Grant - who appeared before the crowd with a KSM9 - also took home Female Vocalist of the Year honours, joining other Shure endorsers Casting Crowns (Group of the Year), her husband, Bernie Herms (Producer of the Year), and Third Day (Best Pop/Contemporary Album) as the evening's big winners.
"Although 16 RF mics may not seem like a lot for an awards show," audio producer Tom Davis of Nashville-based Seismic Sound noted, "when you factor in all of the other wireless systems onstage--guitars, ear monitors, communications, and whatnot--it got to be a bit of a monkey puzzle. It took me a couple days just to map out the traffic once I got all of the requests in from the performing artists on what mics they wanted to use."
Seated at a Euphonix System 5 digital console in the Opry control room, Tom Davis managed the music mix for the show with assistance from Kevin Reinen and King Williams, while Michael Davis (no relation) stood-in as production mixer in the Camp Digital HD video truck.
Music and production mix for the audience was handled by Tommy Hensley and Bob Bussiere, and the monitor mixer was Kevin McGinty. On the music side of the equation, turnarounds between acts generally lasted just three minutes, a harsh reality that was tamed by a practice Tom Davis has honed at the CMAs and other award shows: All the gear for each performer and his or her accompanying band was set up in advance on its own rolling cart in the wings, and then simply pushed into place when needed. Once in place, linking each cart to the house and production truck was as easy as plugging in via a multi-pin stage box.
(Jim Evans)
