JMK Event Design

"My experience attending a Knox Farm Series show still counts as one of my all-time favorite experiences. From the secretive and somewhat mysterious invitation to the immersion into a well-choreographed afternoon surrounded with friends, food, and live music. I highly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to be part of or to be a supporter of James McKenty’s vision to introduce people, experiences and unique locations together to cease the moment and let the experience leave you with moments of future anticipation. I look forward to the next experience that James McKenty presents us with."

"James McKenty is an old soul, a kindred spirit. His approach to engineering and producing hearkens back to a time‎ when the space, equipment, mic placement and performance were paramount. Truth is, they still are. Trouble is, somewhere between downloading plug-ins and checking our phones we've lost sight of what's important. Whenever you want it done right though, go back to first principles: start with a good song, gather together some great musicians and call James!"

One dreamy Sunday afternoon last summer, my wife and I awaited with 30 unsuspecting people downtown for a bus to take us what the invitation described as ‘a mystery location’. As bus pulled up and we all poured in, there was clearly an anxious and excited energy amongst the group. After about 20 minutes, the bus began to slow down on a quite back country road. We promptly all shifted to one side of the bus to get a closer look. What stood before us was one of the most stunning properties most of us had ever seen. A stone house on the outskirts of a forest, in front of...

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"One dreamy Sunday afternoon last summer, my wife and I awaited with 30 unsuspecting people downtown for a bus to take us what the invitation described as ‘a mystery location’. As bus pulled up and we all poured in, there was clearly an anxious and excited energy amongst the group. After about 20 minutes, the bus began to slow down on a quite back country road. We promptly all shifted to one side of the bus to get a closer look. What stood before us was one of the most stunning properties most of us had ever seen. A stone house on the outskirts of a forest, in front of sprawling sunny meadow and a massive wooden barn, which from the position of the sun, appeared to be in a giant spotlight. It was truly serene. Eagerly, we all poured out of the bus, where smiling bartenders stood by a table of sparkling beverages, as well as some reds and whites which looked to be hand-picked by a sommelier. Continuing on, we saw a buffet table with several stainless-steel trays, which carefully being filled by ‘The Little Apron Company’. And as someone who has used this service in the past, my mouth immediately began to water. I didn’t even need to see what was being served to know it was going to be delectable. 'How could this night get any better?' I asked myself, gorging on curry and sliders and charcuterie and salads and fresh fruit. As if on cue, James greeted the crowd at the foot of the barn (which was still in the spotlight), he announced that The Silver Hearts would be taking stage and for us to all make our way inside. With drinks in our hand and a hop in our step, we did just that. My wife and I opted for a balcony view, which let us see the band from a unique perspective. As they started to play, all I can say is ‘Wow.’ The acoustics rivaled that of Massey Hall. The highs were clean and crisp. The lows were deep and resonant. And the vocals brought it all together. For the duration of the night we swayed, we sang, we smiled and when they were done, we begged for more. When their encore finally concluded, I think everyone exhaled and collectively became aware of the magical evening that just took place before us. After receiving a gift bag (it never stopped getting better) we were all ushered back to the bus, which chartered us back to the pick-up location to (sadly) return us back to reality."

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"This album really works sonically. Drums and bass are clean and rich, and it is very analog sounding. I really feel the band has never sounded better than on this record. The drums and bass are particularly impressive and the dynamics of the mixes are perfect."

l have worked with James McKenty since 2010 when we worked together on a Gordon Pinsent record. Since that time he has engineered 2 Cuff The Duke records (Morning comes and Union), a Michelle McAdorey record (Crash Vegas), the Blue Rodeo Box set (1987-93), a Melissa Payne album and his own solo material. He is the best Engineer we have worked with. An engineers job is to get the best possible sounds and know when to speak up and when not to. James contribution on both levels is tremendous. James is an artist and has the great gift of being able to combine the science and the art of recording...

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"l have worked with James McKenty since 2010 when we worked together on a Gordon Pinsent record. Since that time he has engineered 2 Cuff The Duke records (Morning comes and Union), a Michelle McAdorey record (Crash Vegas), the Blue Rodeo Box set (1987-93), a Melissa Payne album and his own solo material. He is the best Engineer we have worked with. An engineers job is to get the best possible sounds and know when to speak up and when not to. James contribution on both levels is tremendous. James is an artist and has the great gift of being able to combine the science and the art of recording so much so that he feels like a member of the band. We gratefully acknowledge his contributions."

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"I have been in and out of studios for over twenty years, as a player, as a producer, as a songwriter, and I know a great engineer when i see one...James McKenty made it easy for me to focus on the performance and the song without worrying about the technical side of things. I had complete trust in his ability to get the best sound and keep the whole session running smoothly. I also found his creative insights and decision-making valuable assets. He is a very steady personality and a pleasure to work with....and he can play a mean guitar! I couldn’t recommend him more highly."