Touring support specialist Clair Global has supplied a Cohesion PA system for the current and US ongoing tour of Bruce Springsteen and extended 19-member E Street Band. The tour’s three-hour set list is built around his 2020 album ‘Letter to You’. Following the US concerts, Springsteen and his band will head to Europe next for spring/summer 2025 concerts.
The Cohesion system, as per the request of FOH engineer John Cooper, comprises large format CO12 loudspeakers for main and side hangs, CO10’s for delays and the centre hang, and side fill deployments of CO8’s and CP218 II+ subwoofers.
Cooper mixes on an Avid S6L with a Waves server and employs minimal outboard. He has some Sonnox Oxford plug-ins and a Rupert Neve 5045 Primary Source Enhancer for Springsteen’s vocals.
The technical team mixes on DiGiCo Quantum SD7 consoles and the band listens to a mixture of JH and 64 Audio in-ear monitors on Wisycom transmitters. There’s more Cohesion for personal monitoring too, with a significant deployment of CM22 and CM14 wedges for on-stage monitor clarity.
Cooper said: “There’s a sense with his show that you are part of something special. My goal has always been to give him the freedom to come in and not be concerned with sound check but to have the confidence to work on his music and be creative… At this point, we have put Cohesion in lots of different environments and frankly, it’s like sitting in a control room. The detail put forward is just remarkable and it makes my day comfortable.”
Brandon Schuette, systems engineer, added: “The main objective is to provide the most consistent coverage possible. I want every seat to sound like they’re sitting at FOH next to Coop. That usually starts by balancing the energy in the room, so that whatever SPL we have at FOH is going to be the same SPL in any given seat.”
When it comes to monitor for Springsteen and The E Street Band, the set-up is somewhat unusual; three monitor engineers juggle mixes for 19 musicians in this extended band format. They are Monty Carlo, Matt Fitzgerald and Troy Milner, and they have different sound responsibilities.
Monty Carlo’s main priority is Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt (MD), Roy Bittan (pianos, synth) and the five piece horn section; Matt Fitzgerald’s primary focus is guitarist Patti Scialfa, four background singers and percussionist Anthony Almonte; Troy Milner takes care of drummer Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent on bass guitar, Nils Lofgren on guitar, Soozie Tyrell’s violin mix, and Charlie Giordano (keys).
Fitzgerald said: “For this show, the Quantum SD7 really is one of the few desks out there that can handle the sheer number of inputs and outputs we have. We’re looking after 160 inputs from the deck, with no playback, time code or syncing to anything, split five ways to each of our mixing consoles. It’s just a very large, very raw, unscripted rock band up there! Because I’m mixing for so many vocalists who are listening to in-ear monitors, I utilise individual PSE’s, reverbs, slaps and panning for each vocalist to create an image, space and clarity to their mixes on such a loud stage.”
Carlo added: “The SD7 has been our go-to console since 2012. It’s still the most flexible, scalable console that we deal with. Bruce wants to hear everything. Floor monitors are hung from grated decks in a stereo configuration, and he has a spatial perspective of where everybody is playing on the stage in his position. There are no egos up there; do your job, and he’s very appreciative.”
The creative process to put this production together was revealed in ‘Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’, a Disney+ documentary which was released in October.
