
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
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. But a playlist that tells you which The Devi...
01/05/2026
One of the world's biggest popstars is headed to El Cl sico. Later this mont...
01/05/2026
Limited-edition model celebrates 15th anniversary
Heritage Audio's range of monitor controllers has just gained a new member, the Baby RAM Black Edition...
01/05/2026
Dumble recreation now available as UAD plug-in
Along with their renowned processing plug-ins, Universal Audio have been steadily introducing emulations of c...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa to host the series final tw...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Got plans? Cancel them. Sky Sports Big Weekend is coming
Sky Sports is preparing for a bumper weekend of live action, including Manchester ...
01/05/2026
Friday 1 May 2026
Sky Sports to broadcast all matches from World Sevens Football London edition
Sky Sports will be the exclusive UK broadcaster of the women...
01/05/2026
RT Sport awarded first pick free-to-air on Wednesday nights
Champions League and Super Cup finals
Highlights on Wednesday nights
RT today (Thursday 30 Apri...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
30/04/2026
Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists. In...
30/04/2026
Between April 22-29, the first inaugural Stockholm Music Week brought together thought leaders and partners across industries including music, tech, government,...
30/04/2026
Iconic large-format console upgraded
API's iconic Vision console has just been treated to an overhaul that aims to meet the demands of today's profe...
30/04/2026
Comes complete with miking accessories
The LCT 440 Pure has proven to be a popular member of Lewitt's mic line-up, offering impressive technical perform...
30/04/2026
24 October 2026 at The Octagon, Sheffield
Now in its eighth year, SynthFest UK is the largest event of its kind in the UK, bringing together the top keyboar...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanner...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz expands broadband amplifier portfolio with new power classes up ...
30/04/2026
Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...
30/04/2026
Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...
30/04/2026
Com a evolu o de novos standards de broadcast em todo o mundo e o OTT streaming buscando a posi o de lideran a no consumo de m dia, tanto os codecs de v deo q...
30/04/2026
All-New AI-Powered Network Intelligence Solution, Resilient Remote OLTs and Back-Office Integration Platform Power Smarter, More Efficient Fiber Networks SAN JO...
30/04/2026
Two worlds, one show The tour unfolds in two distinct halves. The first is a sol...
30/04/2026
Rian na Fola airs on RT One and RT Player on Monday May 4
Rian na Fola is a o...
29/04/2026
Combines EQ and harmonic distortion
Techivation's latest release is a simple EQ designed to offer quick control over a source's overall tonal balanc...
29/04/2026
Two new MPE controllers announced
Expressive E caused quite a stir when they released the Osmose, making the sort of expression that was once reserved for p...
29/04/2026
New modules & enhanced machine-learning
The latest version of iZotope's flagship restoration suite is now available, and now offers over 50 tools design...
29/04/2026
Voting opens at 4pm today
RT 's Today show have announced the eight finalists for their TV Home Cook competition. Amateur cooks from Cork, Dublin, Galway ...
29/04/2026
29 Apr 2026
VEON and Kyivstar Fulfill Commitment to Invest USD 1 Billion in Ukr...
29/04/2026
Rhod Gilbert, Harriet Kemsley, Kae Kurd, Sara Pascoe and Vicki Pattison to take part in brand new series on free streaming service U
Free streaming service U i...
29/04/2026
Wednesday 29 April 2026
Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a Sky Original documentar...
29/04/2026
Re-examining the case of Ellie Williams and the wider story of grooming in the town of BarrowWednesday 29 April 2026
Sky announces upcoming documentary series ...
29/04/2026
Wednesday 29 April 2026
Jennifer Garner to lead an all-star cast in new Sky Exc...
29/04/2026
Students and staff from Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge ran a 4.5km course around the roads of Cambridge as part of their annual programme of sustain...
29/04/2026
The Dawn Chorus airs Sunday 3 May from midnight to 7am on RT Radio 1 and RT ly...
28/04/2026
Today, we announced our First Quarter 2026 earnings, starting the Year of Raising Ambition with strong momentum across the business and continued innovation acr...
28/04/2026
I dag presenterade vi v rt resultat f r det f rsta kvartalet 2026. Vi inleder ret med starkt momentum i hela verksamheten och fortsatt innovation p plattforme...
28/04/2026
New handheld promises studio performance for the stage
Mojave have just introduced a new live-focused handheld vocal mic created by award-winning designer D...
28/04/2026
Max for Live device offers AI-powered stem separation
Dynamic Split Module (DSM) is a new Max for Live device created by Ostin Solo, a developer and musican...
28/04/2026
First interface equipped with ISA preamps
Focusrite have just announced the launch of a new high-end audio interface that features a pair of their legendary...
28/04/2026
In 2023, Norwegian climber Kristin Harila set out to break a mountaineering reco...
28/04/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Whelan as its new London Correspondent.
Sean has held the role of Washington Correspondent for the last...
28/04/2026
Joseph O'Connor, Eileen Walsh, Louise Duffy, Mick Lynch, Gormfhlaith N Thuairisg and Dermot Bannon take a personal look at life 100yrs ago in new TV docume...
27/04/2026
N r Spotify grundades f r 20 r sedan dominerades musikmarknaden av illegal nedladdning. Sedan dess har streaming bidragit till att teruppr tta betalningsvilja...
27/04/2026
Time on Spotify should feel meaningful and intentional, not something that slips...
27/04/2026
New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed
The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...
27/04/2026
Kit includes supercardioid & shotgun capsules
High-end mic manufacturer Schoeps have recently introduced another member of their Desert Island Set family. O...