Vance Powell is an American six-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winning

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

and

mixer Mixer may refer to: Electronics * DJ mixer, a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys * Electronic mixer, electrical circuit for adding signal voltages * Frequency mixer, electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals ...

.Universal Audio Feature
/ref>Tape Op Interview
/ref> His credits include

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike G ...

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, t ...

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown,

The Raconteurs The Raconteurs (, also known as The Saboteurs in Australia) is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jack White (vocals, guitar), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), and ...

The Dead Weather The Dead Weather is an American rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart (of The Kills and Discount), Jack White (of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Ag ...

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

Deadly Apples Deadly Apples is a Canadian rock / industrial metal band based in Montreal, Quebec. The band consists of frontman / lyricist Alex Martel (vocals) and main composer Antoine Lamothe (drums), with live musicians joining them on stage. An early ver ...

Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold (né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> fo ...

, Black Prairie, The Revivalists, Tinariwen,

JEFF the Brotherhood JEFF the Brotherhood is an American two-piece rock band consisting of brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. Their style has been described by music writers as containing elements of psychedelic rock, garage rock, punk ...

Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes Daniel Ellsworth and The Great Lakes (DE+TGL) is an American indie rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2010. The band consists of Daniel Ellsworth (vocals, keys), Timon Lance (guitar), and Marshall Skinner (bass). The band tours extensi ...

, and

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and rel ...

, among many others.AllMusic Credits
/ref>Discogs Credits
/ref>

Life and career

Powell made his start in live sound, touring with local Missouri bands as a

front of house In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, ...

engineer. In 1986, he conducted his first professional studio recording session as an engineer at Rick Massey's 'Massey Studio', stepping in for the main engineer who was sick at the time. That same year he became the studio's engineer. In 1990-'93 he took a position at Lou Whitney's Column One Studio in

Springfield, MO Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estima ...

. as second engineer, recording scores of regional bands and artists. Shortly after, Powell moved to

Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, accepting a position as a monitor engineer for

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta ...

. The position turned into Production Manager/Front of House (FOH) Engineer, which he did until 1997, when he joined global sound reinforcement company, Clair Brothers Audio.Black Bird Studios: Vance Powell
/ref>RSR Feature
/ref> In 1998 he started a long relationship with Jars of Clay taking a front of house position that continued through 2002. During that time several recording projects with them emerged, including their full length 2002 release (and 2003 Grammy Award winner) "The Eleventh Hour". In early 2002 John McBride asked him to help build and run Blackbird Studio, a single room semi-private facility for his wife, country music superstar

.Exponential Audio Feature
/ref> The single room semi-private facility soon became an eight room world class facility hosting projects such as

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's “Heart of Gold” motion picture soundtrack and

The Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

' six time Grammy Award winning “ Taking the Long Way”.Izotope Feature
/ref> Powell remained the Chief Engineer at Blackbird for seven years. Projects outside of Blackbird soon beckoned, and Powell began working extensively with

's groups including

, and

, as well as many of White's production jobs such as

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

's "

The Party Ain't Over ''The Party Ain't Over'' is the thirtieth studio album by American singer Wanda Jackson, produced by Jack White, the lead vocalist of The White Stripes. ''The Party Ain't Over'' peaked at number 17 on Top Rock Albums. The album also peaked at nu ...

", as well as

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

' production of " Another Way to Die" from the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film ''

Quantum of Solace ''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy film and the twenty-second in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sequel to ''Casino Royale'' (2006). Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and ...

''.Sound On Sound Inside Track: Jack White
/ref>Brite Revolution Interview
/ref> Powell is the co-owner of Sputnik Sound, a recording and mixing facility he set up in 2006 together with producer/engineer

Mitch Dane Mitch Dane is an American record producer, musician, and songwriter who resides in Nashville. His work with artists include Jars of Clay, JJ Heller, Brandon Heath, Jetty Rae, Sonia Leigh, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Young Fables, Ole Lonesome ...

. Powell met White for the first time in 2006, when he worked on Danger Mouse and Daniel Luppi's ''Rome'' album, on which White guested. Recent Sputnik Sound projects include

, Tinariwin,

, Leagues, Bobby Bare, Jr.,

Red Fang Red Fang is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2005. It is composed of guitarist and vocalist Bryan Giles, bassist and vocalist Aaron Beam, guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman. The band has released five studi ...

, De Staat, Diarrhea Planet,

A Thousand Horses A Thousand Horses is an American country music band formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is composed of Michael Hobby (lead vocals), Bill Satcher (lead guitar), Zach Brown (guitar and vocals), and Graham Deloach (bass and vocals). The ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

and

Awards

Powell has won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for his work on the albums listed below.Chris Stapleton , Grammy Page
/ref> * Jars of Clay - '' The Eleventh Hour'' (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album 2002), engineer. *

- ''

Consolers of the Lonely ''Consolers of the Lonely'' is the second studio album by American rock band The Raconteurs. It was released on March 25, 2008, on Warner Bros. Records in most parts of the world, and a day earlier on XL Recordings in the UK. The band did no pro ...

'' (Best Engineered Album, non-classical 2009), engineer & mixer - shared with

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and

. *

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

- '' Living Proof'' (Best Contemporary Blues Album 2011), engineer. *

- "

Traveller Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel * Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources * Nomad, a member of a community wit ...

" (Best Country Album 2015), engineer & mixer. In 2015,

's album "

" won three

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony ...

(CMAs) including "Album of The Year" and "New Artist of The Year". The album also received

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations for Album Of The Year, Best Country Song, Best Country Album (win), Best Country Solo Performance (win). The album was engineered and mixed by Powell.

Selected discography

The production, engineering and mixing discography for Vance Powell is as follows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Vance Living people American audio engineers Year of birth missing (living people)