Who We Are

Where the idea came from…

Gathering Storm Music began during the 2020-21 Covid-19 pandemic as a way to bring performing artists and fans together in virtual concerts at a time when live performances were not possible.

Then we found out you can have fun and enjoy music in a way that didn’t exist before. Gathering Storm Music allows you to hear live performances from artists who are otherwise in Nashville, Broadway, Los Angeles, and wherever good music can be found. We keep our ticket prices low, but enough to compensate these incredibly creative artists for their extraordinary talent and hard work. You don’t have to leave your home, and neither do they.

…trying out a new concept to connect artists and fans…

Our concerts and events allow artists to perform for you, live, from their home studios direct to your family rooms and mobile phones. We limit audience size to the number a small club would seat. We try to allow for interaction that doesn’t happen as easily in a large auditorium or livestream. If you want, and provided the technology works, the artists get to see you appreciate their music. Children and pets wander in and out of camera range. Connections sometimes get dropped. Be forgiving. Enjoy the music.

Gathering Storm Music hopes to showcase rising talent and the diversity of voices and instruments that make music great—artists who someday will have number one hits, win major awards, headline Broadway, or grace the Ryman Auditorium or the Grand Ole Opry itself. Let us know if there’s someone you think we should feature.

I’m one of your hosts. I grew up in mid-Missouri in the 1950s and 1960s when Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson ruled the airwaves and brought a diversity of entertainment into people’s homes. Local television shows like “Ozark Opry” were a regional tradition in central Missouri. When Ozark Opry finally left the airwaves in 2006, only the Grand Ole Opry itself was older.

For my part, I served my country as a civilian in Iraq and other trouble spots, did my part to catch some of the world’s worst war criminals, and helped keep the United States and our friends and allies safe after 9/11. I’ve enjoyed music from concert halls coast to coast in the United States and across Europe, and from palaces, clubs, and private homes in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. I retired from government service in 2019 and now spend my daylight hours talking and teaching about national security and how to keep the United States safe from today’s threats while we protect American democracy and values. If this interests you, follow me on Twitter. To talk about music, please reach me through our Contact Us page.