MusicMusic Commentary

Now Hear This Entertainment

Bruce Wawrzyniak

Now Hear This Entertainment features interviews with guests who are having success in the entertainment business, with the content presented in a way that not only entertains fans of that guest and fans of good music interviews in general, but in a manner that educates musicians, singers, songwriters – entertainers who want to learn from those who are being interviewed each week by Bruce Wawrzyniak, Member of the Recording Academy and president of Now Hear This, Inc. The guests come from a wide array of genres and locales.

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Yesterday · length unknown
NHTE 663 Craig Campbell
Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player with two gold records who just released a new song in late September, the fifth single this year that has either been his own or that he has been featured on. He recently performed at the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival and can be seen next month at the 42nd Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival. Early in his career he was the keyboard player for Luke Bryan – who he would later tour with – and for Tracy Byrd and soon had success on his own with hits that landed in the Top 15 on the Billboard Country Charts. A regular on the Grand Ole Opry, one of his songs was performed on NBC’s TODAY Show and praised by Rolling Stone. He has an amazing 468 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top three songs alone have a combined total of over 125 million streams. He has put up equally impressive numbers on YouTube, where his official channel has a total of over 60 million combined video views.
October 21 · length unknown
NHTE 662 Josiah Siska
Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player who just put out a new single three-and-a-half weeks ago. That was his fifth release of 2026, and his busy year will continue next month when he performs at a benefit in West Chester, Ohio. That follows shows he has done this year in the likes of Michigan, Las Vegas, and, of course, Nashville. He first came into the public consciousness on Season 15 of “American Idol,” and has gone on to a career that has grown to a single that he released late last year earning prominent placements on Apple Music’s New in Country and Spotify’s All New Country. Meanwhile, he has gotten over 2.6 million combined video views on his official YouTube channel, plus he has a music video that has gotten 3.6 million streams on Spotify, where he has 189 thousand monthly listeners.
October 14 · length unknown
NHTE 661 Anna Duboc
Singer, songwriter, piano player, and producer who just released a seven-song EP this past Friday after having released three singles this year. Over the last five years her music has gotten more than 68 million streams and she has released a long line of singles. She has performed with her own band at venues such as The Mint as well as appeared alongside artists including Katy Perry, Kenny Loggins and Andrea Bocelli. She has gained coverage from the likes of Music Connection magazine and a cover feature from Los Angeles Feature Magazine, appearing on the front of last year’s “The Musical Issue 2025.” Plus, Buzz Music LA included one of her singles among The Best Independent Releases of 2025. She has formal training from the renowned Adderley Conservatory and has notable theatrical experience as well. She has well over half-a-million followers just between TikTok and Instagram alone, and the videos on her official YouTube channel have a combined total of almost 43 million views.
October 7 · length unknown
NHTE 660 Emily Roth
Singer, songwriter, guitar player, and recording artist who has shared billings with major country acts like Sam Hunt, Dan + Shay, and Russell Dickerson on Live Nation VIP showcases. She is seen performing in venues around Nashville and even played at last year’s Key West Songwriters Festival. Plus, she will be performing at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival that is taking place on November 13th and 14th in South Carolina. Last year she put out two singles and talks during this interview about some unreleased music.
September 30 · length unknown
NHTE 659 Roberta Lea
Award-winning singer, songwriter, and guitar player who was featured in a Rolling Stone “Songs You Need to Know” feature and an “American Songwriter” magazine feature. She is also an author, playwright, and touring member of The Black Opry. She was a part of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023 and is a voting Member of The Recording Academy. In addition to her home state of Virginia, she has performed in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, and Maine. She will be performing in November at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival.
September 23 · length unknown
NHTE 658 Trey Calloway
Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who has released three singles so far this year, with the latest having come out in July, another dropping this Friday, and then an EP in November! He is a CMA member and has been a winner and nominee of numerous awards in his career. He has opened for the likes of Edwin McCain, Craig Campbell, and Joe Diffie, among others, and his live shows see him performing everywhere from Baltimore to Las Vegas to Nashville, plus he will be performing at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival in November, one week after he will have made his Ryman Auditorium debut. He has well over 91 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top five songs alone have a combined 1.4 million streams.
September 16 · length unknown
NHTE 657 Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player, and recording artist who has earned dozens of accolades over her career, including multiple Canadian Country Music Association Awards, a JUNO Award for Best Country Artist, an Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Female Vocalist and an American Music Award for Favorite New Country Artist. She has written for and performed with some of the biggest names in music, from Chris Stapleton to Martina McBride to Miranda Lambert, JoDee Messina, Ashley McBryde, Darius Rucker, and more. She is working on a new album and next month she will perform at the Grand Ole Opry, on October 29th. She has a combined total of 3.1 million video views on her official YouTube channel and her top five songs alone on Spotify have a combined total of over five-and-a-half million streams. This interview was recorded on location in conjunction with her performing at the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival.
September 9 · length unknown
NHTE 656 Jamie Floyd
Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitar player and recording artist who is a three-time GRAMMY nominee. She has released two singles so far this year, one of which she performed in her Grand Ole Opry debut back in April. Her voice and songwriting can be heard across all genres including film, television, and musical theatre and she has written songs recorded by Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Cassadee Pope, Kellie Pickler, Brian McKnight, and many more. She has shows still to come this year not only in Music City but in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Destin, Florida, Covington, Louisiana, and Morrow Bay, California. This interview was recorded on-location in conjunction with her performing as part of the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival.
September 2 · length unknown
NHTE 655 Mark Irwin
He has been a writer on songs for artists from Tim McGraw to Blake Shelton to Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffet, Hank Williams, Jr., Martina McBride, Lee Brice, George Jones, Faith Hill, Thomas Rhett, and more. Along the way, he has been a writer on songs that did everything from go to number 1 and/or earn nominations for some of the highest awards in country music. He is also prominently featured in the documentary about the fabled Bluebird Café in Nashville. This interview was recorded on location out west, where he was performing as part of the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival.
August 26 · length unknown
NHTE 654 Tierney
She has spent the last 15-plus years electrifying audiences as a Lady Gaga tribute artist. Last December on New Year’s Eve at a casino in Minnesota she debuted Gaga Evolution, her newest production, which takes fans on a journey through the superstar’s career. She is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, content creator, influencer, and producer, plus she has added Married by Gaga, offering couples the opportunity to book their nuptials in the Electric Chapel, something that she debuted in 2024 at the Haus of Gaga Museum at Park MGM. On TikTok she has garnered viral acclaim with her informational and tutorial style videos about her life as a tribute artist, amassing approximately 100 thousand followers on that platform alone, where one of her videos has 9.2 million views. She was a guest on this show close to three-and-a-half years ago on Episode 475.
August 19 · length unknown
NHTE 653 Darlene Koldenhoven
Vocalist, composer, producer, and pianist who has been nominated for three GRAMMY Awards and won one and just released her fourteenth album on August 7, titled, “A Grand Memoir.” That same day she released a book called, “Put Your Dress Down and Sing: A Memoir.” The projects are being entered into these categories for the upcoming GRAMMYs: Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling and Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album. Her career includes appearances in the “Sister Act” films alongside Whoopi Goldberg, a featured soprano solo in “Yanni Live at the Acropolis,” collaborations with artists including Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney, and contributions to more than 1,000 recordings spanning film, television, albums, and commercials.
August 12 · length unknown
NHTE 652 Lester T Raww
The frontman for The Pine Box Boys, who just completed a tour of eleven shows in four states in fifteen days. He is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist for the band, which has released seven albums, starting with their debut release back in 2005. In the past they have also toured in Europe. He also has launched several side projects, some of which have recorded and released music as well. The Pine Box Boys have well over 28 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where their top five songs alone have a combined total of more than seven-and-a-half million streams.
August 5 · length unknown
NHTE 651 Dave Barbarossa
London-based musician who was the drummer with Adam & the Ants, Bow Wow Wow and, others, having recently unveiled a collaborative project, which sees a new track – each created with a different collaborator – being released once a month into 2027, with an album in the future. To kick that off, the first release came out on June 26. His career has spanned more than four decades, and he has authored two books along the way. He will be performing live in the UK next month, September 20th, at The Fleece in Bristol.
July 29 · length unknown
NHTE 650 Nick Stefanacci
Pop and jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, educator, and philanthropist whose newest album was released in February. His credits include performances alongside Hip-Hop icon Ja Rule, Motown legends the Four Tops, Latin Grammy-winning rock act Diamante Eléctrico, Billboard-charting trumpeter Cindy Bradley, and Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. In addition, he has served as the featured saxophonist on the series finale of NBC's “Lipstick Jungle,” starring Brooke Shields, headlined New York City's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular, and performed at the nationally televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On September 25th he will be performing at the Iridium in New York City. Then in October he’ll perform two shows in China, followed by shows in Spain.
July 22 · length unknown
NHTE 649 Hanna Andrea
Singer, songwriter, recording artist who has released two singles this year and has an EP coming out next month. That project has been done in collaboration with a Swedish producer as well as a Los Angeles-based producer who has worked with the likes of Jordin Sparks, Shawn Mendes, and Kelly Clarkson. She first gained attention two years ago with her debut album and since then has continued building momentum through a thriving YouTube channel that has well over 400 thousand subscribers and more than 36 million combined video views. Beyond her solo work, she is the songwriter behind Muse: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical, a genre-spanning production debuting in the UK. Her top five songs on Spotify have a combined total of approximately 177 thousand streams and she has almost 14-and-a-half thousand monthly listeners there.
July 15 · length unknown
NHTE 648 Ion Zanca
A member of the GRAMMY®-nominated Dallas String Quartet, which bills itself as “Where Bach Meets Bon Jovi” and has charted at Number 1 on Billboard. Less than three weeks ago their newest album was released, titled, “A String Quartet Tribute to Taylor Swift,” which was done alongside a alongside 4x GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, mixer, and producer. They have performed for two presidents and collaborated with artists including Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs, appeared at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and famously performed at the wedding of Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. They are one of the most streamed crossover string groups in the world with over 50 million streams on Spotify, where they have approximately 162 thousand monthly listeners.
July 8 · length unknown
NHTE 647 Johnny Reed
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who in March released his ninth album, fittingly enough, titled, “9 Dreams.” Based south of Los Angeles, he has gotten international airplay and media coverage from Portugal to Canada to the UK and more. He even has his own publishing company and record label. He is already planning his next album, plus he is working with a studio in Los Angeles on various multimedia projects. He was previously a guest on this show more than three years ago on Episode 471.
July 1 · length unknown
NHTE 646 Matthew Mole
South Africa-based platinum-selling singer/songwriter and producer whose latest single was released in February as well as an official music video for it. He will be touring extensively in Europe in late October and most of November, doing 16 dates in nine different countries. He has also performed here in the U.S. as well as in Thailand. His third album, released in 2019, earned two South African Music Awards and he had made history in 2013 as the first debut to enter the South Africa iTunes album chart at #1. He has close to half-a-million monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top five songs alone have combined for over 102 million streams. Plus, the videos on his YouTube channel have a combined total of almost 69 million views.
June 24 · length unknown
NHTE 645 Jeffrey Kunzel
Singer, songwriter, guitar player who just released a new single last month, after having put out a new track the month before and a third at the start of this year – ON New Year’s Day! He has been working with a producer that has won multiple GRAMMY Awards and received numerous GRAMMY nominations. In addition, he had a notable music mentor that he talks about here. His music background even includes a stint with his then band on the VH1 Save The Music Tour. He has more new music on the way, as is discussed during this episode.
June 17 · length unknown
NHTE 644 Rebecca Lynn Howard
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who has won two GRAMMY Awards. Last year she released three singles and a full-length album. Based in Nashville, she has written songs for, recorded with, and toured with a range of household names in country music. She is signed to Pump House Records, and she has had seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The videos on her official YouTube channel have gotten a combined total of over 7.2 million views, and she has approximately 22 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where her top five songs alone have a combined total of over four million streams. She will be performing in August at the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival.

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