Now Hear This Entertainment

<p>A singer, songwriter multi-instrumentalist who has a new EP coming out next week and appeared on Hit Parader’s unsigned band competition show, "No Cover." She won Best Female Artist in the International Acoustic Music Awards earlier this year. She has performed at venues ranging from the Hotel Café in Los Angeles to Rockwood Music Hall and the Bitter End in New York. She also sang on a song that was used in a Netflix movie. Her YouTube channel has over 14,000 subscribers and she was awarded a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music as a violin virtuoso.</p>

<p>A singer, songwriter, and guitar player from Nashville, where she had a residency at BB King’s Blues Club. She has released six new songs this year alone. She has had one song featured on the HBO series, “The Hype,” and had placements on the longtime daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.” Her videos on YouTube have combined for over 400,000 views and she has played live to groups numbering from a few to thousands in venues across the country. She is self-described as “rock and roll with a hint of soul.”</p>

<p>New York-based singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player. Before the pandemic she was playing 8-10 shows each week, including notable venues such as Rockwood Music Hall and the Bitter End. She was named a Sam Ash Music Store “Spotlight Artist” and just this year became a part of the Yamaha Guitar Ambassador Program. She released a 6-song EP on International Women’s Day last year to critical acclaim. (It spent two months on the Top 40 charts for The International Folk Alliance Folk DJ charts.) The engineer on it is a GRAMMY nominee. She also talks about a new recording project she’s working on.</p>

<p>She is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and ukulele player who has graced the cover of Ukulele Magazine twice. Her songs have seen both television and movie placements. She has performed internationally and has even opened for Jackson Browne, plus she teaches workshops for ukulele festivals and songwriting festivals. She appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, has ten albums under her belt, and her YouTube videos have a combined total of over 600,000 views.</p>

<p>Albuquerque, New Mexico-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who, in April, released his third EP, which has four songs and is actively being promoted during a jam-packed tour schedule this summer that takes him through eleven states over four months, which follow the same number of states he has already played in so far in 2022. This month he will hit his 500,00th mile driven on tour since starting in 2016. In his travels he has performed with the likes of Third Eye Blind, Sister Hazel, and Lifehouse, among others. In total he has played in 46 states and seven different countries.</p>

<p>A two-time GRAMMY nominee in addition to having been nominated for a Dove Award for Song of the Year. A Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player, he also has an Academy of Country Music nomination and two CMA nominations. Plus, he was nominated for the 2019 Australia’s Golden Guitar Award for Best Traditional Country Album. His first single had been a top 20 hit with the band The Dirt Drifters on Warner Brothers Records. During his career he has had over 100 independent and major label cuts. He is also the organizer of the Nashville Nights event taking place in September in Denmark. He will also be a featured performer next month at the 2nd Lake Martin Songwriters Festival in Alabama.</p>

<p>Florida-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who has had two Number 1 radio singles and has been awarded as a triple platinum selling songwriter. In 2008 on the famed Ryman stage, he was awarded first place in the Colgate Country Showdown, beating out 50 thousand artists from all over the United States. Present day, he performs live with his wife across a variety of locations, having played recently from Key West, Florida, up to Vermont and Maine, with upcoming dates in California and in late July at the 2nd Lake Martin Songwriters Festival. Plus, the two of them are extremely active live streaming on Twitch, where they have over 18 thousand followers. Meanwhile, all of their top five songs on Spotify have been streamed 35 thousand or more times each.</p>

<p>A platinum-selling singer songwriter who is a four-time GRAMMY nominee and an Academy of Country Music and Billboard Awards winner. She has appeared on The Tonight Show, David Letterman, and numerous other national TV shows. In addition to writing her own original music, she has written hits for the likes of Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Leann Rimes, and more. She was also picked as Carrie Underwood’s duet partner for a song on CMT’s 100 Greatest Duets. She is performing extensively, both here in the U.S. and internationally.</p>

<p>Texas-based singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player whose debut album came out just over a year ago. He has a new single coming out this Friday, May 20th, and country superstar Cody Johnson put two of his songs on his new album. He is touring in full force, having started this month in Key West after having been in Georgia and, of course, Texas, the month before and New Mexico earlier this year. At the end of May he’ll be playing at the famous Bluebird Café in Nashville before heading on to Kentucky and Louisiana. Plus, in July, he’ll be a featured participant in the 2nd Lake Martin Songwriters Festival in Alabama.</p>

<p>Las Vegas performer who is a singer, songwriter, vocal producer, and vocal & performance coach. She just released a new single in January and has written with a GRAMMY Award winner on her original music and co-wrote with another notable name on a song for a motion picture. Her voice has also been heard in popular jingles for commercials, and her voice was heard in a Rugrats movie by Universal Pictures. In Las Vegas she performs on “The Strip” six nights a week in the role of music icon Cher and will be doing so next month in Australia and on other 2022 dates in several U.S. cities.</p>

<p>Belgium-based singer, songwriter, performer, and podcast host whose latest release was a five-song EP that she put out last year, with two of the songs from that each gaining over one hundred thousand streams on Spotify. Last year she also wrote and submitted music for the Eurovision Song Contest, which has led to additional efforts she is making this year to again include that and other initiatives. She has enjoyed support from not only Belgian but international radio stations as well. Plus, she has gotten press coverage from all over, ranging from the U.S. to France to India to New Zealand to the UK.</p>

<p>Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and recording engineer who is also the founder of the independent record label Lost Coast Records. He also owns Lost Chord Guitars, which includes a music venue and a boutique guitar shop. He even is the founder of a company that does speaker systems. Throughout his career he has performed or worked with everyone from actor and recording artist Jeff Bridges to Disney to Third Eye Blind, Michael McDonald, and more. He is currently working on a solo record of his own.</p>

<p>Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, and film composer who just released a new single less than two weeks ago and also has an album coming out later this year. In 2019 she appeared on Season 17 of “American Idol,” and she has also toured with High School Nation. She has 1.1 million followers on TikTok and over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs have a combined total of over three million streams. On top of all that, the videos on her official YouTube channel have gotten a combined total of 1.1 million views.</p>

<p>A singer, songwriter, piano player whose music has gotten more than a million-and-a-half streams. As recently as two months ago he has been opening for the Gin Blossoms and has also been invited to plays with the likes of Everclear, Lisa Loeb, 38 Special, and more. He has not only performed throughout the U.S. but in international locations such as Nicaragua and Croatia. He has gotten acclaim from a number of publications, including Huffington Post, and has had Jerry Harrison from Talking Heads as a producer on his music. He has a new album on the way, which will be his sixth.</p>

<p>The president and CEO of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, which is a global not-for-profit trade association representing more than ten thousand manufacturers and retailers of musical instruments, professional sound, and live event production products. Their massive annual trade show is coming up at the beginning of June in Anaheim, the proceeds from which they reinvest into grants, scholarships, scientific research, industry promotions, and public and government relations programs. Well-versed across the business, he is also a musician himself and was a touring manager and even an installer.</p>

<p>Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player and percussionist who has a new single coming out this Friday, April 1st, after having just released another new song earlier this month. She has been crowdfunding towards what will be her tenth album and along the way has launched what she calls an ‘inspirational career coaching’ business that is not just for musicians. She continues to perform regularly, not only in Music City but as far away as San Diego and Hawaii, among other locations. She has also sung up and down the aisles and over the p.a. on 24 – and counting – Southwest Airlines flights. She has been a guest on this show twice before, way back on Episode 52 as well as the second ever episode of NHTE.</p>

<p>Miami-based singer, director, and producer who has performed and directed in over 40 productions throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. His latest project is as a member of the group EleMenTrio, which has its debut shows next month. He is also the co-creator of Mad Hatter – The Musical. Plus, he has served in roles ranging from Artistic Director for the Vienna Summer Music Festival, General Director at Opera Orlando, and Assistant Director at Opera in the Ozarks, among others.</p>

<p>When combined with the first part of the interview, this truly constitutes what could be called a masterclass. Continuing from last week’s conversation packed with content gold, hear this time about an A-lister that he is coaching, his time working on “American Idol” – including a Scotty McCreery story – plus he talks about what is at the root of performers getting stage fright, plus he shares about some of the artists he’s working with. All this from a vocalist, songwriter, guitar player, producer, vocal arranger, artist mentor, and vocal coach. He was the lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist from 2006-2008 and 2013-2020 for five-time-GRAMMY-nominated pop supergroup Ambrosia. He has been a member of the Elton John Band and the Michael Jackson “This Is It” band. He also worked as a Vocal & Performance Coach, Vocal Arranger/Producer and First Line Judge on seasons 10 and 11 of “American Idol.” As a session vocalist, he has sung on many major records, commercials, and motion picture and television soundtracks.</p>

<p>A vocalist, songwriter, guitar player, producer, vocal arranger, artist mentor, and vocal coach. He was the lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist from 2006-2008 and 2013-2020 for five-time-GRAMMY-nominated pop supergroup Ambrosia. He has been a member of the Elton John Band and the Michael Jackson “This Is It” band. He also worked as a Vocal & Performance Coach, Vocal Arranger/Producer and First Line Judge on seasons 10 and 11 of “American Idol.” As a session vocalist, he has sung on many major records, commercials, and motion picture and television soundtracks.</p>

<p>A Country Music Hall of Fame drummer who performed with the legendary group Alabama for nearly three decades. He was part of the ceremony when Alabama received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and continues to play, produce, and record. He is the author of a book titled, “The High Road: Memories From a Long Trip,” which is described as an intimate collection of personal memoirs spotlighting the highlights and lowlights of his life journey and music career.</p>

<p>Based in Iceland, he is a singer, songwriter, guitar player who last year released three singles and a 15-song album. In recent years he has extensively toured Australia, the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe, playing over one hundred live concerts per year. He has been written about by the German edition of Rolling Stone as well as a notable magazine in Australia. He has been releasing original music since 2009 and has almost 36 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and more than three-quarters of a million combined video views on his official YouTube channel. Along the way, at one point his band participated in the final 5 competition on BBC World Service’s Next Big Thing, playing for millions of viewers and listeners all over the world.</p>

<p>A multi-GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who spent 28 years as a member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Chicago. He has performed around the world and has a musical career that goes all the way back to a band he formed in 1961. Along the way he has worked with everyone from Patti LaBelle to Elton John, Donna Summer, Neil Diamond, and Kenny Rogers, among many others. He continues to write, record, and perform, having released a 14-song album last year.</p>

<p>Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who has over one point five million social media followers across Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, PLUS he has 27 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. He appeared on YouTube’s show “Best Cover Ever” (with Ludacris and Flo Rida). He has performed with artists ranging from Vanilla Ice to 38 Special AND he also is the host of a podcast.</p>

<p>She just released a brand-new single less than a week ago, which follows a five-song EP that she had put out in mid-November. An Arkansas-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, she had also released four singles in 2021. She has opened for chart-topping artists and has a number of endorsements, which she talks about here. She has performed there in Arkansas as well as in Florida, Iowa, Virginia, Carolina, and even at the Cartagena International Guitar Festival down in Colombia. She is also the host of a podcast aimed at increasing awareness, spreading love, and encouraging people to feel less alone.</p>

<p>He spent ten years as a FORBES senior editor and now covers the business of music at Substack, where he is writing a twice-weekly newsletter and serializing his fifth book, We Are All Musicians Now. He has been a source for the BBC, NPR, and 60 Minutes, and a speaker at South By Southwest, the global tech event CES, plus TEDx, Princeton and Harvard. Steve Forbes said of this guest, “There is no keener, more knowledgeable and scintillating observer of the modern cultural scene.” He was previously a guest on this show two years ago on Episode 325.</p>

<p>He toured as the lead guitarist for the legendary Oak Ridge Boys for 23 years while maintaining a busy recording schedule in Nashville. He has made hundreds of TV appearances, played thousands of live performances nationally and abroad – including three performances at the White House – and has shared the stage with everyone from Lou Rawls and James Brown to Merle Haggard and Tim McGraw. He currently works at Sweetwater as the guitarist for the recording studio and also creates written and video content for their website and social media channels.</p>

<p>Austin-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who just released a brand new single the day after Christmas and is releasing a music video for it. She had also put out a new song last June and is performing regularly around the Austin area. In 2019 she released an EP that featured vocals from Michael McDonald, who she has opened for along with Kenny Loggins and Dennis Quaid. She also caught the attention of actor Jeff Bridges, who has featured her online as a result. She was previously a guest on this show back in the summer of 2018 on Episode 236.</p>

<p>A singer, songwriter, guitar player, and drummer based in southeast Florida. Having also lived in Los Angeles, he has had the distinction of working with many greats in rock, pop, and jazz, including Barry Manilow. Plus, he is currently part of the national touring production “Mercury: The Story of Queen’s Front Man.” He has also performed in national touring productions such as “Broadway Music on Tour” and “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber,” plus he is the creator of “The Troubadour’s Journey.” He has also been a music educator since the 1980s in California, Tennessee, and in Florida.</p>

<p>A record producer, film and TV composer, songwriter, arranger, musical director, and bandleader. He first came into international prominence as a record producer in the late ‘70s, producing numerous albums and singles, including the GRAMMY-nominated "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill. He also worked on two GRAMMY-nominated Johnny Mathis albums. Growing a reputation as a duet producer, he has spent the past five years producing duets with such artists as Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, and more. As an artist he released a 15-song album this past March and his top five songs on Spotify have a combined 22 MILLION streams! His projects include “Disney’s Lullaby Album,” which went gold, and more than 30 album projects for Disney over the last 20 years. He had been Vice President of A&R for Walt Disney Records in 2007 and 2008.</p>

<p>A vocalist and award-winning songwriter who just released a new single at the end of October. Based in Nashville, he is the owner of Gray Sound Recording Services, and is a producer, senior mixing engineer, and the creator of the Before You Record Course™. His work has been recorded in many countries and by the legendary Merle Haggard, plus Randy Houser, and many others. In his early career he toured coast to coast for several years and has shared the stage with the likes of Lady A, Lee Brice, Big & Rich, and more. Listen too as he talks about achieving RIAA gold record status.</p>

<p>Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who earlier this year put out a new song and is currently working on a new album. She is a part of five specials done by media and lifestyle outlet Country Rebel and last month did a string of performances across the Alabama-Florida border as part of the 37th Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival, with another show coming up on December 21st in Houston. Her official YouTube channel has over one million combined video views and she has more than 16 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. She was a guest on this show close to four years ago, way back on Episode 135.</p>

<p>He has been Carrie Underwood’s guitar player for the last 14 years. He has also performed with the likes of Keith Urban, Kenny Loggins, and Jamie O’Neal. He also plays dobro and pedal steel and is a producer as well. At one point he had formed an acoustic country/bluegrass band that signed a deal with RCA Records and released a single that reached number 25 on Billboard’s country music chart. He authored a book called, “25 Notes for the Successful Musician” and two years ago released an intro course into the careers of music. He has also been an adjunct professor at Belmont University.</p>

<p>A trio who released a twelve-song album at the end of August, with one of the songs featuring a recent NHTE guest. They had also released a ten-song album exactly two years earlier. This episode was recorded at the 37th Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival in Alabama where they did multiple shows. Plus, they’d also have performances coming up in Tennessee and Texas and had recently performed in South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana and more. They were named Mississippi’s Songwriters of the Year and this year were inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2021. The three vocalists are Danica Hart - known for her work on the GRAMMY-nominated "Spyboy" album - along with her sister Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle.</p>

<p>She just released a full album in mid-September that includes a song featuring Vince Gill. A singer, songwriter, recording artist, she has performed at legendary venues such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Bluebird Café, to name just two. Her music catalog goes back to 2010 and she has been featured on SiriusXM Radio. She has more than three quarters of a million combined video views on her official YouTube channel and well over a hundred thousand followers on her Facebook page.</p>

<p>The runner-up on Season 17 of “The Voice,” he is a singer, songwriter, guitar, and piano player. His latest single was just released in mid-September and is his fourth new song of 2021. He has a new album coming out in late January. At the end of 2020 he put out a song that charted at Number 1 on iTunes. His songs have been highlighted by the likes of People.com, Forbes, and CMT, among others. Since his time on national television, he has also headlined sold out shows in Austin and in the northeast.</p>

<p>An internationally renowned producer, engineer, and mix master who has over 125 gold and platinum records and 50 top twenty singles. He has worked on dozens of Grammy nominated and winning albums, and has been personally nominated eleven times for The Best Engineered Album category, winning twice. He also has won an Emmy Award for Best Sound Mixing for a Variety Special and a Dove Award. Earlier this year he put out a book called, “Chairman at the Board: Recording the Soundtrack of a Generation.”</p>

<p>A singer, songwriter, guitar and bass player whose latest single came out in September, marking the latest release in his solo work after having become known for touring globally and recording as a member of the alt-rock band 3 Doors Down. Their 2016 song “Us And The Night” peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Rock Chart and was the first major release he both wrote and played on in-studio. In 2018 he made his terrestrial radio debut. He also talks here about having been featured on Paramount Network's reality series "Ink Master" and some acting that he has done (two movies).</p>

<p>Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who put out a new single a couple weeks ago and has an EP coming out at the end of next week. He has performed as far away as London and has even traveled to exotic locations such as Iceland and Bali. He has more than 25 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and his music catalogue goes back to 2014. He has done extensive work with Maxwell House, plus he ran an IndieGoGo campaign to help fund his new recording project. Hear him also talk about all that he does on Twitch, plus, meeting his father for the first time ever – in Indonesia!</p>

<p>The Season 1 winner of FOX’s “The Four: Battle for Stardom.” A singer, songwriter, recording artist with Motown Gospel/Capitol CMG, she has over 215 THOUSAND monthly listeners on Spotify and her YouTube channel has a combined seven million-plus video views. She has toured the U.S. extensively, as well as performed in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, and has a single that at the time of this interview was #4 at Gospel radio, a song from an EP she put out back in late February. In 2018 she had been named one of iHeartRadio’s “On the Verge Artists.”</p>

<p>A journey back through the last 100 episodes of this show, bringing you selected audio clips from various guests, interviews, episodes following the milestone 400th episode last week. This special edition of NHTE is a great way to be reminded of installments of the podcast that you loved, or to hear some that you might have missed and will want to go back to. It's also a celebration of the latest landmark in the show's now more than seven-and-a-half year history and an opportunity to acknowledge ALL the great guests and continue expressing gratitude for everyone who listens and subscribes.</p>

<p>A recording artist, singer, songwriter, entertainer who added to her music catalog with a single earlier this year for which there was later a remix released. Last year, on Christmas Day, she had put out an album featuring eleven songs. Her discography goes back as far as a full-length album from 2013 called, “Somebody’s Gonna Pay,” which is fitting given her other career in entertainment, running parallel to doing music, that being in professional wrestling. In addition, she is also part of a YouTube show called GAW TV.</p>

<p>Nashville-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who released a single at the beginning of this year. She just returned from performing in Denmark, which came approximately one month after having been a featured participant in the Lake Martin Songwriters Festival in Alabama. Five years ago she moved to Nashville and now performs regularly on Broadway in Music City. She is currently in the studio with a GRAMMY Award-winning producer, who she talks about here. And, she has been writing with hitmakers of the likes of Trent Tomlinson, among others. Plus, she has been consulting with Tim McGraw’s marketing and management company.</p>

<p>She just won Artist of the Year for CMA of Texas as this episode was being released. A singer, songwriter, guitar player who has a brand new, full-length album in the works, she has already gotten a top ten song in Belgium. She's from Texas, lives in Nashville, and performed three times at the Lake Martin Songwriters Festival last month in Alabama, where this interview was recorded. Ten days after this interview she would be performing at Freedom Jam St. Louis 2021. Plus, this month she was performing internationally. She has even gotten aligned with a clothing sponsor, as noted on this episode. Three years ago she was the guest on Episode 247 of this show.</p>

<p>A singer, songwriter, guitar player from Alabama who these days lives in Nashville. His list of accolades and awards includes Top 10 national songwriter recognition by Taylor Guitars and HoriPro Entertainment Group, songs recorded by over 40 country music artists, Billboard charting releases, and most recently, a No. 1 country song in Belgium. In addition, four days before this interview was recorded, he opened up for Martina McBride in Montgomery, Alabama, which was his first stadium show. He is currently nominated for three 2021 Josie Music Awards and was previously a guest on this show three years ago back on Episode 246.</p>

<p>The co-founders of Keep Music Alive, whose mission is to promote the value of music. To help support their mission they have also founded Kids Music Day, which is coming up in a few weeks, on October 1st, AND they have founded Teach Music Week, which happens in March. They are also co-authors of a book series called, “88 Ways Music Can Change Your Life.” He is a lifelong musician and songwriter. She is a beginner percussionist and has recently started on the ukulele too.</p>

<p>Singer, songwriter, guitar player, and actress whose newest single was released in July. At one point in her career, she was signed to Universal Records, and she has performed in locations such as Japan, Nashville, as well as at South By Southwest and even the famous Hotel Café in Los Angeles. She also even toured with Sheryl Crow. At the start of her music career her debut album climbed to #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart and nowadays she has more than 51 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify alone. She has a new album due out this Fall.</p>

<p>Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who was on this show just under two years ago and has continued her momentum. Just under two months ago she put out her second single of 2021. Last year she signed a publishing deal with Jimmy Mattingly and Johnny Garcia, and she is a spokesperson for renowned vocal coach Kati Henricks’ new masterclass series. The groundwork is being laid for her to tour in the UK next year.</p>

<p>Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist whose latest single was released in late May. A song that she released last year won two awards and has more than 650 thousand streams on Spotify. She has opened for Montgomery Gentry and a number of other notable names. She is a member of the Country Music Association and BMI, among other music organizations. She has a handful of endorsements, and she does extensive volunteer work. She has performed in Tennessee, where she's based, as well as in Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri.</p>

<p>The founder, CEO, and Director of Artist Support for The Artist Minds, which provides awareness, education, and action to promote the well being and longevity of the lives of music industry professionals. A multi-state licensed mental health therapist, coach, consultant and advocate, she has over 12 years of clinical experience and specialty training in trauma, grief, self-harm, eating disorders, mindfulness, co-dependency, anxiety, depression and conflict resolution.</p>

<p>He has been called “the preeminent authority on the guitar.” He is an experienced artist, retailer, gallerist, curator, distributor, manufacturer, consultant, and public speaker. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, he curated a boutique guitar showcase, touring 15 cities in eight countries. Among the many hats he wears, he is also a consultant to NAMM – the largest musical instrument trade organization in the world.</p>