
L-Acoustics Triumphs at Trifesta posted: 12/12/2019
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performing on the L-Acoustics K1/K2 system at Bourbon & Beyond's Oak Stage
Brown Note Productions and Danny Wimmer Presents deploy K Series rig for three back-to-back weekend festivals: Hometown Rising, Bourbon & Beyond, and Louder Than Life
Although Louisville residents have long associated the term Triple Crown with Kentucky Derby thoroughbred horse racing at their own Churchill Downs, this year's Trifesta may well pose a legitimate threat to that reigning royal trio title. Produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP)-the concert promoter behind popular US music festivals like Sacramento's Aftershock, Columbus' Sonic Temple and Charlotte's Epicenter-a Trifesta pass served as the golden ticket to get into three large Louisville music festivals held on consecutive weekends during September, each of which utilized an L-Acoustics K Series loudspeaker system deployed by Brown Note Productions (BNP) of Thornton, Colorado.
Zac Brown Band on Bourbon & Beyond's Barrel Stage, sonically reinforced by Brown Note Productions' K1/K2 rig 3
Staged at the Kentucky Expo Center's Highland Festival Grounds, the inaugural Hometown Rising festival packed in more than 70,000 country music fans over September 14 and 15 to hear from headliners Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, and Keith Urban, among others. The following weekend, a crowd of more than 90,000 attended the eclectic, three-day Bourbon & Beyond festival featuring performances from a wide variety of artists, including Foo Fighters, Robert Plant, and Zac Brown Band. Anchoring the final weekend of the month was the three-day Louder Than Life, which brought out 128,000 hard rock and heavy metal enthusiasts to headbang along with Guns N' Roses, Slipknot, Disturbed, and many more.
According to BNP President Ryan Knutson, who, with the help of Soundvision, created the system design for Trifesta, each of the three weekend festivals featured two similar and adjacent stages. The primary left and right main arrays for each stage-so four in total-were comprised of six L-Acoustics K1-SB low-frequency extension enclosures flown over 12 K1 full-range elements, with six K2 hung below for downfill. Behind each of these 24-enclosure arrays was a hang of eight KS28 flown in a cardioid configuration to improve LF directivity. For added impact, two dozen more KS28 per stage were groundstacked down below, topped by 16 Kara for frontfill, while 12 additional K2 were used as far outfill arrays.
To further optimize coverage and control residential noise spill for the two larger festivals-Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life-Brown Note additionally deployed three delay towers, each flying eight K2. This brought the site's total L-Acoustics enclosure count from 232 up to 256, all of which were collectively powered and processed by 95 LA12X amplified controllers housed in custom Brown Note touring racks.
We designed the system based on the layouts that Les Targonski, DWP's Director of Production and Logistics, had provided us early on, Knutson recalls. Although the system for each of the three festivals was very similar, we still had to deal with slightly different layouts of stage thrusts, barricades, and so on. With a combination of the new Autosolver tools in Soundvision, the L-Acoustics P1 processor and M1 measurement platform, and our own workflow for system design and tuning, we felt like we were well equipped for dealing with the festivals' challenging layout and central mix position. The use of the P1, in particular, was probably the most notable change in our workflow. Having this as part of our toolbox to analyze the system was a great addition to our normal practice of using SMAARTs analytical software platform.
As an official L-Acoustics Certified Provider for rental (CPr) and install (CPi), and on the cusp of also being a new distributor (CPd), BNP keeps its K Series system busy throughout the year on festivals, national tours, cross-rentals to other rental network providers, and at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the company's back yard. And Knutson notes that his PA never fails to elicit smiles from engineers and audiences alike.
The K1 system, especially with the LA12X amplified controllers, delivers a quality, power, and transient response that is world renowned, he says. Most, if not all, top engineers have toured with or had great experiences mixing on K1 for festivals like this. With its system control, filtering, power, and tonality, it delivers a voice that is undeniable. Other manufacturers have great systems as well, but when you are in front of a K1/K2 system, the sound is clearly L-Acoustics and what many engineers, like us, have come to love.
DWP's Les Targonski points out that the combination of the right tools in the right hands has firmly established BNP as the promoter's production partner for all of its festivals since 2014. Over the course of the three Louisville festivals, I had multiple production managers and audio engineers give kudos to the Brown Note team, Targonski shares. From their willingness to make adjustments for the comfort of an engineer, or the ease of an engineer simply being able to plug in and mix because the analyzing work had already been done, Ryan and his team are incredibly efficient, accommodating and thoughtful.
A bird's eye view of Trifesta's third and final 2019 festival, Louder Than Life, which drew 128,000 hard rock fans to Louisville's Highland Festival Grounds
When I called Ryan five years ago for Aftershock, I knew what I was getting, but I needed everyone else at DWP to witness it, he adds. All it took was that one festival to prove a point. These days, when I advance with an artist that has played one of our events, t
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Sky extends partnership with the Ladies European Tour for a landmark 30th year
Sky and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have announce...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Walk-on if you love the darts: James Maddison, Luke ...
10/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz presents world's first RF power sensor with 0.80 mm RF conne...
10/12/2025
It's out of the frying pan and into the sequins for comedian and actor Micha...
10/12/2025
Born That Way airs Thursday 18 December on RT One and RT Player
Born That ...
09/12/2025
For decades, music videos have done more than just accompany a song; they've shaped style, started conversations, and helped us fall in love with our favori...
09/12/2025
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Judy Murray calls for PE to be a priority for all schoo...
09/12/2025
Kyocera and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrate OTA characterization of mmWave PAAM at C...
09/12/2025
Wuppertal December 9, 2025
Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Pa...
09/12/2025
Another year, another 12 months of amazing adventures.
We are pleased to bring you our Highlights of the Year 2025.
We've worked hard and played hard this...
09/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
09/12/2025
Jason, before we get into the detail, what first got you involved in retail media standards? And how did you come to chair IAB Europe's Retail and Commerce ...
09/12/2025
Current Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been revealed as the third contestant...
08/12/2025
Comscore Releases 2025 AI Intelligence Report: Establishing New Benchmarks for G...
08/12/2025
Over 1.7 million people watched across the weekend
Another record-breaking year...
08/12/2025
08 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Breaks Ground for Hyper Cloud Data Ce...
08/12/2025
Strategic and transformative transaction would sharpen Harmonic's focus on its core Broadband business and advance its growth initiatives
Ensures continued...
08/12/2025
Copenhagen's The Epicurus is a one-of-a-kind Jazz Gastropub that presents exclusive performances curated by Jazz Pianist and Producer Sir Niels Lan Doky. Fe...
08/12/2025
Arvato Systems Receives gematik-approval for TI-Messenger tim
Approval secured for TI Messenger tim - paving the way for secure and interoperable communicat...
08/12/2025
Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh is the first celebrity to be revealed for the s...
08/12/2025
Changing children's lives for good: A staggering 4.6 million raised in the 2025 appeal
The people of Ireland and people all over the world have once again...
08/12/2025
It's murder on the dancefloor as The Traitors Ireland legend Paudie Moloney ...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
Following today's EBU Winter General Assembly in Geneva at which Israel's participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest was confirmed, RT 's pos...
04/12/2025
Thursday 4 December 2025
Sky set to co-produce the story behind the world's most famous whale
Image Credit - Free Willy Keiko Foundation
Sky will co-pro...
04/12/2025
Thursday 4 December 2025
Sky Original documentary Murder at the Post Office to ...
04/12/2025
OBJECT MATRIX
OverviewObject Matrix
OM Cloud
Quattro
SWARMOverviewSwarmSingle Node Swarm
Ngenea
Pixstor
Swarm Support
Object Matrix Support
Pixstor & N...
04/12/2025
FOX Advertising Announces Plans for 2026 Upfront Presentation Annual Presentation for Advertisers to Take Place Monday, May 11 at New Location, the Historic N...
04/12/2025
The ninth series of Dancing with the Stars returns to screens in early
2026 and will be proudly sponsored by Hyundai
Filling our Sunday evenings with glitz an...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2025 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2025 is a Single Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-t...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2025 is a Single Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...