NILES, IL, March 15, 2011 — Brad Paisley, the Country Music Association’s 2010 Entertainer of the Year, got the 2011 NASCAR® season off to a high-energy start with an outdoor performance at one of its most storied and exciting races – the Daytona® 500.  Shure wired microphones and wireless microphone systems made sure that Brad’s performance was heard loud and clear by the huge television audience as well as fans at the track.

“Brad’s vocal mic was the Shure UR2/Beta58A® handheld wireless mic,” says Kevin Freeman, Brad’s Front-of-House engineer.  “Brad likes to get close to the audience, and that mic works well even in venues where he walks way out in front of the main PA speakers.”

With Brad known equally as a guitar player and singer/songwriter, crystal-clear guitar sound was also a must.  Paisley played a one-of-a-kind guitar created by official NASCAR artist Sam Bass.  The Fender Telecaster sported Daytona 500 graphics and was equipped with a Shure UR1 bodypack transmitter.

“We used a Shure KSM313 ribbon mic on the guitar amp,” Kevin says.  “Brad likes to experiment with different mics, and the KSM313 has a nice, full-bodied sound.  I don’t have a secret weapon; my job is to take whatever makes the artist’s performance special and make sure that it’s heard.”