Rising synthpop trio Years & Years from have completed a series of sold-out UK theatres and arenas with Adlib providing an L-Acoustics ‘racks-and-stacks’ audio system, plus a full support package and crew.

Production manager Steve Down called in Adlib, with two of the company’s most experienced engineers – Sam Proctor and Hassane Es Siahi – ensuring that the band’s engineers Pablo Campanara (FOH) and Harry Bishop (monitors) received impeccable support. Due to the variety of venues that made up the extensive tour itinerary, Campanara requred a system with sufficient flexibility...

An L-Acoustic’s K1/K2 package, which in the largest iteration – as used for Wembley and Birmingham – comprised of 12 L-Acoustics K1s a side with four Kara downs for the main hangs and 12 K2s a-side for the secondary/side hangs. Eighteen SB28 subs were groundstacked and configured as three three-high stacks per side, the first one directly below the main arrays and two subsequent ones at two metres and then four metres onstage, mirrored left and right. For the smaller gigs, the K2 array became the main hang and the subs were cut back to two three-way stacks per side.

For in fill, on top of the outside sub stacks were four ARCS boxes per side complemented by a single Kara element each side on the inside sub stacks. All speakers were driven by L-Acoustics LA8 amplifiers.

One of Adlib’s standard Lake processing/control systems dealt with the processing, using three LM44s at FOH, going to two LM26s onstage and a RedNet D16R interface, distributing AES to all the amps with analogue backup.

Proctor regards the flexibility of the K2 as ideal for a tour in mixed venues, where it can be an ideal side hang in one room and a powerful and fully focusable main array in another, also making it extremely cost-effective to tour – rather then having to send additional components out to supplement all the larger dates.

The FOH and monitor consoles for Years & Years and the monitor set-up was supplied by London-based Hark Audio, the band’s regular supplier for some years. The support package from Adlib consisted of a DiGiCo SD10 console for FOH and a Soundcraft Vi1 for monitors, plus a full line system and mics-and-stands.

Danish singer/songwriter MØ. performed for the whole tour with two other acts, Mabel and Nimmo, also appearing at three shows each, and all three playing at Wembley. Two of these had their own IEM systems, MØ. toured with her own FOH console, and all of them brought dedicated own engineers.

Proctor and Es Siahi ensured that everyone involved had exactly what they needed and that each day ran as smoothly as possible.