Clarence Green
Vocals & Guitar
Beginning his songwriting amidst the birth of Charlottesville’s Pop music scene, Clarence recalls sneaking out to see bands at Trax, a former hot spot for live music in Charlottesville, VA. “I remember seeing the Dave Matthews Band Tuesday nights, Agents of Good Roots, and G Love & Special Sauce rock Trax all the time. And even though I’ve always been into mostly pop (music), seeing those bands really opened my eyes to more possibilities of what pop could be.”
“My musical tastes are a lot like my family’s heritage and culture, all mixed up.” Clarence says. His blend of pop, hip-hop beats, reggae, rock, and soul continues to fuel his musical expressions. “Good music is good music. If when you listen it makes you feel something good, then it’s undeniable, and that’s what makes the music good.”
Landon Fishburne
Lead Guitar
Landon Fishburne is a Nashville-based guitarist/songwriter originally from Charlottesville. Virginia. Playing violin at an early age, Landon soon became interested in learning the guitar and studied under renowned harp guitarist, Stephen Bennett. Landon has been influenced by and has studied a wide range of musical stylings including blues, jazz, bluegrass, alt-country, classical, Gypsy jazz, folk, chicken pickin’, rhythm and blues, soul, rock n’ roll, Celtic, and slide. Since moving to Nashville, Landon has performed and toured with an assortment of notable national touring acts including Ashley McBryde, Chris Young, Delta Rae, Hannah Blaylock, Lauren Mascitti, Sunny Sweeney, Three Times a Lady Trio, Brennley Brown, Mary Sarah, Janelle Arthur, Dean Alexander, Courtney Cole, and Nick Hagelin, among others. In addition, Landon has had the privilege of performing with several renown musical artists through the years such as Jo Dee Messina, Jamie O’Neal, Ty Herndon, Mike Gordon (Phish), Marc Ford (Black Crowes), Mike Farris, DJ Logic, KT Tunstall, Nick Forster (Hot Rize), and Peter Yarough (Peter, Paul and Mary). His travels have put him on stages opening for Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Sam Bush Band, Miranda Lambert, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Tim O’Brien, Gary Allan, and Hank Williams JR. Notable performances include appearances at CMA Festival in Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry, Miranda Lambert’s 2015 “Certified Platinum Tour,” Stagecoach Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, TEDx, Country Thunder Festival, The Festie Experience, The Bluebird Cafe, The Station Inn in Nashville, on Food Networks “Emeril Live”, for President Obama at his 2012 campaign rally in Charlottesville, Va, and as part of the nationally broadcast radio show, Etown, recorded at Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO.
Zachary Blatter
Mandocello
Zachary started learning music through drums and guitar and loved music from a young age. He progressed to playing professionally on upright bass during his college years when he co-founded the experimental acoustic band Walker’s Run, a project that performed across the East Coast. Starting in 2005, he travelled to Europe and North Africa playing shows with the Arab-Appalachian fusion band Kantara on several State Department sponsored tours intended to spread the message of unity through music. His curiosity for quirky instruments led him to the mandocello, which helps create the original sound of the Downbeat Project. He also engineers at Bobby Read’s Small World Audio, a recording studio outside of Charlottesville, Va.
Gerald Soriano
Upright Bass
Gerald Soriano has been involved in music for fifteen years, initially studying blues guitar at Berkelee College of Music in Boston, then bluegrass guitar with Nashville’s Jim Hurst, music theory with John D’earth, and upright bass with University of Virginia’s Pete Spaar. From 2002-2006, he played throughout Virginia and regionally as the bassist with the Jan Smith Band. Gerald has worked regularly as a session musician on many Charlottesville-area recording projects and live performances. He is well known in the regional Old Time, Bluegrass, Folk and Americana community.
Robinson Hubbard
Drums
Rob Hubbard grew up outside of Lexington, Va. At an early age, Rob performed in a number of jazz, blues, rock and gospel groups. At the University of Virginia, he studied with the likes of John D’earth and Robert Jospe, and focused on jazz, hip-hop and world-beat grooves. Since college, Rob has stayed on the Virginia music scene. He has collaborated with Leslie Tucker and the Guano Boys, as well as numerous other projects and side-projects.