Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Britannia Row supplies Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory tour

Tour and production manager Stewart Chown, who works alongside remote production manager Gareth Russell, has trusted Britannia Row’s services with many of their touring acts over the course of their careers. So, when American singer, songwriter and musician Sharon Van Etten announced she’d be touring a new record with her band The Attachment Theory, Britannia Row’s expertise was required once again.

“The band aspect is quite a new thing for Sharon, and our brief was to bring everything up to a certain production level”, says Chown. “It’s not a huge tour - our audio package is economical - but we wanted to make it as efficient as possible to give Sharon and the band the best production for their touring budget. We’re good friends with our Account Executive Jonathan Dunlop, so he was our first point of call for audio. We’ve hand-picked our crew; we’ve got a mix of people from the UK and the States who as well as having the technical ability and professionalism required, we knew would click with the artists.”

Creating a flexible solution to varying venue sizes has been a fundamental element for this new musical set-up. “The Royal Albert Hall in London is one of the biggest headline shows Sharon’s ever done, so finding the right audio solution that would fit our needs both there and for the entire tour was very important”, explains Chown. “Sharon was very emotional about that show; after playing in London for fifteen years, she was so excited to be there, and it was also a big moment for the band.”

The new songs have been inspired by the darker, gothy synth sounds of the 1980s. “Artists like The Cure were a big inspiration with this new-found direction”, confirms Chown. “Fitting multiple inspirations from the band together and putting them into a record that would also work for their live shows, was crucial. Our FOH Engineer, Mike Reina, has done an incredible job translating this. It’s closer to a rock and roll show than Sharon’s ever done before, and with such a great band, they’re making some very interesting live music.” Monitor Engineer on this tour was Rafi Lazzaro.

The full band comprises Sharon Van Etten (lead vocals and guitar), Devra Hoff (bass and vocals), Teeny Lieberson (synth, guitar, piano and vocals) and Jorge Balbi (drums and machines), plus Shanna Polley as an additional guitarist and keyboardist for the live shows. “I want to convey the impact and the power of this new iteration of what Sharon’s doing”, says Reina. “I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, but this is my first tour working for her. She sent me the record, and I was blown away, so I wanted to create as much impact for the stage as I’d heard on the record. She’d never written with a band before, but it just goes to show her versatility, because to be able to get into a room with people and create is such a challenge. Yet when it works, it’s a magical thing.”

Both Reina and Lazzaro use an Allen & Heath dLive system. “Rafi really liked the fact that they have the input boxes on stage, essentially pre-amps, meaning we could minimize not having a line system, which cleans up the signal path. It’s a lot easier on two people without a tech on tour to distribute signal that way”, notes Reina, adding: “I wanted a Waves Server because I like to have a lot of control with the plug-ins. I like a studio sound on stage, clean isolation of each signal.”

In monitor world, Lazzaro employs a Shure Axient AD600 Digital Spectrum Analyzer for wide band spectrum scanning and monitoring. Shure PSM1000s in-ear personal monitoring systems are used with customised Ultimate Ears for himself and the band, while Sharon Van Etten chooses 64 Audio. “I’m mixing five band members including Sharon, plus two techs who receive their own mix”, states Lazzaro. “I build every mix from scratch and it’s a very musical mix for everyone. Sharon also uses wedges; she likes to have both wedges and ears. It makes her feel comfortable to have the wedges there if she pops one ear out.” For Van Etten, there’s also a particular kind of reverb involved in her live delivery: “I’ve been using the new reverbs on the Allen & Heath, the RackUltra FX card and the Spaces Reverb Designer are really great”, furthers Lazzaro.

The band wrapped a North America tour in Spring before they return to the UK, Ireland, and Europe for festival shows and more headline dates later this summer.

Group shot (left to right): Rafi Lazzaro, Mike Reina, Stewart Chown. (Photos: Britannia Row Productions)

www.britanniarow.com

© 1999 - 2025 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories