This coming Saturday, September 26th is Round Barn Blues in Kirksville, MO. It’ll be my 5th Round Barn to run sound for and my second to help with the design work. Its an incredibly unique experience in a one of a kind venue. There’s 4 bands, a big bonfire, and some of the best BBQ in Kirksville.
Being in a round barn with wooden walls and very high ceilings, there are some unique challenges to running sound. In most venues, you can work to have a consistent sound at different levels as you move around the venue and away from the speakers. In the Round Barn, not only are there different levels of the mix in different locations based on proximity to the speakers, but different instruments sound different based on where you’re standing in the barn as well. In addition to the sound system, the walls add a natural cyclical reverberation and amplification to the sound. In addition to the walls the audience members in the barn can pad or absorb certain parts of the sound as well. All this goes to say that its one of the most unique mixing experiences that I’ve ever worked with. Its an exciting challenge and makes working with each band that much more interesting.
As far as the design goes, its a combination of the barn and the blues. Really, the event is unique because of how the awesome venue really changes and enhances the music. So, I thought that a simple way of visualizing that message would be to create this barn and guitar icon. To me, the radiating lines represent the music as it comes through the open barn door like a megaphone out into field for those at the bonfire to enjoy as well.
Check out more details about the event here: http://kirksville.net/roundbarn/
