For almost 30 years, Britannia Row Productions has been the proud live sound rental partner to American rockers the Foo Fighters. On their current, year-long Take Cover tour, the band returns to stage backed by longtime mix engineers Ian Beveridge (monitors) and Anthony King (FOH), alongside some next generation talent.
While Britannia Row continues to provide equipment and audio support, a key component to any successful tour remains in the ability and drive of its hand-picked crew. Joining the established team this year, as requested by Foo Fighters Account Executive and Britannia Row Sales Director Lez Dwight, is PA Technician Rowan Cahill, a graduate of the company’s Live Audio Technician Apprenticeship.
Rowan is in good alumni company; the tour’s B-Stage Audio Tech and Comms Engineer Holly van der Rest, also completed the course which trains future touring audio technicians to a road ready standard in just two years. Holly made the firm decision that she would carve out a career in audio after watching her first concert aged 14, and has now worked across multiple live productions, including the BRIT Awards and pop star Robbie Willams’ Britpop tour.
Rowan reflects on his own journey, which now includes his very first tour with the 15-time Grammy winners. “Joining a production of this status was naturally a little daunting but having people at both Britannia Row’s HQ and on-site who have supported these productions for decades – and who are backing my involvement – provides such an invaluable support network,” he begins. “The Foo Fighters production is a large and well-established operation, and everyone has been exceptionally welcoming to me.”
Rowan first picked up an instrument aged six, and that sparked a “lifelong passion” for music. Audio production and sound engineering were clear interests by the time he was a school leaver.
“When I found the apprenticeship, I knew it was an opportunity I had to pursue. Britannia Row’s long-standing reputation and continued presence in cutting-edge live event audio made it clear that the programme would both challenge me and help me to develop to the highest level of the industry.”
Rowan adds that the apprenticeship has also afforded him a broad yet detailed understanding of live sound: “Alongside the practical skills and professional experience that I can now draw on daily, I enjoy the problem-solving side of touring such as careful planning, adapting to daily challenges, and continuously refining processes to achieve the best possible results.”
“If you have a passion for audio, a willingness to learn and continuously push yourself, then this career path will be incredibly rewarding, but knowing where to begin can be challenging, and that’s where I believe the apprenticeship truly shines; it provides a strong foundation and structured development.”
Following rigorous study, practical training, hands-on experience and examinations, the course creates passionate and capable audio technicians, bridging the skills gap the industry often faces. In his current role as a PA Technician, Rowan’s primary responsibility is the field delay system. Following load in, he coordinates the local crew, ensuring the equipment is distributed efficiently and deployed to schedule before arranging and powering the racks at each position. Then comes PA testing, positioning and aligning with the PA team.
“My colleague Jony Santorja focuses on setting up infrastructure – connecting and floating motors, attaching rigging and running amp drive looms – while I focus on deploying speaker arrays; setting speaker angles, rigging and connecting the speakers,” he continues.
“On show days, the PA crew and I are on call for our respective PA locations should any further adjustments be necessary, whilst also helping the stage crew with any changes. Generally, opening acts require use of a control system and full technical support from us too, whereas artists further up the bill are more self-contained and may only require a power feed and help running cables.”
Doing the apprenticeship has significantly expanded Rowan’s technical knowledge and professional approach, especially useful given the Take Cover stadium environment: “This Foo Fighters tour has reinforced my confidence in applying my skills within this calibre of production,” he adds.
“It’s shown me that I can contribute effectively and deliver results. I’ve learned an enormous amount from this crew and gained valuable insight into the non-technical factors of touring during and beyond the advancing process, that can influence PA specification and system design. I’ve also seen first-hand the level of detail and skill involved in measuring and aligning large-scale stadium PA systems and I’ve picked up countless practical techniques for working efficiently with our equipment.”
As with any tour, it’s the people who really leave a lasting impression: “Most importantly, as this is my first tour, I’ve learned how to approach tour life successfully thanks to a truly world-class crew who have generously shared a great deal of their experience with me. The fact that I’m touring at this scale, supporting a band whose music I’ve adored for most of my life, is something I’ll never take for granted, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my career.”
