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Tour Beats the Pandemic with an 80-Ton Boat

Violet Road bought an 80-ton boat, turned it into a tour bus on water, added an Alcons PA and kept touring this past summer.

After COVID-19 scuttled Violet Road’s summer tour, the Norwegian band bought a 73-foot boat and transformed it into a tour bus/stage on water.
After COVID-19 scuttled Violet Road’s summer tour, the Norwegian band bought a 73-foot boat and transformed it into a tour bus/stage on water.

Norway (December 9, 2020)—The pandemic has brought concert touring to a halt around the world this year, but that didn’t stop Norwegian folk-rock act Violet Road, which traded life on the road for life on the high seas. When the group’s 60-plus date summer tour went up in smoke, it turned around and bought an 80-ton boat, transformed it into a tour bus on water—with its own built-in stage and Alcons Audio PA—and then booked 18 socially distanced concerts at different ports.

The Vulkana is a 73-foot former fishing vessel, built in 1957 and later rebuilt as a spa and tourist craft. With space for 17 people—a crew of five and 12 passengers—it had everything the band needed, including a full kitchen, below-decks lounge with a fireplace, sauna heated by a wood-fired oven, hot tub on the aft deck and, most crucially, a diving board.

[/media-credit] The boat sports a simple Alcons system based around six LR14 and BF181 compact subwoofers

When tied up at piers, Violet Road played on the foredeck to on-shore audiences of up to 200 socially distanced people. Ensuring the sound could reach the crowds, engineer Arne Grimstad opted for a simple Alcons system based around six LR14 and BF181 compact subwoofers, powered and controlled by a Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controller.

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Bassist Hogne Rundberg explained, “We needed a compact, lightweight PA that didn’t take up much space on board and was easy to handle. At the same time, we did not want to compromise on the sound quality in any way for open air audiences.”

Once everything was in place, the band set sail on its coastal summer tour of northern Norway, starting in Furuflaten and ending, one month later, in Lysnes. Lead singer and guitarist Kjetil Holmstad-Solberg shared, “I have never been on a more comfortable tour. Your bed was close and you did not have the stress of catching planes, trains or other transport. This really gave touring a more pleasant flavor.”

Violet Road • www.violetroad.no

Alcons Audio • www.alconsaudio.com

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