Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Barrison.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started violin at age 9. The apartment manager who was also a former member of the San Jose symphony became great friends with my mom and offered to give me violin lessons. Because she was a single mom raising a child below the poverty line on welfare and food stamps, she saw this as a long term opportunity to help me get into college one day.
I only had about 6 months of private lessons before my aunt moved us from the Bay Area to San Diego. We couldn’t afford private lessons any more so everything I learned from 5th grade on was in the schools, asking my peers for help and checking out VHS tapes and books on technique and practice methods from the library.
Freshman year of high school I sat nearly last chair and I was in tears and begged my mom to let me quit. There was a huge level gap between me and the rest of the students. I felt so discouraged and didn’t want to continue. My mom insisted I stay with it and revealed her master plan of violin being a way to get a scholarship for college.
By senior year I had worked my way up to the top and became not only concert master of my high school orchestra, but also concert master of an after school Civic Youth Orchestra as well.
I got a scholarship into Point Loma Nazarene University where I studied music and graduated with a concentration in music education. I played in worship bands for multiple churches around the city. I joined San Diego City Ballet junior year and began playing violin in various bands and music projects. Senior year I played with Rihanna at the NBA all star game in Los Angeles and my career took off.
Over the next decade I opened for Cee Lo Green, played with the Killers, POD, Nina Strauss, countless festivals, arenas and half time shows for the NBA, NFL, and NHL
Artists Include:
Rihanna
The Killers
Louis XIV
Anthony Green (Saosin)
Pepper
Brett alderage
Miranda lambert
Dustin Lynch
Coffey Anderson
Dierks Bentley
Lit
O-Town
Billy Rae Cyrus
Dasha
Nate Smith
Megan Morooney
Lilly Rose
Avery Anna
Aaron Nichols
Sigur Ros
NFL: LA Rams, The Chargers, Carolina Panthers, Alumni Awards
MLB: San Diego Padres
NHL: Awards, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Stadium series, Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators
I have done multiple TV appearances:
Ellen Degeneres, Marie Osmond, CMT awards, CMAs, The Voice, Clash of the Cover Bands, Grammy Awards, TEDx, Michelin Guide Ceremony
I’ve had a residency at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and 2 summers at Sea World San Diego, including one for the opening summer of Illuminight -Sea Worlds LED after dark glow experience.
When COVID hit the states and San Diego shut down, I saw Nashville was wide open and still playing music. I had dreamed of living somewhere other than my hometown for years and longed for the fiddle boot camp that is broadway, Nashville. In 2020, I told San Diego to hold my beer, I gotta go see about a city.
I fell in love with Nashville and had some of the most incredible career highlights there. CMT awards, CMAs, Nissan NHL Stadium Series with the house band. The Grand Ole Opry with Coffey Anderson, Bridgestone Area with Dierks Bentley and John Bohlinger…. And so many more.
I played everything and everywhere with some of the top musicians in the industry. I felt soo fortunate and so blessed and made even more friends than I had in my hometown. Nashville always feels like home. It’s the Disneyland for musicians. It’s a place where you can walk in an elevator and then walk out with a cowrite scheduled with someone who wrote for Luke Bryan or Lainey Wilson. I got to play The Devil Went Down to Georgia with Charlie Daniels’ drummer for pete sake! It’s a land of opportunity if you just show up. “Must be present to win” as my friend Liz Hill says.
Today I travel all over the country playing for various artists and private high end luxury corporate gigs as a strolling / dancing electric violinist and fiddle player. I offer line dance instruction as I play fiddle for large and small corporate groups. I have a monthly residency at The Shout! House, a historic dueling piano bar in San Diego. As for Nashville, aside from Broadway main, I will also make a guest appearance at Pete’s Dueling Piano bar when I’m in town. Though I’m based in San Diego as of 2023, I still make frequent trips to Nashville to write, record and return to my country roots sawing away at fiddle tunes on broadway with my friends.
I’m looking forward to releasing some original music as a singer songwriter touching on various genres this fall. I will be making lots of trips this year to finish those up! Next month I will also have the pleasure of playing for the Emmys with Los Angeles based band Crowd Theory. And down the road excited to announce a new project with Cris Hodges from Grey Daze ( Chester Bennington from Linkin Parks original band)! Out of LA, Cris has been touring the rock scene for years and recently received a call from Nashville asking him to return to his small town Texas country roots. I’ve never heard music like this before and I’m really looking forward to the launch of this at the end of September!
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?
I’d say like any building career, in order to grow you gotta do the work and endure growing pains. My first gig with a dj was a nightmare. It was at Tin Roof, and the dj made it very obvious that he didn’t want to be there. I learned what pitch lock was after that night, for the dj did not have it toggled on and every song he played was a quarter tone to semi l tone off of anything in our standard 440hz tuning. I couldn’t win that night. I was soo discouraged. But I kept showing up. Kept saying yes. Now, dj gigs are some of the easiest and most fun gigs I have.
As a fiddle player in Nashville I quickly learned it wasn’t enough to be a master at one of the hardest instruments in the world. I had to learn acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, keys, tambourine and be an impeccable back up singer.
As an artist I learned that making music is expensive and not entirely profitable. So I learned to how to use hardware and software in the studio to record remotely.
You’re always learning something new, adding to existing skills and talents and reinventing the wheel. It’s either feast or famine and learning how to accommodate and operate in both seasons are crucial to longevity.
The biggest challenge I’d say is the constant push to stay relevant, hustle, and always putting out new content. It can be tiring. And if you stop and rest for too long, the phone stops ringing.
I took a break last summer for health reasons. I was burning the candle at both ends and let’s just say my body finally caught up. I took the entire summer off doing nothing but pilates, acupuncture, meal prep, therapy and rest. Gigs slowed down substantially but it was important to take that time to learn to find that work/life balance is also crucial for longevity physically and mentally.
There’s no wrong or right way to be successful in this industry. You are your own boss, and you pave your own way. It’s a freedom, one that you build your own walls and boundaries within and only time, trial n error can provide wisdom for what works best for your life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been a gun for hire most of my career. I’d say I’m known for dazzling and high energy stage presence, sparkly and unique custom made instruments, stylish fun outfits and line dancing while playing fiddle. Anthem style reverb and occasional Wah Wah pedal if I’m feeling it. The best compliment is that I play more like a guitarist would. Mission accomplished.
I’m most proud of the diverse settings in which music has taken me. Classical orchestras, small ensembles, jazz groups, rock and roll arena bands, latin world beat reggae tours, prog rock, Americana, country, blue grass, pop, edm… the list goes on. When I was little I never thought I’d ever be on a plane. Now in the past 5 years I’ve prolly spent more time at airports than my own bed traveling to all kinds of musical experiences.
I’m not your typical violinist that needs sheet music or even a shout out of a key signature to play a song. I can play to practically anything at the drop of a beat. I won’t stand there like a bump on a log, I’m more than a musician, my performance is an experience. I love making each show fun personal, engaging, different and unforgettable.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I wanted to become a marine biologist. Then I dreamed of being a professional back up dancer. I never thought playing violin would become my life. I was always a performer from a young age. I joined a non profit group called Kids Who Care; we would put on dance performances, musicals and other shows for the community to raise money for the homeless, meals on wheels and other charities. I learned tap, jazz, modern, hip hop and ballet.
I was a nerd. I was bullied and outcasted in school and hung out with the punks and goths in high school wearing black every day. Somewhere in senior year I grew out of it. I was a Girl Scout and graduated with my gold award. I played tennis (still do a little today).
College I blossomed and began settling into who I was. My nerdiness was now cool and I had a new sense of elegant and chic style to go with it.
I was always outgoing and friendly and saw the glass half full. I loved trying new things and bringing people together, on the playground or in the classroom. Not much has changed as one of my biggest passions is bringing people together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://MelissaBarrison.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissabarrison?igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissabarrison100?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@melissabarrison?si=Kze8Jn1koO229e03
