Shure captures the sound of the Grammy Awards
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For another year, Shure Axient Digital wireless microphones were relied on by the show’s production teams and the musicians and celebrities, including the evening’s host, Trevor Noah. Nearly every performance of the night implemented Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring systems, totalling 28 channels with 160 Shure P10R bodypacks. Overall, this year’s Grammy Awards relied on 59 channels of Shure wireless.
The entire broadcast was helmed by a team of veteran audio engineers and sound technicians, including audio producer, Michael Abbott, production mixer, Tom Holmes, and music mixers, John Harris and Eric Schilling. Front of house was overseen by production mixer, Jeff Peterson and FOH music engineers, Ron Reaves and Mike Parker. Monitor engineers included Tom Pesa and Andres Arango. “Shure’s PSM 1000 was a staple of this year’s Grammy Awards. We relied on more channels of PSM than any other year before,” said Arango.
"Having just completed the 65th annual Grammy Awards, I always rely on Shure microphones in creating the sound for the broadcast music mix,” shared Schilling. “Shure mics are used in several areas of our music performances, including featured performers. This year I was able to use the Shure KSM11 head on Mary J. Blige and Lizzo with great results."
Music’s biggest night was taken to Higher Ground with a performance of the classic Motown song from Stevie Wonder. Joined by Chris Stapleton, Stevie’s spirited vocal performance was captured by a Shure KSM11 cardioid condenser vocal microphone paired with a Shure Axient Digital wireless transmitter. The KSM11 was also used by Smokey Robinson, one of MusiCares’ most recent Persons Of The Year, who joined Stevie for a rendition of his song, Tears Of A Clown.
Before receiving her award recognition for Record of the Year, Lizzo took to the stage with a gospel choir, plenty of optimism, and a Shure KSM11. Lizzo empowered audiences around the world with her hit, Special. Lizzo’s monitor engineer, Rico Gonzalez oversaw the performance, trusting Shure Axient Digital to capture the magic.
"The KSM11 is a new standard. The clarity helps Lizzo’s vocals stay in front of the mix with little effort," said Gonzales.
As with every Grammy Awards, frequency coordination played a crucial role in managing the staggering amount of wireless used throughout the show. Steve Vaughn, Soundtronic’s RF Coordinator, managed this task expertly with the support of Axient Digital and, for monitoring, Wireless Workbench.
“Whether the GRAMMYs are hosted in Vegas or LA, I can trust Shure digital wireless to provide reliable support in the world’s most challenging RF environments,” said Vaughn. “Wireless Workbench gives me the control and flexibility these large-scale events demand.”
