Powered by d&b audiotechnik, Governor's Ball Hosts NYC's Biggest Party with Post Malone, SZA, and The Killers

	Stephen Sanchez performing at Governor's Ball Stage 3 in front of the d&B line array. Photo: Maggie Friedman

Billing itself as "New York's biggest party," the Governor's Ball Music Festival was held June 7-9, 2024, in the iconic Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The three-day festival featured over 60 of the world's most popular artists, including Post Malone, The Killers, SZA, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Sabrina Carpenter to name a few. With the help of Gateway Studios & Production Services and DCR Nashville, Governor's Ball festival organizers specified d&b audiotechnik SL-Series, based on previous experience, citing its ease of deployment, broadband directivity control, and low stage volume. The sonic upgrade resulted in praise by fans, artists, engineers, management, and even the festival's founder, who stated: "This year was the best Governor's Ball has ever sounded."

Governor's Ball began using d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers in 2016 and this year's main stage and stage three were equipped with GSL and KSL loudspeakers and paired with SL-SUBs. Monty Curry, the festival's audio designer attributed this decision to SL-Series' ability to deliver powerful, clear sound across the expansive festival grounds, but in a tightly controlled manner with minimal interference between stages and the surrounding residential areas, along with a quieter stage for the performers.

"The tonality, controlled coverage, and SPL provided by SL-Series really impressed me," says Curry, "but the minimal bleed of SL-Series loudspeakers on stage was also huge. They're so damn quiet compared to anything else and it's because of their full-bandwidth cardioid configuration."

"Keeping audio from bleeding between stages and into residential areas would normally be challenging," adds Gateway Studios and Production Services president Andy Gerber. "But with d&b ArrayProcessing and the cardioid dispersion patterns of d&b subwoofer enclosures, we had the ability to control and 'steer' the audio, so it wasn't really a challenge."

For the production teams, the ease of SL-Series deployment also made for a successful event. "Festival production reported that it was the smoothest load in and out they've ever had," continues Gerber. "SL Aiming Plates made it easy to physically steer the arrays while rigging, allowing us to quickly position them. We then loaded Monty's ArrayCalc simulations with ArrayProcessing into d&b's R1 Remote Control software to dial-in the granular fine-tuning."

For DCR's president, Paul Owen, Governor's Ball was his first time deploying a d&b audiotechnik system. When asked why they added d&b audiotechnik to their portfolio he enthused "The quality of the product speaks for itself. We invested in d&b audiotechnik because we wanted the best loudspeaker system that exists, and that's SL-Series. This was the third year we've provided audio for Governor's Ball, but the first year with d&b audiotechnik, and it was our most successful." He also agreed with Gerber stating, "In my 25-year history of deploying PAs, I've never had one deploy as smoothly as SL-Series."

The performances at Governor's Ball 2024 were nothing short of spectacular, with fans, artists, and their teams praising the sound quality as a key component. As Curry relays, "The front of house engineers all said they were 'very happy with the d&b audiotechnik system' and one of the festival's founders said 'it was the best Governor's Ball has ever sounded'."

When asked if he would recommend d&b auditotechnik SL-Series to other festivals or tours, Curry concludes, "SL-Series loudspeakers should be on everyone's rider. They sound great, they fly easy, they're tightly controlled, and spec-wise, they have the highest output out there."

About the System Configurations:

Mainstage: For the Governor's Ball mainstage, Gateway Studios & Production Services deployed 28 GSL8 and eight GSL12 for the main left and right array; the side PA included 24 GSL8, and 30 SL-SUBs were on the ground. For front fills eight V10 and two Y10P were employed. The VIP area featured four Y10P. Side fills were provided by eight KSL8 and four KSL subwoofers. Sixteen KSL8 were utilized as delays. On-stage monitoring included Sixteen M2 Monitors and 4 x B6-SUBs.

Stage 3: For the Governor's Ball stage 3, DCR deployed 28 GSL8 and four GSL 12 for the left and right mains, 12 KSL8 were used as ground-stacked side PA, 28 SL-SUBS were on the ground, 12 Y10P point sources were used as fills and 16 x M4 floor monitors were on stage.