Virginia Beach, VA (September 28, 2026)—The numbers don’t lie; the first Virginia Beach Super Girl Surf Festival, held earlier this month over Labor Day Weekend, was a massive undertaking, with the on-the-beach event hosting 4,000 female athletes participating across 14 sports; 24 fitness and wellness classes; 22 concerts; and more. Providing much of the production for the event were Shadow Mountain Productions, Cardon Audio Productions and Media Minds.
The World Surf League competition drew fans from far and wide to its festival village, as well as to see the music lineup, which included Switchfoot, CeeLo Green, Lupe Fiasco, Gym Class Heroes, B.o.B, Collie Buddz, Bryce Vine and HIRIE, among others. The audience area was estimated at approximately 200 feet wide and 500 feet deep. An Allen & Heath dLive S7000 served as the front-of-house console, paired with a dLive S5000 at monitors, while an Avid S6L was brought in for Switchfoot’s headline set. dBTechnologies DVX DM15 wedges covered stage monitoring, supplemented by Shure Axient Digital PSM in-ear systems and ULX-D wireless.
• Discover more pro audio news—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!
Shadow Mountain Productions supplied the majority of the production package and provided lighting and video for the festival. Cardon Audio Productions contributed dBTechnologies VIO S118 subwoofers and VIO L1608 line array modules, while additional VIO L1610 modules and VIO S218 subwoofers were cross-rented from Baltimore-based Media Minds. Cam Cardon of Cardon Audio Productions designed and deployed the loudspeaker system and served as system technician, A1 and front-of-house engineer. Brandon McMeen mixed monitors, with several touring acts bringing their own engineers.
The main P.A. was built around left and right arrays of 10 VIO L1610 three-way line array modules. Two VIO S118 subwoofers were flown in line with each array, extending low-frequency support from the same elevation as the mains. Ten VIO S218 dual-18-inch subwoofers were deployed on the ground, with two cabinets positioned behind the forward line to create an end-fire array and control low-frequency energy behind the system. Four compact VIO L1608 modules provided front-fill coverage across the first rows.
• Apple Music Hall Venue/Studio Complex to Open in London
“The system sounded phenomenal,” said Cardon. “I was impressed by the amount of clarity we had hundreds of feet away. The throw from the L1610s was really impressive. The subwoofers sounded punchy and clean, and you could feel them all the way down the beach. The L1610 and L1608 sound very similar, so using the L1608 as front fill integrated seamlessly into the overall system.”
