Clair Solutions at Ole Red Nashville
- Details
The five-story Nashville location features a main stage on the first floor, two levels of dining, a large private rental space - The Hall at Ole Red - and a rooftop with stunning Broadway views. During the rehabbing of the 100+ year-old building, preferred AVL integration firm, Clair Solutions, was hired to design and install all of Ole Red Nashville’s audio, video and lighting systems. Clair Solutions was given the task of integrating a concert-level performance experience into the heart of the venue’s main dining spaces.
“We have a long history with Clair Solutions and have completed a lot of successful projects with its team, including the recent installation of a comprehensive new JBL sound system in Ryman Auditorium,” says Jeff Hatfield, technical services director for Opry Entertainment Group, a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties. “We have a unique legacy in the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium, and everything we do has to meet or exceed the high bar we’ve set at those venues.”
The Clair Solutions team travelled to Tishomingo, Oklahoma to integrate AVL for the first Ole Red and are currently working on the third location, Ole Red Gatlinburg.
“Ole Red Nashville has a lot going on, and we determined early on that its AV system should allow any audio or video source to be routed to any output destination,” explains Dan Heins, regional vice-president of Clair Solutions. A Dante-enabled BSS Blu DSP system handles the audio routing logic while a Ross Audio switcher handles the video routing logic.
“Inputs include an array of streaming and local media, including a special integration that allows Blake Shelton to “call” into the bar and interact with the audience from anywhere in the world. A custom Crestron control panel system allows Ole Red staff to select a destination and then to assign any input to that destination, with intelligent links between audio and video where appropriate.
The first two stories of the building are combined, with part of the second floor retained as a balcony overlooking the room’s main attraction: a 20’ x 15’ stage for frequent performances by local, regional, and national acts. A stereo set of deeply musical Clair Brothers kiT Series line arrays, with kiTCurve12 full-range elements and kiT-Sub subwoofers, cover most of the floor and balcony. Clair Brothers F28-VP loudspeakers serve as under-balcony delays.
Clair Brothers 1AM wedges and a kiT-Sub-mini handle on-stage monitoring, and Lab.gruppen D-Series amplifiers power the system. A Yamaha digital CL-5 console commands the system from FOH.
A combination of ETC, Chauvet, and Elation lights controlled from High End Systems processors and interfaces provide exciting and well-balanced stage lighting. “I’m proud of the flexibility and usability of the lighting system at Ole Red,” said Michelle Caron, theatrical lighting designer with Clair Solutions.
The private event hall occupies floor three and the rooftop indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar occupy floor five. Clair Brothers 12-CX and Tannoy CMS803I in-ceiling loudspeakers provide routine audio coverage, with amplification from Lab.gruppen and additional processing from BSS. A Barco projector and a mobile Da-Lite screen provide video output in the event hall, whereas flat screen TVs provide coverage in the fifth-floor restaurant/bar. Chauvet moving lights and a lighting grid, combined with High End’s HedgeHog controller, set the right mood for any kind of event, again with flexibility and power.
(Jim Evans)
