College Station, TX (18 Sept 2024) – George Strait made history on June 15, 2024, performing to a record-breaking crowd of 110,905 fans at Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field. The “King at Kyle Field” concert, powered by d&b audiotechnik SL-Series loudspeakers, set a new benchmark for the largest single ticketed concert in U.S. history.
Strait is the unambiguous King of Country Music, having sold more than 105 million albums and counting, while earning more than 60 major entertainment industry awards, as well as countless nominations, and becoming the only act in history to have a Top 10 hit every year for over three decades. With 33 different Platinum or multi-Platinum albums, he’s earned the third-most certifications of any artist in any genre, following only The Beatles and Elvis Presley, and with a total of 60, Strait has more No. 1 songs than any other artist in history. However, this monumental event brought unique challenges that required innovative solutions from Strait’s system engineer Chris Clarke, along with their audio equipment provider, Spectrum Sound.
Clarke was tasked with designing a loudspeaker solution to accommodate the concert’s in-the-round format and the complex geometry of Kyle Field. Additionally, he had to address Strait’s sensitivity to low-frequency sound on stage, a common issue with in-the-round concerts.
To achieve this, Clarke, along with Strait’s front of house engineer George Olson and Spectrum Sound’s director of business development Bobby George, deployed a combination of d&b audiotechnik GSL and KSL loudspeakers and SL-SUBs, with meticulous planning facilitated by d&b’s ArrayCalc simulation software.
SL-Series, well-known for its precise broadband directivity control, was an easy choice for the production planning team based on their previous experience. “Our biggest audio concern in staging an in the round show is eliminating the on-stage, low-frequency noise generated from the rear of traditional loudspeakers and subwoofers used in that configuration.” Clarke shared. “Fortunately, the full-bandwidth cardioid pattern provided by GSL, KSL, and the SL-SUBs offer incredible rear rejection, so you hear practically no noise on stage.
“Our biggest challenge was audio coverage,” Clarke further explained. “In a normal configuration, we have a wider spread of arrays and delays that allow us to maximize audio coverage. In the round requires that we place arrays in the corners of the stage, creating a traditional L/R configuration on all four sides. To achieve full 360° coverage of all seats from left to right and top to bottom, the arrays’ horizontal coverages are pushed to their limits.”
Kyle Field’s immense size and unique geometry also posed significant challenges. Clarke chose the d&b GSL system for the “long throw” sides of the stadium to provide the necessary power and coverage, while the KSL system was used for the “short throw” sides to accommodate the venue’s tight geometry. This strategic placement eliminated the need for delay towers, while maintaining clear sight lines for the audience.
Clarke emphasized the effectiveness of the d&b audiotechnik system, “Whether fans were on the long- or short-throw side of the stadium, up close or in the nosebleed section, I knew that with d&b audiotechnik GSL and KSL, they would be enjoying the same consistent sound. The dispersion and power covered all 110,905 seats and it was provided efficiently.”
The success of this massive undertaking was a team effort. Clarke praised the collaborative planning and execution, highlighting the contributions of tour team members and the critical role played by d&b’s ArrayCalc and R1 remote control software in show planning and execution.
The concert not only set a new attendance record but also showcased the power and versatility of d&b audiotechnik systems. George Olson reflected, “Setting an U.S. attendance record feels great, but I can’t emphasize enough what a joy it was to sit at front of house and hear that many people singing along while dancing in the aisles. The night was magic. Thank you d&b audiotechnik.”
About the System Configuration
The specific configuration for The King at Kyle Field included four hangs of 20 x GSL8 (80 total) over 4 x GSL12 (16 total), four hangs of 22 x KSL8 (88 total) over 2 x KSL12 (8 total), 6 x SL-SUBs flown per corner for a total of 24, 32 x SL-SUBs on the ground, 17 x Y10P front fills, and 120 x D80 amplifiers.
About d&b audiotechnik.
d&b audiotechnik provides professional audio technology and solutions to accurately transfer passions through high-end quality speech and music reproduction. d&b audiotechnik Is Internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems In Installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system Integration principles, and pioneering technological development.
Founded In Germany in 1981, d&b audiotechnik headquarters are located In Backnang, near Stuttgart, where research, development and production take place. With sales offices in major cities around the world, the d&b audiotechnik team numbers more than 600 co-workers.
