James Morrison's Anniversary Tour Runs On Martin Audio WPC

22Live is powering James Morrison's "20 Years of Undiscovered" UK and Ireland tour with a scalable Martin Audio Wavefront Precision (WPC) system tailored for consistency across varied theatre venues.

The 22-date itinerary marks two decades since the release of Morrison’s debut album, Undiscovered, with the No. 1 record performed in full alongside career-spanning favourites. 22Live is supplying and engineering a flexible WPC rig for the run.

"I've known Yaron Levy - the tour manager and FOH engineer - for around 30 years," says Paul Timmins of 22Live. "We first met when he was monitor engineer for Simple Minds in the '90s. More recently, we've worked closely with him in his role as tour manager for UB40."

Advance planning began in October 2025 after a successful short run earlier that spring, with the brief focused on delivering the warm, natural tonality required for Morrison’s vocal- and guitar-led show. "Yaron wanted a very natural sound," Timmins explained. "He has used Martin Audio with Simple Minds and Ocean Colour Scene and likes the warmth it provides, but he wasn't as familiar with Martin’s newer products."

To assess the platform, Levy attended an Australian Pink Floyd performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall. "He really liked the audio and the overall package," continued Timmins. He then designed a one-truck solution that could adapt to different rooms and rigging points.

At full deployment, the system carries up to 24 WPC elements (12 per side), typically flown on single points with four grids for maximum flexibility, allowing ground-stacking where required. Low end comes from 12 SXCF118 18" subwoofers, usually stacked three high by two wide to suit each space. Fills are handled by Martin Audio’s TORUS constant curvature arrays, with four T820 units for lip fill and four T1230 enclosures for in- or out-fill duties.

System tech duties are led by 22Live's Chris Wilcock, with Maria Head overseeing stage operations and supporting monitors. "My growth into this industry has been really organic and well supported by 22Live and the people running it who trusted me," said Wilcock. "There's a very close team of people on this tour who have been working together for a long time. There's a good vibe between the crew and artist, everyone looks out for each other. It's a great tour."

"The WPC performance is remarkable," he said. "And it's versatile enough to fit into venues of varied sizes. The rigging system is fast and smooth; it takes no time to get it in the air and back down on the floor. The 10-degree rigging angles give me the flexibility to design a better system for each room and reach the more challenging audience areas over or under balconies. It's also a very light box for the power that it has."

Chris Wilcock, 22Live, said: "The 100-degree dispersion is fantastic for theatre spaces. The 100-degree dispersion is fantastic for theatre spaces where points can be in some very awkward places."

"The T820 front fills we use are a perfect size to sit aesthetically on the edge of the stage without affecting sightlines," Wilcock added. "They produce a very defined sound to bolster James' vocal on the front rows."

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