Nashville, TN (August 10, 2026)—Kenny Chesney has always been able to hold a stadium of fans in the palm of his hand, but surely that’s easier to do when you know a team of top production professionals have your back. Key among those pros are monitor engineers Phil “SidePhill” Robinson and Bryan “Opie” Baxley.
SidePhill and Opie developed their team approach through years of collaboration and experimentation to provide Chesney and his band with the best possible monitoring solutions. SidePhill began working with Chesney in 2001 as overall Monitor Engineer, before switching over to strictly Chesney in 2009 after he and Opie began using separate consoles.
“Once we began playing stadiums on a regular basis and had a stage with a large thrust into the audience, it became clear that we needed separate monitoring for Kenny and the band,” explains SidePhill. “I do monitor mixes for Kenny and any stage guests, while Opie focuses his efforts on mixing the band. Together, we’re able to ensure that everyone gets what they need to perform at their best.”
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Much of their monitoring setup centers around JH Audio Layla and Roxanne IEMs. “Isolation and fidelity are the most important things to master when it comes to running a show that can operate in any size of venue,” Opie adds. “SidePhill got everyone on IEMs when he first started, and JH Audio Audio has been the only brand we’ve used since 2007.”
The performers’ IEMs have kept up with the times, however; Chesney has been using JH Audio Laylas since 2018. He has also been customized by JH Audio for use with a two-pin cable for ease of performance.
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“The Laylas offer the best reproduction of Kenny’s vocals for his purposes, and the level of isolation required that he could hear himself even if the crowd is screaming louder than the PA,” SidePhill states. “The ability of JH Audio to 3D Scan and print the ear case instead of mold ensures a better fit and it’s been thumbs up from Kenny since we got them. They keep the boss in tune, in time, and able to perform right in the middle of the crowd without worrying about hearing himself.”
On Opie’s side of things, he and the band use JH Audio Roxannes. He notes, “The fidelity, and separation of frequencies that the Roxanne IEMs have are second to none which means that they are able to get the same great mix that I’m hearing.”
