RG Jones goes "Back to the 80's"
2nd September 2009
English Heritage have been promoting their successful summer Picnic Concert series at London’s Kenwood House and Audley End in Essex, and RG Jones was once again the chosen sound supplier throughout the festival season.
For the final weekend in Saffron Walden, featuring Back to the 80’s, with an all-star line-up, followed by The Last Night of the Audley End Proms (headlined by Katherine Jenkins and featuring a Spitfire display) and we assembled our own “strictly ‘80s” technical line-up.
For acts like The Human League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Go West and Heaven 17, we signed up our own “old school crew” including Jim Lambert project/production managing and Al Woods mixing FOH.
With the spectacular Audley End House providing a stately backdrop, these concerts take place in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable, with a natural rake towards the stage. There are nevertheless environmental issues for the system to contend with. “In fact it’s the toughest issue we face here,” admits Jim Lambert, who first worked on this event 18 years ago.
At the mix tower position, set 66m back from the stage, the threshold is set by sound consultants Vanguardia at 88 dB/A/Leq, and the hangs are angled down to prevent the sound drifting on the prevailing wind to the ancient town of Saffron Walden on the perimeter of the site (set 250m back from the stage). Propagation tests are carried out and the sound restricted.
Fortunately we have a wide experience of this site, setting three delay masts across the back of the mix position to give a lateral spread, while Al Woods and Jim Lambert evolved a solution whereby four Synco Martin W8LM Mini Line Arrays would provide outfills at each side of the stage for the sell-out performances.
With Kenwood House running simultaneously it added up to another busy weekend for the RG Jones sound crew. “In fact it’s been one of our busiest summers,” admits RG Jones Director John Carroll. “It kicked off early with War of the Worlds and Glastonbury, which prepped in the second half of May and since then it’s been relentless. Also, aside from the concerts and festivals running through the summer, we are also covering the major UK athletics meetings at Birmingham, Crystal Palace and Gateshead”.
Picture of Jim Lambert, back in the 80’s!