Today we’d like to introduce you to Parker Daniel.
Hi Parker, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Franklin, TN, just south of Nashville. Growing up I was really into playing sports, but when I was 12, I took a guitar class at my middle school and fell in love with it. That summer I went to Franklin Guitar and Repair, a local guitar store near my house in Franklin, and bought a guitar. Since then, I have never put it down. I started taking lessons from Lisa Pursell at Shuff’s Music in Franklin that summer until I went off to college at Belmont University. I majored in Commercial Music on guitar and graduated in 2019. After finishing my freshman year, I started to heavily pursue being a sideman for artists and began touring around the country mostly playing honky tonks and dive bars with cover bands. The remaining 3 years at Belmont for me consisted of being in class Monday-Friday then heading out to play shows Friday and Saturday nights. At the end of 2018, I got the gig with country artist William Michael Morgan and the following January we began a tour opening up for Alan Jackson. 2020 was obviously a weird year musicians and really everyone. I began playing bars on Broadway more frequently when the bars started to open back up and wound up with a busy weekly schedule of regular shifts. In June of 2021, I began playing for Ashland Craft and we opened up for the Zac Brown Band on their fall tour. In December, I got off the road to open up a recording studio in town called Neon Cactus Recording Studio. After some renovation, I recently officially opened it to the public for any recording or video projects.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Pursuing a career in music definitely has its challenges. There’s a lot of late nights and long drives on little to no sleep to name a few, but it’s part of the job. To be successful in this industry, you have to enjoy the grind and hustle. You have to really want it to make a living as a musician. Opening up the studio presented different challenges than what I’ve had to deal with as a musician, but I have really enjoyed working through them.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
First and foremost, I’m a guitarist. A majority of my work is playing shows or recording guitar parts for projects, but I like to wear many hats in this business. I also produce demos and masters for artists and work as a tracking and mix engineer for projects. I’m currently finishing up albums for artists Casey Jame and Austin Lowrance that should be released later this year.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family played a massive role in the success of my career. They have always been very supportive of me pursuing music as a career and have taught me to work hard. Also, my musician friends have helped me get to where I am. Music can be viewed as competitive, but in my experience, it’s the opposite. It’s a team sport and to get further along in your career you need to build your friends up and they’ll do the same for you.
Contact Info:
- Email: parker@neoncactusrecording.com
- Website: neoncactusrecording.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkerdanielguitar/
Image Credits
Brittany Mendez
Brayln Kelly
