Now Hear This Entertainment

A music director, producer, session drummer, composer, and mix engineer. He has worked with the likes of Scott Weiland, Bebe Rexha, Tori Kelly, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Lachey, Disney, and many others. He has appeared on TV shows such as Good Morning America, The View, The Arsenio Hall Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Last Call with Carson Daly. He has achieved multi-platinum success as a drummer and engineer as well as music directed multiple major label tours. And, he has composed, recorded and produced songs for feature films, movie trailers and TV shows. Send your questions or comments about this episode via https://featuredup.com/nhte

Nashville-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist whose latest single just came out two weeks ago, with an album coming in mid-August. To date, he has recorded five critically acclaimed albums. His 2022 album charted “Number 1 Added” on NACC Folk, as did his 12-song release at the end of last August. On the heels of THAT project, he amassed one hundred thousand monthly Spotify listeners and over two million cumulative views across Vevo and YouTube. In addition to being a poet, he also has had a career as an entrepreneur that he talks about here, including its impact on his music career. Send your questions or comments about this episode via https://featuredup.com/nhte

Singer, songwriter, recording artist, and actor as well as being a voting member of the Recording Academy, who on Instagram alone has almost 900 thousand followers. On the music side, he has charted in the Billboard Top 40, the iTunes Top 200 dance charts and Top 100 charts, and had three GRAMMY Considerations. He has one song that features Lil Wayne, and he did a pop dance record with a former member of Destiny’s Child, plus he has a new single coming out in July. He attended the GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles in February and will be at CMA Fest in Nashville next month. On the acting side, he is a SAG-AFTRA member, and his acting résumé includes films such as Fate of the Furious, Pitch Perfect 3, and Wonder Woman 1984, and TV work such as The Vampire Diaries, NYPD Blue, and more. Send your questions or comments about this episode via https://featuredup.com/nhte

A composer, guitarist, and harp guitarist who is celebrating the release of her new CD and board game, just released last month. This follows previous innovative releases that were also not just audio only. Her new release is Top 3 on the folk charts and she has more than 27 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined total of more than 3.1 million streams. She has equally amazing numbers on YouTube, where she has gotten a combined total of more than 2.2 million video views. She is performing extensively, including already being booked as far out as February of next year. This marks her third time on this show, having previously been on Episode 319 in March 2020 and Episode 211 in February 2018. Send your questions or comments about this episode via https://featuredup.com/nhte

A recording artist who has toured the world, sold hundreds of thousands of records, and written songs recorded by superstars. Just under two weeks ago he released a new album and the same day a new documentary premiered on Amazon Prime, exploring his life story. His top two songs on Spotify alone have a combined total of over 859 thousand streams and he has shows coming up in central Florida and in North Carolina. He has performed on “Good Morning America,” Fox News, CMT, and more than a dozen appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. He had risen to fame with his debut single "Lipstick," which dominated the Billboard Country Singles Chart for ten weeks.

An award-winning composer and performer who has had several albums in the Billboard Top 20, two PBS specials, and his top five songs on Spotify alone have a combined total of over a million streams. Based in Los Angeles, he is a Lifetime Member of the Recording Academy, and has authored a book that just came out last month titled, “Tuned In: Memoirs of a Piano Man,” which has hit Number 1 on Amazon in multiple categories and gotten over 40 endorsements from A-list celebrities, including the likes of David Foster, Barry Manilow, Diane Warren, Martin Short, Ray Romano, and Ed Begley, Jr., among others.

He wrote the R&B standard, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and is still today singing, writing songs, and playing guitar. He earned a GRAMMY nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, and, he received no fewer than five BMI lifetime achievement awards, was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, is about to be inducted into the Rochester (New York) Music Hall of Fame, and received three Canadian Lifetime Achievement Awards. He has played with, written for, and performed alongside the likes of Nina Simone, James Brown, The Temptations, Wilson Pickett, Grand Funk Railroad, Huey Lewis & the News, Buddy Guy, Joss Stone, and more. In late January he released a 12-song album.

Professional touring multi-instrumentalist currently performing in Las Vegas as Trombonist/Keytarist with Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple. She has performed on the GRAMMY Awards, “Good Morning America,” and “The Voice,” and over her career in music has worked with a variety of artists ranging from Musiq Soulchild to CeeLo Green to Fantasia and even Oprah Winfrey! She has also served as Music Director for Melanie Fiona and Janelle Monáe, and, she is a Roland artist and Ultimate Ears brand ambassador.

Singer, songwriter, guitar player who has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. Highlights of the original music he has released include international hits on the iTunes charts, a Spotify editorial playlist, and the Top 40 Roots Music Report and IndieWorld Report. In addition, videos from two of his songs have been nominated and selected for numerous film festivals. His top five songs on Spotify alone have gotten a combined 1.2 million streams and a single that he released last August won Favorite Mainstream Single in the 2023 Independent Music Network Awards.

Arkansas-based award-winning independent music duo who have toured internationally in over seven countries. They perform over two hundred shows per year, captivating audiences with their piano, fiddle, and guitar performances. They have a repertoire of over two thousand songs spanning multiple genres and just under two years ago opened for ZZ Top for an amphitheater show. Last October they released a twelve-song album that made it to No. 39 on the Apple US Country Album Chart. They also have co-founded a production company, an entertainers academy, and a music and arts festival.

Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who is signed with Sony Music Publishing Nashville and Droptine Music Publishing. He earned chart success with his first No. 1 single “My Boy” by Elvie Shane as well as with cuts by Drew Green. His latest hit “Whiskey On You” by Nate Smith has topped the Canadian charts and reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay. As a performer he has been on countless stages at a wide range of venues and events and will be performing later this year in Denmark.

New York City-based singer, songwriter, piano player who released her debut album just over three weeks ago and, fittingly, did an album release party at the popular music club called Pianos, there in The Big Apple. She has upcoming shows IN New York, March 28th and May 11th in the city and April 24th in Brooklyn. A music video for one of the songs from her new album was just released on February 23rd, and she currently has close to 66 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top track has over 1.2 million streams.

Nashville-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who has had over 30 independent cuts. He was originally a drummer and toured the southeast before focusing his career on songwriting. He has performed all the way down in Key West, Florida, lots of shows here in Music City, out west in places like Arizona, and even overseas in Europe. He is also a business partner in Nashville Nights, which he talks about here. And his songs have been described as they, “will have you laughing then crying as he takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.”

Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who is also the founder of Nashville Nights, which is discussed during this interview. He has written thousands of songs and had several publishing deals, and his story includes overcoming surgery on his vocal cords. He is a multiple GRAMMY-ACM-CMA-Golden Guitar and Dove-nominated songwriter and had 23 singles in the last year alone. During the month of May, he will be in Europe performing a number of shows in Denmark. He was previously a guest on this show back on Episode 434 almost two years ago, in June 2022.

A content creator and keynote speaker who was a Las Vegas nightclub promoter for more than eleven years and now coaches musicians on how to establish themselves and make a career, saying, “All musicians know how to be creative, but not all know business and marketing.” He is also a practitioner in Positive Psychology, which he says is done so his clients don’t end up joining the 27 Club. Over the years he has been a part of events that have included the likes of Tiesto and Steve Aoki, among other notable names in entertainment. He even attended the Billboard Awards and tells that story during this interview.

L.A.-based multi GRAMMY nominee and multi-talented platinum-selling producer, songwriter, composer/arranger, educator, and instrumentalist. He co-produced and wrote “Good Kisser” for R&B singing sensation Usher, which climbed to No. 1 on the US R&B/Hip Hop charts and garnered his first nomination for Best R&B song at the 2015 Grammy Awards. His songwriting and arranging were also featured on the 2020 Grammy nominated Album of The Year, “Thank U, Next,” by Ariana Grande, and he is a voting member of the Recording Academy. He is a Los Angeles College of Music Songwriting and Music Business faculty member who has also worked with Lizzo and with H.E.R.

Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player who just last month released a new music video that already has more than 6,500 views on YouTube. Last year she released an EP in November after having put out an EP in October, both following a deluxe 18-song album that she’d released in September after having put out a 14-song version of it in August. Her releases have drawn acclaim from various publications, and she has amassed more than 1.5 million streams for her top five songs on Spotify alone, where she currently has 74 thousand monthly listeners. She also is putting up really big numbers on TikTok, and, she is working on more new music this year, as she discusses here.

Australia-based multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who has a new single coming out this Friday, February 9th. She achieved back-to-back number one iTunes charting singles and her singles have graced popular playlists like Spotify’s Fresh Country and Apple Music’s Today’s Country, to name just two. She has premiered on CMT and her success went global when country music star Thomas Rhett raised a glass celebrating the movement for one of her songs. She has over six thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined total of well over 800 thousand streams, and her official YouTube channel has a combined total of 2.1 million video views.

Ohio-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who, over the past four decades, has compiled a long list of country hits and chart-toppers on both domestic and international sales and radio airplay charts, including two Number 1 iTunes chart singles. He has been in Billboard magazine, on FOX TV, and has recorded popular duets with legendary artists like Ronnie McDowell and GRAMMY-winner Rhonda Vincent. He has been inducted into both the Indie Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame. He is currently recording a new album, which he talks about during this interview.

Nashville-based recording artist who has a new single coming in just over two weeks, and last November put out her rendition of the classic holiday song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which followed the eight-song EP she’d released in August. On stage, she has opened for the likes of Morgan Wallen, Sara Evans, and Sam Hunt, among others, and she already has shows booked from February to July that will take her from Washington, DC, to Maryland to Florida to Virginia and New York. Between Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok alone she is closing in on a half-million followers, and she has gotten a combined total of over seven million video views on her official YouTube channel. She currently has 22 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined 1.7 million-plus streams.