Britney Monroe – TEXNASH Takeover
Country recording artist Britney Monroe has experienced her share of pitfalls and triumphs in the music industry, but her determination and vivacious spirit keep her chasing her dream because music isn’t what she does, music is who she is.
“It’s like asking why are we alive, music is who I am,” she said. “Even when other things popped up, I’ve always been lead back to music, it’s the center of who I am.”
Britney has always loved music, but didn’t think to pursue it as a career until she performed a cover of a Kelly Clarkson song for her High School talent show.
“I thought, ‘oh wow, I could really do this,’” she said.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Britney knew her next step to launch her career was to make the move to Nashville, TN. She graduated from Belmont University with a degree in songwriting and started taking co-writing and songwriting more seriously.
One day after a mundane meeting, Britney came home to her friend who was also experiencing a similar dire day. It was then she decided she was done waiting around for things to happen for her. This sparked the inspiration and the birth of her debut single, “I Won’t Wait” she released last year.
“I was just so tired of waiting around for things to happen, and decided we needed to make our own lives happen,” she said.
Shortly after the release of “I Won’t Wait,” Britney ended a relationship with the first love of her life. This naïve, and learning love forced Britney to focus on who she was as a musician, outside of a relationship.
“This is when the magic started happening,” she said.
She became involved with The Workshop, a 24-hour writing studio, and became involved with the tight-knit community she now considers her closest friends, co-writers and musicians.
Nashville has shaped the sound and style that Britney has today. Stylistically, she has been all over the map from Christian Rock, Pop, Country Pop and finally back to her roots to TexNash, which she describes as traditional, yet progressive. Though she still gets a little nervous with her performances, she keeps the mentality to “attack her audience” and really give them a memorable show.
Britney is currently working on new music, hitting the road on tour, and writing and co-writing as regularly as possible, because this is what it takes to chase her dream and leave her audience captivated.
“I want to have an impact on people that helps them feel the music, and just be able to communicate and connect with the audience,” she said. “I want them to think ‘she’s a cool person, too.’”
Connect with Britney:
www.britneymonroe.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/britneymonroe/?fref=ts
Twitter – @britney_monroe
Instagram – britneymonroe
Mitch Gallagher: A Writer With A Poet’s Heart
Missouri native Mitch Gallagher didn’t have a choice to pursue music as his career, he was genuinely born to do it.
Mitch discovered his natural talent when he was in the third grade and auditioned for his school’s play. He didn’t come from a musical family, but after performing in the play, it was evident he had a special gift. He was then asked to sing at his church and he continued singing in his school’s choir.
Throughout school, his primary passion was football. His family though incredibly supportive of his musical path, were still very sports oriented. During his senior year of high school, Mitch struggled with the choice between pursuing sports and continuing with his music. Ultimately, Mitch chose music and hasn’t looked back since.
“Looking back it’s laughable,” he said.
Mitch attended Missouri Fine Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan where he trained with world-class musicians from all around the world. Instead of feeling intimidated, he felt inspired and made the move to Nashville, TN.
He has been in Nashville for five years but feels like he just adapted to this city over the last year.
“You don’t realize how sheltered you are,” he said. “It makes you spread your wings.”
Since moving to Nashville, Mitch has noticed personal changes, predominantly in his confidence.
“The entertainer is in there, the writer is in there, it’s just getting comfortable enough to let loose and let go,” he said. “Nobody’s there to see you fail, they are there for a fun show.”
During his music journey so far, Mitch has experienced both success and also frustrations. He is living proof that your life can change within seconds. He experienced this when he opened an email reading his music had charted on the Billboard music charts.
Even though this has been a highlight of his career, Mitch knows his work is far from over to achieve all of the goals he’s established. He’s in the process of choosing a single to release in May or June and then follow up an EP at the end of this year.
When he first moved to Nashville, he had goals of signing with a major label and having a number one song. Anything short of these goals he said he would have considered himself a tremendous failure. Now, he still wants to be named CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, play at the Grand Ole Opry and have a cut with a major artist. Overall, he wants to be happy.
“There was a part of me that was like ‘I’m happy’ and another that was like ‘what are you doing’ but now I feel like I’m loving it,” he said.
Mitch gravitates toward writing love songs and sad songs. He looks to Louis Armstrong, Vince Gill, Josh Groban and Will Smith for inspiration. At the end of the day, Mitch wants to be happy and make his family proud.
“I just want my music to be genuine,” he said. “I just want people to say, ‘that’s country music.’”
Follow Mitch on social media:
Twitter: @MitchGallagherM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitch.gallagher.3
Instagram: @mitchgallaghermusic
http://www.mitchgallaghermusic.com/
David Evans: Timeless Storyteller
Two and a half years ago, David Evans moved to Nashville, TN, to fulfill his dream of becoming a timeless storyteller. Although his journey has been filled with moments of self-doubt and obstacles, he pushes forward with assistance from his strong support system. He doesn’t have everything figured out, but he knows hard work and determination are the only ways to make his dreams his reality.
David grew up in Indiana with a family invested in music and their church. His parents both play the piano, but when he picked up his guitar in the fifth grade, he knew music was his future.
“From then on, the guitar was mine and it wasn’t just a good idea because my parents thought so,” he said.
Quickly after learning chords, he discovered his passion for songwriting and how natural it felt. It was the storytelling that eventually drew David to country music.
“There’s a lot of people that come through the country genre that make you feel something,” he said. “That song is going to last way longer than you.”
When he turned 16, David considered the idea to move to Nashville. He graduated from college in 2013 and made the big move to the city where he felt he belonged. At this point, David was pursing songwriting as a career. One year later, he was asked why he wasn’t trying to become an artist because not only could he write, but he could also play and sing.
“That was my A-ha moment,” he said.
Since then, David has focused on becoming a singer/songwriter while continually telling stories in the country genre. David played his own songs in various writer rounds shortly after moving to Nashville and it didn’t take long for him to realize the talent this city offers.
“I played with people better than me,” he said. “This helped realize how much work I needed to do, because you sit there and play your best song and they keep playing all of their best songs as I’m trying to remember old songs I wrote three years ago.”
The more David played out his songs, the more he realized this is what he is meant to be doing with his life. He released his EP “Something About A Love Song,” in October. Unlike his first EP, he had a goal to chart on something with this album. He tracked everything in three days at Whisper Studios in Kokomo, IN.
During the pre-order he said he sat for three days straight personally reaching out to everyone he knew to let me know about his album. His hard work paid off when his EP reached number 29 on the country iTunes charts. His EP is still available, and will be streaming on Amazon and Spotify shortly.
Even though he achieved success, David knows his hard work is just beginning and would be impossible without personal sacrifices. Some days he works all day, then works on music and is busy supporting other artists. Days like these sometimes make him questions everything he is doing, but he pushes on because of everyone telling him he can do this.
“If no one was behind me, I probably would have left Nashville,” he said. “That’s the easy way out. These years are vital in honing my craft and getting better, I can’t just sit and wait.”
David also knows the importance of building strong relationships with people.
“You cannot win this town by yourself,” he said.
This year, he wants to achieve his first song cut. His dream would be to get a cut from a legend like Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw or Garth Brooks, but he would be happy with anything.
He continually plays gigs in Tennessee, Indiana and soon will be in Texas performing some new material. Moving to Nashville placed David outside of his comfort zone, but he is grateful for his move, not only for his music, but for also strengthening his relationship with the Lord. David has huge goals for this year, but overall, he wants to remain humble.
“I don’t want music to define me,” he said. “A career won’t last forever, your reputation lasts longer than that and it’s more than just what you do on a stage.”
Follow David:
Facebook:David Evans Music
Twitter: @DavidEvansMusc
Instagram: davidevansofficial
Website: www.davidevansofficial.com
Much Love from Willie Shaw
Watching Willie Shaw’s commanding stage presence and innate audience interaction would lead you to believe he’s a seasoned performer who has been singing and playing his entire life. To much surprise, Willie recently moved to Nashville, TN, a few months ago to pursue music.
When Willie was 14 years old, he was your stereotypical high school freshman. He was an athlete and talked with friends during class. Because of this, he was earning a B in his choir class. At the end of the semester, he had an opportunity to earn his A back with one caveat; he had to sing in front of the entire class by himself.
“They were all making fun of me, but when I started singing the whole room went quiet,” he said.
It was this moment when he received positive affirmation from his classmates that Willie considered turning his hobby into something more. While in school, his top priority was baseball and he received a scholarship to play in college. After a shoulder injury, his dream for baseball took a grueling hit, but this injury also allowed more time for him to focus on music.
While working on his Master’s Degree, Willie had to take summer courses and afterward he would sit on a planter outside of Trellis Restaurant and play music from 5 to 10 p.m. The restaurant allowed Willie to play because he would bring in more business each night. After a few incidents, Willie made friends with one of the cops who allowed him to keep playing. One night after his performance, a woman approached Willie and changed his life. She told him she was a former producer in Nashville and asked him about his plans for his future. She gave him a few contacts and asked to stay in touch.
“It felt like fate,” he said. “I one hundred percent believe it was a God thing.”
Willie visited Nashville a few weeks later and met up with some producers and managers. He made some strong industry connections that are still helping him navigate this passionate city.
“I thought, ‘Ill try it one day’ and one day was always way in the future, then one day was staring me right in the face,” he said.
Shortly after visiting Nashville, Willie accepted a position with NASA. Everything was falling into place at the right time and Willie said his head was spinning.
“This all isn’t a coincidence, this is a God thing,” he said. “Because of all of his, I’ve grown a lot in my faith.”
Growing up in Orange County, Willie is still becoming familiar with the generosity Nashville offers. He is also encouraged by everyone else working toward their dreams. Willie’s goal is to be bigger than Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake so he can use his platform at that status for good.
“If I don’t say it, no one else will believe it,” he said. “I’m going to keep getting better.”
Willie is an only child but he comes from an exceedingly supportive family, who at times, can seem like coaches when giving him advice. Without their critiques though, he doesn’t believe he would be as strong of a performer he is today. Willie said music is everything because it is a perfect expression.
“If I could give people that three minutes of nodding their head and going somewhere else, that’s enough for me,” he said. “Once you have that responsibility as an artist, you have to keep it up.”
At the end of every performance, you will hear Willie say, “much love” because, “at the end of the day everyone’s looking to give or receive love.”
“Music helps that happen, or recover from it not happening,” he said. “That’s all anyone wants to feel.”
Willie is working on his EP to be released in April of this year. Two more of his goals are to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and raise $25,000 for a charity. Willie may be newer to this industry, but he’s willing to work to achieve his dreams.
“I’m happy where I’m at,” he said.
Follow Willie on social media
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/willieshawmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whs10
Twitter: @WillieShawMusic
Instagram: @WillieShawMusic
Dominic James – Somebody’s Hero
Dominic James’ success with music wasn’t something he achieved overnight or without his own personal struggles. He said he “wasn’t born with a gift” and although he wasn’t a musical prodigy, music was something he wanted to pursue. This passion was so strong, it became his secret until it was exposed in high school after the football team discovered he auditioned for the school’s upcoming play.
“When people found out, they ostracized me,” he said. “They made me feel like a traitor.”
His high school years were spent being thrown against lockers, mocked due to his speech impediment and he felt completely alone. In his small town in Maine, it was difficult for him to be different than everyone else. Despite his depression and feeling worthless Dominic continued dressing differently than his classmates and acting like himself instead of a carbon copy of everyone else. He also had surgery on his tongue and he even had to learn to speak again. Music was his only outlet.
Dominic continued acting in high school and decided to pursue music full-time after he graduated. He moved to Los Angeles and was introduced quickly to the harsh reality of the music business. He worked three jobs to allow him to DJ in bars he was barely old enough to enter.
“I was working three jobs and I just wasn’t happy,” he said. “I would play four-hour shows for my parents and the bartender.” Dominic used these struggles as his stepping-stones to reach the success he has today. He knew music was meant to be his career when things weren’t going his way, and instead of giving up he kept pushing. He has been living in Nashville for nearly two years and he said he is still taking everything day by day and learning from his past.
“Being here in Nashville, you hear about the tough aspects of this business,” he said. “But, I’ve been doing if for a few years now.”
Dominic is still learning about himself and developing as an artist, although many peg him as the “Justin Timberlake of Country music.” One of his goals for his music career is to remain unpredictable. Although he is his own toughest critic, he knows how much he has to offer and doesn’t believe he has written his big hit yet.
He is also using his gift of music to raise awareness with bullying by touring across the country and sharing his story with children and teenagers. By connecting with them, Dominic said he wants them to know that “you deserve so much more, you have so much potential, just jump.” He is acting as the students’ voice when they don’t know what to say. At times, there are 900 students listening to his story at once.
He said music is a tool to connect with the students and he is proof that everything is going to be fine. Although his journey has been anything but simple, Dominic uses his past to keep pushing him today.
“Music is helping me with life, it’s not a job anymore it’s who I am,” he said. “I just want to be somebody’s hero.”
To see what Dominic is up to the rest of year and 2016 visit his website.
Also, follow him for music updates on: Instagram: dominicjamesmusic
Twitter: @MusicDominicJ
Facebook: Dominic James
