The inaugural Big City Bash took place at the Gexa Pavilion in Texas, showcasing some of the many faces of alt-country music. Headlined by the Randy Rogers Band, the show used Gemini LSV’s new Adaptive System from EAW for its loudspeaker system.

With the Gexa Pavilion providing 7,500 covered seats and 10,000 lawn seats, the Gemini team rigged a system comprising 24 EAW Anya modules hung in left-right array columns of 12 modules each, and 24 Otto subwoofers stacked beneath each column on the stage. Out fill was handled by two arrays of eight EAW KF740 line array enclosures, with three further EAW KF730 cabinets used for front fill.

‘I was incredibly impressed with both the sound quality and the consistent coverage,’ says Tim Cain, owner of Gemini LSV. ‘There was no notable difference in the SPL from the lip of the stage all the way out to the fence behind the lawn seats. The transition from Anya to the KF740s was seamless – the new voicings that EAW rolled out for the KF Series sound terrific.’

‘I had gone to the Tom Petty soundcheck events last fall and had the opportunity to try it out, but this was my first time at a show,’ says Marty Weir, FOH engineer for Randy Rogers. ‘I don’t think I even scratched the surface of what it can do. I’ve done at least six or seven shows at Gexa with three or four different PAs and this was by far the best I have heard the venue sound. The coverage alone was amazing.

‘The amount of low end that Anya provides is very impressive,’ he adds. ‘We used Otto in cardioid mode with a wide throw to fill the outsides of the venue, but with as much power as you get out of Anya, we didn’t need very much.’

Cain reports that the FOH engineers for each band were excited to use the new system and have the opportunity to put it to use: ‘Everyone went out of their way to tell me how much they liked the PA,’ he says. ‘This is a terrific addition to our inventory.’