The Doobie Brothers Invite America to Walk This Road on Tour with Cohesion Audio in Support

	Walk This Road was one of the first tours to use Cohesion's novel aerial amplifier rack designed specifically for use with its new amplification technology.

Following the release of their 16th studio album, Walk This Road, rock band The Doobie Brothers embarked on a North American amphitheater tour of the same name, bringing together members Tom Johnston, John McFee, Pat Simmons, and Michael McDonald for twenty-five memorable evenings. The Walk This Road Tour featured new material, the first in 40 years to reunite McDonald with the other principal members, alongside the hits that catapulted the Doobie Brothers to international success and a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cohesion was the chosen audio system for all tour dates.

Front-of-house engineer and system engineer Andrew Black, who previously mixed monitors for The Doobie Brothers before inheriting the front of house role from former front-of-house engineer Greg Nelson, selected Cohesion as the PA. "Greg had Cohesion, and I wanted to keep it," he said before a performance at Cincinnati, Ohio's Riverbend Music Center on the final week of the 2025 edition of the tour. "It's incredibly friendly to production, and sonically, it's my cabinet of choice."

The audio system, deployed by Clair Global, was composed of 12-16 Cohesion CO12 left-right for the main hangs and another 10-12 CO12 on the side hangs, the exact count dependent on specific venue geometry. The deployment at Riverbend Park in Cincinnati, Ohio used 14 on the mains and twelve on the sides, which Black considered a typical deployment.

Three Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofers were flown per side in cardioid configuration, and another six were vertically stacked on the ground, also in cardioid configuration. A Cohesion CP118+ was used as a drum sub.

Six Cohesion CP6+ self-powered fill speakers were placed across the stage to cover the first few rows of seating, which included VIP areas.

Vocalist and keys player Michael McDonald, back on tour with the Doobie Brothers for the first time in decades, had a specially designed setup of fill speakers and monitors. He used two Cohesion CF24 fills on stands and two Cohesion CM22 wedges on the ground. Monitors engineer Mike Klowas described the configuration:

"I'm using [the CF24] for keyboard, organ, and a little mandolin. Frequency-wise, they're great, and they have a super-low profile.They're excellent short throw with good clarity. It sounds like a bigger speaker than it is," laughs Klowas. "You see this tiny speaker, and you're surprised how punchy it is. It packs a lot of power for its form factor."

He continues: "We use this setup with the CM22 and the CF24 to bring the sound up in front of Michael and [increasing signal-to-noise to] help with the room sound. It's worked out very well."

The PA was powered by a Cohesion amplifier platform. Black expanded on the benefits he witnessed: "The system is much smoother sounding in the high-mids and highs, the low end is tighter, and it's wildly efficient."

Walk This Road was additionally one of the first tours to use Cohesion's novel aerial amplifier rack designed specifically for use with its new amplification technology. The aesthetically integrated solution dramatically reduced cable run and improved audio quality, as Black details:

"There's significantly less speaker cable added to the equation, about 20' versus 180'. Everything goes up easier and quicker with half the manpower to fly. Even at the end of the night, not having to coil so much -- one cable for a sixteen-hang versus two double-looms -- is a logistical win. The biggest benefit is absolutely saving on truck space and the real estate on stage left and stage right. From the production side, it's a flat pack."

"It has the ability to fit in one truck, and it's very lightweight," concurs production manager Jared Sanscrainte. "I trust Andrew, and we're both happy."

Since Black also serves as the system engineer, he considers the design of the PA as crucial as the mix. He complimented the tools from Canvas, the brand-new Cohesion system simulation software, as a valuable time-saver: "I compensate a little for rigging or production design, but I know what's coming each day, and then I adapt to what we need. I know what I want out of the PA, and the accuracy of Canvas helps."

Black continues, "I designed the system to be very flexible because you're amplifying the room as much as the speaker's amplifying its cabinet. Sometimes you can't fly everything you have, but the system still has to deliver. This is a small, but mighty PA. I've found a good marriage with Cohesion."

Doobie Brothers classics like "Long Train Running," "Listen to the Music," "China Grove," and their covers of "Jesus Is Just Alright" and "What a Fool Believes" kept the crowd roaring all night long. "With this band specifically, the gang vocals are so incredibly important to have every little detail between each person," says Black. "Whether they're all singing or it's one person's song and the others sing backup, the fans know exactly who's singing what. Keeping those details in the mix is essential, and what I'm doing with my mix translates well with the cabinets."

As the encore concluded and the house lights returned to Riverbend Music Center, fans passing by front-of-house offered compliments and superlatives about the performance's audio to Black.

"You can see the reaction in people's faces; it's doing something to them. I want the crowd to disappear into an experience," he summarizes. "It all starts from the top. The Doobies are incredible to work for, and everybody wants to be here."

The Doobie Brothers returned to touring this month on the Oneness Tour with Santana before resuming Walk This Road in select amphitheaters this fall.