Billed as the first and only event of its kind, the Hangout Festival is a three-day music party staged on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. For this year's event, the PWS team of experts was responsible for monitoring the RF spectrum to ensure there were no issues with the more than 600 frequencies in use. This marks the second consecutive year PWS provided frequency coordination for the festival.
"From an RF coordination standpoint, one of the great things about this event is its location," says Jim Van Winkle, general manager, PWS. "The stages are literally on the beach, right on the Gulf of Mexico. Although there is a fair amount of DTV present, it is still a pretty clean area, with no other major RF congestion from outside sources."
At the start of each day of the musical celebration Van Winkle and his team made sure that the media and first few bands scheduled to perform were coordinated and ready. "We start the day off acting on what we already know and then spend the rest of the day reacting to any last-minute media or crew requests or unregistered users," adds Van Winkle. "Toward the end of the day, our team begins preparing for the following day. Preparation is essential for the success of these multi-day events, and each member of our team knows what it takes to get the job done right."
The 2013 Hangout Festival's diverse lineup of artists included Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, the Trey Anastasio Band, The Shins, The Black Crowes, Bassnectar, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and The Roots.
"We are excited to have once again participated in this special celebration of music," adds Van Winkle. "Our experience in handling large-format frequency coordination for music festivals has proven to be a valuable resource in ensuring shows of this size go off without any hitches. This year, the PWS team did another fantastic job with this."
(Jim Evans)
