Following the release of her fourth solo studio album, Forever Is A Feeling, Lucy Dacus hit the road with her latest live campaign, stopping off at some of the world’s largest festivals on her way, with Worley Sound providing sonic support for the run.
“I started working with Lucy in 2017, we started out sleeping on a mattress on Lucy’s floor as a FOH engineer, tour manager, and even mixing wedges – it has been so cool to see it evolve and be part of the process,” Aly Carlisle-Steinberg, FOH Engineer, reminisced.
Carlisle-Steinberg wanted the Forever Is A Feeling live mix to act as a dramatised version of the record. “Lucy has always trusted me with the sound, but she will also be honest if she has any notes, which I really appreciate,” Carlisle-Steinberg explained. “If I am getting chills or tears in my eyes, I know it is coming across how I want it to, and equally, if she and the band are happy, I know I have done my job well.”
Mixing on an Allen & Heath dLive S5000, the engineer bolstered the desk with Waves Axis Scope hardware and an Extreme-C server for plug-in processing, and a Lake LM44.
“I love this desk because it’s intuitive to navigate, and customisable while still maintaining structure,” Carlisle-Steinberg noted. “I’m able to get the sound I want – the shows sound so full, warm and punchy as hell!”
Carlisle-Steinberg doesn’t consider herself an ‘engineer’s engineer’, because she isn’t a ‘gear head’, especially for the Lucy Dacus show, where most elements of the show are played live. “It’s a lot of fun to feel like part of the show rather than just amplifying mastered tracks,” Carlisle-Steinberg said. “I never want to over mix, as there are great musicians on stage, with great tones already.”
Monitor Engineer, Caeleigh Featherstone mixed on a dLive 3500 console, overseeing the deployment of the band’s in-ear monitoring solution with Shure Axient Digital PSM. “I am constantly hopping through each band member’s mix to scan for changes that might be needed, if you were to listen in on my cue mix, you would probably want to scream,” Featherstone laughed. “I have scenes set up to help me get close to the ballpark with everyone’s individual needs, but I like to run through it live, especially coming from and still being rooted in the punk world.”
The audio pair have worked together with Dacus to test new microphones, eventually landing on a Shure SM58. “The SM58 just works with her voice!” she enthused.
To mitigate additional stage noise, the engineer relied on a Rupert Neve Designs 5045 Primary Source Enhancer, which Featherstone dubbed which the “biggest tool in my kit.”
Despite the artist’s ascension to bigger venues, the show still feels like an indie DIY show. Featherstone elaborated: “There are minimal tracks, and some band members don’t use click in their ears for most of the songs, which I personally love as an engineer, I love seeing and being a part of a big, impressive show that does so much without all of the fanfare,” she said, praising the audio vendor.
“Worley has been amazing to work with. Their attention to detail and care for our success is unmatched compared to any other audio rental company I have worked with! I couldn’t sing their praises any more. Worley Forever!”
Carlisle-Steinberg echoed: “This is a beautiful, clean and organised audio package. I’ve been pushing for their inclusion since subbing for them on another tour and I feel so lucky to finally put together a package with them. They have taken fantastic care of us this year and I don’t think I’d go with any other company after this if I have the choice.”
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: Emily Anna and Taisha James
