Kali Uchis Brings Arena Tour to Life with Sound Image and JBL Professional VTX System For her first-ever arena tour, Grammy-winning artist Kali Uchis wanted to give fans not only a visually stunning show but also an intimate and immersive sonic experience. To meet the challenge, Sound Image, a Clair Global brand, partnered with Uchis' touring crew to design a JBL Professional VTX loudspeaker system. The jump to a full-scale arena tour marked a significant leap of faith for Uchis and her longtime front-of-house engineer Danny Munoz, who had guided her sound since her earliest club performances. To meet the scale of these venues, Sound Image deployed a powerful JBL Professional system comprising of 72 VTX A12 line array loudspeakers, 52 VTX A8 loudspeakers for 270-degree hangs and front fills, 24 flown VTX S28 subwoofers, and 16 ground-stacked VTX B28 subwoofers. Power was delivered by Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD and 12000HD amplifiers. When the production designer introduced a thrust and B-stage into the show, the audio team saw an opportunity to bring fans in those areas closer to the performance. Systems engineer Chris "Cookie" Hoff explains how they moved away from the standard front-fill format and placed a total of eight VTX A8 loudspeakers under the thrust and around the B-stage to ensure vocal localization and coverage for fans seated beyond the main PA. Hoff, who has worked extensively with JBL as front-of-house engineer for Styx, also incorporated JBL Venue Synthesis software for the first time on this tour. He prepared designs ahead of show days and found the predictions to be remarkably accurate. Walking up to the upper balconies confirmed the results were "right there," with the system behaving exactly as modeled. Hoff emphasizes how the software was streamlined without overcomplicating workflow, reflecting JBL's user-first approach. Efficiency and flexibility were also a priority on the road. "It's really fast," Hoff says. "We're hanging 20 boxes on the mains, 16 on out fills and 18 A8s on the 270 hangs. Once the points are ready and the cabling is in, it goes up quickly. Even if we have to reset, we can fix and fly again in minutes." For Munoz, the system needed to translate his studio mixes into a live setting without compromise. To make the transition seamless, he also relied on JBL 708P monitors at front of house, which helped him tune his high-frequency approach before stepping behind the VTX rig each night. The consistency gave him confidence that every nuance would scale to the arena setting. "Sometimes Cookie even jokes that with how much gain I have in her mic, you can hear her thoughts," Munoz says. "But even with Kali in front of the PA and fans screaming at 110dB, the system stays cohesive. I just want it to feel like two huge studio monitors in the space, and that's what it does." Behind the scenes, the heart of the production lies with the sound crew. Production manager Sai Hanif has been instrumental in ensuring that the tour had a world-class audio system, championing quality and consistency at every step. Alongside him, Toni Cardow, Zac Gerig, Justin McIntyre, and monitor engineer Schyler Blackman devote long hours each day to making sure the system is ready to deliver at showtime. Their teamwork, care, and relentless effort are what transform the gear into an experience -- ensuring that every night, no matter the city or the challenges, the music reaches fans exactly the way it's meant to be heard. Fans and crew alike noticed the results, with social media filled with comments praising the clarity and balance of the sound. The system's precision gave Uchis the ability to connect directly with audiences in venues that might otherwise swallow nuance, ensuring every lyric carried to the last row. Sound Image's role extended beyond technology -- longtime account executive Kim Sawaya has supported Uchis's team since the beginning, ensuring every audio need has been met as the artist's career has grown. Her partnership and continuity have been instrumental in making the leap from clubs to arenas seamless. 
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