From Marching Band to Audio Engineering, Desiree Holiday is Making in Happen in Nashville!

Desiree Holiday has been a music lover all her life. She’s a seasoned musician too and even played in the famous TSU Aristocrat of Bands while attending Tennessee State University. During her time at Tenessee State, Desiree did some soul searching and knew that music was something she wanted to continue in as a serious career choice and life ambition. Once she came across audio engineering she says, she had her answer: “I just know that was what I wanted to do.” Because of her interest in recording and audio engineering, Desiree chose to major in mass communications while working towards her degree because it was the “closest thing” to what she was looking for.

Nevertheless, she knew when she graduated she would need to get the training she’d need to launch her career. Well, it didn’t take long for Desiree to take that next step in her journey.

“I started doing some research just seeing where could I get my audio engineering skills beyond YouTube,” she says. “I did a search that said ‘top audio engineering schools,’ and Recording Connection was number one and two.”

Desiree went on to enroll in Recording Connection and was placed at South Street Studios in Nashville, TN, with mentor and industry veteran Ric Web, who has worked with talent like Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift. Over the past months, Desiree has committed fully to learning the craft. She’s even landed her own client, a crucial skill every aspiring engineer and producer should master. Turns out, she didn’t have to go far. An aspiring rapper who’s “actually a friend of a friend” was looking to lay down a few tracks. Desiree and her client went ahead and cut the vocals at Desiree’s place, on what she humbly refers to has her “modest house setup.” The artist was encouraged by the quality of Desiree’s work and when she suggested they take things further and bring it into the studio, he was all for it. From there, things went even better than planned. Desiree says, “He loved the sound we got, he loved how I worked with him. What felt good to me was the confidence that my mentor gave him right before he let us have the studio. Between then and now, we’ve been able to embark on an even bigger project. Now he wants to record almost seven tracks with me at South Street and he is willing to pay the price.”

Even small connections can end up fostering great collaborations and help propel your career to the next level. As we’ve said many a-time before, working in the recording industry isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes plenty of dedication, focus, and an entrepreneurial approach. If you have the passion, then you owe it to yourself to develop your skills and invest in making those opportunities happen. Desiree is doing it, day by day. She’s pushing forward with what promises to be a long and rewarding career in music.

We can’t wait to hear the tracks Desiree!