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A Martin Audio rig provided by Slamhammer Audio delivered reinforcement at the unveiling of the "Crown Our Prince" project in downtown Minneapolis.

Prince Mural Reveal In Minneapolis Accompanied By Martin Audio

Slamhammer Audio supplies support and system incorporating W8LC Compact arrays, WS218X subwoofers, CDD-LIVE loudspeakers and more for tribute event held downtown.

The recent unveiling of a 100-foot-high mural paying tribute to music icon Prince in downtown Minneapolis, accompanied by a weekend of celebratory events, was accompanied by sound reinforcement provided by Slamhammer Audio (also in Minneapolis) deploying Martin Audio W8LC Compact line arrays and additional components.

The $500,000 “Crown Our Prince” project has been under development for seven years, with the mural undertaken by Florida street painter Hiero Veiga. The reveal party was a free event that brought several thousand people flocking to the city’s Ramp A on a perfect evening.

Slamhammer, which has employed Martin Audio components for the past two decades, fielded a combination of eight W8LC Compacts joined by eight WS218X subwoofers and a pair of W8LM Mini enclosures for front fills. Delay coverage came via a pair of CDD-LIVE loudspeakers joined by CSX-LIVE118B subs located at front of house and firing toward the rear of the crowd.

Slamhammer sales manager Cam Dickison explains that from a production perspective, the main challenge was the small footprint of the bandstand location and a tight timewindow because the street couldn’t be closed during the day. “With the stage itself needing to be constructed in a very small area, we opted to build sound wing platforms and mounted the PA on those instead of rigging from the stage,” he says.

The event included special appearances from both of Prince’s sisters and performances from Prince cover band Dr. Mambo’s Combo as well as DJ Mickey Breeze. The event, which was also livestreamed, was hosted by Chantel Sings and Walter “Q-Bear” Banks. While Dr Mambo’s Combo brought in its own sound engineer, Slamhammer’s Brian Scocchera was on monitors, Matt Fradley mixed FOH for the rest of the show, and Mack Swanson was behind the lighting desk.

“We love working with the Prince organization and honoring his legacy while showing the world that Minneapolis is more than just a fly-over city,” Dickison concludes. “We’ve done multiple events with the organization and the Minneapolis Downtown Council over the years, including the ‘Prince Live on the Big Screen’ events. These are the two main forces that turned this Prince mural and block party dream into a reality.”

Martin Audio
Slamhammer Audio

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