Originating in Miami’s vibrant film scene of the 1990s, ToeJam Backlot was one of the first film production companies on South Beach. Today, it has evolved into a sought-after event space and party venue. Its outdoor Boom Shack Stage, with a capacity of 1,000, has hosted electrifying live performances by artists such as Zoë Kravitz, KRS-One and Bad Bunny.

Gearing up for its end-of year double header, the venue collaborated with promoters Third Eye Hospitality and Diskonect to bring together a line-up of 18 international house DJs across two nights, making full use of both its indoor and outdoor spaces. First up, a fundraiser for the return of DISTRIKT at Burning Man 2025 with headliners DJ Lee Burridge and German duo Âme, followed the next night by an event headlined by Green Velvet and Tiga.

Described by Third Eye Hospitality as ‘an intimate venue with big production’, ToeJam called on regular audio collaborator and fellow Miamian business Nomad Sound Systems to guarantee the sound was as impressive as possible. Based just 30 minutes from the popular venue, Nomad is a full-service audio rental and sales company specialising in Funktion-One systems.

“We have a long history of working with this venue,” says Nomad Director of Sales, Jason Rault. “Over the years we've tried many different deployments, from flying Evo 7 systems to ground-stacked Res 5 speakers, which have all performed brilliantly and helped us evolve to where we are today.”

For this event, Rault’s focus was not only on creating a fully immersive audio environment. With such a big line up, the objective was to also maximise footfall by reducing the amount of floorspace required to deliver it.

“The venue recently installed a permanent trussing structure and it made the most sense to proceed with a flown VX system,” explains Rault. “This enabled us to focus on limiting the floor space and maximising the venue's capacity for guests.”

He continues: “The promoters gave us creative freedom. We started off with the idea of a high ‘monoblock’ subwoofer arrangement off to one side; primarily to create a more even bass response, but also to avoid creating a disconnect between the artists and the crowd. We then added some bass reinforcement on the opposite side to ensure complete coverage. We also used some brand new Evo 2s with the amazing Butterfly Plates in the backstage area. Those are a joy to work with; compact, light, powerful and beautifully designed.”

The setup utilised 10 flown Vero VX90 full-range vertical array elements, 12 F121 horn-loaded bass speakers stage right and six more for stage left. Monitoring was provided by two pairs of PSM318 DJ Monitors. ToeJam’s indoor setup comprised of two Res 2 speakers, two F221 and two F101 as monitors.

Nomad Sound Systems has been working with Funktion-One since its formation in 2016 with an initial investment of four Res 2 and four F221 cabinets, doubling up to eight of each and adding two PSM318 less than a year later. In 2019, the company purchased a Funktion-One Dance Stack system (DS210 and F315) and, despite global uncertainty throughout the live entertainment community, the company doubled down on stock during Covid. Today it has over 300 cabinets in its rental inventory, making it one of the largest Funktion-One inventories anywhere in the United States.

“We were very happy with our Res 5Ts and Evo 7Ts, but the natural progression was Vero VX and moving toward easier-to-fly speakers,” says Rault, who first experienced VX at Burning Man.

Applying the same acoustic principles as Funktion-One’s popular Vero sound system to a much more compact footprint, Vero VX combines sonic excellence and intelligent rigging to give the best of all worlds. 

“They definitely impressed me,” says Rault. “Adding VX to our inventory has opened up so many doors. It allows us to bid for much bigger jobs like arena and stadium events where line array style cabinets are a prerequisite. Funktion-One’s Projection design and prediction software enables us to show clients how we plan to deploy the system and what sort of coverage to expect across all areas.

“This combination of technologies really delivered at ToeJam Backlot, with even and consistent coverage across the audio field. Standing at the front or back of the venue, the audio experience was equally enjoyable and comfortable.”