These two festivals represented country music at its best, but what really tied both together - aside from their mutual corporate sponsor - was the sound provided at each site by U.S. Audio & Lighting's L-Acoustics K2 system. "The music sounded excellent in both places," says Patrick Coughlin, general manager of U.S. Audio & Lighting North, the Northern California branch of the North Hollywood-based company that has become one of the largest K2 users in the States.
For the main stage at the Willamette Country Music Festival location, where it has been the SR provider for the last three years, USA&L flew a combined total of 52 K2 enclosures for its main and outfill hangs, anchored by a beefy 32 SB28 ground-stacked subs.
A full complement of L-Acoustics gear also blanketed the stage, including 115XT HiQ monitors, flown ARCS II/SB28 sidefills and 108P stage lip-fills. For Cape Blanco, 48 K2 belted out the main LR house sound bolstered by 28 boot-shaking SB28, while LA8-equipped LA-RAKs supplied the power and processing for both festivals.
Coughlin says what attracted him to the K2 is the sonic and directional flexibility afforded by its steerable pattern down to 300Hz. "It assures us of even, consistent coverage for the audience," he explains. "We also like how light the boxes are, which makes transporting and rigging them easier. Plus we like that the 12-inch speaker allows us good control of the low end. It's just a great package, and we were able to run the entire system wirelessly via LA Network Manager. It's unbelievable control. I use no outboard EQ at all; all of the EQ is on the network."
(Jim Evans)
