Road Warriors 12 Sep 2017 Stories From The Touring Women Who Keep The Music Sounding Sweet Listen, I'm not going to treat you like a girl.' Dana Wachs is recounting her interaction with a male staff member at a show she was working as front of house tech. Wachs is a self-professed gear nerd and a self-taught jack-of-all-trades who works as an audio engineer, tour manager, and monitor engineer. But in effect, by saying that, what he did was to treat me like a girl,' said Wachs.
Dana Wachs at the controls.
The gendering of roles within the audio and technological side of the music industry is one of the more complex parts of the problem found in dealing with misogyny and sexism in music. Is this discrimination founded on ignorance or are people really that condescending and threatened by women in the field?
I've definitely had band members or audience members or other techs, who are like, Do you find it hard being a female tech?' As if it's never crossed their minds that I could do this, said Rachel Ryan, over the phone from her home in Los Angeles between tours. It's just that they've never seen a female tech, so they're genuinely confused. That's coming from a very different place than just let's talk about your experience as a female, as an engineer, as both'.
Rachel Ryan, FOH engineer, unloading a touring rig.
Sharon Levinson - another FOH engineer who doubles as tour manager for acts like Amon Tobin, Swans, and Kid Koala - approaches it from a slightly different perspective. When I was 20, when I first started, I looked like I was 15, so it was probably less about the fact that I was a girl and more about the fact that I looked 15 and probably didn't know what I was doing, said Levinson. [Men not taking me seriously] doesn't happen as much now as it used to. Or if it does, it's usually only the first five minutes and then they realize I know what I'm doing and it's not an issue.
Sharon Levinson, FOH engineer and tour manager, takes a break backstage.
When I was younger, I did experience a lot of condescension, said Wachs. But that may have been because of the fact that I was just young and nothing to do with being a woman. Other times, it seemed more obvious that I was being targeted because I was a woman. If there is any difference between the way men and women techs work with each other within the industry then Ryan, Levinson, and Wachs all seem to share a similar view: That it is more about individual styles and personalities than boys versus girls. It always depends on the individuals, said Levinson. I've been hired by bands that include girls specifically because I'm female being the only girl on a tour can be isolating, but if there are two of us (or more) it kind of cancels out the gender issue.
Tour life is gruelling. Twelve hour days, hundreds of miles of driving, organizing a crew of 40, weeks away from friends and family, solving problems on the fly. On the recent Deerhunter/Kings Of Leon tour, the fiber communication between the FOH console and the split somehow died just two minutes before their set, Wachs recalls. I ended up having to mix FOH from the monitor console, using the monitor engineer's show file with no effects, low-pass engaged in every channel, on headphones, probably about 50 feet behind the mains. That definitely brought my heart rate up a bit!
These problems can sometimes be magnified or diminished, depending on the context and the country. In Japan, many of the crew were women. said Wachs. They worked hard. Everything was efficient and ran smoothly.
Ryan has had similar experiences working abroad during her time out on the road. I've definitely been to other countries where I've been the only female tech and they've never seen one before, said Ryan, who has been behind the board since she was a teen. Working with bands like Silversun Pickups, School of Seven Bells, Phosphorescent, and Little Boots, she has an enormous amount of experience. I happen to work with a lot of female bands who are specifically looking for female crew or have female band members, she said. I also work, within the industry, with a lot of men, who are engineers or tour managers or even in bands. This last tour, out of 45 people, four of us were female.
I hate to separate female engineers, but because there are issues, usually from males in the industry, we need to talk about it or else it will never change. - Dana Wachs, Touring Engineer
Ryan has a great fondness for some of the women she's had the pleasure to work, with behind the board and on stage, over the years. I love all the girls that I've met, she said. We run into each other on tour. It's good to have that community of people - male or female, it's good to have a support system. Touring is hard, whether you're male or female. It's important to have your people to keep you grounded.
Ryan is part of a few different female-focused groups, including The Knife Set (a group of women all working in tour management, audio engineering, and tech). She is also a member of Soundgirls, an online resource center and community for audio engineers, of which Wachs is also a member.
Soundgirls not only shares plenty of job opportunities, but is a resource for technological troubleshooting, as well as supporting women in a vastly male field, said Wachs. I hate to separate female engineers, but because there are issues, usually from males in the industry, we need to talk about it or else it will never change.
The importance of these discussions and facts becomes clear for both the recognition of issues and the successive dismantling of the currently male-dominated workforce. There are not a lot of women in this industry. said Ryan. If we don't talk about
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Road Warriors 12 Sep 2017 Stories From The Touring Women Who Keep The Music Sounding Sweet Listen, I'm not going to treat you like a girl.' Dana Wachs is recounting her interaction with a male staff member at a show she was working as front of house tech. Wachs is a self-professed gear nerd and a self-taught jack-of-all-trades who works as an audio engineer, tour manager, and monitor engineer. But in effect, by saying that, what he did was to treat me like a girl,' said Wachs. 
