Live Vocal Performance Design
The complete vocal blueprint for the show.
- Lead vocal consultation
- BGV architecture and harmony design
- Live vs. tracked vocal strategy
- Transitions, vocal moments and pacing
“Anyone can sing it once.The art is singing it every night.”
Artist Performance Director
Shelby Rollins
Vocal producer and artist development expert for the live stage.
I make sure the artist delivers a sustainable, emotionally compelling and consistently exceptional live vocal, every rehearsal, every show, every night.
Artists
- Megan Moroney
- Carter Faith
- Graham Barham
- Adrien Nunez
- JohnnySwim
TV & Labels
- American Idol
- Disney · Sofia the First
- Sony Music
- Universal Music Group
- Warner Music Group
Artist Performance Direction
On a major tour, the voice is part of a system. Someone has to own it.
Touring teams split the live show across specialists: the Music Director, Creative Director, Production Manager, monitor engineer and playback programmer. Each owns an important piece. Often no one owns how those pieces affect the artist's ability to sing the show. Artist Performance Direction fills that gap.
Music DirectorOwns the music.
Creative DirectorOwns the show.
Artist Performance DirectorOwns the artist's performance.
I represent the artist's voice inside the touring team and connect the arrangement, BGV and playback architecture, monitor environment, staging, movement and vocal endurance into one live vocal system built around the individual artist.
Featured tour
Megan Moroney
Cloud 9 Tour- ArrangementArranged the background vocals for the Cloud 9 Tour.
- PerformanceResponsible for maintaining Megan's live vocal performance across the run.
- EnduranceResponsible for Megan's vocal endurance throughout the tour.
Why it matters at scale
The bigger the production, the more variables that can pull a vocal off course.
Vocal problems become production problems.
In-ear mixes, playback, BGVs, staging, movement and set pacing all shape what comes out of the artist's mouth.
The artist needs a translator.
"I can't hear myself" rarely means "turn me up." It can be the balance of lead, BGVs, band, playback, effects or compression. I turn what the artist feels into notes the technical team can act on.
Vocal condition has to reach every department.
When an artist is sick before showtime, FOH, monitors, playback and BGVs all need to know what she can and can't comfortably sing, early enough to adapt.
Rehearsal should be for implementing, not discovering.
Arrangements, stems and vocal strategy get settled in pre-production, so the rehearsal room isn't where vocal systems are built and debugged at full cost.
Scope of direction
From the first stem to the last night of the tour.
Vocal Production & Playback
The vocal assets the live show runs on.
- Produce and direct touring BGV recordings
- Edit and refine playback vocals
- Creative direction for vocal stems
- Playback that enhances the live vocal, never replaces it
Performance Systems
A repeatable routine for the whole tour.
- Tour vocal strategy and endurance planning
- Daily warm-up systems
- Recovery protocols and vocal load management
- High-demand song placement
Technical Integration
The artist's voice inside the technical team.
- Monitor mix and FOH collaboration
- In-ear and microphone optimization
- Vocal troubleshooting in production
- Adjustments for each room
Rehearsal Direction
Putting the vocal plan on its feet.
- Vocal and full-band rehearsals
- Production rehearsals
- Harmony refinement
- TV and festival preparation
Performance Integration
Every department pulling the same way.
- Work alongside the MD and Creative Director
- Coordinate with playback and band leadership
- Vocal needs built into staging and blocking
- Movement that supports healthy singing
The difference
It extends vocal coaching into the live production.
How do we make the artist's voice better?
Can she sing this here, after this movement, with this monitor mix, right after this song, four to six nights a week, without losing the emotion of the show?
Ways to work together
Built around where the tour is.
Pre-production to opening night
Tour Development
Design and build the live vocal show before the rehearsal room: arrangements, stems, vocal strategy and the plan for the run.
Monthly, through the touring cycle
Tour Performance Partnership
Ongoing support while the show is on the road.
- Daily warm-ups and vocal maintenance
- Performance notes
- Emergency support
- TV prep and fly dates
- Communication with management
On site, by the day
Production & Performance Days
In the room for the moments that matter most.
- Production and tour rehearsals
- Festivals
- Television
- Fly dates
About Shelby
About Shelby Rollins
Shelby Rollins is an Artist Performance Director, vocal producer and artist development expert who works where the voice meets the production: making sure an artist can sing the show at the highest level, night after night.
Most recently she arranged the background vocals for Megan Moroney's Cloud 9 Tour and was responsible for maintaining Megan's vocal performance and endurance throughout the tour. Her work spans BGV architecture, touring vocal production, in-ear and monitor translation, rehearsal direction and the endurance systems that keep a voice strong across a long run.
That work rests on nearly two decades of training singers. After earning her BA in Theatre from Florida State University, Shelby performed original music in New York City before moving to Nashville in 2010. She spent eight years on Music Row as Brett Manning's senior coach and Master Associate, and served as director of coach development, training the coaches who train artists.
In 2018 she founded Master Vocal, where she has coached recording and touring artists, including JohnnySwim and Carter Faith, trained vocal coaches and written courses for singers. She lives in Nashville with her husband and their three children.
15+Years teaching
8Years on Music Row
2018Founded Master Vocal
From the artists
What artists say about working with Shelby.
“MasterVocal has been a godsend in my singing journey.”
“I've learned more in the past year from Shelby than from all my previous teachers combined.”
“…a voice that is completely unique to me.”
Master Vocal
Shelby's coaching studio for singers and coaches: online courses for artists and a referral network of vocal coaches she has trained.
Contact
Planning a tour?
Reach out early. The sooner vocal direction starts in pre-production, the more the rehearsal room can focus on the show.