The two stages at the recent inaugural edition of the Iron Blossom Festival in Richmond, VA were equipped with main audio systems provided and supported by Soundworks (based in Virginia), both headed by Martin Audio Wavefront Precision optimized line arrays in support of a roster of artists that included by headliners Hozier, Noah Kahan, and Lord Huron.
The Bon Secours Training Center provided the venue for the festival, organized in a joint venture by Charlottesville’s Starr Hill Presents, Virginia Beach’s IMGoing and Richmond’s Haymaker Productions.
Working in conjunction with Haymaker Productions owner Tom Beals, Soundworks chose Martin Audio’s large-format WPL arrays for the main stage and WPC for the second stage, run in 2-box resolution from Martin Audio matched iKON multi-channel amplifiers. The designs were optimized by the company’s Grant Howard and Bryan Hargrave in the belief.
The specific deployment on the main stage comprised 14 WPL elements per side joined by 16 SXH218 subwoofers in a cardioid array, with four WPS frontfills. Further, a pair of delay towers, each had eight WPC enclosures flown at a trim height of 22 feet and positioned about 220 feet from the stage. For the subsidiary stage, components included 12 WPC elements per side accompanied by eight SXH218s in a cardioid array and four WPS as fronfills.
This provided coverage for 14,000 people (over the two days) spread across approximately 400 x 400 feet of open field, with unrestricted noise levels.
Hargrave undertook all the site measurement, prediction and design in Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY 2 software, before loading the files into the iKONs using Venue. “Meanwhile, we are closely watching the development of DISPLAY 3,” adds Soundworks CEO Steve Payne, “and look forward to being able to make the move over to the 3D software, especially since the Beta is now available for Mac OS.”
Many of Soundworks’ events are outdoors, and Howard notes, “On these shows we rarely touch the house EQ. Visiting engineers may make small tweaks to taste, but as often as not they are totally happy walking into and mixing on a flat Wavefront Precision system.”
Promoter Beals was concludes, “I’ve been working with Steve Payne and Soundworks of VA as our exclusive audio vendor for over 20 years now. Their transition to Martin Audio-based systems a few years back stepped up the overall quality of production for all our shows. That quality was on full display at the Iron Blossom Festival, giving every single patron in the 12-acre venue a concert-quality audio experience no matter where they were.”
On duty at the main stage were Howard (FOH), Hargrave (monitors and overall system tech), and Jay Holland (patch). The second stage was managed by John O’Donnel (FOH), Garrett Milich (monitors) and Toor Clark (patch).
Photo Credit: Roger Gupta & David Parrish
