L-Acoustics Environmental System Design Service Restores Community Harmony at Rio Loco Festival L-Acoustics Environmental System Design Service Restores Community Harmony at Ri...
JMSon’s innovative asymmetrical K Series deployment delivers consistent 15-decibel noise reduction across two consecutive festival editions while preserving premium sound quality
TOULOUSE, France – September 2025 – For three decades, the Rio Loco festival has opened Toulouse’s summer festivities, transforming the heart of the city into a vibrant celebration of world music. Located on the Prairie des Filtres site near the iconic Pont Neuf, the festival draws 6,000 daily attendees to its main stage, creating an electric atmosphere along the banks of the Garonne River. However, as urban festivals face increasing scrutiny over noise pollution, Rio Loco found itself caught between delivering an exceptional musical experience and maintaining harmony with the local community.
The challenge was significant. Traditional sound system deployments were creating noise levels that exceeded acceptable limits in residential areas within 50 metres of the venue, with studies showing low frequencies were proving particularly problematic for neighbouring properties. After four years of formal complaints from local residents, festival organisers knew they needed a solution that would satisfy both regulatory requirements and community concerns without compromising the artistic integrity of performances.
Leading into last year’s festival, the Rio Loco production team and L-Acoustics Certified Partner JMSon approached L-Acoustics, seeking expertise that could resolve the conflict. “We needed manage sound levels, directing it towards the Garonne river side and avoiding the residential areas of the Toulouse center,” explains Michael Bufi, Technical Sound Director at JMSon. “Yet it was essential to maintain the premium sound quality our artists and audiences expect.”
The L-Acoustics design team, led by Alexandre Delaby, began by analysing the festival’s unique context: stage orientation, problematic frequencies, and measured sound levels from previous years. Using Soundvision software to precisely model and predict acoustic behaviour, they developed an innovative asymmetrical deployment strategy that would create destructive interference patterns, diminishing SPL in specific directions.
The solution was a pilot of L-Acoustics Environmental System Design (ESD) service, which uses advanced acoustic modelling to create bespoke configurations for challenging environments. The team proposed positioning K1 and K1-SB speakers asymmetrically side by side, to create a cancellation zone along the entire façade of residential buildings, dramatically reducing sound spillage, whilst maintaining full impact for the intended audience area.
To validate this innovative approach, L-Acoustics conducted extensive outdoor testing at their Marcoussis facility in May 2024, confirming that calculated attenuations would translate to real-world performance whilst verifying that the unconventional deployment would maintain premium sound quality.
The final design featured L/R hangs of 12 K1 speakers with three Kara down per side, complemented by L/R hangs of six K1-SB subwoofers per side. Fifteen KS28 subwoofers were deployed in a cardioid arc formation at the front of the stage, using a special preset optimised specifically for the cancellation effect. Stage-mounted lip-fill comprised one Kara speaker per side, whilst front-fill featured two Kara speakers per side.
Implementation on site proved the concept’s effectiveness immediately. Sound level measurements during performances showed dramatic reductions in sound levels off-site: 18 decibels of rejection between 60-100Hz and approximately 10 decibels at 120Hz in the residential area.
“The cancellation on the residential side was unequivocal and immediately evident on the spectrum up to 180Hz,” confirms Jean Charles Schmidt, Touring Application Engineer at L-Acoustics. “We achieved a real solution to the problems of lateral emergence in the bass frequencies.”
The success extended beyond technical measurements alone. Festival organisers invited representatives from the resident’s association to witness sound checks, allowing them to directly observe the significant improvement in noise control. Meanwhile, audience members experienced no reduction in sound quality, with mixing engineers reporting they could maintain their standard workflow with minimal adjustment. The result demonstrated that effective noise mitigation and high-quality audio performance can coexist successfully.
Building on this proven success, Rio Loco festival organisers adopted the identical configuration for their 2025 edition, which concluded on 15th June, confirming the long-term viability of the ESD approach. With two consecutive years of successful implementation, the Rio Loco deployment serves as a comprehensive case study for festivals facing similar urban noise challenges. The consistent results across both editions demonstrate that the service is not only effective but also operationally sustainable.
“We’ve created something that benefits everyone—festival-goers still get that incredible sound experience whilst neighbours can finally enjoy peaceful evenings,” reflects Yann Gael Gicquel, Head of Technical Product Management, Software at L-Acoustics. “This isn’t just a technical achievement; it’s proof that innovation can bring communities together rather than drive them apart. When neighbours who have no technical expertise tell you that they’ve heard a significant difference, you know that you’ve succeeded.”
As urban festivals worldwide grapple with increasingly stringent noise regulations and delicate community relations, the Rio Loco case study provides a roadmap for sustainable event production. The two-year validation period has established L-Acoustics Environmental System Design service as a proven methodology for events requiring precise acoustic control without artistic compromise.
For more information on the Rio Loco festival, please visit https://rio-loco.org/programme/. More information on JMSon can be found at their company website: https://www.jmson.net/.
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