International. The Trilogy Tour recently selected a complete JBL VTX A Series stadium sound reinforcement solution provided by Sound Image/Clair Global to power headliner performances by Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Pitbull in stadiums across North America.
In 2023, three iconic artists, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Pitbull, teamed up for the North American Trilogy tour, with three distinct headline performances each night. The 2023 leg of the tour kicked off on Oct. 14 in D.C. and included stops in New York, Miami, Houston, Las Vegas and more and concluded on Dec. 16 in Vancouver. The 2024 leg began Jan. 30 in Fresno and includes stops in Denver, Austin, Toronto, Nashville, Atlanta and ended March 10 in Tampa.
In order to deliver arena-ready mixes with balanced coverage, detailed clarity, and maximum impact, Enrique Iglesias' FOH mixing engineer, Brad Divens, collaborated with Pitbull's FOH mixing engineer, Will Madera, and Ricky Martin's FOH mixing engineer, Jorge Frontera, to specify a complete sound reinforcement with the JBL VTX system for the tour.
"I met VTX on a previous tour with Brad and Enrique Iglesias, and for the last 6 or 7 years, VTX has been on our show," said Will Madera, Pitbull's FOH mixing engineer. "The first time I heard it, I fell in love. It translates my mix very well. I love the bass and the definition of the mids and highs. It has that pop rock sound that I really like. It was a unanimous decision to choose JBL VTX on this tour and it was definitely the right choice."
The Trilogy Tour's JBL VTX sound system featured a total of 96 VTX A12s with a main mount of 20 cabinets per side and side mounts of 16 cabinets per side, and auxiliary mounts of 14 speakers. To deliver a strong and controlled bass presence, the team specified 42 VTX B28 subwoofers, with 24 subwoofers hung with the main set and 16 subwoofers on the floor in front of the stage. The equipment also included 12 VTX A8 speakers stacked on top of the floor subwoofers to provide front-fill coverage.
Both Madera and Divens praised the quality of work of Bill Chase, the tour's systems engineer, and expressed that they had complete faith in the JBL VTX sound system's ability to translate their mixes consistently night after night on different stages of the tour.
"Bill Chase is our systems technician and he's really good at making it sound exactly the same every day in every room, which is the hardest thing to do," Madera said. "The JBL system worked consistently on this tour, which makes our job easier. It's been one of my best touring experiences so far, I have no complaints. It's great to be able to share with amazing engineers like Jorgito and Brad. I admire their mixes, they are amazing at what they do. It was a great learning experience."
