Kacey Musgraves and Loretta Lynn perform during the 48th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Nashville, TN (November 24, 2014)—The recent broadcast of the 48th Annual CMA Awards from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena served up some of the best and brightest in the country music world. While a mix of wireless microphone brands was available to performers, Shure PSM 1000 personal monitors were the exclusive choice for all performances as stage in-ear monitors.
Shure users took home numerous awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year for Luke Bryan, Song of the Year for Kacey Musgraves, Vocal Group of the Year for Little Big Town, and Vocal Duo of the Year for Florida Georgia Line. All performed live during the show.
Led by audio producers Tom Davis and Paul Sandweiss, the production team for this year’s CMA Awards included systems provider ATK Audiotek, which brought in the PA system, wireless mics and in-ear systems, and backline gear, with wireless frequency coordination and system design handled by James Stoffo. The broadcast music mix in 5.1 surround was again provided by M3 (Music Mix Mobile), with Jay Vicari and John Harris at the controls. Inside the arena, the music was mixed by Rick Shimer, while Pat Baltzell handled the production mix.
Monitors for all music performances were mixed by the team of Jason Spence of Nashville’s J Sound Services and independent engineer Tom Pesa. “We had 100 percent Shure PSM 1000 in-ears again this year,” says Spence. “Tom and I had 20 channels available, and we used upwards of 60 wireless beltpacks during the show. We also had four hardwired in-ear systems, mainly for drummers. Those were powered by the Shure P6HW bodypack.”
Spence reports, “The PSM 1000 provides the RF performance required on hostile events such as award shows. And it doesn’t hurt that they have the cleanest sound and the widest stereo image of any IEM system. I received numerous compliments on the ear mixes again this year, and I attribute a lot of that to the sound quality and performance of the Shure PSM 1000.”
House sound mixer Rick Shimer remarked, “Whether they are using a classic SM58 head or the KSM9 condenser, I know I’m going to get that signature Shure sound. And RF-wise, they are solid as a rock,” he says. “It’s amazing how far we’ve come with wireless systems. They are so reliable, we don’t think twice about using them everywhere, even backing vocals, which is a huge help in terms of production and staging. We moved 21 music performances on and off of two stages during a three-hour show, and there was never a glitch.”
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