Daze Between New Orleans returned to Faubourg Brewery on 30 April 1 May 2024. Now in its third year, the festival showcased two stages, both powered by Official Sound Partner Meyer Sound.
Meyer Sound systems were provided by Upscale Productions of Lake Charles, Louisiana. PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers returned to the main Daze Between stage, paired with the 2100-LFC low-frequency control element. The Jerry Garcia Wellness Stage centered around LEOPARD compact linear array loudspeakers, supplemented by 700-HP and 900-LFC low-frequency control elements. Both stages featured MJF-210 high-power stage monitors; systems were managed by Galileo GALAXY 816 and 408 processors.
Daze Between Production Manager Sami Slovy noted that both artists and fans at Daze Between have high expectations for sound. “Our genre is mostly jam bands, with some rock, and there are a lot of audiophiles in the fan base,” she explained. “They’re looking for it to sound good and clear.”
Slovy noted PANTHER’s sonic performance and ease of deployment. “It has so much to offer,” she said. “The clarity and weight aspect are things that are really attractive as an event producer. When we send our specs out to touring engineers, they’re so excited to use the rig.”
“Meyer really knocked it out of the park with their new designs, and I really think PANTHER is an exceptionally beautiful festival box,” said Chris Hebert, who mixed FOH for Galactic and the Krasno/Moore project. “It eliminates amp racks on stage, and now you can have that in a smaller, lighter frame box that can perform the way it does. That’s really a game changer.”
Chris Bargy mixes FOH for Gov’t Mule, he appreciated the ease of dialing in the PANTHER system at Daze Between. “I didn’t get to tune the PA like I usually do, but I said, it’s a PANTHER. I know what it sounds like. Let me listen to the instruments really quick and we’ll be good to go. I was able to focus on mixing rather than diagnosing the PA. As front-of-house engineers, it definitely takes a lot off our plate when we don’t have to worry about the system,” he added.
“That’s the best part about PANTHER: You can expect nothing unexpected,” added Hebert. “You just open the PA up and it’s consistent the way you would expect your mix to be. It’s like mixing on studio monitors.”
Production teams appreciated the power and performance of the 2100-LFC low-frequency control element, especially paired with PANTHER. “They really pack a punch, and they’re so compact,” said Slovy. “They’re great to work with; they’re way easier on load-in and load-out.”
“It really is a musical sub,” added Hebert. “It’s warm and welcoming instead of just blasting you in the face, and it blends perfectly with the top boxes.”
The weather at Daze Between brought wind, dramatic temperature fluctuations, and New Orleans’ humidity into the mix but both PANTHER and LEOPARD performed. “When the humidity changed after the second set, everything still sounded great,” said Bargy. “With a lot of boxes, as the sun goes down and temperatures change, the sound will change,” continued Herbert. “But the Meyer Sound systems stayed very consistent.”
“People know that they’re going to get exceptional quality,” concluded Slovy. “And that helps elevate the event all the way around.”
