After years of singing for film and television, background singing for numerous artists, performing at Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and the Special Olympic Opening Ceremonies, singer and composer Loren Smith is stepping out on his own.

Backed by the producing team of Josh Stevens of LMFAO fame and K-Kov from Israel’s The Voice comes “Beautiful Smile”, an uptempo feel good track combining soul and pop music written by Smith. He has performed hundreds of concerts throughout United States, Canada and overseas, bringing his music to thousands of people worldwide. He has been lovingly referred to as The Luther Vandross of the next generation. Last week, in honor of National Suicide Prevention Week, Smith offered his fans a live version of his new single “Beautiful Smile” for Free download on Soundcloud.

You may view the video for “Beautiful Smile” via YouTube.

“My goal is to always perform with Integrity, Excellence, Passion and Skill, and to teach everyone, as I’m learning, to love themselves and each other better.” ~ Loren Smith

“Beautiful Smile” by Loren Smith

Valley Shine was distilled from a love of whiskey, cats and bluegrass music. In early 2014, Jenna Blake was in search of a writing partner with an appreciation for folk music who shared her passion for songwriting. Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Blake was influenced by traditional bluegrass music and roots rock like CCR, CSNY and Joni Mitchell. Blake discovered Sam Sobelman and the two met up to see if there was any musical chemistry. After a couple of writing sessions influenced by whisky, laughs and some banjo pluckin’, they quickly discovered their songwriting styles were a perfect match.

Commuting between Orange County and Los Angeles, Blake and Sobelman began to develop their unique folk-pop sound. They wanted to be more than an acoustic duo, so they sought other members to complete the band’s sound and enhance their artistic energy. The pair enlisted Troy Lawton (drums), Danny Severance (violinist), Myke Wilken (guitar/cello), and Stewart James (bass). Valley Shine’s debut EP is titled LOCA. You may view the Mikme live version of the track “Sugar Dream” via YouTube.

“Sugar Dream” by Valley Shine

Only on Tuesdays is a pop-folk band compared to artists such as Ingrid Michaelson and First Aid Kit. Only on Tuesdays successfully raised over $10,000 via the crowd-funding site Kickstarter and through various sponsors, allowing them to record their debut EP, the Break Free EP. The EP was recorded in the home studio of Grammy nominated producer Bruce Witkin (known for his vocal production work in the Johnny Depp film Sweeny Todd) in Los Angeles.

Only on Tuesdays was founded by singer-songwriter Autumn Skibinski in 2009. As a solo artist based out of a small town called Eagle River in Wisconsin, Skibinski toured and connected with fans and musicians alike across the midwest and the south. In late 2011, she relocated to Los Angeles where she joined forces with several talented musicians and co-writers to help meld her distinct style with an upbeat pop-rock sound. In addition to Skibinski, Only on Tuesdays currently consists of Martin Valencia from Arizona, Tracy and Kevin Lambertucci of Venezuela, and Gabby Casanova of Mexico. Only on Tuesdays has performed at renowned Los Angeles venues such as The Roxy, The Viper Room, Molly Malone’s, and House of Blues. They are also planning a west coast tour for late spring 2015 to support the release of the EP. The band has spent the last three years writing, performing, fine-tuning and preparing for this release. Each of the songs on this EP were carefully and thoughtfully written from personal experiences. You may view the official video for “Break Free” via YouTube.

“Break Free” by Only on Tuesdays