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NHTE 629 John Beasley Mar 04, 2026

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Pianist, composer, arranger, producer, and music director whose work has earned two GRAMMY Awards, 14 nominations, two Latin GRAMMY nods, and an Edison Award. Plus, his musical direction for the Jazz at the White House broadcast earned an Emmy nomination. He performed with Miles Davis, has collaborated with Chaka Khan, Stanley Clarke, and more, plus he has been musical director with Steely Dan, Queen Latifah, and others. In addition, he spent a decade as Lead Arranger for American Idol and The Tonight Show. He currently tours with Dianne Reeves and various European orchestras, all while preparing three releases for this year, supported by global tours.

NHTE 628 Kim Scott Feb 25, 2026

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A number 1 Billboard charting flutist, a composer, recording and touring artist, educator, and radio show host who just released a new single early last month. She was named BEATS Magazine’s “Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year” for 2024 and has performed at notable venues and events from here in the U.S. to Portugal to London and even on the Dave Koz Cruise. She is also a member of the all-female jazz supergroup Jazz in Pink. She is the radio host of a nationally syndicated, two-hour jazz program. She has more than 69 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined total of nine-and-a-half million streams, plus, her official YouTube channel has had over 1.8 million combined video views. This interview was recorded on location in Anaheim, California, where she was performing at the NAMM Show.

NHTE 627 Shantaia Feb 18, 2026

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Recorded on-location at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California with a Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who put out four singles last year. In 2025, she opened the NAMM She Rocks Awards and performed at PRS Guitars’ 40th Anniversary Party alongside legends like John Mayer. In 2022 she scored her first Top 40 Canadian country single, which passed one million streams, and landed on multiple “Best Songs of the Year” lists. She has performed at notable events such as Americana Fest, Key West Songwriters Festival, and Whiskey Jam, and she has approximately 26 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs have a combined total of well over 1.9 million streams.

NHTE 626 Sophie Pecora Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player who released two singles last year and has a brand-new song coming out this Friday, February 13th. She was on season 14 of “America’s Got Talent” and won the golden buzzer, plus in 2021 she won the grand prize of the Unsigned Only Music Competition out of ten thousand entries from 120 countries. She has put up amazing numbers: two million followers on TikTok alone, more than 24 million combined video views on her official YouTube channel, and over 68 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs have combined for an astounding 28 million-plus streams.

NHTE 625 Raine Stern Feb 04, 2026

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Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who released three singles last year and is also a part of Climate Music, which she talks about in this conversation, recorded on-location in Anaheim, California, at the NAMM Show. She was a contestant on season 20 of “The Voice,” has been featured on PBS’s 30 Minute Music Hour, and was featured on NPR for their Tiny Desk Contest feature, “Top Shelf.” The videos on her official YouTube channel have a combined total of well over half-a-million views and she has more than 27 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined total of more than a million and a half streams.

NHTE 624 Steven McClintock Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Singer, songwriter, guitar player, producer, and publisher whose songs have sold over twenty million records worldwide and garnered over sixty million digital streams, several number ones, and Billboard songs yielding gold and platinum albums. He also created more than two hundred commercials for TV and radio, and his library of recorded soundtracks includes the co-scoring of nineteen films. He has had over 250 cuts, including artists such as Tiffany, Andy Williams, Juice Newton, and The Nelsons. He has sung background vocals with Phil Collins and numerous others, and he opened with Victoria Shaw at the historic Garth Brooks Central Park concert that drew over a million fans and was broadcast live on HBO.

NHTE 623 Gabe Hizer Jan 21, 2026

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Mexico-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, former attorney, and a best-selling author who is the founder of an app called SongwritersdB, having written over two thousand songs himself over the years. He has lived in the major music meccas of New York and Nashville, and in 2018 he completed the construction of a pro recording studio on the premises of his own home and went on to record a number of local jazz and rock bands in his 32-channel studio.

NHTE 622 Tone Ranger Jan 14, 2026

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Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic artist recording and performing under the artist name Tone Ranger. Last month he released a full-length handcrafted fantasy film paired with his most expansive and immersive album to date. The 14-song album had come out last August and he also released two singles in 2025. Since releasing his debut in 2018, he has not only performed at Burning Man, but – beyond his solo work – has scored for film and produces across genres ranging from indie folk to RandB. For his own artist project, he has put up big streaming numbers, with approximately 24 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where he has over four million streams on his top five songs alone. He also talks about his studio, plus getting a couple songs licensed for a film that’s coming out this year.

NHTE 621 Manuel Grajeda Jan 07, 2026

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He fronts the indie pop band Manuel The Band, a group that has earned rave reviews from the likes of Music Connection Magazine, Coachella Valley Weekly, and OC Weekly. They have a new song coming next month, having released four singles throughout 2025, and continued performing regularly throughout southern California, including the fabled Hotel Café in Hollywood – among numerous other venues and events – and they performed up in northern California at the Mountain Vibe Music Festival. The band has well over 57 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where their top five songs alone have a combined total of more than a million-and-a-half streams.

NHTE 620 Cheryl B Engelhardt Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

Two-time GRAMMY-nominated composer and artist who is up for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album at the February 1st ceremony in Los Angeles for the 68th annual GRAMMY Awards. Her story includes having successfully transitioned from being a pop artist and along the way she and her music have been featured in People magazine, South By Southwest, ABC Family, FORBES, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. Her first new age album hit number 1 on global Amazon, iTunes, and Bandcamp sales charts for weeks on end. She has even sung on stage with Sting and Pentatonix, and her Spotify profile has well over 43 thousand monthly listeners and her top five songs there have a combined total of more than 4.1 million streams.

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