Case Study: Riverfront Festival 2025 — Three Stages, One Weekend

The Riverfront Festival was our most ambitious production to date: three stages, 30 artists, 5,000 attendees, and a 48-hour window to build, run, and tear down the entire operation on the banks of the James River.

Pre-Production

Planning started four months out. We conducted site visits to map power drops, plan cable runs, and identify potential sound bleed zones between stages. The main stage sat 200 meters from the second stage, with a DJ tent positioned perpendicular to both. We used acoustic modeling software to predict coverage patterns and adjusted stage orientation to minimize overlap.

Main Stage: Full Funktion One

The main stage ran our flagship rig: six Evo 7T tops, four F124 subs in a cardioid array, and two Evo X for front fill. Delay towers at the 40-meter mark carried two additional Evo 7T per side. Total system power exceeded 30,000 watts. The result was clear, punchy sound from the front row to the beer garden 80 meters back.

Stage Two: Martin Audio

The second stage used a Martin Audio MLA Mini system for its tight pattern control. This was critical because it sat closest to the residential boundary. We achieved 110dB at front of house while keeping off-axis spill below the noise ordinance threshold at the property line.

Weather Response

Saturday afternoon brought a 90-minute thunderstorm. Our weather protocol kicked in: tarps deployed over all three desks in under three minutes, generators moved to higher ground, and we implemented a controlled power-down sequence. We were back up and running 20 minutes after the storm passed with zero equipment damage.

By the Numbers

32 crew members across three shifts. 14 hours of live music across both days. Zero noise complaints. Zero equipment failures. One very tired but very proud production team.