, backline techs and even FOH themselves. To be a sought-after monitor engineer, you will need to be technically good. But, just as importantly, you will also need to be a peacemaker and a counsellor — a colleague of mine was working with a band one night when the singer came over to the monitor position, out of sight, and burst into tears, asking the engineer what the point of life was. The demands on monitor engineers are indeed diverse, and not always related to sound!