Every Monday night at the historic Lyric Theater in Lexington, Kentucky, a live show takes place that celebrates grassroots music with some of the best singer/songwriters in the business. Taped live for streaming as well as broadcast, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio is heard from Australia across America to Ireland on 537 public, community (available from PRX), and commercial radio stations.
Hosted by songwriter and touring performer Michael Johnathon, the show recently taped its 1000th episode with Heil Sound microphones – PR35s on vocals as well as an assortment of drum mics – on much of the stage. The milestone show, featuring long-time Woodsongs friends Riders in the Sky, was broadcast in mid-February.
For Heil Sound, the WoodSongs journey began 10 years ago. Greg McVeigh handles artist relations and PR for Heil Sound and stated, “WoodSongs was the first official partnership that we put together for Heil. They were ground zero, in many ways, for artists who we ultimately worked closely with. Joan Baez, Jakob Dylan, Tommy Emmanuel and others performed with Heil Sound mics at WoodSongs.”
Jerome Gallt is chief engineer at WoodSongs and, working alongside Brandon Eaves and Bryan Klausing, finds himself a wide variety of micing situations. “I love using Heil mics on instruments and voices because they are so accurate. I rarely need to apply EQ or engineering trickery to capture the essence of an acoustic instrument, which allows us to present groups in an honest way. They handle high and low sound pressures equally well without coloring the overall sound that comes through the console. From full drum kits, to banjos, to vocals, there’s a Heil mic for the job and we are extremely grateful to have those Heil mics in our locker!”
Founder Michael Johnathon, who describes himself as Folksinger, SongFarmer, and Heil Mic Believer stated, “Heil Sound mics have been part of the rich, dynamic sound of the WoodSongs broadcast for years, including our historic show #1000. We treat the live audience stage as though it was a recording studio, and the Heil mics are a major part of the rich ‘front porch’ sound of the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour.”
