However, when I saw the Gallaghers and co play at Cardiff University Students’ Union on 2 June 1994, it only cost me £4.00. I still have my ticket, and when I cheekily shared a picture of it on Instagram and X ahead of the opening night of the band’s 2025 tour in Cardiff, on 4 July, it went viral. 

Experience 

Pricing isn’t the only thing about going to concerts that’s changed since the early days of Oasis – the way gig-goers experience live sound has also moved on, driven by major advances in technology. 

In the early ’90s, most live sound was mixed using analogue desks, but since then digital mixers with advanced DSP (digital signal processing) have become standard, offering sound engineers more control and flexibility over a live mix, as well as more processing power and effects. Digital mixers allow engineers to save their configurations and create more consistent audio mixes. 

In more recent times, AI has been incorporated into some mixing desks – this can help engineers with the setup and calibration, give pointers and assist with the actual mixing process.  

Advanced digital mixers, often controlled by software, use AI to learn and suggest optimal EQ and compression settings for specific instruments or vocalists. 

Line array 

When it comes to the PA for gigs, there has been a shift from ground-stacked, point-source systems – speakers that project from a single physical location, creating a relatively uniform sound field – to line array systems. 

A line array consists of multiple speaker cabinets hung vertically – the main purpose of this is to cover a large area without interference between speakers.  

Large-scale line array systems, which were first developed in the early ’90s by Christian Heil, the founder of French speaker manufacturer, L-Acoustics – 1993’s V-DOSC was the world’s first – are particularly good for handling sound in big venues and at outdoor events, as they offer superior quality, improved clarity, more consistent volume levels, and narrow vertical sound dispersion – audio can be directed towards an audience.  

High quality 

This means that wherever you are in a venue, you should be able to hear the same high-quality sound, regardless of its size and shape. 

“Many technologies have changed over the past 20-30 years – some have dramatically impacted the audience experience, while others have made the creative process faster or easier to deploy and design,” explains Scott Sugden, director of product management, solutions, at L-Acoustics, whose K Series of line array speakers are being used on the Oasis Live ’25 tour, supplied by Britannia Row Productions. 

“The line source array was introduced just over 30 years ago and transformed everything – sound system quality improved, deployment time shortened, and truck space was reduced. It took almost 10 years for line arrays to become commonplace, but now it's odd to go to any show with more than a few hundred people that doesn't have one,” he explains. 

Impact 

Sugden adds: “In the past 30 years, it’s difficult to argue that anything else has had a larger impact for the audience and the fan experience than the line source array.” 

Line array systems are also designed to minimise feedback and distortion, and, because they use multiple small speakers, they can be configured to suit the shape of the venue.  

Sugden highlights how when it comes to live sound at gigs in 2025, there is far less room for error than there was 30 years ago – this is important, especially in the age of social media, when people can easily share their experiences. 

“Now it's expected that everyone, from the first row to the last, has the same amazing sound quality,” he says. 

As Oasis’s Live ’25 tour has proved, rock ’n’ roll will never die – it will live forever – but when you hear it played in a venue these days, it certainly sounds much better than it did 30 years ago. I just wish the ticket and beer prices had stayed the same... 

Stay informed! 

ISE is the world-renowned annual tech show for the AV and systems integration industry, taking place in Barcelona, 3-6 February 2026. For updates on technologies for live events, including audio, lighting and staging, and to discover more about ISE 2026 as details are released, sign up for updates. 

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Photo by Thomas Roberts, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=170591822