SoundGirls.org was co-founded by Keyes and fellow audio engineer Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato around seven years ago. It supports women working in professional audio and music production by highlighting their success and providing a place for them to connect, network, and share advice and experiences.
Our goal was mainly to find other women in audio. We had been working in audio for 20-plus years and we were tired of people going, I've never seen another woman do this', , says Keyes. So we built a website and found other women, because we knew they existed! We offer support and guidance for people starting out and have amazing women blogging for us. We do workshops and meetups and it just keeps growing. Now we're trying to figure out what we can do for our community in this time of need.
Keyes and Pell met online through SoundGirls.org and although the pair have never met in person, they have developed a strong bond.
We keep trying to meet, but our tour schedules never seem to line up, Keyes laughs. Becky is amazing. She used to blog for SoundGirls.org and she's a huge supporter. We've bonded and just stay in touch online.
I didn't realise there were many other women doing this, adds Pell. It's fantastic to have this place where we can come together and support each other. It was hugely inspiring to me, and a bit of a fangirl moment. Pearl Jam is one of my favourite bands, so to discover that the monitor engineer was a woman was really exciting!
Keyes has been with Pearl Jam for 30 years. Her big piece of advice to any engineer is be nice to your support bands. Pearl Jam was my support band when I was out on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, she recalls. I was asked if I would mix Pearl Jam for a half hour slot by the road manager. I said yes and we've been together since then. You never know what's going to happen. So be nice to those departments.
Pell notes that any monitor engineer will tell you the job is 50% technology 50% psychology. When she started working with Westlife, technology was starting to come into its own, but was not as refined as it is today. In their earlier days, the screaming level coming out from the audience was just nuts, like any boy band very young girls with high pitched voices. Technology has improved and progressed since then, and the band have honed their craft. I can make them much more comfortable on stage now; they can hear themselves and actually enjoy the performance thanks to the improvements in technology.
But as important as the technology is trust. It's everything, Pell adds. The band need to feel heard. They need to feel that you've got their back because they're totally reliant on you. You need to be on your A game for them. We all have different ways of doing things and different modes of mixing. With Westlife, the guys just liked the sounds that I made, and we seem to click. So much of it is down to relationships and not assuming that you know what they want. It takes time to build up that kind of relationship.
Both Pearl Jam and Westlife use a mixture of wedges on stage and in-ear monitoring, which makes for a more complicated set up. Both rely on DiGiCo consoles to give them the capacity and flexibility they need, with Keye's using an SD5 and Pell and SD10, SD5 or SD7, depending on availability in different territories.
The SD5 has been amazing, says Keyes. I love the sound and the power it has, and I can set it up however I need it to be. I've set mine up pretty much to run as an analogue console. My main job is to be paying attention to the band, so I have I pretty much have everything I need on the surface.
I like to keep things fairly simple, so I only use additional processing if it's really necessary, adds Pell. I'm a big fan of getting the gain and EQ right, so I tend to use parametric EQs on the vocals and across all the output mixes. I like the multiband compression and the dynamic EQ that the DiGiCos have on board these days. The multiband compression is very sensitive and just lets me smooth out any slightly barking frequencies or anything when they're really belting.
The SD7 has been my usual package, But I agree with Karrie about the fact we're supposed to be looking at the guys, not at the desk. I love the way you can lay things out however you want and use them - and the fantastic processing power. I find DiGiCo's very intuitive to use and you can tailor them to your workflow and the way your mind sees things. That means you can look at that stage, rather than the console.
This is particularly handy, as both engineers have developed their own short hands with their bands.
Last time we were doing a run of baseball stadiums, Eddie invited some baseball players to the show, smiles Keyes. He introduced me to a pitcher, or a catcher, and he was explaining to them that just like they have hand signals, that me and him have signals too!
More often than not it can just be a glance and you'll lock in with what it is that they want, says Pell. Some of [Westlife] like to be a bit cheeky with me and give me the oh my God, I can't hear anything!' look, and then go haha, I'm just joking'.
The overarching piece of advice both engineers have for when the industry opens up again is to have a good attitude.
Attitude is everything in this industry, says Keyes. If you go to work, you have a good, gung-ho attitude and work as a team: you're going to get it done and you volunteer when you're done doing whatever you need to be doing. If you're generally in a good mood, people are going to want to be around you and continue to work with you.
It doesn't matter what age you are and how long you've been in the business - if you're a pain in the butt to work with, people
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
SoundGirls.org was co-founded by Keyes and fellow audio engineer Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato around seven years ago. It supports women working in professional audio and music production by highlighting their success and providing a place for them to connect, network, and share advice and experiences.
