Karissa Tranel is a singer-songwriter who grew up in the small town of Menominee, Illinois. The daughter of a farmer and a nurse, she wrote her first song at the age of 11 and developed her love of country music by listening to The Judds, Alabama, Crystal Gayle, and Dolly Parton. She also notes artists such as Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, Lady A, Amos Lee, and Carrie Underwood as influences on her songwriting and sound. For 13 years Karissa lived in San Diego, working in the pharmaceutical/biotech field and singing with the contemporary Catholic music group, Spiritus, who released Echo of Your Peace in 2014. In 2016 she released her self-titled debut album and continued her work outside Nashville, TN where she now lives with her husband and two children.

Rick Vonn (aka “Vonn”) is a songwriter based in Nashville, TN. originally from Chicago, IL.  He is the lead singer/songwriter in “Pen Johnson” based in Nashville and he plays writer nights all over Nashville, Memphis, Tennessee, Chicago, and beyond.  He was a member of the Champaign/Urbana, IL based band “Look Twice” that took first place at Star Search which led them to recording at Pogo Studios with legendary producer, and current Blackbird Studios instructor, Mark Rubel.  He is currently working on a full length LP for Pen Johnson at Azalea Studios in Brentwood, TN with “Fett”, a producer that has helped to create some of the legendary records and sounds of Nashville.

Aaron Bucks has established a reputation as a vocalist and a writer, with songs he’s
written charting on Billboard, played on Terrestrial and Satellite stations like Kenny
Chesney's No Shoes Radio, along with with performances around Nashville at venues
such as the legendary Bluebird Café, Listening Room Cafe, Pucketts, Kimbros Pickn’
Parlor along with various Hotels (Hilton, Marriott) and Golf Clubs(Vanderbilt, Franklin)
Along with winning the John Lennon, Unsigned Only and International Songwriting
Contests as well as Bluebird Cafes Golden Pick contest. Songs from Bucks have also
received songwriting recognition from other organizations like, Indie International,
Unsigned Only, ISC, and JLSC.
His style has been described as Country Soul, it is representative of Bucks himself: laid
back, positive, and full of life. Away from music, Bucks can be found spending time with
his wife and two children. He is an advocate for the Down Syndrome Association of
Middle Tennessee (DSAMT) in memory of his youngest son Tobias.