Now Hear This Entertainment

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.

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 soundtr

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”