Ben Rector, Jon McLaughlin, and Grand Rapids Symphony

Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rector spent much of his youth studying music, learning piano from an early age before also learning the guitar and singing in his teenage years. Whilst studying at the University of Arkansas, Rector began to record his own music, releasing a self-titled EP in his freshman year.

This first release brought Rector attention locally, bolstered through local live performances. He then went on to release two full-length albums, “Twenty Tomorrow” (2007) and “Songs That Duke Wrote” (2008) before he had graduated in 2009. Finding local success, he was awarded with the NAMA award for Best Singer-songwriter in Northeast Arkansas, becoming a household name through extensive performances.

Upon finishing college, Rector moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in order to pursue his music career. A third full-length album, 2010’s “Into The Morning” broke into the mainstream, reaching number 11 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. During this period, Rector also gained exposure through performing alongside the likes of Five for Fighting and Dave Barnes, helping to find Rector new fans.

Rector managed to break into the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 chart with the 2011 release, “Something Like This,” establishing Rector as a pop sensation. “Walking in Between” followed in 2013, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart

Jon McLaughlin released his first 8 song EP entitled “Song I Wrote and Later Recorded” which made it to the top of the chart on AwareStore.com, and followed the release with a national tour. Around this time, he crossed paths with fellow singer songwriters, Matt Wertz and Dave Barnes. In 2006, McLaughlin, landed a record deal with the prestigious Island Records and before releasing his debut album, toured again around the U.S whilst making appearances at festivals such as Lollapalooza and toured with Kelly Clarkson, Sister Hazel, Paolo Nutini and Marc Broussard.

He managed to have his songs featured on NBC comedy, Scrubs, with his song “Human”. The song also featured in “The Walk-In”, and episode of Ghost Whisperer. His single “Beautiful Disaster” featured in the TV series A Little Thing Called Life. It sold upwards of 420,000 digital copies. He released his debut album “Indiana”, named after his home state on, May 1st 2007. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Christian Charts. McLaughlin has also featured on three Hollywood-released films, one being Bridge to Terabithia with his song “Another Layer”, “Beautiful Disaster” made it to the soundtrack of the 2007 film Georgia Rule. He even made an on screen appearance with a performance of “so Close” which was written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz in the Disney film Enchanted. McLaughlin performed the song at the 80th Academy Awards.

McLaughlin released “Beating My Heart” which was released on July 22nd 2008, followed by the released of the album “OK Now” which made it to number 49 on the Billboard 200.