Chris Tomlin's Holy Forever World Tour has taken FOH Engineer, Stephen Bailey and crew across the USA, Europe, and more recently, churches in Canada.
Sitting down with Stephen Bailey in Calgary, Canada, amidst the bustling energy of Chris Tomlin's Holy Forever World Tour, it's clear that he is the maestro behind an impeccable auditory experience. As the front-of-house (FOH) engineer for one of contemporary Christian music’s biggest artists, Stephen balances technical expertise and an unwavering dedication to his craft. Amidst adjusting faders and fine-tuning settings, he shares insights into his journey, the challenges on tour, and the passion that drives his seamless sound engineering.
Stephen’s passion for music and audio engineering has its roots deep in his formative years. Starting off on his church's audio team during his middle and high school days, Stephen's early inclination towards the technicalities of music was evident. He honed his skills playing drums for a band named "Elevation" (not affiliated with Elevation Church) from Atlanta. This period marked his initial foray into the world of touring and live sound.
In 2012, Stephen's professional journey in audio engineering took a significant leap forward. He transitioned from band life to full-time audio engineering, working with renowned worship artist Matt Redman. Over time, his path crossed with industry giants such as Chris Tomlin, rooted within the Passion Conferences and church community. His technical expertise and passion for live production soon saw him become a sought-after FOH engineer, culminating in his current role with Chris Tomlin's team.
The muscle memory built from consistent setups in arenas suddenly becomes a trial-and-error process in church environments…
Being on the road with an artist of Chris Tomlin's stature comes with its unique set of challenges. The Holy Forever World Tour has taken the crew across arenas in the USA, Europe, and, more recently, churches in Canada. This diversity in venues presents a significant technical challenge.
When transitioning from arena setups to church settings, Stephen emphasizes the difficulty in maintaining consistency. Each church's acoustics and audio setups vary drastically, requiring rapid adaptation and problem-solving to ensure the same high-quality audio experience that audiences expect.
Stephen elaborates on the pain points, particularly the proximity challenges in smaller venues. For instance, ensuring Chris Tomlin's vocal clarity while managing the proximity to other instruments like cymbals requires some creative work from the team. The muscle memory built from consistent setups in arenas suddenly becomes a trial-and-error process in church environments, often making it a defensive game rather than an offensive one for the audio team.
Mixing FOH and Monitors on a pair of Digico Quantum 338s. I was most impressed to learn about Stephen’s use of DirectOut’s Prodigy MP processor, which is equipped with dual Dante network cards, allowing the team to manage both track playback and live audio with precision. The first Dante card handles a redundant playback system from two computers, ensuring a glitch-free performance even if one source fails. The second Dante card takes care of mainstage audio for the keys player and brings in audio from Shure Axient RF microphone system.
These wireless systems, known for their high-fidelity audio and reliability, are crucial for capturing vocals and instruments clearly. The Prodigy MP brings the RF audio via Dante, ensuring a pure digital path from source to output. Additionally, the unit takes an analog output from the Axient receivers, which serves as a backup. This backup is intelligently managed by the Prodigy's input manager, which can switch to the analog signal seamlessly if any issues are detected with the digital signal. This redundancy ensures uninterrupted audio quality.
… effective leadership in a church production environment requires a balance of technical skill and pastoral care.
Beyond managing inputs, the DirectOut Prodigy MP also synchronizes the entire audio system. Acting as the clock master, it ensures that the Digico Quantum 338 consoles, MADI connections, and Dante network all run in perfect sync. This synchronization eliminates any potential latency or sample rate mismatches, providing a cohesive and pristine audio output.
The rig Stephen has set up means that once the audio becomes digital, it remains in the digital domain, avoiding unnecessary conversions that can degrade quality. This streamlined approach not only simplifies connections—with just four MADI BNC connections daily—but also ensures that the team achieves the highest possible audio fidelity.
Additionally, Stephen's collaboration with Spectrum Sound in Nashville, TN, for consoles and PA systems ensures top-tier audio delivery. The tour deploys a d&b Audio KSL rig from Spectrum, tailored and adapted to fit the vast range of venue sizes.
Drawing from his extensive experience, Stephen offers invaluable advice for church technical directors (TDs). He stresses the importance of prioritizing people over production. While striving for high-quality output is essential, valuing team members and their contributions should always come first.
Stephen Bailey's journey from a church volunteer to a professional FOH engineer for Chris Tomlin is a testament to passion, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. His experiences highlight live production's intricacies and challenges, and how God can lead and open doors for you. For young technical artists and church TDs, Stephen’s story is both an inspiration and a guide, lighting the path to achieving technical excellence while fostering a nurturing and inclusive team environment.
