NASHVILLE — The 57th Annual CMA Awards returned to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 08, 2023 for country music’s biggest night, and Shure technologies played a part in the evening’s success. Lainey Wilson (pictured here performing at the event with an AD2 handheld wireless with a black KSM11 capsule) was the big artist story at the show. Just one year after winning New Artist of the Year, she won five awards including Entertainer of the Year. Wilson led in nominations, becoming the first woman to prevail in that top category since Taylor Swift in 2011.
Other Standouts
Along with Wilson, other standouts included Jelly Roll, this year’s New Artist of the Year, and Chris Stapleton, who won his seventh CMA Award for Male Vocalist of Year. Stapleton also impressed the critics with his performance of “White Horse,” the lead single on his fifth studio album, Higher, which was released Nov. 10, two days after the ceremony was broadcast live on ABC and streamed live on ABC Instant Access and other platforms.
The CMA Awards also lauded Luke Combs for his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which was named Single of the Year, and honored Chapman herself for the original, released 35 years prior (before Combs was born), which was named Song of the Year. The evening also included tributes to the late Jimmy Buffett from Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally, who performed “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” and Zac Brown and Alan Jackson (along with most of the live audience) singing “Margaritaville.”
“A Big Fan”
Rick Shimer, the show’s FOH music mixer, has been “a big fan of Shure’s Axient Digital Systems since they came out. The sound is crystal clear, which helps me get vocals on top of everything else, even when the mics are out in front of the PA,” he said. “Considering the diverse group of artists and voices we had this year, it’s great to see so many artists use their favorite Shure mic that works for their voice,” added Shure’s Ryan Smith.
The audio crew for this year’s event included: Tom Davis – Audio Producer; J. Mark King – Production Mixer; Peter Gary – Music Mixer; Eric Schilling – Music Mixer; Paul Sandweiss- Audio Coordinator; Rick Shimer – FOH Engineer; Pat Baltzell – House production mix; Jason Spence – Monitors (stage left); and Tom Pesa – Monitors (stage right).
Shure’s channel count included: 24 channels of PSM1000 IEM hardware and 22 channels of Shure Axient Digital wireless. Clair Global supported the event’s sound production needs.
The Artists and the Gear
Artists using Shure gear at the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards:
– Lainey Wilson (AD2 handheld wireless mic with black KSM11 capsule)
– Dan + Shay (AD2 with SM58 and AD2 with KSM9, respectively)
– Chris Stapleton (wired, vintage 40+ year old SM58)
– Jordan Davis (AD2 with KSM11 capsule)
– Luke Combs (AD2 with KSM11 capsule)
– Wynonna Judd (AD2 with KSM9 capsule)
– Tanya Tucker (AD2 with SM58 capsule)
– Little Big Town (Two AD2 with SM58 + Two AD2 with KSM11)
– Luke Bryan (AD2 with SM58 capsule)
– Ashley McBryde (AD2 with KSM9 capsule)
– Carly Pearce (AD2 with Beta 58A capsule)
– Morgan Wallen (AD2 with Beta 58A capsule)
– Alan Jackson (Beta 58A capsule)
For more info, visit www.shure.com.
