LAS VEGAS – Janet Jackson extended her 10-show residency at Resorts World Theatre with six more shows in May. The residency, which follows her 94-show Together Again world tour, is heard via the venue’s L-Acoustics L-ISA system. Pictured here is FOH Caram Costanzo at the show’s DiGiCo Quantum338 console, with the venue’s K2 and Kara arrays in the upper background.
More details from L-Acoustics (www.l-acoustics.com):
Janet Jackson is pop royalty, a mega-star who has sold over 180 million records worldwide throughout her four-decade career. With multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Awards to her name, plus myriad other accolades for her infectious dance hits and beloved acting roles, she is undeniably one of the world’s most influential and enduring entertainers. When Jackson announced in late 2024 that she would be following up her 94-show Together Again world tour with an intimate 10-date Las Vegas residency at Resorts World Theatre – home to a permanently-installed L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal Immersive Sound design – tickets quickly sold out. Due to overwhelming demand, Janet Jackson: Las Vegas has been extended with six May shows, giving more fans the chance to experience her magnetic performance style through L-ISA spatial audio technology in a show that feels simultaneously intimate and explosive.
Engineering the Immersive Soundscape
Los Angeles-based producer and FOH engineer Caram Costanzo, known for his decades-long work with Guns N’ Roses, continues to handle the house mix for Jackson’s residency, a role he assumed in May 2024, before her Together Again tour. Will Foley, who also joined her audio crew at the same time, is similarly reprising his duties as systems engineer for the spectacular production.
“When I learned about Janet’s Resorts World residency, I immediately embraced using L-ISA’s full capabilities,” Costanzo recalls. “I quickly worked with David Brooks from L-Acoustics to arrange learning time with the technology. At the L-ISA Studio in Westlake Village, with James Rudder, we built the show template, stepping back from my left-right tour mix to fully explore the immersive surround sound capabilities. Janet’s music is perfect for L-ISA – her stellar, high-powered studio productions demanded we create that same standard within the L-ISA environment.”
Costanzo’s primary objective was to create a powerful yet elegantly clear audio experience for the audience. “L-ISA’s greatest attribute is that it gives the mixer and audience the most sonic clarity available today – more so than any other audio system available from any manufacturer.”
Although many of the songs from the Together Again tour were carried over, some featured new arrangements in the set. “The staging and production are redesigned for the massive 152-foot-wide stage. The show is an over-the-top Las Vegas performance, and the criteria was to create a sight-and-sound spectacle for the entire audience,” he adds.
Matching Movement to Sound
At Resorts World, Janet Jackson’s electrifying celebration of her four-decade career meets Las Vegas’ most advanced sound technology. “A full band on stage makes the show engaging and authentic,” Costanzo describes. “Every musician is at the top of their game, making them a joy to mix. Matching the incredible visuals sonically is a challenge – my main objective is to ensure the audio’s integrity and clarity remain commanding. In addition to using multiple snapshots, I frequently mix the subgroups throughout the show to create subtle dynamics and highlight dramatic moments. I also mirror visual movements like lasers and video within separate snapshots, reinforcing what people are seeing to what they hear.”
Mixing the show on a DiGiCo Quantum338 console – Costanzo says he “loves its clarity; you can really create your own sound with it” – “The L-ISA software is very intuitive and well crafted. We feed 64 inputs to the L-ISA Processor II through individual channels and groups. The system is remarkably consistent between shows. When returning for February’s second leg, I resumed January’s settings within just minutes. The reliability and precision are outstanding.”
Building a Multi-layered Sound Experience
“My experiences with L-ISA have been wonderful since first listen as it’s easy to create a special song-by-song experience across the field. The theater’s seven frontal arrays allow me to create a template within the seven-array soundscape and then add instrumentation and effects on a song-by-song basis. I then incorporate the rear surrounds or effects, mults, and especially adding more sonic intensity when appropriately called for. Everyone has been very positive comment-wise within Janet’s camp, and Janet is happy with what she’s hearing out front and the feedback she’s been given.”
“Audience response has been overwhelmingly positive as well,” he continues. “I give credit to the entire audio crew – including systems engineer Will Foley and Brandon Andreasen, the venue’s head of audio – as well as everyone I’ve worked with at L-Acoustics. They’ve all been critical in the process of creating a whole new audio experience for listeners. L-Acoustics has truly set the standard for immersive experiences with L-ISA. It’s an incredibly innovative environment, and if I had my way, I would only mix on this L-ISA system moving forward!”
Critics Praise the Sonic Innovation
This isn’t merely legendary artistry meeting audio innovation; it’s a transformation in three dimensions, where every beat, breath, and whisper finds its perfect place in space – and audiences aren’t the only ones taking notice.
Essence magazine praised: “The (L-ISA sound) system transformed the concert, making it feel as though Jackson’s music surrounded every member of the audience.”
Ebony magazine noted: “The L-Acoustics sound system heightened the experience – when she rose above the crowd on platforms during ‘That’s the Way Love Goes,’ it felt as if she were singing directly above you, creating a rare intimacy within the 5,000-person capacity venue.”
And according to Forbes: “Janet Jackson’s new Las Vegas residency isn’t just a concert – it’s an experience. We’re talking next-level, immersive, mind-blowing technology that puts you right in the heart of her performance. It’s more than just hearing music; it’s feeling it. And at the core of all this magic? The L-ISA Hyperreal sound system.”
Inside Las Vegas’ First L-ISA Installation
Three years ago, the 5,000-capacity Resorts World Theatre, operated by Concerts West/AEG Presents, became home to the first fixed install of L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology in Las Vegas. Having hosted residencies by Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and others, the sophisticated venue uses more than 200 L-Acoustics loudspeakers to comprise an immersive aural environment that stands out on the Las Vegas Strip.
Montreal-based Scéno Plus served as the theatre designer, further overseeing the venue’s technology, while L-Acoustics Certified Provider (CPi) Solotech integrated the 7.1 audio system with design support from the L-Acoustics Application team. The system consists of an L-ISA Scene setup of seven arrays of 14 K2 enclosures flown across the stage width, left-right out-fill arrays of 12 Kara, plus two center-flown arrays of eight KS28 subs each. Twenty-four KS21 subs are located under the stage, and 16 5XT five-inch coaxials are positioned across the stage lip, functioning as spatial front-fills thanks to an L-ISA algorithm. Many A10i Wide enclosures provide delay and seven channels of surround for each of the three balconies, with additional A10i found in the lighting booth. A combination of LA12X, LA4X, and LA2Xi amplified controllers drive the system, which also uses the L-ISA Processor II. Eleven P1 processors enable the bridging of Milan-AVB, AES/EBU, and analog audio with the time-aligned redundant signal distribution.
The extended run of Janet Jackson: Las Vegas at Resorts World Theatre comprises six shows set to take place on May 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, and 31. For more details on the residency, visit: https://www.rwlasvegas.com/entertainment/janet-jackson
