Today we’d like to introduce you to Damon Mitchell.
Damon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My grandparent’s, Pete and Pat Mitchell, met in the 40’s in small town in the cornfields of Illinois. My grandfather was 18 and my grandmother was 14. The high school my grandmother attended had a school gospel quartet. They were missing a baritone singer. According to my grandmother, he was cute, could sing baritone, and had a car. She convinced the principal to allow him to sing with the group. That was the only way they were allowed to date while she was in high school. They were married as soon as she turned 18 and continued to sing under the name The Gospel Tones Trio. In 1957, my father, Max Mitchell was born and by 1966 at nine years old, he replaced the piano player in the group and they changed the name to The Mitchell. Eventually, all of siblings would join during their adolescent years, but would leave the group after moving away to pursue other careers. My Dad continued to perform with my grandparents and by the time I was 5 years old, I joined the group, becoming the only third generation member.
Aside from southern gospel music, my Dad exposed me to rock n’ roll bands like Chicago, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Carpenters, etc. I was hooked. By thirteen years old, I started my first band, and would end up performing a couple hundred shows throughout high school between my own bands and my family band.
Instead of going to college, I got a job working for Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, IN, when I was 20 years old. It was there that I encountered people who would become significant mentors, friends, and collaborators. Plus, working in such a cutting-edge environment, I got to meet a lot of my heroes and even forge friendships with some of them. This experience changed my life and set me on a trajectory to eventually leave music retail and begin making a living as a full-time musician.
In 2020, I left Sweetwater and moved to Cincinnati to begin performing full time. After a year of touring on my own and with a local country artist, I landed a gig playing lead guitar for Nashville country artist, Adam Calvert. It all began by filling in for his main guitarist at the time…it was around the fourth night I was filling in that Adam and his tour manager/fiance, Paige, approached me and said “we don’t think the other guitarist is coming back, would you like to join?” I said YES in a hearbeat. 2026 is my fifth year on the road with Adam.
In addition to Adam’s band, I perform around 100+ of my own dates each year, often solo, but I also love playing full band shows at fairs and festivals, and will often do a duo show with my father. As of this summer (2026), I’m touring as the half time performance act with Full Throttle Monster Trucks (what could be more of a kid’s dream than playing guitar and working with monster trucks?!?!) You can also catch me on occasion playing lead guitar for another Nashville country artist, Kaitlyn Croker.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What fun would a smooth road be? Imagine going to see a movie with no bad guy, no problems to be faced, etc. It’d be boring.
Jesus said “whoever comes after me must deny himself and take up his own cross.” If you want to become all that you can be – and trust me I’m far from reaching my full potential – the parts of you that are not worthy of co-existing with your dream vision of yourself must die. That’s tough, man. That’s a recurring daily choice.
Perhaps it sounds dramatic, but most artists are their own worst enemy. Pride, worry, comparison, laziness, etc., can all get in the way. Everything from not taking time for fans, to thinking you are above paying certain dues, to not practicing…these are all things that relate back to letting the worst parts of you have their way. Those types of choices come with compound interest, and it builds up over time like a credit card until there’s so much debt that it feels insurmountable to pay off. You must develop good habits – physically, spiritually, musically, etc. If you can develop these disciplines, you will be far better equipped to handle the problems that are outside of yourself – bad bandmates, dishonest promoters, financial struggle, etc.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been releasing solo work since 2019 as well as co=writing with other artists like Adam Calvert, Ryan Robinette, Matthew Perryman Jones, Courtney Wilder, Tim Ringer, etc. Performing like there is no tomorrow is my specialty. The acoustic shows are engaging and the electric shows are on the ragged edge. I’m obsessed with monster trucks and I try to perform the full band shows like I’m driving a monster truck…this often includes kick spins, jumps off trussing and staging, the occasional Cobain-style drum kit dive, and my signature guitar throw (I throw my guitar 10+ feet in the air) at the end of shows.
Additionally, I’m relentless about meeting anyone and everyone who wants to meet the band. When I was 7 years old, I met Keith Howland – the guitarist for the legendary band Chicago. He made time for me. When I told him I wanted to play guitar someday, he reached in his pocket and said “here’s something for your troubles,” and gave me a guitar pick with his name on one side and Chicago logo on the other…I still have it. That moment changed how I interact with people at every show.
Recently, I released a song called “The Botanist.” Inspired by both my grandfathers who were gardeners – one owned a greenhouse. The song deals with themes of making life grow from a garden that feels desolate. the constant yearning to understand the world’s hidden secrets, and to dance with mystery. Perhaps if you study something long enough and with enough passion you will see the answers and patterns are “hidden in the architecture,” which is the name of the EP it is off of. This song is what I am most proud of. I felt like I said everything I’ve been wanting to say. In some sense, it felt like both a worship song and a love song all at once.
What does success mean to you?
People changed. People impacted. Look at the fruits of your labor…were they sweet or were they bitter…did they bring some form of life and beauty to the people that it touched? If so, then it was a success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thedamonmitchell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedamonmitchell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/damon.mitchell.37/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedamonmitchell
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3KARSo9IDGv3SyqrPffPPK
