Chicago’s recent Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon played host thousands of participants and spectators at a post-Marathon concert produced by Entertainment Solutions of Scottsdale Arizona.
Entertainment Solutions called upon Gand Concert Sound (GCS) aka ‘the NEXO guys’ to provide the sound system and back line for the concert featuring opening act Hello Dave and headliner Five for Fighting.
“Entertainment Solutions was well organized and great to work with,” said Tim Swan, vice president of Gand Concert Sound.
The sound system included a Yamaha PM5D-RH at front of house and monitors at the request of the headliner, 12 per side NEXO GEO T line array with six per side CD18s, NEXO Alpha speakers for out fills, and PS15s for front fills and monitors.
“We did the sound check the night before the concert with Five for Fighting and it turned into a mini concert,” said FOH engineer Adam Rosenthal.
“Day of show, we had to be there at 5:30 am to get in prior to the streets being closed for the Marathon. The NEXO rig is easy to drop over night, and goes back up very quick.”
“It’s been a record summer for rain in Chicago, and the NEXO rain covers make it possible for GCS to operate during any rain or drizzle while setting up for a show.”
GCS recently added two more PM5Ds to their console inventory to handle this record-setting summer. “We had been thinking about it since spring and decided to purchase additional 5Ds in time for the crush season,” said Gary Gand, President of Gand Concert Sound.
“We purchased a PM5D to go with our digital snake set up, a PM5D-RH and a DSP5D Expander (PM5D-EX System) to handle our big orchestra shows and religious fests where 100-plus mics can be the norm.”
“The DSP5D Expander provides an additional 48 inputs in a 10-space rack turning a PM5D-RH into a 96 channel console, all on one control service.”
Brothers Kevin and Ken Kozial at Entertainment Solutions said that Gand Concert Sound ‘provided a seamless production for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon.’
