L-Acoustics & DiGiCo for the International Jazz Festival in Tashkent

The festival took place on the open-air site near the Palace of International Forums. Unlike a purpose-built, acoustically calibrated concert hall, an open-air stage does not provide natural acoustic support. The music has to unfold in a space created entirely by a properly designed and tuned sound system. Only this makes it possible to create comfortable, natural conditions for the artists on stage, while delivering a full, detailed, and immersive sonic picture for the audience. That is why the entire sound system must provide controlled coverage, intelligibility, balance, and consistent results across the entire audience area.

For a jazz festival, this is especially important. This music is built on nuance, performance dynamics, and live interaction between musicians, which means the sound system must be flexible, precise, and predictable.

This year, the stage of the Tashkent Jazz Festival featured Uzbek performers and world-class artists, including Leonid Agutin and Therr Maitz, Stanley Clarke, Kurt Elling, Incognito, Tigran Hamasyan, GoGo Penguin, and others.

The complete sound production for the festival was delivered by the YASTREB-Sound team using L-Acoustics and DiGiCo systems. For a programme with such a diverse lineup, it was important to maintain consistent sound across the audience area while remaining flexible enough to work with different ensembles, genres, and technical requirements.

The configuration used at the festival can serve as a reference point for rental companies planning to develop their inventory for open-air events and international-level artists.

To meet the key requirements of festival sound, the L-Acoustics system was configured with K2 for main audience coverage, Kara for the front audience area, KS28 for low-frequency extension and impact, and X15 stage monitors to provide artists with a precise and stable monitoring environment.

Mixing was handled on DiGiCo Quantum 338 and Quantum 326 digital consoles. They helped the team work confidently with different technical riders, a large number of input channels, FOH and monitor mixes, while maintaining control throughout the entire programme.

“For us, it was important not just to provide power, but to preserve the musicality and natural dynamics of the live performance. At a jazz festival, the system has to reproduce vocals, instrumental timbre, and the rhythm section with great precision. The L-Acoustics configuration gave us the coverage, detail, and control we needed for this kind of open-air venue,” said Eduard Asadov, System Engineer at YASTREB-Sound.

“Good sound at a jazz festival is not about loudness for the sake of loudness. It is about giving every artist the opportunity to preserve their own musical character and sound the way they intended,” said Ruslan Yastrebov, Director of YASTREB-Sound.

For Uzbekistan, projects like this are becoming an important indicator of the development of concert infrastructure. Configurations that only a few years ago were associated primarily with European festivals and major international tours are now being used at local events in Tashkent. This shows that the regional market is reaching a new professional level: L-Acoustics and DiGiCo systems are becoming part of the modern infrastructure for major music and city events.

For rental companies, investing in L-Acoustics and DiGiCo is not just an equipment upgrade. It is a move into a new category of projects, with greater scale, ease of use, and the versatility needed to meet the demands of today’s live sound industry.

For organisers, it means the ability to meet the most demanding rider requirements of both local and international artists, increasing the appeal and attendance of events. This allows companies to confidently take on festivals, touring concerts, city events, and large corporate projects. For musicians, it means greater comfort on stage and the ability to deliver not only the music itself, but also the emotions, ideas, and stories behind the compositions they perform. And for the audience, it means the chance to have an unforgettable experience, sing along with their favourite artist, and clearly hear every word.