Lady G, Cyrus Gray and I at the Hugs Awards Ceremony after party at the Legion Hall in Connellsville Pennsylvania October 26th 2025
In the words of Cyrus, "What can I say?". I was so incredibly honored to be a part of the Hugs weekend. Not only was I invited to play during the awards ceremony at the historic Edwin S. porter Theatre, but was later nominated for the Best New Artist of 2025! Even though it was a long trip, Cyrus, Lady G, and Tim Gainer (photo below), welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like part of the family. Thanks to you all for all you do!
Tim Gainer and I at the Hugs Awards Ceremony after party at the Legion Hall in Connellsville Pennsylvania October 26th 2025
This is the face behind that velvety voice you hear on the Hugs Breakout show as well as a good percentage of the advertisements, including one for my album! His pitch is so convincing, it makes ME want to buy a copy! I am honored (though a bit concerned) that he considers even the weirdest tracks I send in for potential airplay! Thanks Man!
Stephen Foster and I at his home in Muscle Shoals Alabama - Sept 24th 2025
When Steve Foster contacted me for international radio promotion shortly after my Through Laughter & Tears album came out, my initial reaction was to rule him out as a con man. Turns out I was wrong, when I contacted my friend and one of his references (Ridge Banks of Nashville) he confirmed he was the real deal. When I did further research, I realized this guy was a small uncredited part of so many historical things. I'm not going to go into all that, but you can check it out here: http://swampland.com/articles/view/title:stephen_foster
Long story short, this man put me in touch with so many DJ's and places to share my music, I could never even try to keep up with all of them! He taught me so much about promotion in the short time I knew him, and I will always be grateful for all he did. Though his "Stephen's Indie Picks" tags on literally EVERYTHING I posted about music sometimes made me feel like a walking billboard, he was the most encouraging person I'd met at that point. I always knew he wanted to see me succeed, and genuinely cared about my success. Sadly, he passed away November 17th 2025. I feel so lucky to have gotten a chance to meet the man who lit the fire under me.
Bobby Ray Connell, Steve Brown and I after a writers round at the Commodore Grille in Nashville Tennessee - September 23rd 2025
It was good to get back down to Nashville to hang out with, and share a stage with my friends again. Bobby Ray had me play at two of his writers rounds the first time I went to Nashville in 2023. He and his wife Adrienne treated me like family, and we have become good friends over the last few years. He, Steve and I got to play together at The Bad Axe, and they are now in the band 422 West together. Even though I probably embarrassed both of them with my choice of songs at the Commodore, we all had a great time and a lot of laughs playing together again. Thanks to all the aforementioned people, Nashville will always be a place I feel I can hang my hat!!
At The Mix Castle in Waterloo with Michael Cutsforth and AJ Bryan recording part two of the album - June 13th 2025
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE MEN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!!
These are the REAL artists, the guys behind the music! I am so fortunate to have the two best studio people in northeast Iowa (heck, for that matter, probably ANYWHERE) at my disposal. AJ is a one man Wrecking Crew as he can lay down tracks for virtually ANY type of music. I tend to try my hand at any genre that strikes my fancy, and he hasn't missed a beat in picking up on it! As for Cutsforth, he has the trained ear of an experienced musician, but doesn't complicate the mix to the point of it being overthought. These are my go-to guys in the industry and I wouldn't recommend anyone else!