Melanie Martinez “Trilogy Tour” Centers on Cohesion P.A.

Lititz, PA (February 3, 2025)—Melanie Martinez recently wrapped up her Trilogy Tour, which took the alt pop star around the globe through the arenas of the U.S., U.K., Europe and Mexico. Using audio production provided by Clair Global, Martinez’s audio team fielded a sizable Cohesion P.A. in order to meet the artist’s production demands.

FOH Engineer James “Mo” Butts explained, “Cohesion is the only P.A. that should be on her tours; it is so efficient, so precise and so clearly what I want a P.A. to do. It was never a question.”

The Cohesion system included 16 CO12 boxes used on each of the main hangs adorning either side of the stage , followed by 14 CO12s on both side hangs, and a dozen more on each of the rear hangs. Bolstering that, there were 12 Cohesion CP218 II+ in two hangs of six in cardioid configuration deployed directly behind the main hangs. System Engineer Anne Butt explained that the low-end response of the CO12 resulted in only six flown subs needed per side. “We were able to deploy the PA with such precision. We put the downstage edge of the PA right at the edge of the thrust, so [Martinez] wasn’t ever in the PA,” said Butts. “Mo likes the way the CO12 sounds out of the box, so I spent less time targeting a specific response and focused on consistency, which was a high priority on this tour.”

Cohesion Debuts Two New Fill Speakers

Depending on the venue, five to seven Cohesion CO8 around the stage’s edge provided fill. A typical arrangement called for four CO8 on stands and one near the thrust hidden behind fake foliage. Paul “Arlo” Guthrie, Production and Lighting Designer, explained, “We created this great, organic world, filled with greenery, little animals and butterflies—how could we work out not having a black trapezoidal box on it? We didn’t want to break the illusion. Mo and Annie were creative and flexible with solutions to respect the aesthetics. That meant a lot to me.”

“We flew the PA as high as we could possibly get it. It worked well tucked in and disappearing in the black above the production,” said Butts. “The shape of everything allowed it to disappear. We knew we were going to deploy with nothing on the ground too. That got Arlo excited. This PA is so efficient it allowed us to do that.

“Our largest demographic are ages 10 to 20,” she added. “Every night, I walked the upper bowl, and those kids were singing, taking videos, and understanding every word Melanie says. That clarity and consistency was so important. It was exciting to go to the back row of the 300s and see kids who scraped their money together have an experience they’ll always remember.”