at work and doing the thing we have spent our lives doing. I know for me it was amazing to be back at work and enjoying live music again, said Kendrick.
It was truly a surreal experience, he continues. The band is playing their hearts out, everything is dialed in, but there is no crowd, just the technicians and executives. We became the crowd for the bands, clapping and hooting and hollering to keep their energy up as they played to millions watching and listening at home.
The long-term survival of family-owned rental houses like BNP is crucial to the rebound of the live events industry, and it is imperative that they keep their lights on and doors open. To see how you can contribute to the survival of the live events sector, please visit wemakeevents.com.
North America Stories
23/10/2025
Unlocking character: Sportcast on executing the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 new ...
23/10/2025
Clear coordination: Juggling the new Bundesliga rights cycle requirements and pu...
23/10/2025
Analysis: Is piracy just the cost of doing business? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 09:58
Print This Story
It's high ...
23/10/2025
ESPN's Adam Whitlock on Driving Real-World Innovation Across the Video-Trans...
23/10/2025
SVG TranSPORT 2025 Unites 300+ Industry Leaders in New York for Deep Dive Into L...
23/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: League Starts Season With Two New Broadcast Partners, In-House NBA ...
23/10/2025
NFL Deepens Business Partnership with EA Sports; More Madden Casts to Come?EA Sports will remain the exclusive producer and distributor of Madden NFL video game...
23/10/2025
NFL Moves Pro Bowl Games Indoors and to Super Bowl Week; Leans Into a Made-for-T...
23/10/2025
By Alan Dominguez
Recently I have been thinking about the intersection of two e...
23/10/2025
(L-R) Amber Fares and Noam Shuster Eliassi attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Coexistence, My Ass! at the Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025...
23/10/2025
The new solution is industry's first multi-channel receiver available for L3Harris's resilient tactical high-frequency data waveforms....
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile as its preferred communications provider and said all of its reporters will be equipped with SuperM...
23/10/2025
RASTATT, Germany Broadcast and media workflow technology vendor Lawo has tapped Mike Wright as VP of sales, North America....
23/10/2025
MONTREAL European cultural broadcaster ARTE has selected Grass Valley LDX 135 cameras and Creative Grading solution as part of its move from SDI/1080i to a nati...
23/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has named Daniel Parsons as its new chief information security officer, effective Oct. 20....
23/10/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Northern Michigan broadcaster WWTV recently completed a major IP-based upgrade that connects its new Traverse City studio with its control room ...
23/10/2025
A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon's Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance bl...
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile has as its preferred communications provider and announced that all Fox Weather reporters are being...
23/10/2025
PBS will use generative AI from Amazon Web Services to provide enhanced search results to viewers on the PBS App and PBS LearningMedia platforms, the network an...
23/10/2025
Back to All News
The Resurrected' Marks First Chinese-Language Series to L...
23/10/2025
The nights grow longer and the shadows get bolder with Vampire The Masquerade: B...
22/10/2025
MONTR AL - October 2, 2025 - The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) last mon...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
In early September, Brown Note Productions (BNP) teamed up with their client to deliver an incredible virtual music festival in Colorado. A staggering 7,500,000 fans tuned into the concert, hit play, and plunged into the first-of-its-kind immersive experience. BNP supplied all audio gear required for festival production, including Clear-Com 's FreeSpeak II Digital Wireless Intercom, for a completely wireless solution at the client's request.
