Held each summer on a working ranch outside Whitefish, Montana, Under the Big Sky Festival brings more than 20,000 fans together for three days of country, Americana and bluegrass music against the backdrop of Glacier National Park. The Big Mountain Stage, which this year featured Chance Peña, Greensky Bluegrass and many other artists, is constructed from the ground up each year rather than built into a permanent amphitheater. The temporary venue must deliver concert-quality sound across a natural hillside with a 350-foot throw and more than 30 feet of elevation change, all without the use of delay towers. At the same time, Show Imaging needed to meet local noise requirements and minimize low-frequency energy reaching nearby residences, making controlled bass coverage, efficient deployment and directional low-frequency performance key priorities.
Show Imaging designed the Big Mountain Stage around one of the first major festival deployments of the JBL Professional VTX B35 cardioid subwoofer. The system featured JBL Professional VTX A12 and VTX A12W line arrays with flown VTX B35 subwoofers, complemented by ground-stacked VTX B28 subwoofers, JBL Professional VTX A8 loudspeakers for front-fill and out-fill coverage, and JBL Professional VTX M22 stage monitors. The entire system was powered by Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers.
The integrated cardioid design of the VTX B35 eliminated the need for reverse-facing subwoofers, additional amplifier channels and complex wiring, allowing crews to deploy the system using conventional rigging while maintaining directional low-frequency control.
"We've always used cardioid on both stages because we're mindful of the residents," said Mark Lopez, Chief Experience Officer at Show Imaging. "The stage is pointed away from nearby homes, and we're always conscious of how the festival impacts the community. The VTX B35 helps us continue to be good neighbors while delivering the coverage we need for the Big Mountain Stage."
Taylor Wade, Technical Director at Show Imaging, added, "In a traditional cardioid hang, every third subwoofer is reversed and wired differently. With the VTX B35, the cardioid is integrated into the enclosure. You hang it, load the presets and you're done. It made deployment faster and easier while coupling really well with the VTX A12 system."
The JBL Professional system delivered consistent coverage across the festival's natural amphitheater without the need for delay towers, providing uniform low-frequency performance from the front of the audience area to the top of the hillside. The VTX B35's integrated cardioid technology reduced setup time, simplified rigging and helped direct bass energy toward the audience while limiting sound behind the stage.
"We've been doing this festival for several years, and this was the best coverage we've had without delay hangs," Wade said. "We had consistent low-frequency coverage all the way to the top of the hillside, and we didn't receive a single noise complaint during the festival, which is significant for an event of this scale. It speaks to the quality of the system and its ability to put the sound where you want it instead of where you don't."
By combining JBL Professional VTX loudspeakers, Crown amplification and the integrated cardioid design of the VTX B35, Show Imaging delivered a scalable festival system that balanced wide-area coverage, efficient deployment and responsible sound management for one of the country's most distinctive outdoor music festivals.
