Outline at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Outline provides Kingston Audio the solution for challenges faced at New Orleans Jazz Festival

 

New Orleans, LA, USA, May 2010 – The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, is a seven-day cultural festival at which thousands of musicians, chefs and craftsmen welcome 400,000 visitors every year. In its 41^st year, it is one of the longest running and most successful music festivals in the US.

The internationally famous event celebrates New Orleans and Louisiana native music and culture, and features every style associated with the “Crescent City” and state: Blues, R&B, Gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, Folk, Latino, Rock, Rap, Country, Bluegrass and everything in between, as well as (obviously) plenty of contemporary and traditional jazz.

The following are just a few of the best known artists at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival: Simon and Garfunkel, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan, Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, to name but a few.

 

Sound plays a major role in the success of the festival.

 

For the past two years (2009 and 2010), New Orleans-based rental company Kingston Audio Services was responsible for providing the Festival with superior quality sound equipment by Outline. The choice fell on Butterfly and Mantas vertical line arrays, combined with Subtech 218s for reproducing the bottom end.

 

The FOH rig used for the sound at the “Gospel Tent” stage consisted in 8+8 CDH 483 Hi-Pack elements and eight Subtech 218s. Mantas elements were used on front and side fill duty respectively.

 

“The Butterfly and Mantas in The Gospel Tent truly proved to be the right choice”, comments Tom Bensen, VP and Director of Operations of Outline North America LLC. “It is the most challenging venue in the entire festival. The combination of both Butterfly and Mantas provided the best possible coverage, with crystal clear reproduction. Artists and engineers alike were very pleased with the system, not to mention the avid gospel fans”, he added.

 

As well as the Butterfly, Mantas and Subtech systems, New Orleans’ Kingston Audio Services also supplied eight Outline LAB 21 infra-subs for the Gentilly stage, the festival’s second largest venue.

 

Kingston Audio Services owner Simon Fraser commented: “Getting low frequency coverage to the far reaches of the delay zones for Gentilly was never possible, until we added the LAB 21’s. They provided rock solid punch that carried all the day to the back of the Gentilly field. It was amazing. Plus they are the most musical we have ever used. They really performed and added a whole new dimension to our stage.”