The International Theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino is one of Las Vegas’s most celebrated historic performance theaters. Renowned for its superstar residencies, it has played host to a variety of major acts for decades including Elvis Presley, Liberace, Wayne Newton, and The Righteous Brothers. Since 2018, the 1,600-seat room has hosted an ongoing residency from Barry Manilow in addition to regular visits from other major touring acts throughout the year. Seeking to be equally as hospitable to the sound production teams of visiting engineers as well as its own staff, The Westgate acquired a pair of Midas HD96 consoles for stage monitoring and front of house duties.
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Befitting its historic status, the Westgate has become a popular port of call for a wide variety of legacy artists. In addition to its relationship with Manilow, the venue also regularly plays host to acts like Elle King, Kool and the Gang, George Clinton, and more. The consistently high quality of its artist bookings has also made it a popular destination for the recording of live album recordings and TV specials. This sets a high bar for its sound reinforcement systems. “This is the room that Elvis built so we take that reputation very seriously when it comes to how we support the artists who perform here,” said Westgate head of sound Cory O’Brien. “It’s an incredible place to play and we want to leave both the artists and audience feeling like they saw a life-changing show.”
One of the challenges of live sound at the Westgate is creating a workflow that suits the needs of its long-term residencies as well as those of the visiting sound engineers that accompany major acts. Seeking a rock-solid system that could work in its existing infrastructure while also being easily compatible with other gear led O’Brien to seek out the Midas HD96. “We knew that we didn’t want to compromise on the audio quality or the flexibility of what we’d be able to do,” he said. “We also wanted a console that visiting engineers could get comfortable with quickly.”
“The ease of use and superior sound of the Heritage D series already had a great reputation which led us to seek them out.”
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The evolving needs of its chief residency also informed the choice. As Manilow utilizes his own front of house systems to get an optimal vocal mix, the Westgate’s complimentary system needed to be seamlessly compatible while also handling sound for his large backing group. “Barry has a big band including three keyboards and a horn section that we want to ensure get an incredible mix every night,” O’Brien explained. “The functionality of the HD96 suited these needs perfectly.”
After acquiring the consoles through Sweetwater, O’Brien worked alongside Midas’ Chase McKnight and the team at AVL Media Group to quickly get them up and running. The install was seamless and perfectly fit into the existing framework of the historic theater. “One of the advantages of working with Midas—and by extension AVL—is the level of accessibility there,” he said. “We’re fully a Midas house now and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it. They’ve given us great support on this project and knowing that we can easily reach a human being if we ever have a problem is a game changing difference.”
“It’s really been a seamless transition and the results speak for themselves—it sounds amazing and visiting engineers are always thrilled to use them."
