Live Stream Concerts

FWSO America Strong Televised Concert, Virtual Event Audio Visual

July 24, 2020

Onstage Systems was honored to be a part of the creation of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s 4th of July concert, virtual event. The “Celebrating the Best of America in a Trying Time” concert event took place at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth and featured guest appearances from various Fort Worth feature performers with a special guest appearance by Fort Worth native and Broadway star Major Attaway.

Featured Performers

Major Attaway (Broadway’s Aladdin)
Fei-Fei Dong (The Cliburn)
Megan Koch (Fort Worth Opera)
David Schrenk and Andre Silva (Texas Ballet Theater)

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has performed their 4th of July concert performance at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens as part of its Concerts in the Garden (CITG) series for over 20 years. Onstage Systems has had the pleasure of supporting the FWSO and their collective of truly majestic musicians for over 25 years.

Watch the Virtual Event Concert

This year the CITG event was canceled due to COVID-19 public health concerns. Instead the performance virtual event production was pre-recorded in the closed Dickies Arena on June 26th and broadcast on July 4th by ABC-affiliate, WFAA. The pyrotechnics display was provided by Pyro Shows of Texas. The recorded concert was then hosted online for viewing by the FWSO and WFAA.

2019 George Strait Concert, Dickies Arena — Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The event’s 100 person attendance of performers, building, and technical crews was in vast contrast to the last Dickies Arena event that Onstage was a part of. The last time Onstage Systems provided production services at an event at the Dickies Arena was George Strait’s 14,000 capacity crowd per night with two sold out performances in 2019, less than one year ago.

Virtual Event Audio

Onstage Systems provided virtual event audio design, multi-track recording, post-editing, and mixing through a Digico SD10 console with over 90 individual channels. A major challenge facing the FWSO musicians was the ability to hear each other. To comply with social distancing the usual two foot span between musicians was increased to over six feet. Additionally, the arena lacked the familiar acoustic sound shell. To compensate Onstage Systems provided various monitors (IEMs, wedges, hot spots) and L’acoustics Syva for fill.

Virtual Event Lighting for Concerts

In addition to the event’s audio production, Onstage Systems provided all the stage lighting design, programming, and operation. The 75’ square performance area was lit by Varilite stage lighting fixtures. The fixtures were selected for their intensity and features to properly cover the performance area. Onstage further collaborated with WFAA to optimize the stage lighting for video recording.

Event organizers hope the recorded performance to be a one time affair and the FWSO will be able to resume their Concerts in the Garden event production in 2021. Learn more about Onstage System’s audio visual services or see more featured work.

Virtual Concert Event Production for Sonic Soul Tribe

July 1, 2020

Onstage Systems helped produce a 12-hour international, virtual concert event for Sonic Soul Tribe. The performance took place in April of 2020 and featured artists and performers from across the United States and abroad performing live on stage and remotely.

Sonic Soul Tribe is a not-for-profit electronic and experimental music and art experience based in Dallas, Texas, born from the Burning Man festival. The collective is a music, art, and production experience that seeks to gift dance, art, and community to those looking for a new way to connect, celebrate, and rejoice in the human experience.

Learn More About Onstage System’s Virtual Event Production Services

The virtual concert was a great challenge to bring together. Logistics demanded coordinating live streaming performers across the world. The event’s 12 hour duration required incredible stamina and discipline from the Onstage team to produce.

To keep the virtual concert entertaining, Onstage Systems mixed video graphics, picture-in-picture, and simultaneous performance feed switching of remote artists’ live streams. In addition to music and spoken word performances, the virtual concert also featured visual performances including body painters, flow artists, fire performers, dancers, and more. This allowed Onstage Systems to marry visually entertaining performances with auditory entertainment by combining performance streams.

Part of the virtual concert included a live, stage performance at the Onstage Systems warehouse in Dallas, Texas. The stage performance was set up and produced with a “safety first” approach. The Onstage team maintained social distancing during setup and live production. The staff followed the latest health safety guidelines and wore masks throughout. Additionally, Onstage coordinated the performers setup in shifts to minimize contact between all staff and performers.

The virtual concert event production was flawlessly executed by a team of camera operators, video technicians, audio technicians, and lighting designers. To bring the Sonic Soul Tribe virtual event all together, the Onstage team relied on premier equipment from Elation Lighting, L-Acoustics, DiGiCo, and Panasonic.

Watch the Sonic Soul Tribe Virtual Concert on Twitch Video on Demand (VOD)

COVID-19: How Virtual Concerts and Live Stream Events Can Help

April 1, 2020

There hasn’t been an event like the coronavirus in our lifetime. Millions of Americans are quarantined at home, seeking some form of escape from their fear and worry. And musicians and entertainers are frustrated that they can’t provide the euphoric release that so many need – at least in person. This is why Onstage Systems is now ready to bring you virtual concerts.

While VR (Virtual Reality) concerts have been on the industry’s radar, now the adoption of this technology has been accelerated at a lightning pace. From the simple, such as social media live streams and virtual concerts, to complex fully VR-enabled concert experiences, the time is now to rock the crowd from their couches.

Dallas-based Onstage Systems is leveraging decades of live show experience and technical know-how to lead the charge.

Taking the virtual stage will bring new challenges. It’ll take more than just amazing performances and great content to keep the energy going. How will performers feel the energy of the crowd when they’re not performing in front of one? And how will audiences feel dancing, singing along and getting loud when they’re self-isolated?

Artists and their audiences may struggle at first to find the same raw energy they get from being there in person. And real-time events allow no room for mistakes, production snafus or connectivity issues. Audiences have come to demand pitch-perfect audio, perfect lighting, and cutting edge special effects. These virtual events must match – or even eclipse – their expectations. These acts need to hire professionals who are just as concerned with perfection as they are.

Despite the stripped-down nature of many of these performances, audiences will soon demand the level of concert experience that they’ve come to love. Perfect audio. Dramatic lighting. Dynamic staging. Explosive special effects. And multi-camera setups that may create an even more intimate experience than attending a show in person.

Despite the uncertainty of when live events will return, there remains plenty of opportunity. Live streams and virtual concerts will be the perfect way for artists worldwide to work with one another and corporate partners to create entirely new fundraising streams for charities ready to help those impacted by this crisis.

For example, Josh Groban, JoJo and Russell Dickerson are working with Billboard to present live stream concerts that will help a variety of non-profit partners such as the American Red Cross, MusiCares, the National Coalition for the Homeless and more.

DJ D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions also created a buzz with his ten-hour Homeschool party, which also featured appearances by Oprah Winfrey and Joe Biden.

In an unprecedented move, the producer Diplo was able to convince nearly every major publisher and record label to allow him to use their music in his live-streamed DJ sets, with all royalties being paid to all those whose music is played in the shows.

Obviously, the world has changed quite suddenly. Yet it’s also the right time for artists, entertainers, musicians, non-profits, and corporations to come together and provide something special for those doing their part and staying inside during the quarantine.

There’s never been a more critical time to entertain America. Those that do so will create experiences and memories that will last forever.

Just as you need the right crew to ensure that live shows happen without a hitch, you need a virtual partner ready to answer these challenges. A virtual events production partner like Onstage Systems.

For more than forty years, Onstage has been an innovator at the forefront of event production innovation. While others are scrambling to perfect virtual concert and entertainment experiences, they’ve already helped world-famous artists like Willie Nelson and Bette Midler virtually thrill their loyal fanbases.

Our team of industry veterans is ready to help in any way possible. Connect with them today by phone at 972-686-4488, via email at info@onstagesystems.com or via our website onstagesystems.com.