For Boston Calling, L-Acoustics Has The Answer posted: 20/08/2018
St. Vincent performing on Boston Calling's main Green Stage via Clearwing Productions' L-Acoustics K1/K2 system
Consultant Marcus Ross and Clearwing Productions help dramatically curtail the number of community noise complaint calls from last year's festival in 2018. Boston Calling celebrated its fifth year (and ninth outing) the weekend of May 25-27 with a slew of fantastic performers, including Eminem, The Killers, Jack White, Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, and St. Vincent. However, the event, which music portal Consequence of Soundhas declared one of the top-ten music festivals in the country, almost didn't happen this year.
The previous year's event, held in a new location at the Harvard Athletic Complex, drew not only raves from the attendees but also a wave of protests from residents of the surrounding Cambridge area who complained about noise levels, a situation a number of area media outlets reported in depth. This year, though, Boston-based production company Crash Line Productions found the solution: an L-Acoustics K1/K2 system, provided by Clearwing Productions, with a system design created using L-Acoustics' Soundvision modeling software, that kept the sound on the audience and out of the surrounding neighborhoods.
After Boston Calling 2017, there were complaints from the surrounding area that the noise levels were too high, so we tasked Scott Sugden at L-Acoustics to help us design a PA deployment that would mitigate perimeter noise as effectively as possible while still maintaining acceptable levels and coverage for the world's best acts and a demanding paying public, explains Clearwing Key Accounts Executive Stephen Harvey.
He, in turn, recommended Marcus Ross, co-owner with associate Sara Even of audio consultancy Crest Factor, who would bring a battery of sound-measurement devices to bear on the problem. I took one look at this and knew that L-Acoustics was the only workable solution, starting with Soundvision modeling, says Ross.
Singer Hayley Williams perched atop an L-Acoustics Kara front-fill during Paramore's Boston Calling set
He worked with site maps supplied by the event producer inside Soundvision, which determined which loudspeaker types should be used and exactly where they needed to be placed. L-Acoustics and I worked together on the approach of the system and then I verified the design and articulated the capabilities to the producers of the festival, he explains. What they came up with for the main Green Stage system was a combination of K1 and K2 with K1-SB flown behind the main arrays to create a cardioid behavior. The sub frequencies were handled by 32 KS28 subs also deployed in a cardioid configuration. Kara was used for out-fill and front-fill, and the delay towers were outfitted with K2 speakers.
The distributed system design allowed us to focus the SPL towards the audience and using the rejection created by the cardioid fields combined with the polar stability of the L-Acoustics K systems concentrated the audio on the festival grounds, says Ross. It was very different from the single array design they had used in the past. In addition, K2 and K1-SB boxes were deployed on the Red and Blue stages along with KS28 subs and Kara for fill boxes, while coaxial 12XT speakers were used in the VIP areas.
Soundvision's output also provided Ross with the visual aids he needed to discuss the solution with members of the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association, which had brought the noise complaints the previous year. They took the brunt of last year's assault,' as they referred to it, so they were very interested in what we were going to suggest for this year, says Ross.
A panoramic view of two of Boston Calling's three stages-Red and Green-with two K2 delay towers visible to the left
Ross patrolled the areas surrounding the festival this year, checking SPL as the music played, and the containment was complete, with levels registering well below 70 dBa but without at all lessening the punch of the music within.
L-Acoustics gave me all the tools I needed, he says. If the model dictated a particular loudspeaker at a specific location and angle of degree, we knew that the K1, K2 or Kara would perform exactly as it was predicted, covering what was needed to be covered and keeping the energy off of other areas. The pattern control that we achieved would not have been able to be achieved any other way. And even with 16 K1-SB and 32 KS28 subs on the main stage alone, their cardioid arrangements allowed us to produce much less off-site noise than the year before. In fact, initial readings at a distance from the festival site that had been a problem last year didn't even register on the meters this May. We had to move a half-mile closer to get a usable SPL reading, he says.
According to the news site Cambridge Day: Feedback from my neighbors was that the sound was a tremendous improvement over last year. I was impressed, said the association's Nicola A. Williams, who lives off Mount Auburn Street and served as a point of contact with Boston Calling organizers.
Brian Appel, festival co-founder and principal at Crash Line Productions, agrees that the outcome of this year's Boston Calling was significantly better than the year before, thanks to the ability of the K1/K2 sound system to keep the energy within the boundaries of the festival's footprint.
Clearwing and Marcus Ross really did an incredible job in picking the tools to make sure that the sound was managed as well as it could have been, he says. The advance work they did, including the help from L-Acoustics, in educating the area residents about how the festival was addressing their concerns and then implementing a strict FOH volume limit re
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
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 and Amazon Web Services have announced the network is using generative AI to provide enhanced search results to viewers on the PBS App and PBS LearningMedia...
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
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
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
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
For Boston Calling, L-Acoustics Has The Answer posted: 20/08/2018 
