Bringing Nashville to the UK posted: 07/07/2017
Adlib was delighted to be chosen by the production team from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, to supply lighting, audio and crew to the recent UK arena tour by the stars of the CMT hit musical drama TV show, Nashville .
Tony Stephens was the popular tour manager who headed the ship with tour director Betsega Bekele.
This, the first arena size tour here for the phenomenon, featured an incredibly talented house band backing a selection of stars from the show like Charles Esten, Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack and Jonathan Jackson, who played a lively jukebox mix of favourite songs from the latest series, together with their own original material and some unexpected covers.
Adlib's Phil Stoker masterminded the audio elements, designing and specifying an L-Acoustics K2 / KARA rig that he knew would work well for the music and the vibe in the venues on the itinerary. Nashville's engineers John Dauphinee (FOH) and Mark Richards (monitors) worked alongside Adlib's Mezei Marci, Martin O'Grady and Antonio Calvi on the road.
Lighting was looked after by Charlie Rushton, with a design created by Adlib's in-house team to a brief received from Nashville touring producer, Steve Buchanan and their show caller, Ken McGriff, both of whom were on the road with the show.
The live matinee show
The Sounds of Nashville
The main PA hangs - in their largest configuration - were 14 x K2 loudspeakers with 12 x KARAs for the side hangs, supplied with all necessary rigging, complimented by 16 x ground stacked KS28 subs, plus some KARA and ARCS for infill and lip-fills.
The key was keeping the system flexible, solid and reliable says Phil. The country music and theatre style of the performance also made K2 an ideal choice.
Venues ranged from London's Royal Albert Hall to Manchester Apollo, where two shows were shoehorned into one day, to accommodate as many fans as possible when the planned Manchester Arena show had to be moved due to the building still being closed following the terrible events of 22nd May.
OH engineer John Dauphinee on his Avid Profile.
The FOH console was an Avid Profile, picked by John Dauphinee and the Yamaha CL5 on monitors was chosen by Mark Richards.
The processing was taken care of by a standard Adlib Lake rack loaded with two LM 44s, two LM 26s in conjunction with the L-Acoustics Network Manager which controlled the LA12X amps.
Adlib also supplied a 16-way Shure IEM system and 12 x d&b M2 wedge monitors plus a full mics-and-stands package. The mics included an assortment of Shure, AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AKG and Audix products.
The rapport between the band and the soloists was very tight, and there was also a very proactive relationship between performers and audience as the whole Nashville musical concept transitioned seamlessly from the small screen into an epic live experience.
The Lights of Nashville
After the initial creative brief that it should resemble a large TV-style set with two side IMAG screens, Adlib introduced some basic touring elements with three LX trusses overhead and a drapes truss upstage to hang the straightforward Nashville backdrop.
The moving lights comprised 21 x Martin MAC Viper profiles, 12 on the front truss for key lighting, with five on the mid and six on the back for specials and effects.
The show at Manchester Apollo.
These were enhanced with 16 x MAC Viper Washes, five on the front and back and six on the mid truss.
Six Chauvet Strike Four LED blinders' completed the downstage truss, perfect for the audience participation moments. The stage was finished off with 20 x Chauvet COLORado Batten 72 Tour LED Battens to light the Nashville backdrop and focal point of the stage.
The grandMA2 full size console was run by Tom Webber, with a PC system as a backup. Tom was joined by Jeff Bond on the lighting crew to complete the Lighting team alongside Charlie Rushton.
The desk was set up and programmed to be flexible. Tom worked closely with Ken to adapt the show each day as the set varied from show to show. They needed adaptability and scope to operate on-the-fly, rather than be limited by regimented and pre-cued looks. Ken called the show and follow spots, while Tom took care of the lighting operation.
Adlib supplied a Green-GO wireless/wired combination comms system, running wireless out to the two Robert Juliat Merlin FOH follow spots. They had a show ring set up for all to hear and a dedicated channel for Ken and the follow spot ops - so the rest of the crew didn't have to hear the spot cues. The video crew's separate comms system could also be patched into the master Green-GO system, connecting all the technical departments which was extremely useful.
Adlib Touring Crew
The two shows in Manchester Apollo really captured the mood and emotion of the city which stood united and strong in the wake of the Manchester and London terror attacks.
Adlib account manager Phil Kielty reports It has been a real pleasure dealing with Tony and Betsega who pulled all this together so smoothly. At the Apollo show particularly, there was a great mix of poignant and rousing songs to which everyone in the venue responded, with lots of audience interaction, solidarity and energy - a classy show with plenty of heart, soul and substance, with which we were all very pleased to be involved, he concluded.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Bringing Nashville to the UK posted: 07/07/2017 
