Starting off the show on the B-stage at the FOH mix position, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul herself, Mary J. Blige, was so close she could reach out and shake hands with her fans. The winner of nine Grammy Awards, 12 NAACP Image Awards and 12 Billboard Music Awards, the singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur showed off her vocal power and authenticity to raise the roof. Her soulful songs of triumph, love and resilience brought the crowd in unison to sing along to favorites such as “No More Drama,” “Real Love,” “You Remind Me” and so many more.
The FOH Mix
Jaymz Hardy-Martin III has been the FOH engineer for Mary J. Blige for the last 14 years. He had been recommended for the FOH position by monitor engineer Chainey Harpe. “We had toured together in the past, working on opposite ends of the snake, and he felt I’d be a good fit for the gig,” Hardy-Martin says. “The FOH engineer at the time, Kyle Hamilton, was moving on to work with Janet Jackson, which left the Mary J. Blige FOH position open. I met with the TM/PM, [Michael] ‘Huggy’ Carter, and we agreed that I would cover Mary’s headline performance at the Essence Festival in the New Orleans Superdome. I’ve been rolling with her ever since,” he adds.
“From 2011 to the present, my responsibilities growing has been the biggest change. Over the years, I’ve run playback, handled monitors, recorded and mixed Mary in the studio, and sometimes even managed FOH, playback, and monitors all at once,” Jaymz continues. “The biggest learning curve has been staying focused. After 14 years at the same job, you have to keep the desire, passion, and integrity you had on day one. So I treat every day like it’s my last — you can’t get comfortable because no gig lasts forever.”
Gear Preferences
Hardy-Martin is mixing the tour on the DiGiCo Quantum 338. Since the release of the 338, he has been an appreciative user. “My last two tours as the FOH engineer, I used the 338 and it has always had enough I/Os to handle my mix. Not counting monitor-only inputs (click, slate, talkbacks), I’m at 70 inputs and seven outputs on this tour.”
Hardy-Martin’s skill set has allowed him to work effortlessly on any console brand. “I started this tour covering monitors during rehearsal on a Rivage,” he says, before shifting back to the DiGiCo Quantum 338 at FOH. “I’ve never had a situation where a DiGiCo couldn’t handle what I needed. Technology will have you believing that upgrading is always the best move, but the real upgrade comes from within. That’s why I’m not interested in switching consoles.”
When it comes to the ideal PA, Hardy-Martin admits that he’d rather use Cohesion systems for outdoor gigs than for indoor arena shows, such as this tour. “Over the years, I’ve mixed Mary and others on various PA systems. Each system has its own characteristics when responding to the frequency spectrum. In an arena, you can easily lose a mix when there’s too much low-mid in the air or the low end isn’t tight. Indoors, I prefer boxes that handle those frequencies better — d&b, Adamson and L-Acoustics are great at this. The Cohesion does have a nice smooth throw, meaning that at a distance you can hear the details of a mix quite well. I’ll be using it for the upcoming Grand National Tour I’m doing that starts in April.” Hardy-Martin notes that “Kyle Hamilton will be taking over FOH duties for me for the remaining MJB dates as I will be mixing SZA who is performing on the dual headline tour with Kendrick Lamar, where they will be doing blocks of songs back and forth throughout the show on this stadium run. At the end of the day, no matter what I’m mixing on, no one will be able to tell whether or not the PA was my first choice. Ideal situations aren’t always possible, but professionalism is always ideal.”
“Close to the Studio Album”
“When I’m mixing on tour, I like the FOH mix to be close to the studio album,” Hardy-Martin continues. “People drive up to the show playing their favorite MJB record. When they get in the arena, they want to hear just that. I spend a considerable amount of time while on tour listening to the album version of her records. This keeps my ears focused on the mix to notice immediately if my live mix is not in pocket with the record. I’m also very conscious of the overall dB level at the show by keeping it around a comfortable 94-102 dB. As her audience has aged, it’s clear they won’t enjoy a 101–106 dB thrashing all night.”
Hardy-Martin uses the DiGiCo simple delay for echoes on MJB’s lead and a console plate reverb on the electric guitar. Additional effects and plugins come from his Waves server. “I use H-Reveb for background vocals, PSE (Primary Source Expander) on all RF mics, X-Feedback and F6 on Mary’s lead vocal and L2 on the overall mix.” He considers himself a minimalist when it comes to live mixing with plugins, saying one key to mixing live is being able to follow your signal flow quickly. “If a problem arises or you want to adjust the sound of an instrument, too many things in the chain can confuse you. I’ve seen engineers cut a frequency with one plugin, then put it back with another plugin further down the chain,” he adds. “I’m using a $150,000 console. If I can’t get things sounding decent with the desk alone, I probably shouldn’t be mixing.”
Along with the gear, Hardy-Martin is grateful to be touring with new and familiar faces supporting Mary J. Blige’s shows. “For those who tour or want to get into touring, making friends is key. We spend so much time with tour personnel that it’s important for your health and mindset to find people you get along with,” he says. “It’s always great to meet new people on tour, but it’s even better to work with people I’ve toured with before. That type of energy allows you to focus more on the job. Don’t take the importance of relationships for granted.”
Mixing Monitors
Monitor engineer Jeremy Peters is mixing the tour on a DiGiCo SD7 Quantum with more than 112 inputs and 52 outputs. He says he likes to keep things consistent for muscle memory. “I show up to every gig with my toolbox and go to work. I have always been a Waves plugin user, since my days mixing on an Avid console. Even though I use plugins, I am very much a minimalist when it comes to mixing live,” he adds. “I mainly use plugins for effects. This is live sound reinforcement, NOT the studio. We are creating and amplifying what is already there. There’s no need for crazy single chains or massive amounts of plugins. If you have to do all of that, there’s a problem at the source. I also use Klang for Immersive mixing,” Peters says, calling Klang “a great addition to the toolbox.”
Peters’ effects consist of Waves PSE (Primary Source Expander), Waves True Verb, Waves Renaissance Reverb, Waves H-Delay Hybrid Delay and Waves IR-Live Convolution Reverb along with the processing capabilities of Klang:konductor.
As for microphones, “Mary is using a Shure AD2 RF Microphone with a Shure KSM11 capsule. For IEMs, I am using the FIR Audio Kryton 5’s. Many of the band members are also using FIR, as well as JH Audio,” he says.
For in-ears, “Mary is using custom Sensaphonics 3Max IEMs,” Peters says. When it comes to MJB and stage volume, what she may want in her IEMs can vary depending on whether or not she is on the main stage, on the ramp under the PA or on the B-stage, Peters notes. He does most of these changes using snapshots, sometimes using multiple snapshots in one song or segment.
“I’ve been having a great experience with this tour,” Peters says. “Mary J. Blige is a superstar with an extensive catalog. She has a cult following, and people love her. If you get a chance to see the show, it won’t disappoint,” he concludes, adding, “This crew has been amazing and a joy to work with everyday. Thank you to Clair Global, DiGiCo, Shure, Waves, FIR Audio, and Case Craft.”
The Systems Approach
Systems engineer Steve Hupkowicz starts his day getting the PA roughed in via Ease Focus. After arriving at the venue in the morning, he confirms measurements of the room and his placement of the PA. “Once I’ve handed off the configuration to the PA techs, it’s just a typical setting up of the console. Jaymz runs a very basic setup at FOH, so it’s a quick tip and we’re fired up in about 15 minutes once we get into position. After we’re up, I do my standard bit of timing, tuning, and shading the rig.”
Hupkowicz sound checks with a couple of songs on his end and walks the room before handing over to Hardy-Martin, who checks with a couple of his tracks and some playback. “At that point we’re pretty much up and rocking. During the show, there are little tweaks and keeping an eye on the systems diagnostics, making sure we’re still running smooth. I like to do a secondary walk of the room a few songs into the headliner’s set to confirm I didn’t miss any spots, or see if I need to adjust things from there.”
With Eighth Day Sound joining the Clair family of companies, the inventory for both is more fluid, notes Hupkowicz. This tour is an Eighth Day client, powered with Cohesion. “I find Cohesion to be a powerful, very clear box with plenty of headroom. I’ve heard it in so many different applications and genres, it’s a very versatile box. The PA consists of 16 Cohesion CO12 for main hangs and 14 Cohesion CO12 for side hangs. Flown subs are 12 CP218, configured cardioid [six per side]. Floor Subs are 12 CP218, configured cardioid [six per side]. Front fills are six Cohesion CF28 [three per side].”
Mary J. Blige’s For My Fans tour included 40 shows across North America from late January through mid-April, 2025, with special guests Ne-Yo and Mario also performing. The original itinerary was for 36 shows starting Jan. 30 in Greensboro, NC and wrapping up on April 19 in Memphis, TN. Then four more shows were added to the tour, in Indianapolis, Nashville, Orlando and Miami, extending the tour’s final show date to April 27.
Mary J. Blige For My Fans Tour
Sound Company: Eighth Day Sound
Crew
- FOH Engineers: Jaymz Hardy-Martin III (1st Leg), Kyle Hamilton (2nd Leg)
- Systems Engineer: Steve Hupkowicz
- Monitor Engineer: Jeremy Peters
- Monitor Systems Engineer: John Meusel
- RF Tech: Danny Pelaez
- PA Techs: Bella Flosi, Alfredo Curiel
- Tour Manager: Eddie Powell
- Production Manager: Chris Coffee
- Drums & Bass Tech: Jaron Peddy
- Guitar & Keys Tech: Americo Barbosa
Gear
FOH
- Console: DiGiCo Quantum 338
- Effects/plugins: Waves server, H-Reverb, Primary Source Expander, X-Feedback, F6, L2; (2) Bricastis
- Speakers: Mains: (16) Cohesion CO12 per side; Side Hangs: (14) CO12 per side; Flown Subs: (6) CP218 (cardioid) per side; Floor Subs: (6) CP218 (cardioid) per side; Front Fills: (6) Cohesion CF28
MON
- Console: DiGiCo SD7 Quantum
- Effects/plugins: Waves Primary Source Expander (PSE), True Verb, Renaissance Reverb, H-Delay Hybrid Delay, IR-Live Convolution Reverb; Klang:konductor
- Vocal Mic: Shure AD2 RF w/ Shure KSM11 capsule
- IEMs: FIR Audio Kryton 5’s, JH Audio
