As concerts and other live performances reach audiences through global streaming platforms, Dolby Atmos® is opening new possibilities for immersive entertainment at home. At the upcoming AES Show Nashville, “From Stage to Stream: Delivering Live Entertainment in Dolby Atmos” will bring together leading production and immersive audio professionals to explore the creative opportunities and practical challenges of taking a live Atmos mix from the venue to the listener.
The panel will take place Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 10 a.m. CST at the Davidson Ballroom stage located at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Moderated by Phil Wagner, a highly respected professional audio executive and technology leader, the panel features Michael Abbott, Emmy and Grammy Award®-winning audio producer whose credits include the Grammy Awards and Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium; John Harris, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning music mixer with over 40 years mixing live music for television, records, and film, whose credits include Ray Charles, U2, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Metallica and more; Eric Schilling, multi-Grammy Award-winning recording and immersive mixer whose work includes Adele One Night Only and Dolby Atmos concert productions for Apple; and Ceri Thomas, who led Dolby Atmos Music workflow and studio design globally at Dolby and helped establish Spatial Audio at Apple Music.
While Dolby Atmos workflows are increasingly established in recorded music and post-production, live entertainment demands decisions and delivery in real time. The discussion will examine the complete signal chain, from capture and mixing at the venue through media transport and delivery to the streaming platform’s head end, and the infrastructure needed to preserve the performance’s impact along the way.
Topics will include real-time Dolby Atmos mixing and monitoring, encoding, synchronization, metadata management, quality control and binaural delivery. Drawing on firsthand production and technology experience, panelists will address workflow considerations that remain unfamiliar to much of the media industry, identify obstacles to reliable delivery and discuss technologies shaping the next generation of immersive live programming.
“Live entertainment in Dolby Atmos is moving from possibility to practice, making this a timely conversation for the audio community,” stated Graham Kirk, AES Show Nashville Convention Chair. “This panel brings together the top professionals with firsthand experience across live production, immersive mixing and delivery to explore what works today, what challenges remain and how we can bring audiences closer to the performance.”
For engineers, broadcasters, streaming services, producers and rights holders, the session will offer a practical look at where live Atmos streaming stands today, and what it will take to bring audiences closer to concerts, festivals, award shows, sporting events and other live performances.
Event: From Stage to Stream: Delivering Live Entertainment in Dolby Atmos
Date and time: Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 10 a.m. CST
Location: Davidson Ballroom stage, AES Show, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee
About The Panelists
Phil Wagner, founder and President/CEO of Violet Audio US, will moderate the discussion. A highly respected professional audio executive and technology leader, Wagner has held senior management positions at leading industry companies including Soundcraft, Rupert Neve, Focusrite Novation and Solid State Logic. Additionally, he helped the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing develop High Resolution Audio delivery standards.
Participating panelists include:
Michael Abbott — Emmy and Grammy Award-winning audio producer, broadcast engineer and founder of All Ears, Inc. Abbott brings more than four decades of live television and streaming experience, with credits including the Grammy Awards, American Idol, The Voice and the Emmy-winning Disney+ production Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.
John Harris — Music mixer with more than 40 years of experience mixing live music for television, records, and film. He has mixed the Grammy Awards broadcast for 37 years and U2’s live broadcasts since the 1980s. His credits include Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Metallica. Recognized with Emmy, Grammy, Peabody and TEC Awards, he credits the musicians and crews who make the work possible. He is a partner in Nashville-based Remote Production Group and teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Eric Schilling — Multi-Grammy Award-winning recording and immersive mixer. His broadcast credits include the Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium and Adele One Night Only. His immersive work includes projects for Coldplay, Lenny Kravitz, the Bee Gees and Alicia Keys, alongside Dolby Atmos concert productions for Apple.
Ceri Thomas — Founder of IMMERSV (independent consultancy specializing in immersive audio for media and entertainment), who previously led Dolby Atmos Music workflow and studio design globally at Dolby and helped establish Spatial Audio at Apple Music. He now advises studios and venues on immersive production and delivery, including live entertainment in Dolby Atmos.
