NEW ORLEANS — Gand Concert Sound recently provided a NEXO GEO T, GEO S, CD18 subs, PS15, PS10 and PS 8 monitors for the Evangelical Lutheran Youth of America Gathering held at the Superdome from July 22-26. The event, attended by 38,000 teens, required a five-day load-in.
Music acts included Skillet, Group 1 Crew, the Katinas, rapper Agape and Peter Mayer from the Jimmy Buffet Band. Sunday morning featured a musical mass with Lutheran Bishop Mark Hanson and communion for 37,000.
The event used the largest NEXO GEO T Tangent Array system ever flown in North America, beating the previous record set by Gand at the Atlanta Dome for Elton John.
The rig consisted of 60 GEO T plus 24 GEO S, 8 CD18s, all flown, and 24 CD18s on the ground. Amplifiers included Yamaha PC9501Ns with NEXO 242 processors. Audio consoles included a Yamaha PM5D, MC7L, and LS9.
Over 100 channels were used for live performance, video playback, spoken word, DJ and theatrical production. The event used three main stages plus two outboard stages in the audience, designed by Steve Bass. Over 7,000 feet of cable was also used.
“We bought the first GEO T system in the U.S. for this event in 2003 and have increased our inventory every year to keep up with the growing demand,” said Gary Gand, president of Gand Concert Sound. “This is our third and biggest ELCA event. The ELCA likes what we do and the NEXO gear has worked flawlessly.”
FOH engineer Adam Rosenthal said, “No other system has the cardioid ability that NEXO provides. I can have it cranking in the house and the band can still hear each other on stage. It’s shocking how good this rig can sound in some of the largest venues in the country, which can be acoustic nightmares.”
The ELCA chose New Orleans Superdome as the site of this year’s event for its seating capacity and ability to house a cross that measures 150 feet high and a stage that measures 200 feet wide.
During the daytime rehearsals, the teens were bussed out to devastated areas for community service including building and painting houses, replanting the Bayou, and assembling school packages for underprivileged students. They distributed 180,000 books and raised $130,000 in coins from their “Change for Change” project.
Mayor Ray Nagin thanked the youth in person for working to rebuild over 200 public sites, claiming they “did 98 years of work in one week.” President Barack Obama sent a letter that was read to the audience.
For more information, please visit www.gand.com and www.yamahaca.com.
