David Loy

If you don’t already know about Live Sound Grad David Loy, then all it takes is a quick Google search to figure out he’s a star on the rise. As Front of House Engineer for Kane Brown, David has been featured in promotional videos for Antelope Audio, made the coveted “30 under 30” list at livedesignonline.com, and has appeared in countless industry articles.

And, here’s a bit of trivia: It all started because he entered a Blackbird Academy promotion to win a chance to see Martina McBride live from front of house … with John McBride engineering, of course. Five years later and David says he loves being on the road.

Q: Did you really come to The Blackbird Academy via our “Watch a Martina McBride Concert FOH with John McBride” promotion? I just read that online!

A: Yes, ma’am! I visited to see John and Martina in Myrtle Beach! Carma called us the day of because I put the wrong email in the application, and we hadn’t replied yet. My dad and I drove 4 hours and made it just after soundcheck.

That whole day was the reason I went to the live program because of John’s advice.

A: What did John say?

Q: He just encouraged me to look into the Live Program because that’s where my skill set was, and it makes more sense at my age and experience to go on the road, make some connections, and get paid to see the world. Five years later, and now I LOVE touring and still get to do “live on-site tracking” that allows me to interface with studio engineers and get to make connections in that world because of the live sound world that I’ve been in for a while.

You should be seeing David soon if you are a Live Sound Engineering student. “I want to maybe do a night where I bring some Kane tracks from a show,” says David. “I think it would be a blast for the students to hear those different bands and how to mix those three completely different genres, you know? I have so many tracks – Sturgill stuff, Tori Kelly, Kane. It would be a blast.”

We think so too!