AudioMasters Benefit Golf Tournament Announces VIP Guests and More Sponsors for 27th Annual Nashville Event

Players and sponsors alike are gearing up for the 2025 AudioMasters Benefit Golf Tournament, set to celebrate its 27th year as the primary fundraising event for the Nashville Engineer Relief Fund (NERF). The DiGiCo AudioMasters Live Day of play on Thursday, May 15, and the API AudioMasters Studio Day on Friday, May 16, at Harpeth Hills Golf Course in Nashville both offer a full day of friendly competition and camaraderie as Nashville audio pros rally for a beloved cause.

While the AudioMasters Tournament was created to help NERF fulfill its mission to provide financial assistance to members of the local audio community in times of crisis, it also serves as a time to honor those who have helped shape the Nashville audio industry, many of whom regularly attend and play active roles in the Tournament's success.

Live Sound is the theme of the day on May 15, with returning title sponsor DiGiCo playing host to many top names in touring and live sound, along with the day's special guest VIP engineer, John McBride, co-owner of Nashville's Blackbird Studio and institutional director of The Blackbird Academy. After getting his start in live sound by launching MD Systems Sound in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas, McBride and his wife, country superstar Martina McBride, came to Nashville in early 1990. He sold MD Systems to Clair Brothers Audio in 1997 and continues working with Clair Global. He fulfilled a lifelong dream when the McBrides opened Blackbird Studio in 2002 -- which quickly became a favorite of artists, musicians, producers, and engineers worldwide. A champion of analog recording, he has amassed one of the largest private collections of vintage and modern recording equipment on the planet, including a microphone collection amongst the finest on earth. In 2013, he opened The Blackbird Academy, dedicated to advancing the quality of audio and music production education through a hands-on, professional training curriculum, later expanded to include a live sound engineering program. In 2014, McBride received two Pensado Awards -- the Educator Award and the Live/FOH Award. He also received a CMA award for Live/FOH for mixing Martina McBride. The McBrides are currently working on Inside Blackbird -- a service that launched in 2023. They also have three daughters.

Studio Day, May 16, is being hosted by perennial hole sponsor, and first-time title sponsor, API Audio. This year's Studio Day VIP will be broadcast music production pioneer Marc Repp, who is no stranger to the tournament and can often be found on the course with players and sponsors alike. Repp has spent over 50 years in broadcast music production, working with some of the biggest names in the business, from Bob Hope to Mikhail Baryshnikov, Roy Acuff to Taylor Swift. His many years in the industry have found him working in 18 countries, mixing over 250 major award shows and 400 music-variety specials, including 30 years as the primary audio mixer for the CMA Awards -- a position which gave him the opportunity to generate the purportedly first ever all-digital mix of a live television broadcast in October of 1994. He has been nominated for multiple Emmy, TEC, and GRAMMY Awards, in addition to taking home several of such coveted prizes. Repp is now semi-retired, though still an active part of the Nashville audio community.

Both days of play will take players on a tour of the various offerings from tournament sponsors, featuring contests, food, swag, experiences, showcases of audio gear and services, and a chance to meet face-to-face with some of the top names in audio. From breakfast at the driving range before the shotgun start to the "19th Hole" awards reception dinner, the AudioMasters Benefit Golf Tournament provides a relaxed yet engaging environment for networking with pro audio brand sponsors, production companies, studios, service providers, engineers, producers, musicians, and students from all facets of the industry.

Additional sponsors for this year's tournaments include: Audio-Technica, Audiomovers, Autra, Blackbird Studios, Black River Entertainment, Clair Global, Clyne Media, Corky's Ribs & BBQ Brentwood, Covered Bridge Recording, the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS), CTS AVL, David Angress, Design Technik, Direct Out, DPA, Ergolab Stealth, Focusrite Group (Adam Audio, Focusrite, Martin Audio), Genelec, Gold Pacific Studios, Immersive Design Labs, L-Acoustics, Nashville Recording Supply, RCF, the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, the Recording Studio Insurance Program, Russ Berger Design Group (RBDG), Solotech, Sound Emporium, Sound Image, Spectrum Sound, Solid State Logic (SSL), Teegarden Audio, TransAudio Group, Trew

Audio, VEVA Sound, Vision2 Marketing, Wave Distro, and Welcome to 1979 Studios. Single-player and foursome registration is still available, along with a limited number of sponsorship opportunities.

For more details on registration and sponsorships, visit the AudioMasters Nashville Benefit Golf Tournament website or contact Karen Dunn at karen@kmdpro.com or (925) 708-0307.