Kenny Chesney’s 2024 “Sun Goes Down” Tour brought the sounds of the summer to more than a million fans in every corner of the United States. A versatile and powerful Cohesion PA supported Chesney’s anthemic, heartfelt setlist across eighteen stadiums and a variety of amphitheaters with premier vocal intelligibility and full-venue coverage.
The variety of venues utilized on “Sun Goes Down” demanded supreme flexibility from the audio system—both in the versatility of the individual products and in their ease in rigging. The same system that provided precision directivity in a 19,000-person amphitheater on Thursday would need to have the output to throw to the upper reaches of a 65,000-seat stadium on Saturday. Clarity and musicality of the system were also of significance for an artist whose music is lauded for its every man sensibility and heartfelt lyrics.
Clair Global deployed a Cohesion system that demonstrated the strengths of both the CO Series line arrays and the newer CF Series fill products. For stadium configurations, 16 CO12 on the mains, 18 CO12 on the sides, and 12 CO10 on the rear hangs provided ample output and coverage for the majority of seating, while six flown CP218 II+ and another 26 beneath the T-thrust provided significant low end. Sixteen CF14 under-stage and one CF28 under the T-thrust covered the standing-room area in front of the stage. Amphitheater and smaller venue configurations reduced the subwoofers and front fill quantities and swapped CO10 for the CO12 side hangs.
The CO12 and CO10 arrays, including two delay towers with two hangs each to deliver energy and stereo imagery to the farthest seats, faithfully reproduced audio 350–400 feet from the stage. With the PA flown high to accommodate two LED video walls underneath the arrays, the CF Series of products, mounted and placed under-stage, covered those in the “sandbar” area—a favorite zone of “No Shoes Nation”diehards. Cohesion’s ease in handling made rigging a breeze, and its lightweight nature allowed the production team to eliminate a full truck, a considerable savings.
“We need a cabinet that can throw, can handle the timing, clarity, truck space—all that. I knew the Cohesion system would be able to handle all environments without problem. It sounded beautiful.”
108 CO12, sixteen left-right mains, eighteen left-right side hangs, and two delay towers with two hangs of eight each plus ground stacks of four on either side (when necessary)
24 CO10, twelve left-right rear hangs
38 CP218 II+, six flown left-right in cardioid configuration, 26 ground-stacked under the thrust
1 CP118+ behind drum riser
1 CF28 under the thrust
16 CF14, eight on either side of thrust under the thrust and atop CP218II+
4 CM14, 1 behind drum riser and three as wedge monitors for guitars
72 CO12, sixteen left-right mains and two delay towers with two hangs of eight each plus ground stacks of four on either side (when necessary)
48 CO10, twelve left-right side hangs and twelve left-right rear hangs
12–15 CP218 II+, three flown left-right in cardioid configuration, 6–9 ground-stacked under the thrust
1 CF28 under the thrust
4–8 CF14, eight on either side of thrust under the thrust and atop CP218II+
4 CM14, 1 behind drum riser and three as wedge monitors for guitars
