The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Cole Arvin
Born and raised in State College, PA, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions. I played a year of college basketball at Penn State Altoona before moving to Nashville, TN. In Music City, I earned Valedictorian from SAE Insitute in 2015. After graduation, my employment included studio production, live sound production, artist management, merchandising, hospitality, retail, and security operations. Read more>>
Drew Smith
When people ask how Spring Street Coffee Roasters started, the answer is usually: ‘Well… it kinda started with BBQ sauce.’ During COVID, while everyone else was making sourdough, I was experimenting with barrel aging. What started as barrel aged BBQ Sauce quickly turned into a much bigger curiosity. I tried hot sauce and wanted to try honey but was quickly denied. Read more>>
Ana Cardona
In January of 2015, I started Primer Academia de ABC Spanish Immersion Program, with two children enrolled in the program. Each week, more and more families signed up, and by 2018, I had a waiting list of more than 30 families. Since then, Primer Academia has grown each week, serving kids ages 6 weeks through 5 years old, and we still have a waiting list. Read more>>
Naiah Collier
I started as an expressionism artist in 2022 when I was 19 years old. At the time, I was struggling with identity, purpose, religion, and the loss of my aunt. I needed an outlet, and painting became that for me. My artwork reflected everything I was trying to process internally; grief, healing, confusion, growth, and self-discovery. Read more>>
Marshall Hall, III
Born in 2004 in the city of Atlanta, a gift was born—and that gift just so happened to be me. From the crib to the cradle, I was always beating on things left and right. Read more>>
Kirsten Sass
Somerset has been in my family for many years, and its story really began with my parents. What started as a simple one-bedroom, one-bathroom home in rural West Tennessee slowly grew over time as they could afford to add on — and as our family grew. The home itself reflects that journey. Read more>>
Evelen Aziz Massoud
From early on, I knew I wanted a career in healthcare where I could help people in a more natural and conservative way. I was drawn to chiropractic because I loved the idea of helping patients improve their health, movement, and quality of life without the use or medications or surgery. Read more>>
Iris Thomas
Growing up in Vermont, my spring and summer days were spent outside — exploring my parents’ garden, harvesting whatever was blooming, and just being completely absorbed by nature. That early connection to the natural world never really left me. In 2020, I finished my master’s in counseling and started working toward licensure as a professional counselor. Read more>>
Jordan Zeller
From a young age, I have always loved preserving meaningful moments and turning memories into something tangible. I never wanted to forget the little details — like my newborn’s squishy face and sweet smile, or the way love shines through the eyes of a newly married couple. My photography journey began 11 years ago when my mother-in-law handed me a camera to practice with. Read more>>
Kiersten Achey
I grew up in a small town in Indiana and honestly never expected my life to go in this direction. Before social media, I was in marketing and real estate, which taught me a lot about people, branding, and business, but I always had a creative side that wanted more. I have always loved hosting, cooking, bringing people together, and making people feel welcome. Read more>>
Rachel Peck
My husband and I started 431 Ministries after helping a single mom facing homelessness. During our time with her, we discovered there was nowhere for her to go to learn the skills she needed to gain stability. After we helped her gain independence, word spread, and more women were referred to us. Read more>>
Matthew Nagy
As long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to be was an artist, whether musically or in another form. I feel like I gravitated toward music more because I grew up in a musical family. From my earliest memories, music was always around me I never took any lessons, but I learned multiple instruments by listening to albums and watching family members play. Read more>>
Chris Lozano
I grew up on the Western Slope of Colorado, in a little coal-mining and farming town called Paonia. Out there, you learn real quick that nobody is going to hand you a thing. If you want something, you work for it. Period. That mindset stuck with me when I joined the United States Marine Corps, where I ended up serving for 15 years. Read more>>
Sarah Arace
I grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, and I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember. Over the years, that creative interest evolved into a career through a mix of formal training, teaching, commissions, and public art. Read more>>
Lauren Hays
DogFriendlyNash started in 2020 after we rescued our dog, Dottie, and suddenly became those people asking, “Wait…can dogs go there too?” What started as me sharing random patios, coffee runs, walks, and places around Nashville that we loved, quickly turned into way more than I ever expected! Read more>>
Candi Carpenter
I know we covered a lot of my backstory in our last interview, but for anyone starting this show mid-series, here’s the “last season” recap. I grew up touring the Midwest with my family’s gospel band, The Carpenter’s. Read more>>
Whitney Lowe
I have always loved to take photos whether that be on my phone, or a store bought camera my grandparents had laying around! I am the person who constantly has to remember the moment by taking a photo, and I knew I wanted to use that passion for other families/couples!! Read more>>
Jenny Wise Black
For most of my life, I’ve been drawn to the spaces that help people come back to themselves. As a therapist, writer, and curator of experiences, I began noticing how many people were living disconnected from their own lives , overstimulated, rushed, digitally saturated, and unexplainably lonely. Read more>>
Chris Rayner
I grew up in St.Pete Beach, Florida. I’ve always been surrounded by art. My mother owned a frame shop and an art gallery. She raised me on all kinds of music. Just about everything, really. I moved to central Florida as a teenager where I started playing in bands around the age of 15. Read more>>
Nayomi Boelter
My journey into modeling didn’t happen overnight, and honestly, it wasn’t a straight path. A lot of what shaped me came long before I ever stepped onto a runway. Growing up, I was always close to opportunities, but never fully at the center of them. Read more>>
Destin Miller
Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a toddler, I would turn pots and pans into my own personal drum set, putting on full performances around the house. Read more>>
Natt Ward
I originally got into DJing when my mental health struggles were beginning to manifest on my physical body. Years of stress caught up to me randomly through skin issues and though doctors kept telling me I was fine, dropping 60 pounds in a month was when I realized I needed to take matters into my own hands. Read more>>
Katie McCrone
I didn’t always plan to become a therapist. I actually came to this work because therapy changed my own life in a very real way. That experience made me realize how powerful it can be to have a space where you don’t have to perform, explain away your feelings, or hold everything together alone. Read more>>
Abdoulaye Bah
Most of my journey has been driven by curiosity — just wanting to understand people, energy, and how moments come together. I didn’t have it all mapped out, I was just following what felt genuine and learning as I went. I studied Cognitive Science at Vanderbilt, which deepened that perspective. Read more>>
Joanne Steely
I’ve always wanted to have my own shop . When I was a teenager my best friends mother had a yarn shop and during the summers we had to do inventory for her, it was tedious work but it helped me to learn how a business worked . Later on I worked and managed another yarn shop and loved it . Read more>>
Guinnevere Philipp
We met in a Facebook group called “NJ Musicians”. I, (Guinnevere), made a post asking if anyone would like to play guitar and do some covers with me. I got a decent amount of replies, but Chris directly messaged me and we ended up connecting over going to the same college and living fairly close to each other. Read more>>
Mose Wilson
Here’s my bio: Mose Wilson is a dynamic artist whose music weaves together the rich traditions of roots, country, and Americana with vibrant threads of soul, funk, rock & roll, and bluegrass. Read more>>
Jenny Kidwell
Music has been my passion for as long as I can remember, and growing up, I never missed a chance to perform in local talent shows and school plays. I had my ultimate lightbulb moment at 14 years old during a concert for country star Jo Dee Messina. Read more>>
Melissa Mooney-Lopez
Hi, I’m Melissa Mooney-Lopez, lead ambassador for Yoga in the Park and Be Well Mel My journey has really been a blend of wellness, creativity, community, and personal healing. Read more>>
Morgan Gruber
Morgan Gruber is a country-pop singer-songwriter from Fombell, Pennsylvania who first gained attention on American Idol in 2022. Known for her heartfelt lyrics and “girl next door” charm, she writes emotional, small-town-inspired music and performs across the East Coast while continuing to grow her career as an independent artist Read more>>
Lindsay Hodlin
I started watching my grandmother sew when I was 8. I loved everything about it. Both her and my grandfather were incredibly talented and artistic and had a great gift of making things with their hands. I loved to play with her tomato pin cushion and organize all the fabrics in her sewing area. I went to college for fashion design and textiles. Read more>>
Ashley & R. Carnie Littlefield
My husband, R. Carnie and myself, started what was originally Maker’s Market Texas. It was an art and craft market solely focusing on handmade items ONLY made by local artists, crafters, and makers. The money we got from booth fees wouldn’t go into our own pockets, but would go right back into our church to help with a rather expensive building fund. Read more>>
Natalie Jones
When I was in middle school, I went to my first concert and somehow managed to sneak in my crusty camera. I took some incredibly grainy photos from the nosebleeds and immediately fell in love. I remember seeing the band’s photographer running around by the stage and thinking, I want that job one day. Read more>>
Stephanie Miller
“Never say never… suddenly, not so suddenly.” That’s probably the best way to describe my life. I grew up in a dysfunctional household where I learned early on what was considered acceptable and what wasn’t. Art, creativity, and writing were always passions of mine, but I was told those things weren’t “real” careers. Read more>>
Jackie B.
Ever since I was young, I always dreamed of owning a business — I just didn’t know exactly what that would look like yet. Over the years, I gained valuable experience working in local shops and learning firsthand what it takes to run a successful small business. Read more>>
Laura Degelau
I have always been a coffee lover, even though I grew up in a house that hot tea was the beverage of choice. I loved the rich smell of the beans when my grandma would open the tin can and the aroma that filled the whole house when it brewed. Read more>>
Hannah Roberson
I got started with influencing pretty organically. I was a freshman at Ole Miss and going through rush and gained a pretty good amount of followers. Read more>>
Lynn Adolphe
I’ve always been drawn to creativity, fashion, and self-expression. Over time, I realized I wanted to build something that represented confidence, ambition, and individuality in a way that felt authentic to me. That vision eventually became FlexiFitt. What started as an idea slowly turned into a passion project and then into a growing brand with a bigger purpose behind it. Read more>>
Rachel Sigler
My career started in the marketing world. I worked at creative agencies for awhile before transitioning in-house to managing the Johnston & Murphy brand. I loved it and learned so much there, but had to travel a lot and it became hard once I had my first child. Read more>>
Tom Worth -The Nashville Pro Experience
I’ll never forget my first recording experience in Nashville. I was a newly signed songwriter, and my publisher had scheduled my first demo session. A demo session is where you book a studio and musicians to record your songs. I had just written a song that I thought would be perfect for Carrie Underwood. Read more>>
Tanna Phillips
I have been cutting hair since I was 15 years old. Everywhere from Michigan, North Carolina to Tennessee. I moved to Nashville in 2018 with no plan and no job, I just knew I loved it here. I started in a salon downtown to get feelers of what the area was like. Read more>>
Derek Drye
Katelyn and I (Derek) are both from North Carolina, and started dating 18 years ago through mutual friends. We eventually started doing music together and our duo name is The Dryes, singing country music in local bars, clubs, etc. along the East coast. Read more>>
Nicolette Hennemann
I actually started spray tanning in college as a side job just to make extra money, but somehow it kept pulling me back in. What started as a college hustle turned into a hobby, then eventually turned into me realizing I wanted something bigger for myself. At the same time, I’ve always had a very entrepreneurial personality. Read more>>
Kayla and Taylor Ray Ray
We’re the Ray Twins, also known as the Gemini Twins. We’re identical twins, and while people naturally expect twins to be exactly alike, we choose to embrace our differences just as much as our similarities. We’ve learned that individuality and connection can coexist, and over time we realized that contrast became one of our biggest strengths. Read more>>
Candace Robinson
I’ve always believed education is one of the most powerful tools for transformation — not just academically, but personally, culturally, and emotionally. My journey started in Nashville as a student who valued language, culture, and storytelling. Read more>>
Beth Travers
I moved to Nashville as a songwriter, and continued writing songs and finding success playing bass with artists and bands. Seeking a change, I took a hard turn and went to work for the American Red Cross in Service to the Armed Forces to serve our military as mobile staff in Europe. Read more>>
Lianna Nguyen
Lianna Nguyen is the owner of a state-certified trade school located in Florence, KY. Lianna’s Nail Academy helps students obtain nail licensure in Kentucky. After many years in salon management, Lianna recognized a problem in the nail industry and developed a solution: a school focused solely on nails and modern techniques. Read more>>
Josh Mattei
I started my broadcasting career in 2012 at 97.7 WCTY in Norwich, CT. I joined their staff as a part time on-air personality and it was at that moment I fell in love with country music and its amazing community of artists and listeners. Read more>>
