Texas Student Mobilization Conference

Context

The Team

Student Mobilization Conference in Texas Gets Powerful Concert Sound with K2

For several decades, interdenominational campus ministry outreach Student Mobilization has hosted its StuMo Conference (SMC) at the start of each year as an opportunity for college students on winter break to deepen their faith and friendships. For SMC 2023, held at Frisco’s Comerica Center, more than 3,000 young adults from across the country converged in Texas to sing, learn, pray, and commune.

The Challenge

Considering the variety of stage sessions at the conference—including talking heads, high-energy live worship music, and a late-night session with a DJ set—the PA had to cater to all of these tasks exceptionally well. Despite Relevant being the provider for the conference for the past ten years, their goal this year was not only to design a powerful and highly uniform system but also to address some acoustical issues that they’ve encountered in the past, such as the arena being surrounded by apartment complexes where tenants have complained about the low frequencies emitted from the building.

The Solution

For the conference, Relevant flew main arrays of a dozen K2 per side, each with four Kara II down, while left and right out-fill hangs of eight Kara II provided additional coverage for the arena bowl seats. Six KS28 subs per side, flown in a cardioid configuration behind the main hangs, provided an extended low-frequency response, while X15 HiQ coaxials and SB18 subs offered extra coverage near the stage thrust and supplementary low end for the front rows of the floor. Six LA-RAK II Milan AVB racks, each loaded with three LA12X amplified controllers, powered the main PA, while five LA4X drove a complement of X12 and X8 monitor wedges and stage fills.

Most of the seating is covered by the main hangs, and the audience plane starts almost right below the main PA hangs. This led to the addition of Kara II down to the K2 to cover from the barrier to the top of the arena bowl with one source. Additionally, they flew out-fills this year to improve coverage and tonality and reduce high-SPL exposure from the previous onstage ground-stacked system design.

The Result

Given the wide variety of presenters and performers at SMC 2023, especially those needing a powerful low-frequency presence, they decided to fly KS28 behind the K2 – allowing them to have all of their primary sources in close proximity with each other and have more control over the timing. It also enabled them to create better LF coverage from the front of the arena to the back.

The KS28 hangs also helped address the challenge of neighbors complaining about the frequencies emitting from the building. With the combination of cardioid subs and aligning them with the K2, there was a considerable decrease in the energy behind the stage and outside the building, which reduced those complaints. Furthermore, getting that tight sub-energy into the air reduced the high-SPL exposure for those sitting in the front rows. It also attenuated the LF on the stage, providing a more enjoyable experience for those presenting the music and message.

Both SMC and Relevant Audio + Visual’s team were thrilled with the consistent coverage, SPL, and tonality that the system delivered.

Project photos