We Are Moving The Needle’s 2026 Resonator Awards Honor Chaka Kahn, Chappell Roan & Production Artistry, Advocate For Gender Parity In Studios

It was both breathtaking and heartwarming to behold the profound impact Grammy-winning music mixer and mastering engineer Emily Lazar’s ‘We Are Moving the Needle” is having on bringing gender parity to recording studios and far beyond.  Nowhere was that change more evident than the organization’s second annual Resonator Awards Ceremony held Jan. 27 at L.A.’s historic – and newly re-christened— Chaplin Studios honoring brilliant women, LGBTQ+ and non-binary engineers and producers who have enhanced the music, lives and careers of a wide-range of jaw-droppingly brilliant artists—who turned out in force to support this important event.

Bestowing or receiving praise and expressing their gratitude for and heaping copious amounts of love to the behind-the-control-board talent were a pantheon of music luminaries: Joni Mitchell, Chaka Kahn, Cher, Chappell Roan, Doechii, St. Vincent, Olivia Rodrigo, Nancy Wilson, HAIM, Laufey, Adison Raye, Anderson .Paak, Jason Isbel, Aaron Dessner, Rostam and Tony Berg. Their very presence underscored the importance of this event and how integral these highly-accomplished producers, engineers and songwriters are to any artists’ creativity, productivity and success in recording music — no easy task that.

Doechii’s gratitude for Jayda Love, Isbell thanking Gena Johnson, Dessner’s (of The National fame and songwriter/producer for Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Gracie Abrams among others) supreme appreciation for engineer Bella Blasko and .Paak’s adoration for engineer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Alissia were only matched by the awardees’ touching acceptance speeches showcasing the mutual respect, appreciation and affection these two interdependent sectors of the music industry have for each other.

Elsewhere, Raye paid tribute to producer and songwriters Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser, Roselilah; Tony Berg thanked Betty Bennett, co-founder of Apogee Electionics; Laufey expressed her gratitude for songwriter Amy Allen; Rodrigo paid homage to the musician and studio whiz St. Vincent (Annie Clark), and Lazar presented a breakthrough award to Roselilah who production credits include Kendrick and SZA, Glorilla and 21 Savage.

The night’s artist inductees included Heart’s Nancy Wilson introducing Chappell Roan who, in the past has performed a searing rendition of Heart’s “Barracuda,” received the Harmonizer Award recognizing her advocacy and philanthropy, including in support of LGTBQ+ communities, artist healthcare and mental health.

 “I think that it’s just an artist’s — and anybody who has money — it’s your duty to give it away,” Roan said. “I don’t really know what else there is to harmony other than giving, so thank you for recognizing me….I think the only thing that matters is community and kindness and giving away what you have.”

The night’s most powerful and poignant moment came with legends Joni Mitchell introducing Chaka Khan for the night’s Luminary Award. Mitchell introduced Khan, her longtime friend, by telling a story of them once dining and dashing on a meal, which Mitchell felt guilty about and then returning to pay the bill.

Performers on the night included Margo Price with Jim James covering Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere” as well as Lalah Hathaway, Maggie Rogers, Sia, Flo. The night’s fire all-female backing band was none other Chappell Roan’s touring band. The night ended with an all-star tribute to Khan with Sia singing Chaka with Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good” featuring the phenomenal Danielle Haim on drums, Thundercat on bass and Greg Kurstin on keyboards/voice box; Maggie Rogers and Grace Bowers sag “Ain’t Nobody” and finally a rousing rendition of “Through the Fire” by Lalah Hathaway, who was joined by Khan herself.

At the heart of this most heartwarming event is advocacy and fundraising, which included an auction to further ‘We Are Moving the Needle”’s mission to empower women, non-binary, and trans producers and engineers through scholarships, mentorships, research, and advocacy to drive equity and lasting industry change. This the organization has accomplished in spades thus far raising $875K, granting 190 scholarships and providing 90 soundboard mentors.

At the end of her acceptance speech, it was Kahn herself who best summed up the evening: “I’ve always believed that empowered women empower women,” she said. “So thank you for this award, and keep moving the needle.”