
Kelly Clarkson Realizes Meaning of Life on the Road with DiGiCo posted: 02/06/2019
Supported by CLAIR Global, Kelly Clarkson's recent two-month, 28-stop Meaning of Life tour was her first real return to the road since 2015
CLAIR Global sends FOH Engineer Chris Michaelessi and Monitor Engineer Bob Lewis out
with newly upgraded SD7 Quantums and 32-bit Mic Pre-Amps, and there's no looking back
Although Kelly Clarkson has performed numerous one-offs and festival shows since the launch of her eighth and most recent studio album, 2017's Meaning of Life, this year's eagerly anticipated two-month North American trek in support of it marked the artist's first proper return to the road since 2015's Piece by Piece tour. For Chris Michaelessi who has served as Clarkson's FOH engineer since 2011, the availability of the new Quantum engine for DiGiCo's flagship touring console couldn't have come at a better time.
I've always enjoyed mixing on the SD7 and was really looking forward to having the new, faster and more powerful engine for Kelly's Meaning of Life tour, he says, getting his wish fulfilled by CLAIR Global, Clarkson's longtime touring reinforcement provider. Once I started the using SD7 Quantum, paired with the new 32-bit Stadius Pre-Amp cards for input, I was immediately struck by how much headroom the console has gained with the new engine, he says, noting that the difference was immediately noticeable both in terms of overall sound and managing console gain structure.
Quantum's major increase in processing power has also made his overall setup simpler. The new preamps definitely have a more musical sound; I found myself using less channel EQ than ever before, he notes.
Chris Michaelessi (shown) manned the FOH mix each night on a newly Quantum-equipped SD7 while Bob Lewis piloted an identical desk up in monitor world
When he's not completely booked up with Clarkson dates, Michaelessi has juggled single shows and even full tours with other high-profile rock and country acts, including Miranda Lambert and Third Day. In 2017, I worked full time for Miranda and managed to do all of Kelly's rehearsals and shows, except for a small handful. The two schedules worked out in such a great way; I am sure that was a once-in-a-lifetime year! Since the beginning of 2018, I have been working full time with Kelly.
In addition to those artists, Michaelessi has done full tours as a system engineer for more pop acts, including Sara Bareilles and worship artists Mercy Me. As such, he's more than just a console jockey, and understands the intricacies of designing input/output schemes, including the fiber loop capability that became standard with the Quantum upgrade. On this tour, we're not sharing input racks, he describes. Bob Lewis, who has been at the monitor end of the snake with Kelly since 2017, is also on a SD7 Quantum and we're each running a separate loop for these shows.
Lewis reports that his experience with the new kit has been equally rewarding. The lows, mids and highs are all very natural and warm with the 32-bit cards and Quantum processing, and that amazing sound quality was immediately noticeable, he enthuses. Plus, with 13 band members and multiple guests joining us each night, Quantum's Nodal Processing has been a great advantage. EQ and compression can often vary significantly from one in-ear mix to the next, and this new feature has made mixing monitors so much easier.
Both Michaelessi (shown) and Lewis appreciated the Quantum engine's major improvements in processing muscle, flexibility, features and sound quality
Michaelessi and Lewis work with an artist who has avoided being pigeonholed in terms of genre for all of her now nearly two-decade career. The original American Idol winner's catalog covers a lot of ground, including country (two Academy of Country Music awards in 2011 for her duet with Jason Aldean on Don't You Wanna Stay, touring with Reba, and live duets with everyone from Trisha Yearwood to Vince Gil) and rock (a Grammy in 2006 for Since U Been Gone). She also has buckets of pop hits, including Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance for Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) in 2012 when the album Stronger took home the hardware for Best Pop Vocal Album. Stylistically, she may be all over the map, but when it comes to audio, her early-2019 tour was a big pop show with the kind of input needs that have become de rigueur for pop's top artists. Both FOH and monitor world each had a pair of SD-Racks completely outfitted with the new-for-Quantum 32-bit I/O cards.
We had all 112 inputs full in the two SD-Racks we had for FOH, Michaelessi explains. That number includes all of the standard stuff for the band, plus talkbacks, guest mics, guest inputs and a few of what I call once every third show' inputs.
Michaelessi also made use of another popular DiGiCo feature on some of his more crucial channels: I used DigiTube on about ten inputs. I really like it for its ability to add warmth and a bit a growl.
The FOH engineer further appreciates the robustness and dependability of the Quantum platform, because he knows-as do those designing future products for DiGiCo-that all of this ever-evolving tech is only important in service of an artist, their music and their fans. When he was recently in Las Vegas for Clarkson's gig hosting the Billboard Music Awards, no one knew until after the show, but his artist was suffering a full-on, super-painful bout of appendicitis for the entire week, including during rehearsals, a mid-week one-off in Los Angeles, back to Sin City for the Billboard broadcast and then straight into emergency surgery the moment the show was over.
She's a total pro, Michaeles
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
27/06/2026
There's no doubt that you've seen the world through Amy Vincent's ey...
27/06/2026
Brings together saturation & lo-fi effects
Following on from the release of their Voxcraft vocal-processing plug-in, UJAM have announced the launch of Retro...
27/06/2026
A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA Wo...
27/06/2026
Why CRAS Upgraded to Symphony I/O MK II When an audio school runs studios all day, every day, gear doesn't just need to sound good , it needs to survive rea...
27/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/06/2026
Krotos Video to Sound Plugin Now Available for Adobe Premiere Pro
Brie Clayton June 26, 2026
0 Comments
Editors can analyze footage, generate synchron...
27/06/2026
Mirai Media Elevates Digital and Broadcast Productions with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 26, 2026
0 Comments
Studio uses Ultimatte 12 HD and Po...
27/06/2026
DURHAM, N.C. - JUNE 26, 2026 - Lutra Cafe & Bakery has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at American Tobacco Campus after owner Chris McLaurin operated...
26/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
26/06/2026
Strike Fighter League (SFL), a professional air combat digital sport combining f...
26/06/2026
Wisycom has announced three new additions to its professional wireless ecosystem...
26/06/2026
Eurovision Services inaugurated an expanded Master Control Room (MCR) in Madrid on June 1, 2026, building on a broadcast hub the company has operated in the cit...
26/06/2026
Midco Sports and the University of North Dakota (UND) have announced a two-year ...
26/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both part of the Panoptec Technologies Group, have appointed Vutec (Pty) Ltd as exclusive distributor for their KVM and ...
26/06/2026
Visit Seattle, the official destination marketing organization for Seattle and King County, has launched what it describes as the world's first drone scoreb...
26/06/2026
CP Communications provided RF video, audio, and crew communications support for ...
26/06/2026
Produced by longtime partner Echo Entertainment, the action-sports property is now a team-based year-round league
The inaugural season of the MoonPay X Games L...
26/06/2026
The deal establishes MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control, maintaining the well-known MRMC brand.MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems has acquired the assets ...
26/06/2026
PX1 will debut at Sonoma as TNT leans into super-slo-mo, drones, SMT data integr...
26/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
26/06/2026
Virtual session musician plug-in gains new percussion options
Celemony's latest update for their virtual session musician platform complements the exist...
26/06/2026
Half-size model joins Console 1 line-up
Shortly after the release of their new Flow Studio controller, Softube have announced the launch of another new surf...
26/06/2026
ELT Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial...
26/06/2026
For Teddy Swims sold-out I've Tried Everything But Therapy tour, event technology specialists, PRG, provided video, automation and lighting across 19 date...
26/06/2026
Modern exhibition and event venues face the challenge of seamlessly integrating traditional conference technology, professional broadcast workflows and IP-based...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Neko Oji: The Guy That Got Reincarnated as a Cat Edited with DaVinci Resolve Stu...
26/06/2026
Adobe to Acquire Topaz Labs
Brie Clayton June 25, 2026
0 Comments
Adobe has seen strong demand for its AI products for creatives, including Adobe Fire...
26/06/2026
Berklee Students Earn Dedicated Section at Raindance Film Festival in London Five documentary short films produced in the Africana Studies Department screen a...
26/06/2026
How IMS Productions and FOX Sports scaled coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500.
The last lap of this year's Indianapolis 500 delivered the kind of ending...
26/06/2026
Flicker Productions to produce five-part docu-reality series following women who have fallen for men in prison and have become TikTok sensations, with brands an...
26/06/2026
Catch up on the latest developments across Baselight and Daylight v7, Nara and F...
26/06/2026
26. June 2026 News
DFT is pleased to announce that a second Polar HQ film s...
26/06/2026
New documentary Freedom Founder: Thomas McKean and the American Revolution airs ...
25/06/2026
Launching a Career in Broadcast Engineering: Academic Paths and Essential Certif...
25/06/2026
This superstar shooter/storyteller from Central Indiana hopes to make his mark in the blossoming sports-documentary and -features space
In the live-sports-vid...
25/06/2026
Presidio and the National Hockey League have announced a multiyear renewal of their North American partnership. Presidio will remain an Official Technology Inno...
25/06/2026
Strike Fighter League (SFL) is the world's first professional air combat digital sport that combines elite human performance and physical immersion with cut...
25/06/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce the global mentoring cohort for...
25/06/2026
The 2026 American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) All-Star Game will...
25/06/2026
Mediaproxy has named Heartland Video Systems (HVS) as its exclusive partner for US television broadcasting. The Wisconsin-based systems integrator will represen...
25/06/2026
Backblaze has formed an agreement with CoreWeave to create The Essential Cloud for AI.
Under the multi-exabyte, $335 million agreement, Backblaze will provide...