Ocean Way Studios in Nashville will host WAMCon on October 30, a one-day conference run by Women's Audio Mission, the nonprofit that works to advance women and gender-expansive people in music production and the recording arts. MusicRow's Lorie Hollabaugh reported the date at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios on August 27.
The programme is built around getting people behind actual equipment rather than into panel rooms. Sessions cover vocal production, vintage Neve console training, instrument recording workshops, mixing demos, and Dolby Atmos and immersive audio demonstrations, with mentorship time alongside working professionals.
The mentor list is why the day sells. Gena Johnson is a two-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer whose credits include Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton. Shani Gandhi, also a Grammy winner, has worked with Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and Sierra Hull. Leslie Richter, a Nashville producer, engineer and educator, has recorded Sheryl Crow, Sara Bareilles and Musgraves.
The rest of the roster reaches beyond Nashville and beyond country. Kazuri Arai has produced and played keys for Alicia Keys and Jack White. Alex Hope is an Australian producer and songwriter based in Nashville with Troye Sivan and Selena Gomez on her credits. Dr. Leslie Gaston-Bird is a UK-based engineer, educator and Dolby Atmos specialist. Maddie Harmon has engineered and mixed for Noah Kahan, Suki Waterhouse and Yelawolf.
Live and systems work gets its own representation. Jen Watman is an audio engineer and creative producer who has worked with SSL, Redbull and Spotify. Rachael Moser is an audio systems engineer at Clair Global and has worked Chris Stapleton's All-American Road. Anika Heywood is a staff engineer at Ocean Way itself.
Founder and executive director Terri Winston called it a day of learning with the leading professionals in the field, covering everything from live concert sound to vocal production to tracking and mixing in the studio. Tickets are on sale. The room itself has become a fixture of the city's calendar even as the wider Nashville industry shifts, with TikTok closing its Music Row office and John Rich warning that property taxes threaten local venues. Other rooms in the city are expanding rather than retreating, as with Robert's Western World opening an outpost in the new stadium, and the September trade calendar is filling out around the NashFilm Creators Conference.
The facts
- WAMCon Nashville runs October 30 at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios
- Women's Audio Mission works on advancing women in music production
- Programming covers vocal production, Neve console training and Dolby Atmos
- Gena Johnson and Shani Gandhi are among the mentors
- Terri Winston is the nonprofit's founder and executive director
- The conference runs for a single day with hands-on workshops
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